Text № 1. The native hawaiians

The Hawaiians are a Polynesian people. Most scholars agree that they probably came to the Hawaiian Islands from Tahiti and the Society and Marquesas Islands. Hawaiian culture reached its high point after its first contacts with the Europeans (which came in 1778 with the landing of Captain Cook, British explorer of the Pacific). Using some of the technology gained from the Europeans, including the use of firearms, one of the most important Hawaiian chiefs was able to unite the islands into a single nation with himself as king. In this effort he was backed by Christian missionaries mainly from the New England states, who saw this as an opportunity to recreate the theocracy – or nation under religious law – which had originally been established in New England, but which had long since failed there.

In 1893 Hawaii became a nominal republic under the influence of U.S. commercial interests, and in 1898 it was annexed by the United States at the request of the pro-U.S. government installed after the coup d´etat (державний переворот).

The Native Hawaiians suffered great population losses owing to uncontrollable epidemics of European diseases and today the number of “pure” native Hawaiians is estimated at only 10 000. As was the case with the Aleuts in Alaska, there has been extensive intermarriage of the native Hawaiians with the rest of the population of their state, which is in part why the number of pure-blooded native Hawaiians reside on the island of Nihau. One of the smallest of the major islands, Nihau is privately owned by the Robinson family, who have set it aside as a refuge for native Hawaiians. The Hawaiian language is still spoken there, and many traditions and customs are preserved.

Some of the most commonly held ideas about the native Hawaiians are the most inaccurate. Take, for example, the picture of a grass-skirted native dancing the hula to the sounds of the Hawaiian guitar while others feast on foods flavoured with pineapple. Of these elements only the hula is traditional. Grass skirts, the guitar, and the pineapple all had their origins elsewhere, and didn’t become part of Hawaiians culture until the coming of the whites.

Text № 4.

PARADISE REVISITED The famous American writer, humorist and lecturer Mark Twain, when he was at the peak of his career as a successful author, travelled a lot. His travels took him to Europe and to more exotic places on globe. But only one place is known to have impressed him so much that he wrote down in the guest book of the hotel he stayed at: “Lord God created paradise”, impressed by his visit to Mauritius. The great writer didn't exaggerate it this time - the grand mountains looking into the cleanest ocean waters, forests of relict trees, among which roam deer that are not afraid of humans - all of these things bring to mind the idea of paradise the way we imagine it could have looked. Mauritius (officially: Republic of Mauritius) is an island country, lying about 500 miles (800 km) east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The capital is Port Louis; area - 788 square miles (2,040 square km); population - about one million two hundred thousand people. Mauritius is volcanic in origin and almost surrounded by coral reefs. The climate is maritime subtropical with same temperature throughout the year. Mauritius was probably known to Arab sailors from the 10th century, or earlier. They called it “The Eastern Island." The island was definitely uninhabited. It was visited by the Portuguese in the early 16th century, but they did not settle the island which they called Cirne. In the early 17th century a French fleet arrived at Mauritius but there was no one to fight in order to take possession of the island, and soon the French East India Company occupied Mauritius, which was renamed Ile de France. At the beginning of the 19th century, when England and France were at war, Ile de France was a continual threat to British. In 1810 British ships entered the port, to be joined by several other ships a short while later. There was no fighting this time either. The customs, laws, and language remained French, but the name Mauritius was reinstated. Slavery was abolished in 1835, and the slaves were replaced by Indian and Chinese employees. The rich ethnic mix - Dutch, French, British, Chinese, and Indian - produced handsome people. In 1968 Mauritius became independent, first a monarchy, and later a republic. The island has 90 first-class hotels and it is one of the major tourist attractions of the world. You can hunt deer, climb up and into volcano, you can rent a catamaran, a sailing boat or a yacht, or even a helicopter. You can take a walk on the bottom of the ocean. The beaches are kept ideally clean.