УСТНЫЕ ТЕМЫ ДЛЯ УЧЕБНИКА LASER B1+

1. Семья

FAMILY AND FAMILY RELATIONS

Families come in all shapes and sizes nowadays. No wonder that there can be some problems in the family relations. On the other hand, if the members of the family love each other there can be no or little argument and the family lives happily.

Some families have only one child whereas others have two, three or even more children. In my opinion, both kinds of families have some advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, if you are an only child, you have a room of your own. Besides, your parents give all their love and care only to you. On the other hand, if you have a brother or a sister, you have someone to play with or to talk to, and you never feel bored. As for me, I’m an only child in my family, but I think that having a brother or a sister is an amazing feeling, because you know that you won’t be lonely and if you get into trouble, you have someone to help you or give some advice.

However, there can be a lot of problems and conflicts between teenagers and their parents because they don’t understand each other. Some parents don’t want to understand modern views, ideals and values so teens are afraid to tell them about their private life. Another reason for the generation gap is that parents want their children to learn harder. They make teens do their homework, though sometimes it is unnecessary. I believe we should try to bridge the generation gap and the only way to do it is for parents and children to speak frankly to each other and try to come to an agreement.

As for me, although I’m an only child, I don't feel lonely because my parents always love and take care of me. What is more, we often discuss my problems together. Of course, sometimes I have arguments with my family but despite all our disagreements we always help each other. Everyone in my family is my best friend and I love my family very much.

2. Транспорт

TRANSPORT

Early humans dreamed of going faster and further than they could on foot. They first achieved this in northern countries using skis. The wheel was invented around 3500 BC but carts were very slow without roads. So for many centuries the fastest and most popular means of transport was the horse.

The railway developed gradually from carts on tracks. The first vehicle with an engine to run on tracks was developed in 1803 by an Englishman, Richard Trevithick. In 1804 he took the first passengers. Unfortunately, the train began to fall off the tracks because they were not strong enough.

The petrol-driven car was invented in Germany in 1885. It completely changed the way people thought about transport.

Today many people believe that they would not be able to survive without their cars. Despite being stuck in traffic for many hours, they would still prefer to drive rather than stand at a bus stop in the rain. Moreover, it is convenient to use a car when you have shopping or heavy goods to carry.

However, it cannot be denied that cars cause pollution and poison the air that we breathe. As a result, our environment is being destroyed and people are suffering from more and more illnesses. In addition, because of traffic jams people often arrive late at their destination.

In my opinion, the best solution would be to use electric cars, which don’t cause pollution, and also to improve public transport, especially the underground.

As for me, I prefer trains because they are fast and comfortable. Besides, trains don’t spoil our environment. Of course, when I travel to other countries, I usually go by plane, which is much faster than a train. However, I don’t enjoy it very much because planes are often delayed and there is always a possibility of a plane crash.

In conclusion, I want to say that the twentieth century saw the development of many other means of transport, including the helicopter, the hydrofoil and the hovercraft. Technology has also given us the spaceship and the space shuttle. And I am sure that the future of transport will be as exciting as its past.

3. Хобби

HOBBIES

Hobbies differ like tastes. Different people like doing different things, so we can say that people have different hobbies.

Stamp collecting is one of the first things that come to our minds when we think about hobbies. Organising your collection is the perfect way to relax for a few hours. When stamps appeared in the 19^th century, they were cheap and colourful, so children started to collect them. By the middle of the 20^th century, collecting stamps was a popular pastime for both children and adults.

There are still many people today who collect stamps. However, with modern forms of communication such as mobile phones or email people aren’t buying stamps like they used to and the number of collectors has decreased. It seems that stamp collecting as a hobby has had its days. Yet collecting is still popular among teenagers who collect stickers, posters, pens and even\ toys.

Another hobby that has changed because of technology is building models. In the past, boys and girls built plastic models of planes, boats and cars. Modern models have all kinds of electronic and moving parts making them look and operate like real things.

Of course, we can’t ignore computers when it comes to free time. Today’s teenagers use their computers for playing computer games, running websites or communicating with friends around the world. Computers have changed hobbies in other ways too. Now teenagers can join different online clubs that will tell them everything they want to know about their hobbies.

As for me, my hobby is listening to music. It’s a good way to relax after a hard working day at school. I enjoy different styles of music and collect CDs with the songs of my favourite singers. Besides, I like to play the guitar and sing songs and so do my classmates. When we have some free time, we always sing together.

To sum up, I want to say that although some hobbies have changed, many teenagers fill their free time with activities that their parents and grandparents enjoyed such as dancing, fishing or gymnastics. There are some differences but there are also many similarities.