11. Art and culture

//The Oxford Advancer Learner`s Dictionary of Current English by Hornby gives us the following definition of the notion "art". ""Art" is the creation or expression of what is beautiful, especially in visual form. Drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, music, ballet belong to the fine art". Really when something is extremely beautiful or has great cultural value, we say: "It's art". Art has always been occupation for the few, but has been admired by many. I really enjoy everything that is beautiful. I like painting, sculpture. I am fond of music and theatre.

The twentieth century has given the world cinema. For a long time there have been disputes whether the cinema is an art or just an entertainment. Nowadays the cinema is considered one of the main contemporary arts. Not so long ago people went to cinemas frequently, but now we prefer to stay at home and watch video films and TV. Maybe cinemas are no longer as popular as they used to be but films will always be one of the best entertainments for people all over the world. Speaking about art one should not forget about music, especially classic music. Outstanding Russian composers make all the world admire their music. It's almost impossible to find a man who does not know Pyotr Ilyich Tchaicovsky, Michail Glinka, Nicholai Rimsky-Korsakov - the famous composers of 19th century, and Sergei Rachmaninov, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitriy Shostakovich. The most famous ballets "Swan Lake", "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Nutcracker" and not less famous operas "The Queen of Spades", "Eugine Onegin" are still excellently staged and performed not only in Russian but in many greatest theatres in the world. Russia is famous for its architecture. The real jewel of architecture is the Moscow Kremlin with its cathedrals, towers and red brick walls. There are also a lot of museums and galleries in Moscow. The most famous gallery of Moscow is Tretyakov gallery, it reflects the whole history of Russian Art. It has a rich collection of early Russian painting including famous icon. The world famous "The Trinity" by Andrey Rublev is exhibited in the gallery. St.Petersburg has great number of real masterpieces of architecture of different styles and is definitely worth visiting and being admired. Russia is rich also in young talents, new Russian culture is forming. We can hear new voices in music and poetry, new canvases of modern artists, great actors and film directors. All of them will make their contribution into Russian Culture and Art.//

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12. Extreme journey

//Ice climbing, river trekking, snowboarding, skysurfing are kinds of extreme journeys that have become popular last ten years. During the extreme journey a man can feel the speed, excitement and risk.

Extreme journey always has an element of danger. For example an ice climbing. It is an extreme sport. Beginners should know some basic techniques before trying to ice climb. They shound find a professional instructor, experienced ice climber and buy special equipment.

To feel the great excitement you should choose the bungee jumping. It was created in New Zealand. A man jumps off a bridge, a building, or crane and feels the freedom during the several seconds of the fall. Just before he hits the ground or water, an elastic rope pulls him back. But you should remember about possible injuries during a jump.

An extreme journey in the air is a skysurfing. Skysurfing is one of the types of the parachute sport. It is a command sport. The team consists of two men – skysurfer and air operator. A man jumps out of aeroplane and «surfs» the air using a special board. This board is similar to snowboard. During the free fall skyserfer does different acrobatic elements. Of course it needs some practice and a man should learn some techniques.

Snowboarding is an excitement and dangerous surfing on snow. It is similar to skiing, surfing and skateboarding, but it is more dangerous. Snowboarding has different styles, with specialized equipment and techniques. The most common styles today are freeride, freestyle, and freerace. But the most dangerous of all winter sports is snowrafting. A man sits in a boat and sails down a mountain at great speed. And a boat is under control.

One of the crazy extreme journeys is an ice diving. You should put on diving equipment and dive under a frozen water. This kind of diving requires special training by a qualified instructor. Diving under arctic ice is one of the most popular types of diving. Special equipment prevents accidental sinking into the water.

If you want to feel the risk you should choose such extreme journey as river trekking. But it needs particular skills and a man must be ready for danger accidents – waterfalls, exhaustion, getting lost or storms. Also a man should know the level of the water and the speed of the river and use only a good boat. Nowadays there are no formal schools on river trekking.

So, extreme journey is a good way to feel the speed, excitement and risk. You can choose any type of extreme journey you like, but you should always remember about danger and possible injuries during your journey.//

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