Mass media
Press and broadcasting in Great Britain
Great Britain is really a newspaper reading nation. More national and regional daily newspapers are sold in Britain than in most other developed countries. National newspapers have a total circulation of 14.2 million on weekdays and 16.2 mln on Sundays. There are about 130 daily and Sunday newspapers, over 2,000 weekly newspapers and some 7,000 periodical publications. There are also more than 750 free distribution newspapers, mostly weekly and financed by advertising, and some 60 newspapers and magazines produced by members of the ethnic minorities. The press is free to comment on matters of public interest, subject to law (including that of libel). There is no state control or censorship of the press, which caters for a variety of political views, interests and levels of education. Newspapers are almost always financially independent of any political party. None of the main political parties own or publish daily newspapers. There is a Press Complaints Commission which deals with complaints by members of the public and provides a more effective press selfregulation and prevention intrusion into privacy.
All the national newspapers use computer technology, and its use in the provincial press is increasing.
Twelve national morning daily papers (5 «qualities» and 7 «populars») are available in most parts of Britain.
Broadcasting
British Broadcasting has traditionally been based on the principle that it is a public service accountable to the people through Parliament. It also embraces the principle of competition and choice. Three public bodies are responsible for television and radio services in Britain:
the BBC - the British Broadcasting Corporation which broadcasts television and radio services;
the ITC - the Independent Television Commission which licenses and regulates the non- BBC TV services, including cable and satellite services;
the Radio Authority which lisenses and regulates all non-BBC radio services.
Television viewing is Britain’s most popular leisure pastime: practically all households have TV sets
and most have video recorders.
The Government is not responsible for programme content, nor for broadcasters’ day-to-day conduct of business. The independence of broadcasters requires them to maintain certain standards: programmes must display a proper balance and wide range of subject matter, and impartiality in matters of controversy. They must not offend good taste.
The BBC has two national TV channels and five radio services. It also broadcasts in 37 different languages of the world and its audience is about 120 mln people.
The life of youth in the usa
Young people in the United States have a wide variety of interests apart from their school. As children, both boys and girls play many of the same games. They swim, play basketball and baseball, and in recent years - soccer, go boating, and have fun in many kinds of sports and outdoor activities.
Numerous youth organisations give young people a chance to develop and broaden their interests, and to gain experience in working with others. Among these groups are the Boy Scouts, which serve more than four million boys. This organisation is for training boys in various useful skills such as lighting a fire, and for developing their character. Scouts traditionally carry a penknife, and their motto is «Be Prepared)).
There are also Girl Scouts, with nearly three million girls, and the Boys’ and Girls’ Cubs of America, with over one million participants. These and other groups are guided by adults who volunteer their services. Civic, cultural and religious groups also sponsor special programs for young people.
In farm areas boys and girls learn to work together in agriculture, home-making and other activities through more than 150 thousand clubs which have more than 4 million members. In these clubs youths compete for prizes in raising farm animals and growing crops.
Secondary schools offer students a wide variety of activities to develop talents and skills. There are clubs for photography, music, theater, stamp collecting, natural sciences and debating. Schools often have orchestras, band and singing groups as well as a variety of competitive sports for both boys and girls.
Many young people hold part-time jobs after school hours. Thousands earn money delivering newspapers or helping care for infants and young children (babysitting) in private homes. Later when they go to college, many youths continue to work part-time at a variety of jobs to help pay their expenses.
For several weeks during the summer vacation, about 5 million school age children go to camps where they get plenty of recreational activity and learn various arts and crafts, and sometimes even computer skills. There are more than 10,000 camps operated by private citizens and organizations. College students often work as counselors at these camps.
Most schools and colleges have some form of student government with elections to choose class representatives. These elected officers speak for their fellow students at student council meetings with teachers and school officials. They also organize social activities and take part in such community projects as raising money for public welfare.
Kyiv — the capital of Ukraine
The founding of the city ,
Like any other ancient city Kyiv was born on the bank of a river. It happened more than 2000 years ago. The beautiful old legend about the foundation of Kyiv tells about the three brothers — Kyi, Shchek and Khoriv and their sister Lybid, who sailing down the Dnieper saw the picturesque green banks and thought that this place would be perfect for a new city. They settled there and named the place Kyiv after the eldest brother. The new city started quickly to rise on the hills among the dark forests, full of wild animals, and rich meadows which provided good pastures for the cattle. The river Dnieper was both the friend, as it gave food and water to its people and helped in the city’s tj;ade and development, and the enemy, as it flooded the city every year ruining houses, destroying crops and taking away people’s lives.
Kyiv grew larger and larger; it attracted many people from other cities, towns and villages. Rich people settled on the hills where the Princes’ palaces were built, while common people lived in the lower part of the city, known as Podil, which later developed into a busy trading district. In the 9th century with the establishment of Kyivan Rus, Kyiv became its capital.
Historical sights
In the 10th century Prince Volodymyr the Great expanded the city, and his son Yaroslav the Wise ordered many beautiful churches to be built, including the famous St. Sofia’s Cathedral (1037), a wonderful architectural monument which miraculously survived all the invasions and fires and still charms the citizens and the guests of the city with its unique beauty. The Cathedral was erected at the exact place of the victorious battle over the Pechenegs so that other generations would remember the deeds of their forefathers. It was not only a place of worship, it was also a place of learning and preserving the wisdom of the past, because it is there that the first school and library in Kyivan Rus was founded. At the same time the first monks settled in the caves on the steep left banks of the Dnieper, giving the beginning to another place of worship and amazing architectural beauty — Kyivo- Pecherska Lavra. It was an outstanding cultural centre of Kyivan Rus where many famous people lived and worked: the Chronicle writers Nestor, Nikon and Joan, the painters Alimpiy and Grigoriy, the doctors Agapyt and Damian. Several times the Lavra was burnt to ashes by numerous invaders but each time.it was restored, and now we can admire the wonderful churches and cathedrals of this architectural gem.
Another famous place in Kyiv is the Golden Gates which were one of the entrances to the city in ancient times and were usually opened to welcome very important guests. Now it has been turned into an interesting museum where you can wander around and imagine yourself in medieval Kyiv.
Opposite St. Sofia’s Cathedral there is an impressive monument to Bohdan Khmelnitsky, the 17th century outstanding Ukrainian statesman and military leader who played an important part in Ukrainian history. If you walk up Shevchenko Boulevard you will be amazed by the beauty of Volodymyr Cathedral, whose icons and frescoes were painted by the famous artists Victor Vasnetsov, Mykola Nesterov 'ar^Mykhaylo Vrubel. In Andreivskiy Spusk your attention will be attracted by Rasstrelli’s masterpiece — Andreyvska Church, and Mykhaylo Bulgakov’s readers will find his museum just round the corner from the church.
Where to go and what to see in Kyiv
Khreshchatyk, the beautiful many-faced, brightly-lit main street of Kyiv, hasn’t always been like this. Originally it was Khreschata Dolyna covered with forests and ravines. At the beginning of the 19th century the first wooden houses were built there, later stone buildings were erected. Practically all of them were ruined during the Great Patriotic War but later were restored by the Kyivites. The street leads to Independence Square, the main square of Kyiv which now together with Khreschatyk, is the favourite place for entertainment for the citizens and guests of the city.
Museum lovers will find hundreds of beautiful exhibits in the Museum of Ukrainian Fine Arts whose 21 galleries contain valuable collections of Ukrainian icons, pictures and sculptures from the 14th to the 20th century, including some works by Taras Shevchenko. His other paintings, manuscripts and personal belongings can be found in the Taras Shevchenko State Museum in Shevchenko boulevard and in the museum in Kanev, his burial place. Another rich collection of pictures and sculptures can be seen in the Russian Arts Museum, which is the third largest after those of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Theatre-goers will never be bored in Kyiv as there are theatres to all tastes: the Taras Shevchenko • National Operaand Ballet House with wonderful singers and dancers, the Ivan Franko Ukrainian Drama
Theatre, the Lesya Ukrainka Russian Drama Theatre, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Kyiv Philharmonic Society, the Musical Drama Theatre and many others, all with wonderful highly-professional performers.
Kyiv has always been a very important scientific, educational and cultural centre. Among the best known higher educational establishments there are Shevchenko Kyiv National University, Kyiv Polytechnic University, International Independent University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”, Kyiv State Conservatory and many others. Kyiv is the home of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and hundreds qf research institutes. It is also a huge industrial centre but the air in the capital does not seem to be very polluted due to the nearness of the river and plenty of greenery.
Wherever you go in Kyiv, you will see either a beautiful old building or a monument, a green park or an amazingly decorated church — it is so full of places of interest that it’s difficult to name even half of them.
The present and the past live side by side in Kyiv, and both lovers of history and people who are interested in the contemporary life of the capital, will find something to their taste in the busy streets of Kyiv.
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London — the capital of Great Britain
Many tourists who visit London for the first time are advised to start looking around the city either from the top of a Grand Tour double-decker bus or from a tour boat that will take you down the Thames as far as Greenwich and bring you back to Westminster or Charing Cross Pier.
From the upper deck of the tour bus you’ll get a good overview of the hustle and bustje of the huge metropolis with its old and new sights living peacefully next to each other. The bus will take you to all the parts of London: the City, the West End. Westminster and the East End.
The City
The City on week-days is the busiest place in London with its numerous banks, offices, insurance companies and different firms. Now you will probably not see the legendary clerk in a dark suit and a bowling hat there. They are in the past. But the City is still the country’s business and financial centre and its streets are always full of hurrying people and transport, souvenir street vendors, tourists and policemen. Tourists are attracted by the Bank of England, the Stock and the Royal Exchange, the Old Bailey which is the popular name of the Central Criminal Court of London, the Barbican Cultural centre with the Museum of London and the London home of the Royal Shakespeare company. It is much quieter in the City at the weekend, as nobody lives there, but there are always a lot of people in St. Paul’s Cathedral which is the parish church of the British Commonwealth and one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Its construction was completed at the beginning of the 18th century and it replaced the older cathedral that was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. The Cathedral is the masterpiece of the famous British architect Sir Christopher Wren whose tomb can be seen in the crypt. Besides its significance to the British believers and its beauty, St. Paul’s Cathedral has another unique attraction — the Whispering Gallery which runs right round the inside of the lower section of the dome. If someone who is standing near the wall on one side whispers some words, they can be heard near the wall on the opposite side. 32 metres away.
The Tower of London
One of the oldest, best-known and most impressive places of interest in the City is the Tower of London which stands on the north bank of the Thames. It was begun in the 11 th century by William the Conqueror and was added to and altered by later monarchs. In the course of history it has been a fortress, a royal palace, a state prison, a citadel and an arsenal.
Now it is a unique museum in which you can feel the past centuries and touch the walls that witnessed the executions of Henry VIII's two wives and Guy Fawkes, the creation of “History of the World” by Sir Walter Raleigh and the last minutes of the unhappy nephews of Richard III. It is also a living museum in which you can watch the Tower ravens, try on the knight’s armory and the king’s crown, and takea picture with the Yeomen Warders whovMl guard theTower.
Westminster .
Why not get on the Tour Bus again and go to Westminster where several most important government buildings are situated, among them the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace?
The Houses of Parliament which stand on the site of the burnt Palace of Westminster, built in the 14th century, is the seat of the British government. It is here that the House of Commons makes the laws and the House of Lords discusses and debates them. It is here that the most important decisions for the country’s policy are taken. Besides, it is a wonderful work of art with hundreds of paintings and sculptures worth seeing. Its Clock Tower is famous all over the world as a symbol of London and Britain as it contains a huge clock and a bell, known as Big Ben. The bell tolls every hour and its sound is familiar to millions of people.
Westminster Abbey is another leading landmark of London. Its ancient walls house the church where almost all British monarchs have been crowned, married and buried since the 11th century. There you can also find the Poets’ Corner which is the resting place of some outstanding men of letters like Geoffrey Chaucer, Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Rudyard Kipling. There are also monuments to other famous writers and poets who are buried elsewhere, such as William Shakespeare whose tomb is in his home town of Stratford-on-Avon. You can also see there the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior which commemorates all the .soldiers and officers killed in the First World War