My favourite artist.

Isaac Ilyich Levitan, the great Russian artist, became the first painter of the Russian scenery, who revealed all its beauty. He continued and developed the traditions of painters of the Russian realistic school.

He is a very individual sort of painter. You can't but appreciate his paintings, because there is something in his landscapes that reflects our own moods.

His travels over the Volga region influenced Levitan's art, the impression made on him by the great Russian river was unforgettable. For his life and painting he chose Plyoss — a small beautiful town on the Volga. His paintings Evening, Golden Plyoss, After Rain reflect his love for nature. All his paintings are very emotional, lyrical and realistic.

Levitan's influence on the painters of lyrical landscapes was great. Levitan's feeling for nature, his great love for his native land, his ability to reveal and depict the poetry of the Russian land have won his paintings the love and gratitude of people.

He was only 40 when he died in 1900.

1. My last visit to the exhibition.

2. Ukrainian state holidays.

We have many holidays in Ukraine but I would like to tell about the main of them. First it is the New Year. It is my favourite holiday. It is merry to decorate the New Year Tree, to dance near it and to receive presents. Then in a week there is Christmas. In Ukraine it is an old and popular holiday. In the morning boys go from house to house, from flat to flat, sing traditional holiday songs and wish everything good to the people they visit. The people give them sweets, cakes and money. The 8th of March is the Women's Day. We give presents to our mothers, grandmothers, teachers, sisters and girl-friends and wish everything good to them. On the 1st of May we celebrate May Day. On the 9th of May we have Victory Day. It is a great holiday. We say, "Thank you very much" to old people who took part in the Great Patriotic War and defended our Motherland against the fascists. In spring we have one more traditional holiday. It is Easter. Usually people bake cakes and paint and colour eggs for the holiday. On the 24th of August we celebrate Independence Day. The 1st of September is a holiday for everybody who studies. Each holiday is interesting in its way but all of them are good and merry.

3. My last visit to the theatre.

Theater is a wonderful place. There are many actors and actress here. They perform different plays. Our family often goes to the theatre.

Last month our family went to the theatre. We saw the play "Romeo and Juliet". Our seats were in the dress circle. It was a wonderful performance. I enjoyed every minute of the play. The actors were really very good, especially the actress playing Juliet. Her dress was beautiful.

I like Shakespeare's plays. I've always wanted to see "Romeo and Juliet" in the theatre. I would like to know more about William Shakespeare and see all his plays in the theatre.

If you want to go to the theatre you should think about some things beforehand. First of all go to the box office and ask if they have seats for the day you want. Don't forget that the most expensive seats are in the front stalls or in the boxes, and the cheapest are in the gallery. The seats in the dress circle are not so expensive, but quite good, especially if they are in the first and second row. If you can't decide about your seats you can look at the map of the hall which usually is on the wall of the boxoffice and can be quite helpful.

4. My favourite actor.

Gerard Depardieu is one is the most popular actor. He was born in 1948 in a poor family of a shoemaker in a little town. When he was 16 he came to Paris without any education and without any money. Together with his friend he began to attend the actor courses. He got acquainted with a girl of a wealthy family and soon they got married. She had a great influence upon him. He finished the actor courses. When he was only 20 he played big roles in the theatres. His great success in films is a consequence of his good theatrical school. But his success in the USA was not long. In 1991 during his interview to the magazine "Time" he told that he was a hooligan when he was a teenager. The american audience doesn't excuse such fact in his biography. The works of Depardieu in cinema are marked by many cinema rewards in France and in Italy. Everybody notes that glory and money don't spoil him. They only made him independent. He played in about 80 films.