Let me introduce myself. I am Kondratyeva Olga, a sophomore of Barnaul Law Institute. I am nineteen years old. I am from Altai Republic. I finished school in 2007 and entered this institute because I have always wanted to be a lawyer.
My favourite subjects are Criminal Law, English, and Civil Law. I am good at them. But all the rest subjects are also very important for my future profession. I like sport. I go in for light athletics three times a week. It helps me to be healthy.
I also like music. When I relax after my classes I listen to different music. I have no preferences in it. But most of all I enjoy reading books. I am fond of historical books or books about famous people.
I’m a sociable person. I’ve got many friends and we often go the cinema or theatre at weekends. I’m interested in politics and I always go to the polls. Last year I voted for the first time and gave my voice for the President Medvedev. I’m sure he’ll do all his best for Russian people.
I’m also a member of a scientific club where we discuss questions about constitutions and international rights. Our club disputes problems of the youth in our region and in Russia. I consider that youth is a great force and much depends on young people. If we are active, our life will be more interesting, and we can be more useful for our motherland. That’s why I’ve decided to take part in the internet – competition “One World Many Voices”.
English around the World
People always know and understand the meaning of foreign languages in the life of a cultural and educated man. Foreign languages enrich, discipline mind, expand the knowledge of the world. How do people more and more learn foreign languages and speak more than one foreign language?
The English language is now the first language of about 350 million people, the native language of 12 nations and the official or semiofficial language of more than thirty-three nations. It means one in every six people in the world speaks English. In terms of scientific know-how and technological development, one must now English to be a part of the twenty-first century. In this context it’s not difficult to see why in Italy, for example, English is a must for many technical jobs.
At present no other language on earth is suited better to play the role of the world language. There are many reasons for its popularity. First, English is easier to learn than any other language. Second, it easily borrows local words and phrases from the very country into which it expands.
English is so widespread that it has become the standard language for all kinds of international communication. At present, 75% of the world’s mail is in English, 60% of world’s telephone calls are made in English, 60% of world’s radio stations broadcast in English and more than half of the world’s periodicals are printed in English.
English is also the international language of businesspeople, pilots and air traffic controllers, diplomats and politicians, sports-people, scientists, doctors and students. Beyond a doubt, English is now the world’s top means of communication.
In my opinion, it is very important to learn English because we can read English classics in the original, we can listen to English songs and understand what they are about, we can write letters to our pen-friends from foreign countries and discuss different questions and problems. I think that the world would be a much better place if we know English.
English is everywhere now and it is the language of international business, computers and scientific conferences and as far as I am concerned it is very necessary to know English. Learning English has many advantages.
One advantage of learning English is doing business and getting a better job.
Another advantage of learning English is communication with people of the world. But the main advantage to my mind is that it gives a chance to meet new people, speak, understand and be understood by native speakers. There are many ways to learn English. First of all, you must work hard and thoughtfully at your English. It must not be a simple learning of new words but a concentration on what you learn. It must be a creative work, of course. And one of the best ways is listening to English songs, watching English films and reading English books. All these ways of learning English give rich information about traditions, culture, history, geography, literature, religion of English-speaking countries. For example, pot-pourri of some songs, performed by different groups, and singers can give the information of religion. When I find myself in times of troubles
1.Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom: “Let it be”
(“The Beatles”)
2. I’m blessed, I know
Heaven sent and Heaven stole
You smiled at me Like Jesus to a child
(George Michael)
3. Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
(“Depeche Mode”)
4. And the three men I admire the most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
(Madonna)
5. If God had a face
What would it look like and would you want see it
If seeing him meant that you have to believe in things like Heaven
And in Jesus, and the saints, and all the prophets
(Joan Osborn)
And if we use such pot-pourri (not only about religion) we’ll get the information. Secondly it saves time, and thirdly such way of work can help us to use youth songs. And finally, using different songs we can satisfy the teenagers' interests.
Your good knowledge of English lets you know much more about famous people of Great Britain, America, Canada, and Australia. There are many outstanding people in these countries and I’ve learned about them because of my knowledge of the language.
And I’d like to tell a few words about Nobel Prize winners.
Physics
Sir William Bragg and his son Lawrence were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1915 for developing a method of determining crystal structure using X-rays.
Sir Martin Pyle was jointly the Nobel Prize in 1974 with his colleague Professor Antony Hewish for research in radio astrophysics.
Sir Martin Pyle developed highly sensitive radio telescopes that helped to produce detailed maps of the structure and distribution of radio wave sources in space.
Chemistry
Lord Rutherford, the great pioneer of nuclear physics, received the Chemistry Prize in 1908 for his investigations into the decay of elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances.
Professor Dorothy Hodgkin was honored for her work on the structure of complex organic molecules, especially with regard to penicillin and vitamin B12 in 1964. In 1969 she succeeded in determining the crystalline structure of insulin.
Physiology / Medicine
Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1929.
The research by Lord Florey and Sir Ernest Chain at Oxford University lead to the discovery of penicillin’s curative properties. The work of all three men was recognized by the shared Nobel Prize in 1945.
Dr Francis Crick received the Nobel Prize jointly in 1962 with Professor Maurice Wilkins and American Professor James Watson. They were responsible for the discovery of the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
Literature
William Golding was honored in 1983 for his novels. Some of Golding’s best known works are “Lord of the Flies” (1954), “Pincher Martin” (1956), “Rites of Passage” (1980) and “The Paper Men” (1984).
One of the spheres of knowledge which is of current interest to science and society is medicine. Academic skills should be taught for the purpose of professional development, because most students will need English not only for work, but also for moving up a career ladder, that, in turn, implies academic development.
Medical terminology brings an image of a very complicated and mysterious system to which the uninitiated have but limited access. Those who have daily exposure to this fascinating system of communication are usually unaware that they have acquired a different language. Most words of the medical vocabulary are completely foreign.
There is little doubt that language is deeply embedded in the culture of medicine. The advancement of medical knowledge has affected and illuminated history, culture and literature. An insight into the history and origin of medical terms would demystify the linguistic jargon, which is so important in specialist communication. In medical English 98% of all technical terms have Latin and Greek roots. New medical words, which arise every month, are created using these same roots.
English is also very important in the process of legal language developing, especially in the field of International Law and business. A business lawyer is a legal professional whose scope of competence covers a vast area of business activities. According to the “Business Lawyer’s Handle book” most business lawyers practice in private law firms, which can range in size from two lawyers to over 1,000 ones.
As we’ve already known English plays a great role in different fields of science, culture, industry, education etc. Science of law is one of them. As I am a student of Law University, I realize this from my own experience. English is very important in International law; especially it is important for law-makers and barristers. English is used by these people when they adopt different international laws or defend people.
Any business lawyer practicing in a medium-to-large-size law firm is a specialist in a particular field of law, so, the firms usually have several departments or groups focusing on a particular practice area. The clients of business law firms are corporations, companies and enterprises.
But many business organizations have set up in-house legal departments of business lawyers who are also employees of the organization. The law department is a law firm within the corporation, consisting of dozens if not hundreds of litigators and business lawyers.
Learning English makes the people’s life more fruitful, interesting and enjoyable. But its greatest role will be in the nearest future when our mankind starts solving the most important problems of war and peace, ecology, demography, social and moral codes and many, many others.
It will help us greatly to reach mutual understanding which will tremendously improve the people’s life on our planet. That is why in the nearest future it will help us to become highly-qualified specialists and happy citizens of our Universe.