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Big ben

            The big clock on the tower of the Palace of Westminster in London is often called Big Ben. But Big Ben is really the bell of the clock. It is the biggest clock bell in Britain. It weighs 13.5 tons.
          The clock tower is 318 feet high. You have to go up 374 steps to reach the top. So the clock looks small from the pavement below the tower.
But its face is 23 feet wide. It would only just fit into some classrooms.
          The minute-hand is 14 feet long. Its weight is equal to that of two bags of coal. The hour-hand is 9 feet long.
          The clock bell is called Big Ben after Sir Benjamin Hall. He had the job to see that the bell was put up.
        Sir Benjamin was a big man. One day he said in Parliament, "Shall we call the bell St. Stephen's?" St. Stephen's is the name of the tower.
But someone said for a joke, "Why not call it Big Ben?" Now the bell is known all over the world by that name.

Books

            It goes without saying, books are our teachers and friends. They teach us to be kind, clever, polite, hardworking, friendly. Books help us to learn more about nature, the world around us and many other interesting things.

           There are a lot of books on history, about animals, travellers, children, school and so on. Children like to read adventure and magic books, science fiction and detective stories. They enjoy stories, short stories, novels, fairy-tales, fables and poems.

         We must keep books clean and tidy. We must not spoil them.

I am fond of reading, too. I like to read fairytales. My favourite book is «Mary Poppins». The author of the book is Pamela Travers. She is a famous English writer. The book tells us about wonderful adventures of children with their magic nurse Mary Poppins. She is my favourite character. She is kind and strict at the same time, joyful and tactful, well-bred and very pretty. Mary Poppins is popular with children.

Shopping .

          Tastes differ. That’s why all people wear different clothes. Besides they wear different clothes when it is warm and cold. When it is cold we put on sweaters, coats, caps and gloves. When it’s warm we take off warm clothes and put on light shirts or blouses and dresses.

           My favourite clothes are jeans, shirts and sweaters or jackets. They are comfortable. And I can wear them in any weather. Now I’m wearing jeans, a white shirt and a sweater. But tomorrow is my friend’s birthday. He invited me to the birthday party. So I shall be in my best.

          My mother bought me a nice suit and new shoes. We went to the shop together and chose a grey suit. I tried it on. It was my size and suited me well. I looked great. Mother paid money for the suit and we brought it home. It’s a pity I didn’t try the shoes on. They were the wrong size. So my mother changed them for the bigger size. And now they are OK. Frankly speaking, I don’t like shopping. There are more interesting things.

Daily life.

         I’m Jane. I’m nine. I’m a pupil of the third form. I go to school every day.

I usually get up at 7 o’clock. Then I do exercises, take a shower, wash my face and hands, clean teeth and dress. Then I have breakfast and go to school.

        At 8 o’clock my classes begin. We usually have five lessons. We have lunch at school after the second lesson. When the lessons are over I go home.

I come home at one o’clock. I wash my hands and have dinner. It is always very tasty. After dinner I go for a walk or read books.

        Sometimes I watch TV when an interesting film is on. At 4 o’clock I do my homework.

At 6 o’clock I have supper. In the evening I help my parents about the house, play chess or computer games with my father, read, watch TV or play with my friends.

At 9 o’clock I go to bed.

         I like the proverb, «Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today». So I try to do everything in time.

My native town.

         There are many beautiful cities and towns in the world. I would like to visit some of them, to see with my own eyes what I have read or heard about. But there is no place like home. I love my native city. I was born here and live with my parents. It’s not the capital, but it is a wonderful place to live.

          My city is old and modern at the same time. It is old because it was founded in the 11th century. At that time its streets were narrow, dark and dirty. Now my city looks modern because of its architecture. Almost all the buildings were built after the war. The streets and avenues are wide and clean.

          I live in the main street. It is the widest street in the city. A lot of cars, buses and trolley-buses run fast along it. If you want to see the places of interest in our city, you can walk along the main street. It leads to the main square. It will be a short trip, but you can see a lot: a cinema and a concert hall, an art gallery and museums, a stadium, a zoo and a large park.

        Our art gallery is next to the main post office. Opposite the post office there is a modern hotel. If you turn to the left, you can see a theatre. And in front of the theatre there is a museum of history and culture. Walk two blocks and you’ll come to a monument to our famous writer and a fountain in the park. If you want to visit our zoo, take a bus and get off on the third bus stop. Not far from the traffic lights you will see the entrance to the zoo. Near it there is a circus. Children and tourists can’t but visit it. They admire funny clowns, tamed animals, miracles and magic. There are only some churches in our city. Every evening we can hear the sound of the bells.

        Our city stands on the river. Parks, lanes, bridges across the river, small water falls and man-made islands add much to the beauty of the city.

Just come and see everything with your own eyes. It is better to see than to hear.