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Komalova Lilly 105 English/Spanish 2001-2002
Problems of Capital Cities of the World
There are a lot of big cities in the world many of which are the capitals of the countries. Every city has a lot of advantages. For example, you can amuse yourself in different ways, if you live in a big city and especially in the capital, because usually capitals are not just the political and economic centers of a country, but culture centers too.
Capital cities can be small or big, industrial and noisy or quiet and clean. Capitals all over the world differ from each other, but they have common problems.
The first and the most important and actual problem nowadays is an ecological problem. Many cities around the world today are heavily polluted. Careless manufacturing processes employed by some industries and lack of consumer demand for environmentally safe products have contributed to the pollution problem. One result is that millions of glass, paper, plastic and metal containers are produced, and these are difficult to dispose of. This means that companies must now change the way they make and sell their products to make sure that they are "green", that is, friendly to the environment.
In Moscow the problem of environment is actual too. Today you can find a great number of cars in Moscow streets, which produce exhausts of gas and throw them in the atmosphere. It is very bad both for nature and for people's health. Ecological situation has an influence over people, it influences their health and not in a good way. And to turn the situation to the better our government has to take measures to protect environment. It can cut down the number of cars or find another way to solve this problem. For example, to plant trees, to make parks, which would absorb dirty air and produce fresh one. Or another way of solving the problem is to use soft transport, bicycles, for example, or trains.
An ecological problem is very close to the problem of traffic. Moscow is overcrowded with people who use different kinds of transport everyday. The number of cars is increasing every year. Cars are a symbol of freedom, wealth, and masculinity. You can easily get from one part of Moscow to another. But at the same time so many cars in the streets result in traffic jams. When you are in a traffic jam, all cars are just metal boxes to sit in. traffic jams are becoming one of the most terrible thing that can happen on the road. And to avoid traffic jams you can listen to the radio to know if there are any jams on your way. As for Moscow radio stations, which can inform you about traffic jams, there is Policy line, Russian Radio, and others. Cars are very dangerous for people. And the worst side of cars is car crashes, the number of which is increasing every year with the number of cars. Road accidences, especially for children are a major cause of death. To avoid car crashes people must be more attentive on the roads. Pedestrians must know traffic rules and never cross the street when the traffic light turns red (on the red light), even if there are no cars. I think it is better to wait for a minute but be sure you won't get under the car.
Another big problem of capital cities of the world is social problem, which consists of problems of young and old people, problems of overcrowding and poverty. Moscow is one of the biggest cities in the world. It is a metropolis. More and more people come to Moscow to live, work and study or just to amuse themselves. But not all of them get what they wanted, and a lot of these people are forced to lead poor life, because they don't have enough money to pay for their food and flat. Most of these people become tramps, homeless and have to ask for charity. You can find them at the stations, in the underground and in other places. To help them the society must set up charity funds, which would fight for the rights of these people. We should help these people, because a homeless person who finds himself in the street can commit a crime, for the society doesn't give him another choice but to steal and kill.
Old people should be treated with respect and politeness, because there will not be future without past.
London is the capital of Great Britain. It is situated on both sides of the river Thames. It is one of the biggest cities in the world and has similar problems as Moscow does. Like many big cities London has problems with traffic and pollution. There are too many cars in the streets. The air isn't clear but it clearer than it was 100 years ago. Until the Clean Air Act in 1955, London was famous for its fog or 'smog', which is a mixture of smoke and fog, which produced by factories and cars. Winston Churchill described the car as the curse of the twentieth century. Cities and towns all over the world have a huge problem, and no government really knows what to do. But today London is much clearer than it was before. People try to make their city clean. They don't throw away garbage in the street; they plant trees and use ecologically safe products such as ozone friendly sprays, recycled paper. They try to use less petrol, travel by bicycles more. A lot of people use unleaded petrol or just prefer to use the Tube instead of using cars. So English people try to be 'green' that means to be friendly to environment.
The London Underground is used by more than 1,000,000 people a day. You can get to most places in London very quickly if you take the Underground, or 'Tube', as it is called. But don't travel between 7:30 and 9:30 in the morning, or 4:30 and 6:30 in the evening. These are the 'rush hours'. If you do travel then, you will meet quite a lot the 2,300 million people who travel by Tube every year. Sometimes it takes much time to get from one part of London to another, because the underground trains are crowded and overcrowded, people push each other, because all of them want to get home or work. People became nervous, they feel uncomfortable.
Another problem of London as a capital city is the social problem. There are thousands of people who come to London from the provinces every yea to live and work. And it is not so easy to find a Londoner, who can say: "I was born in London as were my father, my grandmother, and my great-grandfather before me". Many young people come to London in search of a more exciting life. Because cheap accommodation is scare, they can find themselves on the streets, living the life of a tramp. This unhappy experience can make them reject society and its values. Whether a person is old or young, a permanently homeless state is sometimes the result of a chain of unfortunate events or of an addiction to alcohol or drugs. Such addictions may well have developed since they began to lead a tramp's existence.
A lot of old people, pensioners, cannot live independently. The government gives financial help in the form of a pension but in the future it will be more and more difficult for the nation economy to support the increasing number of elderly. At the present time, more than half of all old people in London are looked after at home. Many others live in Old People's Homes, which may be private or state owned.
The city of Washington, the capital of the United States of America, is located in the District of Columbia (D.C. for short). Many people consider Washington D.C. to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is filled with many parks, wide streets and impressive buildings (for example, Capitol Park, the white House). Washington was built especially for different offices, business and financial buildings. It is the place where the president has a seat. All the Government is centred in Washington.
There are not special problems in Washington. The city is not as big as London or Moscow; there are no high buildings there. The traffic is light, there are no very many cars in Washington, and because of that the ecological situation is not so bad. A man feels very good there. Washington is the working class people's city.
People try to solve their problems themselves. They are very mobile. They don't have any problem with moving from one place to another. They try to get a good education to be good specialists to earn big money. It is called an American dream.
Washington is not a big city, but is the city of high technology. Cars are clean and they drive slowly. The city is clean and quiet because there are no factories there. The streets are washed with soap. Washington has a lot of parks where you can relax and feel fresh air.
People in America can easily train for a new profession, because there are a lot of different courses there. And Americans build roads first. They say: "If there is a street, people will come soon". It is impossible to hide your gain, you must pay taxes.
The crime rate in Washington has gone down since 1980. Many communities across the nation have started their own campaigns against crime, encouraging their citizens to participate in crime-prevention programs and to report crimes. In some neighborhoods, citizens participate in "neighborhood watch" programs and organize groups to patrol the streets.
There are different social benefits that help people to live: an unemployment benefit, sick benefit, redundancy pay and others. There is the Salvation Army, a lot of doss-houses, charitable founds there. Many old people are fond of healthy lifestyle, a lot of them like jogging. People try to eat healthy food. So, Americans try to make their life as well as it is possible.
Both Moscow and London are very expensive cities. If you want to live there you have to be healthy, rich and strong to have chance to fight for yourself. Old and sick people don't need. It is very difficult for Government to solve this problem, because the money it has is not enough. For example, it cost a lot for Government to give subsidies to pensioners, large families and invalids. But unfortunately even this help is too small to turn the situation for the better.
Well, we can't say that Washington is a very cheap city, but life conditions are rather good, and there are no big problems with expense of life in Washington. May be it is because people living there are more mobile, they don't take life as serious as Englishmen do, or don't think life is a game. They just try to live their own life and make it as comfortable as it is possible.
So, we can see that capital cities have common problems, but they differ from each other in solving these problems.
Komalova Lilly 105 English/Spanish 2001-2002
Meals.
Foreign people always criticize English food. 'It is unimaginative,' they say. 'It is boring, it is tasteless, and it is chips with everything and totally overcooked vegetables.' 'It is unambitious,' say the French, 'all you do is roasts with jam.' But English people eat apple sauce with pork. That is the bit they find really shocking, but then the French are easily shocked by things that aren't French.
When you ask these visitors where they have experienced English cooking, their reply is very astonishing. 'In Wimpy Bars and MacDonald's Hamburger restaurants,' they often say. I have won my case! Their conclusions are inexcusable.
English basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavour (вкус, аромат, привкус) that English people haven't had to invent sauces and complex recipes to disguise their natural taste. What can compare with fresh pears or new potatoes just boiled not over boiled and served with butter? Why drown spring lamb in wine or cream or yoghurt and spices, when with just one or two herbs it is absolutely delicious?
It is interesting to speculate what part factors such as geography and climate play in the creation of a country's food. English people complain about their wet and changeable weather, but it is the rain which gives them their rich soil and green grass. Abroad poor soils meant more searching for food, more discovery, more invention, whereas English ancestors (предки) sat down to plenty without having to take trouble.
If you ask foreigner to name some typically English dishes, they will probably say 'Fish and chips' and then stop. It is disappointing, but true, that there is no tradition in England of eating in restaurants, because their food doesn't lend itself to such preparation. English cooking if found in the home, where it is possible to time (довести) the dishes to perfection. So it is difficult to find a good English restaurant with reasonable prices.
It is so these reasons that English people haven't exported their dishes, but they have imported a surprising number from all over the world. In most cities in Britain you'll find Indian, French and Italian restaurants. In London you will find also Indonesian, Lebanese, Iranian, German, Spanish, Mexican, Greek . . . Cynics (циники) will say that this is because English people have no 'cuisine' themselves, but, well, you know what I think!
A national English breakfast is a very big meal - sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms… But nowadays many people just have cereal with milk and sugar, or toast with marmalade, jam, or honey. Marmalade and jam are not the same! Marmalade is made from oranges and jam is made from other fruit. The traditional breakfast drink is tea, which people have with milk. Some people have coffee, often instant coffee, which is made with just hot water. Many visitors to Britain find this coffee disgusting!
For many people lunch is a quick meal. In cities there are a lot of sandwich bars, where office workers can choose the kind of bread they want - brown, white, or a roll - and then all sorts of salad and meat or fish to go in the sandwich. Pubs often serve good, cheap food, both hot and cold. School children can have a hot meal at school, but many of just take a snack from home - a sandwich, a drink, some fruit, and perhaps some crisps (хрустящая картошка).
Tea' means two things. It is a drink and a meal! Some people have afternoon tea, with sandwiches, cakes, an, of course, a cup of tea. Cream teas are popular. You have scones (блины) (a kind of cake) with cream and jam.
The evening meal is the main meal of the day for many people. They usually have it quite early, between 6.00 and 8.00, and often the whole family eats together.
On Sundays many families have a traditional lunch. They have roast meat, either beef, lamb, chicken, or pork, with potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. Gravy is a sauce made from he meat juices.
The British like food from other countries, too, especially Italian, Chinese, and Indian. People often get take-away meals - you buy the food at the restaurant and then bring it home to eat. Eating in Britain is quite international!
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