How to keep fit

I you want to feel fit you’d better go in for one kind of sport or another. I should admit that everyone must do all he can to be healthy. Good health is better than the best medicine. «You have a sound mind in a sound body» as the old Latin saying goes. The English proverb «Sickness in the body brings sickness to the mind» expresses a similar idea but from different point of view. All kinds of physical exercises are very useful to make our bodies strong and to keep ourselves fit and healthy. To tell the truth I don’t do sports regularly and it is not an essential part of my daily life. In the morning I do some exercises just to awake. Then some aerobics for myself. It puts me into the fine moods. In summer I go swimming as there is a beautiful river with pure water where My

Granny lives. In winter, it’s rather long at our place, I should say, I prefer skiing (There is nothing like the sight of a winter forest - a real fairy-tale). I like to ride the bike and toboganning in winter. Mum says that I’m to old to do it, why not after all? I shouldn’t call myself a sports fan. Of course, I like to watch sports competitions on TV. Fortunately, they show different ones - football, basketball. I like tennis tournaments very much. I think, it’s a very intelligent kind of sport for clever thinking people. Also I admire skiing championships, biathlon, swimming. But what I like most is basketball. The best games are viewed on TV. I came to know that modern basketball appeared in 1891 in the USA. The originator, John Naismith was a coach at the college. He invented the baskets and the rules of the game. Since then basketball has be become very popular and is spread all over the world. It is the sport of strong tall men, the sport of giants. Doing sports a man become strong, healthy and gay. He begins to take care of his health. «Good health is better than wealth», you know. It’s true, I should say. In our school we have a nice gym. Sports and games are popular among pupils. A lot of children train at special sport schools.

6. Great Britain

The United Kingdom (or Great Britain) is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometres.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland (on the island of Great Britain), and Northern Ireland (on the island of Ireland). Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Belfast respectively. The capital of the UK is London.
The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.
The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but all the rest — east, centre, and south-east — is a vast plain. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1,343 m).
There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest one.
The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean, and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence on the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole year round.
The UK is one of the world's smallest countries. Its population is over 57 million. About 80 % of the population is urban.
The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of machinery» electronics, textile, aircraft, and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding.

The UK is a constitutional monarchy. In law, Head of the State is Queen. In practice, Queen reigns, but does not rule. The country is ruled by the elected government with the Prime Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the Labour, the Conservative, and the Liberal parties.

London

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and cultural centre. It's one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is more than million people. London is situated on the river Thames. The city is very old and beautiful. It was founded more than two thousand years ago. Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the City, the West End, the East End and Westminster. The City is the oldest part of London, its financial and business centre. The heart of the City is the Stock Exchange. Westminster is the most important part of the capital. It's the administrative centre. The Houses of Parliament, the seat of the British Government, are there. It's a very beautiful building with two towers and a very big clock called Big Ben. Big Ben is really the bell which strikes every quarter of an hour. Opposite the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey. It's a very beautiful church built over 900 years ago. The tombs of many great statesmen, scientists and writers are there.

To the west of Westminster is West End. Here we find most of the big shops, hotels, museums, art galleries, theatres and concert halls. Picadilly Circus is the heart of London's West End. In the West End there are wide streets with beautiful houses and many parks, gardens and squares. To the east of Westminster is the East End, an industrial district of the capital. There are no parks or gardens in the East End and you can't see many fine houses there. Most of the plants and factories are situated there. London has many places of interest. One of them is Buckingham Palace. It's the residence of the Queen. The English are proud of Trafalgar Square, which was named so in memory of the victory at the battle. There in 1805 the English fleet defeated the fleet of France and Spain. The last place of interest I should like to mention, is the British Museum, the biggest museum in London. The museum is famous for its library -one of the richest in the world.

All London's long-past history is told by its streets. There are many streets in London which are known all over the" world. Among them Oxford Street, Downing Street and a lot of others can be mentioned. And tourists are usually attracted not only by the places of interest but by the streets too. In conclusion I should say if you are lucky enough to find yourself in London some day you will have a lot to see and enjoy there.