The Story of Google. 7th form

The Story of Google.

1 Google was  a brainchild of Larry Page and Sergey Brin. 2. They met in 1995 in Stanford University, USA, while they were studying Computer Science. 3. At first, Sergey and Larry argued and disagreed on just about everything. 4. However, there was one thing they did share: a commitment to making the Internet more user-friendly.

5. At that time, the Internet search engines were slow and complicated. 6. So, they set about creating a search engine that could calculate how important a particular web page was. 7. At first, their research received a fair amount of criticism from experts, but the two friends didn’t give up and managed to raise enough money to support themselves.

8. While they were developing the search engine, Larry and Sergey realized it needed a catchy name. 9. They were inspired by a mathematical word “googol” which means “1 followed by a hundred zeros”. 10. They thought it was a really good name, considering the endless amount of information available on the Net, so, “googol” became “google”.

11. In 1998 Google went online. 12. Soon, Larry and Sergey were answering thousands of search requests per day. 13. People really liked Google’s simple, neat design and, of course, its speedy performance!  14. In 2000, Google introduced ten foreign language versions, and officially became the world’s most popular search engine.

Adventure sports.

Adventure sports.

Adventure sports or extreme sports have become very popular since 1990s. They include a wide range of sports taking place on land, in the water and in the air. Classic examples are windsurfing, freediving, white-water rafting, paragliding, skydiving, rock climbing, mountain biking and many others.

 These sports have a higher level of danger and excitement than regular sports. Extreme sportsmen are adventurers who take sport to its most dangerous limits. Why do people take up extreme sports? First of all, they want to experience something more than their normal lives can offer. They want to experience the thrill of these sports. What is more, you can completely forget about your everyday problems. Extreme sports involve many risks, but training and proper equipment help to make these sports safer.

I’d like to tell about freediving, one of the world’s most dangerous sports. Freedivers don’t have an air tank, just a wetsuit, goggles and a monofin. Freedivers use only one breath to take them as deep as they can go and back again to the surface. The best freedivers can hold their breath for over five minutes. Some of them can achieve these results after years of practicing yoga and meditation. Extreme sportsmen are special people, they are more interested in testing their own abilities than in winning prizes.

Voluntary Work

Voluntary Work

      1.More and more young people are taking on volunteer work nowadays. 2. Some even travel to the other side of the world and do unpaid work for a charity  or a non-profit organization. 3.There is a wide variety of voluntary jobs to choose from.

      4. Many students volunteer for educational programmes for children around the world. 5. They teach subjects like English and Maths .6. It is also a great opportunity for students to work and train with local teachers and develop their own skills.7. It is a learning experience for both the children and the teacher.

      8.Young people who are good with their hands or simply would like to help in a very practical way can participate in construction projects. 9. They help build houses or schools for poor children all over the world.

      10.For people interested in wildlife, conservation groups organize volunteer holidays throughout the world. 11. For example, lots of volunteers come to Malaysia to help conserve the endangered green turtle. 12.Participants monitor the turtles on the beaches, protect them and their eggs.

     13. A volunteer holiday is for people who want to make a difference in the world and are ready to give up their own time, money, and effort to do it. 14. Of course, they cannot change the world in two or three weeks, but every bit of help counts. 15. Thanks to young volunteers, the lives of millions people around the world are improving.

Hobbies

Hobbies

Give a talk on hobbies.

Remember to mention

·         Why people have hobbies

·         What kind of hobbies exist in the world

·         What hobby you’ve got and what your hobby involves

·         If you’d like to take up an unusual hobby, e.g. UFO hunting

Повышенный уровень

A hobby is something you enjoy doing in your free time. People have hobbies because it’s a perfect way to spend their free time and not to feel bored. Besides, hobbies are often educational as people enjoy learning new things. For example, stamp collecting can tell you lots of different things about the theme of your collection. What’s more, a hobby is a good chance to find like-minded friends.

Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby according to your character and taste you are lucky because your life becomes more interesting and you get positive emotions. There are lots of different hobbies nowadays. They can range from raising fish in a fish tank to watching stars through a telescope. The most popular of all hobbies is collecting things: dolls, postcards, coins and stamps. Of course, collecting things can cost you a lot of money, especially if you buy old things. Some people like doing something as a hobby, for example, playing musical instruments, gardening, drawing or building models. Some examples of educational hobbies are travelling and reading which broaden your mind and make you more intelligent.

Sample answers (question 3)

I’m fond of playing computer games. It’s an exciting hobby because you can find lots of games on the Internet so everyone can choose a game according to their tastes. What’s more, some of the games are really clever and train your logical reasoning. My friends and I often compete in playing them. However, my parents think that this hobby can be really addictive and I can neglect other duties so they don’t allow me to play too long.

My hobby is photography. It involves being patient and keeping still to make a good shot. I practice my hobby almost every weekend. I always go alone/with friends. I have lots of equipment: my camera and several lenses which I change according to the weather and other conditions.

Sample answer (question 4)

There are plenty of other fascinating hobbies some of which are rather unusual, for example, UFO hunting. I personally find this hobby weird because UFO hunters go high up on a rooftop to record strange or unidentified flying objects. Then they analyse the information on their laptop. I wouldn’t like to take up UFO hunting as I’m not enthusiastic and patient enough. Of course, I’m fascinated by the possibility of life on other planets but I’m sure that only scientists can turn science fiction into science fact.

17.10.2016 (Monday) Speaking Test 7th form Term1 2016-2017

Cards:

1.  Hobbies
2. Cash in Hand (Student jobs) 
3. Adventure Sports
4. Volunteer Work

Questions:

•  Hobbies

1. Can a hobby help you choose your future career? Why/why not? 
2. What are the most popular hobbies with teenagers in Russia and why?
3. What hobby would you like to try? Why?

•  Cash in Hand (Student jobs) 

1. What type of part-time work would you like to do as a university student? Why?
2. What career do you want to have? Why?
3. Why is it important to choose the right career?

• Adventure Sports

1. What extreme sport do you want to try and why?
2. Would you like to try freediving?  Why/why not? 

•  Volunteer Work

1. Which of the volunteer holidays would you like to go on? Why?
2. Why are more and more young people taking on volunteer work nowadays?
3. Would you like to be a  volunteer?  Why/why not?