Hledejte v chronologicky řazené databázi studijních materiálů (starší / novější příspěvky).

5. Sports and Games (Sport a hry)

Sports and movement in general are given more and more attentions these days. A lot of us move less than people did in the past. This is the result of a busy and comfortable life full of modern inventions (cars, lifts, telephones, sitting in front of TV or PCs). In fact, sports have positive effect on both the body and soul as well as our self-confidence. Fortunately, sports are becoming more and more popular. Why is that? Well, they help you stay healthy, relax, train your muscles, keep fit, increase your immunity, …. in other words , you feel better and better every day.

People do sports in a passive or active way at the top level. Doing sports passively means watching favourite sports usually on TV. Doing sports actively means regular exercising, jogging, going to the fitness-centres. Sports centres are popular, too, and they usually include solariums, saunas, gyms, swimming pools.

Kinds of sports.
Water sports: swimming, rowing (veslování), sailing, rafting, yachting, surfing, water polo, beach volleyball, . …..

Winter sports: skiing, cross country skiing, ski jump, snowboarding, ice skating, figure-skating, ice-hockey, ….

Light athletics: short-distance run, long-distance run, marathon, hurdling (překážkový běh), high jump, long jump, pole vault (skok o tyči), decathlon (desetiboj),…..

Other athletics sports: throwing discuss, throwing javelin (oštěp), throwing the hammer (kladivo), putting the shot (koule)

Ball games: football, volleyball, florball, basketball, handball, tennis, table tennis, squash, badminton, ….

Outdoor sports: hiking (turistika), cycling, in-line skating, run, fishing, shooting, mountain-climbing, horse-riding, ….

Combat sports (bojové): boxing, judo, karate, sumo, rugby, wrestling (zápas), fencing (šerm), …….

The Olympic Games
….were for the first held in 776 before Christ, and then every four years. They took place in the Greek town of Olympia. It was the meeting of the best sportsmen from across the country. There also was no fighting during the Olympic Games. The first Games in modern history were held in Athens in 1896.They were proposed by a French historian, Pierre de Coubertin. Summer Games have been held every four years since (except war years). As for the Winter Olympics, the first were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. These days, the Olympics are held every two years, the Summer and Winter Games alternating. The symbols include the Olympic flag and the Olympic fire. The flag is white with five circles (yellow, red, green, blue and black), each standing for one of the continents. The fire is lit on the Olymp, which is the official start of the Games.

4. My Native Town (Moje rodné město), The House I live in (Dům, ve kterém žiji)

Hradec Králové
Is the capital of East Bohemia. At present about 100,000 people live there. HK is one of the largest towns of the Czech Republic. With its two rivers, architectural treasures and parks is one of the most beautiful towns in the country.

There are many places to visit in Hradec Králové. In the historical centre there is the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, The White Tower or Town hall. The town also has attractive shops and beautiful parks and banks (embankment) of Labe and Orlice. All these can be easily reached by foot or by trolleybus. There are a great number of elementary schools, secondary schools (grammar, commercial, technical) and a university with several faculties. As for museums and theatres – we can name The Museum of East Bohemia, the concert hall of Hradec Králové Philharmonic, the Klicpera Theatre, the famous Drak Theatre, ….. There are also many cinemas including the multi-cinema Futurum and the summer (open air ) cinema. HK is also definitely a town of sports. The winter stadium, football stadium, the athletics stadium, and the Aqua Centre are only some of the many sport facilities in the town. Hradec is an important commercial, manufacturing, and transporting centre. Products include musical instruments, chemicals and machinery. As for the agriculture, wheat, sugar beet, potatoes, rye, vegetables and other crops are grown on farms near the town. HK is the starting point for many trips to interesting places in the region. Most attractive are Krkonoše (Giant Mountains) and Orlické hory (Eagle Mountains). There are also five bicycle routes in HK, which are between 12 and 61 km long.

Four room flat, housing estate (sídliště), family house, garage
Living room (sofa, balcony, armchairs, coffee table, TV set, a desk with a computer, carpet, pictures, …)
Bedroom (wardrobes, bed-side tables)
Kitchen (dining table and chairs, kitchen unit – kuchyňská linka, fridge, pantry – spíž, freezer, stove – sporák)
Bathroom (bathtub, basin), toilet
Cellar (sklep), garret (půda)
Garden, swimming pool, barbecue parties, mow the lawn (sekat trávu), keep pets
Do the cleaning – dust the furniture (utřít prach), water the plants, hoover the carpet (vyluxovat koberec), do the washing (prát prádlo), mop the floor ( vytřít podlahu), do the stairs (uklidit schody), clean the windows, wash the curtains (prát záclony)

3. Leisure activities (Volný čas)

Leisure or free time is when you do not have to be at school or work, have no duties and can do what brings you relaxation and pleasure. People are mostly free at weekends, on feast days, or during holidays.

There are quite a lot of possibilities how to have a nice time according to what people like and how much money they have. Going to the cinema or theatre, disco or clubs, or staying at home listening to the radio or watching TV, or even reading books if you are not dead tired. Cultural events which people can go and see in their free time include various concerts, dancing balls, exhibitions, lectures, fashion show, … People also like photography, making films, playing chess, keeping fish in home aquariums, keeping exotic animals, cooking and baking. Also, watching television is becoming more and more popular as the only thing you do is relax, have some small refreshments and forget all your worries.

Typical teenagers, like my friends and I, love both playing sports and watching them on TV, playing computer games, chatting on the Internet, watching films, going out with friends, dancing at discos, ….

Going to the cinema is another free-time activity. People do not go and watch movies too often. Perhaps they are extremely busy or another reason may be that very few good films are on these days. Some people find cinema tickets too expensive, others like to stay at home watching TV or films they borrow and play on their video or DVD players.

Music is a nice hobby, too. People like listening to it or playing a musical instrument. A lot of children attend a music school. Later, when they are grown, they mostly play for fun or for their families or friends. Playing a musical instrument or singing brings pleasure and fun.
Another popular way of spending leisure time is collecting things. Most people collect cheaper things like napkins, labels, beer cans, postcards, beer mats, chocolate and chewing gum wrappers. Others collect autographs of famous personalities, posters, dolls or bus or train tickets. People might collect insects, especially butterflies or spiders. More wealthy people like collecting more expensive things such as paintings, post stamps, antiquities, and old coins.
Sports are a nice, healthy and effective way of spending free time. Many of people do sports for fun, to keep fit and slim. Jogging, swimming or doing exercises are good examples. In winter, skiing, sledging or ice-skating are popular activities.

Travelling is popular with some people. They either walk or use some means of transport. Travellers often love historic sights as well as nature. But travellers should also speak at least one foreign language. „You live a new life for every new language you speak,“ a well-known Czech proverb goes.

Girls and ladies like needlework , such as sewing, knitting, ….. Men prefer to have their workshop or garage to do various little jobs or repair things. People living in their own house often keep pets or domestic animals.

As for me……..

2. The Czech Republic (Česká republika)

The Czech Republic, which is situated in central Europe, is an inland state with moderate climate. Here we can find valleys, lowlands, high grounds (The Bohemian – Moravian Highland, The Central Bohemian Highland) and mountain ranges. It is a country with nice nature, rich culture and history which makes it very popular for tourists.

There are three historical parts of the country: Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the east and the smallest Silesia in the northern part of Moravia. There are differences between these regions in dialects and folk traditions. Politically the Czech Republic is divided into 14 districts.

Some basic facts:
Covering an area: 78,864 km2

Border countries: Poland in the north, Germany in the west, Austria in the south, Slovakia in the east.

Population: 10,3 million inhabitants

Minorities: Slovaks, Poles, Germans, Russians, Romanies, ….others

The highest mountain is Sněžka in the Giant Mountains near the Polish border. The longest river is Vltava, which springs in the Šumava and flows into the Labe river. Other important rivers are Labe, Odra, Morava, ….

Agricultural production: sugar beet, maize, hop, sunflower, fruit, vegetable, wheat, oats (the Labe River Lowland, the river Morava valleys); barley, rye (in the higher parts of the country), potatoes in the highlands.

Industries: metallurgy (Ostrava), chemical industries (Ústí nad Labem, Neratovice, Kralupy nad Vltavou, Pardubice), textile – clothes and leather industry (Northeast Bohemia, Liberec, Prostějov, Prague …), food industries (all big cities), breweries (Plzeň, Prague, České Budějovice, ….), glass, jewelleries, porcelaine (Karlovy Vary, Jablonec nad Nisou, Nový Bor), wood and paper industries, …
There are deposits of brown, black coal and iron ore.

Some of the most often visited places:
West Bohemian Triangle of spa towns – Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně, Františkovy Lázně. The most famous of these – Karlovy Vary, was founded in the 14th century by the Emperor Charles IV and has remained a popular place for patients from all over the world, especially those suffering from stomach, gallbladder and liver disorders. Mariánské Lázně with its numerous parks and flower beds which make it one of the most attractive Czech spa towns, is popular for patients suffering from kidney disorders, asthma, or nervous diseases. Located in the middle of woods and parks, Františkovy Lázně is a famous spa for patients with women and heart diseases.

The south of Bohemia belongs to the most beautiful regions of Europe. The Šumava Mountains which are – even today – covered with charming woods and swamps, are a summer and winter holiday region, with nice trips as well as sporting opportunities such as cycling or skiing.

South Moravia has a beautiful place called the Moravian Karst with underground caves. The cave labyrinth can be seen from boats floating on the underground river called the Punkva.
In the north of the country, the Krkonoše Mountains are the highest mountain range with Sněžka as its highest peak (1602 m). Krkonoše Mountains together with Orlické Mountains and Jizerské Mountains are very popular destinations for winter holidays. Unfortunately, air pollution has led to huge damage to the forests in the past decades

1.English and American literature (anglická a americká literatura)

Although there were many writers and books before, the first world-known English writer is William Shakespeare ( 1564 – 1616). He is one of the world’s well-known playwrights, he wrote historical plays, comedies and tragedies, his sonnets are well-known as well. His earlier plays include histories (for example Richard III, Julius Ceasar,....), comedies (Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ....) and tragedies (Romeo and Juliet). Later his best tragedies came (Hamlet, Othello, Mackbeth).
Daniel Defoe (1660 – 1731) – was a journalist who became famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe – the story about a castaway on a deserted island.
Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) – was especially popular with children for his Gulliver Travels. In part one, the hero comes to the Land of Lilliput where only very tiny people live, next tells about his life among giants.
Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) – was a representative of critical realism. In his novels he depicted the life of the poor in 19th century (Oliver Twist).
George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) - his most famous play is Pygmalion – it tells about how two different social classes meet and shows the change of the two main characters. Later, a film musical was made based on the play, called My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn.
George Orwell (1903 – 1950) – born in India, he was educated in England, and lived even in the poorest parts of London and Paris, which gave him inspiration for his own works. Animal Farm – it satirizes the political situation of the Soviet Union.
Agatha Christie – known as the Queen of Detective Fiction. She wrote about 100 detective stories, novels and plays. She gave life to marvellous detectives – Ms Jane Marple, a woman of intuition who knows well both people and the habits of a small town, and Hercule Poirot, a Belgian-born detective.

From American literature of the 19th century we can mention Hermann Melville (Moby Dick – a famous symbolic novel about chasing a whale and fight between a man and an animal) and Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – it describes Huck’s adventures on the Mississippi river).
Ernest Hemingway (1898 – 1962) – one of the most famous 20th century writers, he belongs to the Lost Generation writers. His story The Old Man and the Sea is a symbolic parallel between an old fisherman – Santiago – struggling for days with a huge marlin, and suffering
Christ.
John Steinbeck (1902 – 1968) – famous for Travels with Charley and The Grapes of Wrath (the story of an Oklahoma farm family working as fruit pickers).