Reading топик. Топик по английскому языку "книги"

Reading
Child psychologists believe that reading is one of the best habits that should be encouraged in children. Ninety percent of the things we learn during our lifetime come through books; therefore if we can"t read, we can"t learn.
Books appeared long ago. At first they were written by hand, but after printing was invented, it became easier to publish books. There are two large groups of books: fiction and non-fiction books. Fiction books are most popular with readers and include short stories and novels of different genres and poetry. Non-fiction books are dictionaries, reference books, historical books, biographies, encyclopaedias and others.
In my childhood, my mother read different books to me and that helped me to love reading. When I learnt to read, I was really happy because I could read books which I wanted and liked. At first, they were fairy tales, adventure stories and comics. Later, I was fond of detective stories and thrillers. Now I read historical novels and I realise that I do not know many things from history and it is so wonderful that I can learn them now and understand facts that I could not understand in my childhood. During my studies I also use non-fiction books like dictionaries and encyclopaedias to find necessary information.
Today television and the Internet have almost replaced books because these resources provide any information one wants and some people think that in the modern world we do not need books at all. I think, however, that books will never disappear, because reading gives us pleasure.
Modern technologies also made it possible for us to use electronic readers instead of paper copies of books. On the one hand, such readers are very convenient as you do not have to carry a thick book in your bag: you just take the reader and upload text files into it, so instead of several books you just
carry one light electronic device! In addition, you may also keep pictures and even music files on it. Lastly, it is more environmentally friendly to use an electronic reader - cutting down trees is not needed for their development unlike the process of producing paper copies.
However, everything has its disadvantages. To begin with, such readers are rather expensive and not everyone can afford them. One point against it is that free electronic texts to download are hard to find. Finally, paper books are more pleasant to hold in hands: touch their pages, turn them over, feel their smell. I have an electronic reader and it is convenient, but I still read paper copies of books too.
To sum up, it is impossible to live without reading and even if paper books may disappear in the future, people will never stop reading.

ПЛАН-ОТВЕТ. READING
1. Вступление (the importance of reading, if we can"t read, we can"t learn, etc.).
2. Рассказать кратко об истории книгопечатания и двух группах книг (appeared long ago, were written by hand, printing was invented, two large groups, fiction: short stories and novels of different genres and poetry; non-fiction: dictionaries, reference books, historical books, biographies, encyclopaedias).
3. Рассказать о том, что вы читали в детстве, какие книги предпочитаете читать сейчас (In my childhood, fairy tales/adventure stories, etc.; Now I read...; During my studies I also use...).
4. Рассказать о чтении и книгах в современном мире и современных технологиях (television and the Internet, do not need books at all, modern technologies, electronic readers: advantages and disadvantages, etc.).
5. Заключение (То sum up, it is impossible to live without reading and even if paper books may disappear in the future, people will never stop reading.).

QUESTIONS
1. Do you read much?
2. What sort of books do you read?
3. Do you enjoy reading?
4. Should children be encouraged to read?
5. What are the advantages of reading? Are there any disadvantages? What are they?
6. Is it good to get the reading habit?
7. Do you read in English or in your own language?
8. Does reading help to learn a language?
9. When do you usually read?
10. Do you read newspapers?
11. Do you read magazines or journals?
12. What books do you usually use to get ready for your classes?
13. Do you think people should read more?
14. What will happen if we don"t read?
15. When should we start reading?
16. Do you think that people don"t read so much because they are busy watching television or surfing the Internet?
17. What would you do to encourage people to read? Is it difficult to encourage yourself to read? Why (not)?
18. What was your favourite book in your childhood? What is your favourite book now?
19. What is your favourite genre of books?
20. Do you read electronic books or prefer paper copies of books? Why?
21. What are the advantages and disadvantages of electronic readers?
22. Do you think that books may disappear in the future? Why (not)?
23. Where do you usually buy books?
24. Do you borrow books from a library or do you buy them?
25. Do you think that libraries may disappear in the future? Why (not)?

USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
Fiction Художественная литература
action and adventure боевики и приключения
children"s книги для детей
contemporary современная проза
crime детектив
fantasy фэнтези
graphic novels/comics комиксы
historical fiction исторический роман
horror ужасы
humour юмористическая проза
mystery детективный роман
romance любовный роман
science fiction научная фантастика
short story collection . сборник рассказов
thrillers триллеры
young adult литература для подростков
Non-Fiction Научно-популярная литература
almanac альманах
art & photography книги по искусству
biography & memoirs биография/мемуары
blueprint план, чертёж
booklet буклет, брошюра
brochure брошюра
business & finance бизнес и финансы
cookbook кулинарная книга
dictionary словарь
encyclopaedia энциклопедия
gardening садоводство
gift books подарочные издания
guide гид, путеводитель
handbook справочник, руководство
history книги по истории
"how-to" инструкция
journalism журналистика
manual руководство пользователя
medical health & fitness медицина и фитнес
nature & ecology природа и экология
periodical периодические издания
pets о домашних животных
picture book словарь в картинках
psychology психология
reference справочник
self-help книги «помоги себе сам»
sports спорт
textbook учебник
travel книги о путешествиях

       Books surround us. They appeared ages ago and took different forms. The oldest form is probably the roll (30-40 centuries B.C.). It appeared in Ancient Egypt, and was as well used in Ancient Greece. The Egyptians used papyrus, brush and red and black ink to draw hieroglyphs, which at first meant things and animals and then started to mean sounds. There were more than 700 of hieroglyphs! Champollion, a French scientist, solved the riddle of these signs with"the help of Rosetta Stone on which there was a text in Egyptian and in Greek. Another ancient form was codex where pages were put one on another. The form of codex w as used in Mesopotamia (where the pages were made of clay), Rome and other countries. The Chinese invented paper, before this important invention people used different materials, mostly skins of animals. The books were copied by hand and cost a whole fortune. Later the printing press was invented so the books became popular and rather cheap. The first primed book was produced in Korea in the 8th century. In China the priming press began to work in the 11th century, in Europe - in the 15th century.
       There are many genres of books around us. They can be divided into fiction and non-fiction books.
       Non-fiction books contain real information and are used for education and work. They are reference books, dictionaries, atlases, biographies and autobiographies, scientific reports, textbooks and encyclopaedias. In reference books as well as in encyclopaedias you can find facts about different objects and famous people, about countries and animals. At school we use dictionaries to learn the meanings of words. Biographies are a good source of information. Sometimes they can also be a pleasant reading. Fot example, the biography of Moliere by Bulgakov, or of Tchaikovsky by Nina Berberova. Historical books describe different epochs and reigns of kings and queens.
       Fiction books are written to give pleasure. They are also called belles-lettres. This word is mostly used when we speak about stories, novels and romances. «War and Peace» by Leo Tolstoy is an example of fiction. But the young usually prefer fantasy books and science fiction. The difference between them is the following: fantasy books usually describe the events and countries in the form of a legend and narrate about the past. A good example of fantasy is «Conan the Barbarian»; science fiction books describe events in the future, the characters and places are given as imaginary and usually take place in the future. «Starship Troopers» by Heinlein, «Stainless Steel Rat» by Harry Harrison are examples of the style.
       I myself like science fiction most of all. My favourite science fiction book is «Starship troopers». The author of the book is Robert Heinlein. It has been filmed, but I don"t like the film, which is very primitive. The plot of the book, on the contrary, is complex and there are many philosophical ideas built in the sequence of fantastical events and surroundings. The main character of the book is a boy named Johnny. The boy joins the army, because of his love to a girl who wants to be a pilot. But through the book his character and understanding of the situation changes. He understands what it means to be a citizen of the state, to bi responsible for your decisions. While in the army, he understands that only a man who can forget his own interests for the sake of his Motherland is a real citizen. I think, this idea is vital now in our country. I have read many science fiction books by Russian and foreign authors. At the end of the book he is an officer who understands his duty.
       But my favourite fiction book is «Gone with the Wind». It was written by Margaret Mitchell. Her father was the President of the Atlanta Historical Society. You know, Atlanta was one of the important cities in the South. Since her childhood the girl had heard stories about the Civil War between the North and the South. When the girl grew up and got married, she decided to write down those stories. So, she wrote «Gone with the wind». The book was published for the first time in 1936. It was a great success and the next year it got the Pulitzer Prize. In 1939 the book was filmed.
       I like the book because it has several levels of composition. The first level is the love story - the main character, Scarlett O"Hara, loves Ashley Wilkes, but marries for money another man, Rhett Butler. By the end of the book she understands that she and Rhett are alike and have much in common, that she loves Rhett. But Rhett leaves her, and we can only guess if she can get him back.
       The second level is the description of the strong characters oi" the Southerners. Scarlett, a daughter of a rich planter, goes to the field and works as a slave when it is needed. Ashley, so quiet and gentle, goes to the war and fights well and bravely. In difficult situations of my life 1 think that they suffered more, but survived. So, this book helps me to go through the difficulties of my life.
       The third level of the book is the atmosphere of the Southern way of life. On the first page we can read the description of the Tarlton twins. When they are compared, the author does not use the usual English expression «as two peas»; she says that they were as two cotton bolls. Margaret Mitchell describes a planter"s house and his life routine.
       The fourth level is the events of the Civil War between the North and the South, and the post-war life. This is very useful, if you want to understand the modern differences between the northern and the southern states in nowadays America.
       I like the book so much that when the sequel was published, I made my mother buy it. We all have read it, but did not like much. Sequels are usually worse than the first books.

Reading plays a very important role in the life of people. It educates a person, enriches his intellect. Books help to mould a person"s character, from his moral values. Besides, books bring pleasure and delight. It"s a wonderful way of spending spare time. Sometimes we read the same book again and again.

Thanks to books we learn to express our thoughts and feelings more exactly. The book is faithful and understanding friend. It can be put aside and taken up again at any moment. There are books which have been our favorites since childhood.

People are fond of reading different kinds of books. Some people enjoy reading detective stories, adventure stories, novels, biographies, other prefer classics. Fairy tales are enjoyed and read by children, books about adventures and journeys are enjoyed by those who are fond of travelling. Legends and myths are read by those who are fond of history. Some people developed much time to reading books and reading becomes their free time occupation, their passion.

Throughout the centuries books had an enormous influence on the minds and hearts of people. Books bind together ages, personalities. Thanks to books we can talk to people who lived in different countries and ages. Through reading books we hear their voices, thoughts and feelings.

The book is the surest way to bring nations together. It helps people achieve understanding, trust, cooperation and friendship. Books awaken the young reader"s imagination. They develop literary taste, arouse interest and curiosity, the reader"s laugher as well as his tears. They teach the readers to be truthful, friendly, honest decisive, conscientious, frank, firm, fair and serious.

Libraries play an important part in the cultural development of people. People like reading, they have a desire learn they seek a knowledge. Books sat this desire. There are a lot of books in our country, in our flats. But it is difficult to buy all the books which we want to read. That is why we get books in public libraries.

Books shouldn"t be read only by pleasure. Reading books helps us in our education. We can fond all kinds of books in the libraries. Books offer romance history adventure, autobiographers science fiction and humor in the form of short stories and novels, poetry, prose and plays as well as reference books, encyclopaedias, dictionaries and so on.

In some libraries we can find books in many foreign languages. When a reader comes to a library for the first time he feels in library card and the librarian helps to chose something to read. The reader is allowed to borrow books for a certain number of days. The catalogues help the reader to find the books and not damage them in any way. Readers come to the reading rooms to study and prepare materials for their reports or for their scientific work.