The role of reading

Books make up a significant and necessary part of people’s life. They are our best friends. The world of books is full of wonders. Reading books you can find yourself in different lands, countries, at seas and oceans. Together with the characters of the books you go by ship in the stormy sea, climb high mountains, fly into space and have a lot of adventures. You can’t but enjoy the beauty and wisdom of fairy-tales and fables and their imaginary heroes who fight for the good against the evil, for justice and love. They teach us to be clever, brave and honest, to be hardworking and helpful. Books help us to be true friends, they teach us to understand the beauty of nature, to take care of it, to love our homeland. So it's hard to overestimate the role of books in our life.

I can’t but mention their great educational significance. They surely help us to enrich our knowledge in different subjects. Reading historical novels and adventure stories I learn about some important historical events in the past, about famous political figures and people’s life in old times. But books give us an insight not only into the past but also into the future. Dreams and fantasies about future are vividly depicted in science-fiction books. Of course I enjoy reading them. When I come across some unknown words I usually consult an encyclopedia, because, as you know, in gives all sorts of useful information on every branch of knowledge.

Besides, there are books that bring up people, make them more humane, elevate their mind and soul. These books are a source of spiritual and emotional power. Reading them I find answers to different problems I face in my life. They are my dearest teachers and advisers.

And finally, there are books which hold up people’s spirits in the tragic moments of their lives, make them forget the troublesome realities of life, help them to cheer up and amuse themselves.

Some people nowadays think that with the rise of television and computer we don’t need books any more. But I don’t agree with them. I’m strongly convinced that a book is one of the greatest wonders in the world. It gives us a unique chance to link up with authors who lived hundreds and thousands of years ago. Thanks to books we can talk to people who lived in different ages and countries. Through reading books we can hear their voices, thoughts and feelings. A book is a faithful and undemanding friend; it can be put aside and taken up again at any moment.

So you can’t but agree that life without books would be boring and joyless.

Famouse People

Princess Diana

Of all important people of the twentieth century, without doubt, the one who had the most positive influence was Diana, Princess of Wales.

She was an extraordinary woman, who led a very active life. Being a caring and loving mother she also devoted much of her life to organizing charity events which not only raised money to help the poor but also made the public more aware of the problems the less fortunate face every day. Helping AIDS sufferers, disabled children, patients in hospitals she showed that no matter who or what the person is, we should be kind, considerate and helpful towards everyone. She is definitely a person not to be forgotten

Peace on our Planet

Unfortunately the history of mankind is not only a history of inventions and discoveries but also a history of wars and military conflicts. They say that the nuclear weapons that different countries have are enough to destroy all life on Earth ten times over.The progress in science and technology makes people invent even more destructive types of weapons. My strong belief is that this vicious circle has to be broken and all the nations of the world should do their best to stop and ban all wars. But there are those who say that powerful weapons guarantee peace and stability in the world as they cool off aggressive countries and groups of people and make them think twice before starting a military conflict. I don’t think this argument is wise enough because it may happen so that all the weapons go out of control and it will definitely lead to the tragedy for the whole mankind. I think that peoples and governments of goodwill should do their best to keep international peace and security. They should hold international meetings, conferences, negotiations on problems of war and peace. They should take steps to settle local conflicts and restore peace in troubled areas. They should pledge not to use force in international relations, fight against terrorism and save future generations from horrors of war. Because one of the civil rights people have is the right to life.

There are a lot of people who devoted their lives to the struggle for peace. Some of them have been recognized throughout the world and have received the Nobel Prize for Peace. Mother Teresa is one of them. She started her own

order “The Missionaries of Charity”, whose primary aim was to provide effective help to the poor and to take care of victims of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics and famine and of refugees. Kofi Annan was first elected Secretary General of the UNO. He gave priority to strengthening the Organization’s work in the areas of international peace and security. He advocated human rights and the universal values of equality, tolerance and human dignity.

Jimmy Carter was the thirty-ninth president of the United States. He founded the Carter Centre. The aim of the Centre was to resolve conflicts, promote democracy, protect human rights and prevent disease and other problems

Another urgent problem we face nowadays is terrorism. Some countries have lived with terrorism for a long time. There are certain organizations in Spain or America who have used bombings and assassinations of officials and politicians. But today we face a new type of terrorist threat that is determined to kill thousands of ordinary people. London, Madrid, New York, Moscow have become deadly targets of terrorism. The terrorist attacks are becoming more and more destructive and cause a great worry. Of course they can’t be ignored either.

But I think that not only well-known politicians but also common people can help to keep peace. They can organize and participate in peace rallies, propagate peace by all possible means, meet and make friends with people of different countries and cultures to share and develop the ideas of peace. Parents should teach their children tolerance and respect for human life, explain to them how to solve their problems peacefully.

The people of the world should unite their efforts and solve such long-lasting problems as terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime, nationalism and ethnic tensions and provide a happy peaceful life on our planet