1.

Szemlyes vonatkozsok, csald

My name is Boglrka Vinnai but everybody calls me Bogi. I am 17 years old, I was brought up in the country in Gyula. I think I am open and friendly. I get on well with most people but I am sometimes quite shy too. For example I dont like going to parties and I prefer meeting friends individually or in smaller groups. I have a lot of friends and I am always ready to help them with their problems or at least I always try to do my best. I dare to say I am sensitive because I understand other peoples feelings. I am quite tall. I have got long brown hair and grey eyes. My appearance is quite ordinary and so is my outfit. For me fashion doesnt play an important role in my life. I wear ordinary clothes instead of designer clothes. Clothes also change from week to week so I cant keep abrest of it. I think it isnt looks that count. My life was totally changed when my father lost his job in 2001. I lived in Gyula with my mother, my father and my two brothers. We had to move to Budapest because there was a possibility for my father to get a new job. My parents and me moved to the capital as fast as we could, but my younger brothers situation was more difficult. He started his last year in the secondary school so we left him in Gyula in a student hostel. This move didnt have an effect on my older brother because he lived in a student hostel far from us. Unfortunately this decision has determined the realtionship between me and my younger brother. He is really jealous of me. In my opinion this is because of the generation gap. My brothers are much older than me. They always have their own opinion, they always try to interfere with my plans and they always want to help me in a wrong way. They think that I should act according to their wishes. For example my homework problems and my plans for the summer. Anyway I never feel myself lonely because I know that I am loved by my two brothers and parents as well. But it isnt always easy to understand them. My younger brother always pulls my leg that always makes me nervous or sad. It happens very often that I would like to speak to them about my problems, but I feel that they never take me serious. My parents are in their fifties but they are quite young-looking. Both of them are good mannered and sociable but self-controlled. They have a lot of friends. They are the sort of people everyone loves and cant be angry with. My father is tall and a bit overweight. His eyes are blue and his hair is getting grey. He sometimes is moody but he has a good sense of humour. He is a cheerful and funny character so he always looks younger and younger. My mother used to be brown a couple of years ago but now her hair is getting gray too. Her eyes are green and she has a friendly face. She likes to be in the middle. She is very creative and I do hope that I have inherited her talent. She is also very good at cooking so thanks godness because she always cooks what I like eating. I am a very lucky child because my parents trust me and let me do what I want so they give me a lot of freedom. They treat me like an adult and I can always ask them for any help or advice. They know me very well so we often talk about problems we have. However my parents are very hard-working and they often bring their work home and do some more work after dinner but they never could be so tired that they wouldnt have time for me. Because of the generation gap we dont have the same interests at all. They like hiking but I dont like sports. Anyway we get on really well with each other. To tell the truth I havent got a lot of housework. Nobody in our family likes doing the housework not even my mum. So if we want things done at home we have to share the household chores. I water the plants and sometimes I do the daily shopping, sometimes I take out the rubbish, I make my own bed and I hang out the clothes to dry. At weekends I always clean my room and help my mother to make the lunch. She sometimes asks me to hoover the carpet in the living room. After finishing the secondary school I would like to go on my studies at a university or college. I am a little bit confused. The only thing I know is that I want to deal with people or children with disabilities.

2.

Ember s trsadalom

Each and every person has the right to get social benefits from the state. The government must provide pension for people when they are no longer earning a regular income after retirement. Those people, who dont have a job receive unemployment benefit. Health insurance is also a vital social benefit, because if you become ill it is a great financial support. The public safety in Hungary is getting worse and worse nowadays, especially in the capital city. I also have lots of bad personal experiences. Even children often commit a crime: they steal, break into shops. I think a close friend is someone you get on really well with, who helps you when you have problems, who gives you advice and who always has time for you. I have 3 close friends from different age groups. I think that I am a bit shy so it isnt easy for me to find friends. I am interested in a lot of things so I think you dont need to be doing the same things. It isnt necessary to have similar hobbies but it is very important to share the problems and go out together regularly. Friendships play a vital role in my life. I am sure that a good friend is someone who lives near me. I dont think you can have a close friend at a distance. You need to be able to see each other often, because if you dont you can lose touch very soon. I think it is difficult to have a close friend from the opposite sex because the relationship may turn into love. I am sure that my friends know me better than my family because we often talk about girlfriends or boyfriends we have. I dont usually talk to my family about that kind of things. I like intelligent and funny boys who make me laugh. I prefer boys with dark hair who are taller than me and I like boys who are good listeners because unfortunately I can talk a lot. My parents dont think that I am good at choosing boyfriends. Anyway my mum always says that I look for the wrong kind of boy but that is what mothers or fathers always say. December 24th is Christmas Eve. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, The Saviour of men. The Christmas tree, a pine, is decorated and children are given a lot of presents. Most families go to the midnight service in the church. On the first and second day of Christmas families have big meals and visit each other in the afternoons. Two things are essential parts of the meal: stuffed cabbage and fish soup. On New Years Eve people sit up till after midnight to see the new year in. At midnight we sing the national anthem and drink champagne. At Easter we celebrate Jesus Christs Resurrection. Most Easter traditions are associated with Easter Monday when boys sprinkle their female friends and relatives with perfume or water. Girls give them eggs painted mainly red, green or yellow. A typical Easter Sunday breakfast consists of ham and hard-boiled eggs. We also celebrate birthdays and name days. On these days I always invite my relatives and my friends. We spend the day together and speak about everything. I always get some gifts however I can be happy about the smaller one, too. I dont like doing the shopping at all. But if it is my turn I rather go to the nearest supermarket than to the small grocery at the corner. I prefer supermarkets because you can get almost everything under one roof. In a supermarket you dont have to chat with the assistants, you dont have to ask for anything you need. Almost all supermarkets are self-service stores. Usually supermarkets have lower prices than small shops. I suppose this is because bulk sale is cheaper. In addition, supermarkets have longer opening hours, so you can go there at anytime of the day. I receive a shopping list from my mum. First I always go to the dairy products counter. The goods are attractively packed and I can hardly resist the temptation to put everything into my basket. I generally buy milk, fruit youghurt for me and my brother, and sometimes some ready-to-pack products. I always check the dates on the articles so I wont buy anything stale. The next counter I go to is the bakery. I usually buy rye bread my family likes and I also get some rolls or croissants for breakfast. Sometimes I need to buy fruit and vegetable because my family is keen on bananas and tangerines. Buying meat is never my task. My mother doesnt let me buy it myself. Me and my family always look at the prices of the goods because we dont want to pay to much.

I also like window-shopping. I like walking up and down in front of the shop-windows. I love especially the new shopping centre. If you would like to buy clothes first you should ask the shop assistant to show you some. She will show you some of pieces which you can try on in the changing room. If it fits you then you can buy it otherwise you can ask another one for example in a larger size. When you pay for the clothes you get a receipt. You should keep it because if something goes wrong you need to show it and the assistants can change your goods or you can ask for a refound. We have a post office in our town. It has a lot of services for example it maintains connection with our relatives or friends living far away from us so I can drop a letter or a postcard. You can subscribe to newspapers or magazines. You can buy stamps, postcards or envelops. You can send money order or a cheque and you can also post a parcel. E-mail has replaced the need for the postal service nowadays. First of all, e-mails are amazingly fast. Your message arrive from one point of the world to the other in seconds. They make communication much easier. Another advantage of e-mails is that they are absolutely free. In contrast, you must pay for the postal service. As far as I am concerned, I prefer writing a letter with my own hand. In my opinion, it is more personal and I am always very happy if I receive a postcard or a letter from a friend or a family member. Of course I must admit that I use the internet many times as well. I have a couple friends abroad and it would be impossible to keep in touch with them by sending postcards all the time. And on the top of that, we can see and hear each other if we switch on our webcameras. Pictures and videos can be easily attached to the message. All in all, I send postcards if I have the opportunity, but usually I use the computer. 3. Krnyezetnk

I live in an apartment. It isnt in the downtown it is in a quiet part of the city. It is a spacious flat on the 3th floor and it has 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and american style kitchen with a huge balcony which is ideal for eating outside in summer. I love living there because it is very homely. There are several kinds of furniture from different points of the world. My parents have travelled a lot so they have bought some suvenirs for example we have a wallet made of kangoroo hair! Since we live in a large house we have to clean the floor and hoover the carpets, but almost everyday we have to do the washing up and the washing. If we want to maintain our home we have to pay for the electricity bill, for the water, for the gas, for the telecommunication appliances and also we have to pay for the common costs. I think I live in an ideal home. Our flat is walking distance from stores and restaurants in the local town and a short drive from supermarkets. There is a subway station on the street. I dont miss anything I am satisfied with our home. Nowadays you can be happy if you have roof over your head. Lots of homeless people can be seen in the streets. Living in the city is ideal for people who like eating out or going to theaters and clubs. On the other hand living in the country gives you slience and a quite, safe neighbourhood which is very warm and friendly. My home is in the suburbs of a large city so it is less crowded and more peaceful than the city centre. However, it isnt so quiet or as green as the real countryside. In fact, the real countryside is disappearing nowadays as the population continues to increase. As somebody, who spends most of her time in the city, I prefer to go into the countryside for my holiday. When I am tired of the noise, traffic and the stress, I love to find peace and quiet. I enjoy looking at the sunset and breathing the clean air. In small villages you can breed animals. Older people mostly keep small livestock like chickens, ducks, turkeys and perhaps pigs or goats.

Our Earth is endangered by us, humans and can be saved only by us, humans. Protection of the environment I think starts in everyday life. Cans or paper tissues shouldnt be thrown away. Batteries shouldnt be dropped into dustbins because heavy matters which get to the earth poison the soil. Recycling is very important. By recycling, the important matterials are reclaimed from the trash and are used again. In this way we can save raw matterials and energy as well. In my opinion the selective rubbish collection is very difficult in Hungary. On the one hand it is quite an expensive method. On the other hand people dont care very much about it. In Hungary paper, plastic and broken glass are simply thrown in the dustbin. Many of this matterials could be used again if they would be collected selectively. Trees shouldnt be cut down. There is an old saying: If you cut down a tree, plant a new one! Woods take up the carbon-dioxide and thus they clean the air. If we dont protect the forests the cardon-dioxide content of the atmosphere rises enormously high and developes the green house effect and the Earth will become hotter and hotter. Rain forests which feed or nature and provide more oxygen are cut. There is no more place for endangered species [szpsizs]. Many animals are hunted for their skins for example snakes, crocodiles and foxes. They are hunted to serve the fashion. Many experiments are carried out on animals as well. There are a lot of entertainment mainly in summer. There are spring and summer festivals where exhibitions and fairs are organized and cultural events go on. Hungary has a continental climate. It means the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. The temperature is the highest in July and August, the coldest month is January. Natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes and floods avoid our country. Perhaps because we have no extremes in geography. My favourite season is spring. I like it because of the warm weather. The nature starts to live again. There are colourful flowers and trees. On the other hand we shouldnt forget that the lovers favourite season is spring too. 4. Az iskola

I am learning in the Lnyay Reformed Secondary School. It is famous for pupils who learned here, for example Gza Grdonyi who was a writer or Albert Szent-Gyrgyi who invented the Vitamin C. The school was founded in 1859 but it got a new building in 1993. It has dormitory so lots of pupils who live far away can have the possibility for studying here. My school has a dining hall and a buffet. Pupils have the opportunity of reading books in the library or using computers in the computer room. Our class is a good team and there is a good atmosphere as well. We often help each other with our homework. In our school education requirements are high so I must learn a lot if I want to get good marks. My secondary school is a public school which means that my parents dont have to pay any tuition fee. We learn human subject at advanced level so I am quite good at literature. As for languages I learn English and Italian. They come to me easily and I take pleasure in studying some of them. Maths is, in fact, the least popular subject in my class. I dont like it because I have never had good sense of it. In spite of the fact that I am completely hopeless at physics, I am really hard-working and I never give up. I really feel motivated. The teacher is very strict but her teaching methods are great. She is always fair. At my school we always start the Monday morning with devotion where we sing psalms, pray together and the pastor reads the Bible. Our school organizes clubs for example there is the Lnyay Club where people can be together, watch films, do some sports and visit some exhibitions which are organized by the school. We also have the possibility for going summer art camps or going skiing in the winter. I am sure that these are sure ways to have fun even if I have never taken part in these camps. There are also student exchange programmes in my school. I can go to the Netherlands for a week to learn about the country and meet new people before a Dutch pupil comes to Hungary to spend the same week with me. Learning English isnt very easy. I think I have to concentrate on my pronunciation. We dont have to pronunce words perfectly but we mustnt pronunce them in a way that people wont understand. We can practise English pronunciation for example by repeating words in our head. We have to listen to the language as much as we can.

In Hungary a lot of people speak very good English and I think is partly because there are TV programmes in English so we hear the language a lot. We need to have a good dictionary as well. It can really help me learn a language. It tells me what words mean, but it also gives me information about how words are used together, phrases, expressions and pronunciation. Everybody with a computer has access to millions of pages of English so we can always find something interesting to read. I am convinced that one of the best ways to learn a foreign language is to watch your favourite films with subtitles. After a while you will notice that you dont have to make a big effort to understand what the actors say. Learning English also helps me with communicating with people from different parts of the world and I must be able to have my knowledge for my work in the future. If you speak a world language you can make friends during your travels and even through letters by corresponding with boys and girls from other countries. I am no longer considered to be an educated person without the knowledge of at least one foreign language. 5. A munka vilga

Working teaches people how to weigh money up. Pupils can officially be employes if they are at least 16 years old. There are typical jobs for students for instance where they do unskilled jobs such as delivering newspapers, handing out leaflets or filling up supermarket shelves. They also do agricultural jobs for example picking fruits or looking after animals. The lucky might also get some office jobs but this requires computer literacy. Those who are good at languages might do some interpreting or translating. Unfortunately some students take up a part-time job because they come from poor or broken families and badly need every forint. Others want to earn some extra pocket money or gain some experience. Summer jobs are really good for students to learn how to cope with responsibility. It also helps them realize that money in earned by hard work. On the other hand if they work a lot, they have less time for studying or relaxing. Unfortunately they become adults too early and underpaid as well. I have never tried any of these summer jobs, but I would like to work with people and help them. Its very important for me to enjoy what I do and be a member of a good team. I am planning to join a social work team where I can take care of people who really need someone. These days a lot of young people would like to become lawyers or economists or they would like to find a job in connection with computer science. The main reason why these jobs are so popular is that they are well-paid. If students want to find a job faster, they should join jobcenters where they will be informed as soon as the agency finds some jobs which might interest them. They can also find jobs by looking at the advertisements in the newspapers, magazines or nowadays on the internet as well. If you want to get a good job with an ideal payment, you must have a degree and more than one language certificate. When you apply for a job you have to send your curriculum vitae which includes you name, address, phone number, nationality and date of birth. You must give details of your education, qualifications, your previous experience and language skills. At work if you really enjoy your job this means that you get on well with your boss and colleagues too. You can get promoted if you do your job perfectly so you might earn more money. Dont forget that nowadays, however money talks. Jobs can be grouped in several ways for example manual and mental works. The workers doing manual work often referred to as blue-collar workers. The ones doing mainly brainwork are called white-collar workers. In case of an economic crisis the number of unemployed people increases suddenly. Workers are made redundant if factories closing down or companies going bankrupt, so these people cant find a new job and they become unemployed. 6. letmd

On weekdays I usually get up at 6.30. I always set my handie and alarm clock so that I wont oversleep. I jump out of the bed, I rush to the bathroom, quickly wash my teeth, comb my hair and get dressed. Before going to work my mum prepares my breakfast and makes one or two sandwiches for me. I leave the flat at 7.15. I take the underground. I am at school at 8, so I dont have enough time to look through my homework or do the written exercises if I have forgotten some of them.

I very rarely copy my classmates homework, but they copy mine! School is usually over at 3 or even later because twice a week I have optional lessons in the afternoon so when I get home it is quite late. I retire into my room and start to study which lasts till 9 or 10, it depends. I never eat anything for dinner but I feel like talking to my parents. At weekends when I wake up I realize that I have a whole day ahead to do things I really like doing. In my opinion we need a very balanced diet! We should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, so we get plenty of fibre and important vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, a lot of teenagers dont eat enough fruit and vegetable. The chicken, cheese, fish, butter and milk provide us enough protein, and we get carbohydrates for example from pasta, bread and rice. Its ok to eat things like chocolate and sweets. However we mustnt eat them instead of a meal. We shouldnt miss meals especially breakfast, because this is the more important meal of the day. Unfortunately, me and my family dont eat any of our meals in company. Eating food together can be a great form of entertainment, but we eat our dinner sitting in front of the television and that can be a sure way to lose touch with each other very soon. When I have time I make some biscuits. It really helps me with relaxing. I like home-made food such as pepper with potatoes or fish soup. Convenience foods or junk food for example frozen, ready-to-eat look appetising and taste delicious. We need to pay attention to what we eat as well as how much we eat. If we eat to many calories our body stores the extra calories as fat. So if we dont want to eat less we should use more, for example we should take more exercise. Its more fun than a diet. Running, swimming and even walking can all help. They will work better than a four-week diet of raw vegetables. We wont have to go on a diet but we will lose weight. We have to learn to eat right and take good care of our body so we can live a happier and healthier life. Anyway we live in a world of tired, sleep deprived people. We all know the importance of having a healthy diet and doing exercise but we do not worry enough about sleeping the hours we need. Nowadays many people have got use to sleeping less than they need and they live in permanent state of sleep debt. During the day caffeine, the worlds most popular drug helps to keep us awake. A chronic lack of sleep makes us irritable and unhappy. It also reduces our motivation and ability to work. We should give sleep a high priority in our life. The cold and flu season arrives every year in winter. Viruses spread from person to person. To prevent an infection the best defence is a good offence. The first step is to limit the physical contact with the cold sufferer. When somebody with a cold sneezes, coughs or sniffles keep your distance. Hugging, kissing and shaking hands can be sure ways to catch a cold. Fortunately I am in good health and I cant remember the time that I was last ill. I always try to take care of myself. In Hungary, I must register in by phone to the GP (general practitionel) before I get there. Then the assistant gives me an appointment. When the nurse calls me, I enter the surgery room. The doctor gives me a thorough medical check-up. She begins with looking at my tongue. She also listens to my lungs and my heart. When she diagnoses my illness she prescribes the perfect medicines that I have to buy at the pharmacy. Then she often recommends me to stay in bed for a few days and also tells me to drink a lot of water. In the end she gives me a certificate which means that I shouldnt go to school for a week. After that I go to the chemists where I buy the necessary medicines which help me with recovering. After following the doctors advice and taking the medicines, I soon recover from my illness. Fortunately, I have never broken any of my bones, but once I sprained my wrist and had to go to the hospital for an X-ray. Luckily, it set quickly but I had to have it in plaster for a time. When the plaster came off, I had to rest it and use as a little as possible. People say that smoking can seriously damage a persons health. Smoking causes lung cancer and other bronchial diseases. These warnings dont mean that non-smokers or teetotallers can sit back and enjoy their uninterrupted good health. There are secrets to a long and happy life for example to play less sport, to reduce stress and to eat less food. These help people to avoid illnesses.

7.

Szabadid, mvelds, szrakozs

How I spend my free time depends on a lot of things. In the summer I am outside as much as possible. I try to take advantages of the warm weather and play games in the park or go swimming with my friends. I love being with them and telling jokes. In the winter I prefer indoor activities such as watching films or reading books. On weekdays I have very little time to spend on entertainment. On the average, I havent got more than two hours free a day as I have to study a lot. By the time I get home from school it is about 4 oclock. After having my lunch I do my homework. I can relax a bit before dinner. Usually I switch on the TV in the evening and read on the teletext channel because of the TV programmes for the day. There is usually quite a rich choice of programmes. To tell the truth I like watching TV because it brings the world into my home and keeps me informed about what is happening around us. I never miss the half-past-seven oclock news either. I also love humorous cartoons like Tom and Jerry. Unfortunately TV programmes are full of advertisements what really make me nervous. In fact, there are TV programmes from which you cant learn anything, they are absolutely needless. But we can find programmes with better quality. Here I mean quiz shows or documentaries. After having dinner with my family if I cant find anything worth watching on TV I read a book. I like reading English books to improve my English. Sometimes I cant resist temptation and buy some language books in the bookshop. I think one of the most simple way of entertaining at home is reading a good book. Although they are expensive I rather spend my time with reading instead of playing computer games. Lots of people can easily be addicted to it so I am of the opinion that really good books teach you. Sometimes if the weather is warm I go down to the park with my friends to have a chat. At 11 I usually finish studying and then I often listen to music. Rock music and classical as well. I have several CDs. The only trouble is that they are a bit expensive. I put on my earphones, lie on my back and I just enjoy the music. Music is very special for me and in a few minutes I feel totally relaxed and calm. Me and my parents always begin the day by switching on the radio. We usually are interested in the news and the weather forecast. Nowadays I can watch almost every film in the television but I like going to the cinema because I always have a friendly atmosphere there. Unfortunately I cant afford to go to cinemas regularly so at home I watch TV. I often go to concerts and theatres. I love the atmosphere and the live performances as well. We have seasonal tickets so we really often go to theatres. I usually go to concerts in summer because I dont have enough time during the year and I love summer festivals as well. Fortuantely, Budapest has a wide variety of museums and theatres. It is only a matter of taste which one you would like to visit. I would personally recommend to every tourist the National Museum. The awesome building is in the heart of the city and it always has interesting exhibitions. I am the person who really likes visiting museums. I am interested in history and art so it isnt a hard task to take me to an exhibition. Lots of cultural events are organized in Hungary for example the spring festival. In these events you can visit theatres and you can see lots of performances in the nature. You can also visit summer festivals to where a lot of music bands are invited and you can sleep in tents. I love them because I can meet new people and we really take advantage of the warm weather. I am not particularly interested in sports and I am not involved in any regular sport activity. In fact I take exercises every day and it helps me to keep fit and preserve my health. Most people go running or ride a bike in summer. If I want to get fit I go to the swimming pool but I really enjoy walking too. Sporting life at school is co-ordinated by the Physical Education which offers a wide range of sporting opportunities to the students for example to play basketball or football. Extreme sports can be so dangerous that you risk your life everytime you do them. In order to avoid accidents and to minimize the risk you need to have reliable equipment which makes your hobby very expensive. For some people adrenaline can have long-term negative effects but others can actually get addicted to it and the feeling it gives. For this people extreme sports mean an adrenaline rush because they find danger exciting and thats the way they challenge their body.

8.

Utazs, turizmus

In most big cities people have a wide choice of vehicles as public transport services consist of buses, trams, trains, underground and trolley buses. The workers and the students use public transport network. I am sure that the taxies are the most comfortable, but also the most expensive services. The yellow tram is the cheapest and the slowest means of transport. They work by electricity and they dont pollute the air as much as buses do. The trolley bus is a mixture of trams and buses. It has rubber tyres but runs on electricity. The underground is definitely the quickest means of transport as it goes under the ground so it never gets into traffic jams. It runs every other minute. Every vehicle stops at determined distances. You can buy tickets for buses, trams or the underground in almost every newspapers, post offices or little shops next to the stations. Unfortunately, the ticket prices have gone up so many times recently so I think you had better buy a seasonal ticket because its really worth, but if you dont have a seasonal ticket you should buy a ticket first and when you get on the bus or tram you have to punch it. After that you have to keep your ticket while travelling as inspectors may come and ask you for it. I also like travelling by car becasue in my opinion it is faster and most comfortable than other means of transport. I also love travelling by train. However, it isnt the cheapest way to go somewhere but I love the view, the noise of the train because I can sleep during the travel. I can buy tickets on the internet, in person or using the ticket machine at the station. There are reductions for children or pensioners. They can travel in a cheaper way. Unfortunately, these vehicles dont run very often and they can be late too. I dont have any strong opinion about travelling by plane because I have never experienced this situation and I have to admit that I am afraid of heights. I know that, although, air travel is safer than any other ways of travelling. Luckily, in Hungary we have the opportunity of travelling by ship. I have travelled by ship so many times on the Lake Balaton. If you are on a boat you can enjoy the sight of the calm, green water and the white sailing boats on it as well as the pleasant view of the surronding hills and villages. People often travel on business, for pleasure, for relaxation or even for education or for their health. I love it too, but the snag is that I cant afford to travel as much as I would like to. I have neither the money nor the time for it. But I usually go for a trip at least once a year in summer. When me and my family go on holiday we usually go to the Lake Balaton by car. We stay at a hotel which is walking distance from the lake. At night we often play with cards or spend the night with walking on the beach watching the colourful lights. We dont usually go on holiday abroad because I am of the opinion that we should learn our country before visiting another one. Before going on holiday people should go to the travel agency to book accommodation and the tickets. If you want to be ready for the journey you should buy maps and guide books as well. But you shouldnt forget to change some money and take your identity card with yourself. As our country is a member of the European Union today you dont have to have your passport at the border. Nowadays people who have internet access can manage all services and goods of the journey on the internet. You shouldnt forget to pack your necessary clothes (trousers, skirts, T-shirts, sweaters, socks, shoes and underwears), your sunglasses, suntan lotion, swimming suit, medicines, lotions for insect bites, documents such as the health insurance and some money. I prefer individual travel to group travel. If you go on a package, you have to be adaptable, you have no time to look at everything you are interested in and the worst thing is when you have a bad guide. He or she can spoil all your holiday. If I go on a holiday alone or with my friends I can be my own master, depend on nobody and can always do what I like. Although, package tours have some advantages too, for example everything is arranged for you by the travel agency from necessary documents to hotel reservations and is doesnt seem to be very romantic to arrive in a strange town at night with no idea where to go.

9.

Tudomny s technika

The fast development of techniques and technologies gives us a lot of technical inventions. I am convinced that the washing machine, the dishwasher and the microwave oven are the greatest household inventions. The washing machine gives more free time to women. The washing machine clears our clothes and we dont have to do it with our own hands. In my opinion the dishwasher has changed our life and it really helps us especially people who dont like doing the washing up at all. We just put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and push the button on it. One hour later the dishes are clean and dry. I am also sure that the microwave oven is a great invention too. I cant imagine my life without it. I know, although, that the microwave oven has long-term negative effects. As far as I know it emits dangerous waves so it can damage our health. Thats why I try to use it rarely just when I really need it for example when I am in a hurry. We uses almost every household appliances everyday so I think the more we have, the more we overuse them. Unfortunately most of us have become more addicted to televisions. We watch them a lot so we spend less time talking to each other, but on the other hand we have the possibility to be well-informed about events all around the world. I watch English channels and it helps me to learn the language too. There is also a huge development in the information technology as well. The internet and mobile communication provides fast flow of information which helps businesses in the growing competition. Mobile phones and email allow us to stay in touch round the clock and late-night TV and the internet tempt us away from our beds. Today computers are easy to carry not to talk about laptops. We rely on them so much that it is so hard to imagine life without a PC. It has made our lives more comfortable because a lot of things have become more easily accessible in this way. Unfortunately lots of people prefer living in a virtual reality which is sometimes far from the truth. Concerning me I quickly became a fan but I have not become an addict. My parents are quite strict about how much time I spend in front of the screen. Everyday I find new and interesting things on the worldwide web. I can chat with my friends or I can play games with people from all over the world on it. I can send files to anywhere with its help, there are a lot of computer needed operations like sending e-mails, downloading files, buying things with credit card and mostly it delivers lots of information if I am surfing on the net. Nowadays almost every people have one or more mobile phones. I think it is very important to be reached anytime. Today you cant be without it. At first it was the rich peoples prerogative [priragativ] but now you dont need to have too much money in order to buy a mobile phone. It costs only a few thousands forints but if you want to buy one with a lot of extras it will be more expensive. Moreover mobiles have more and more functions so you can use them as an alarm clock, you can play on them, watch and make videos, listen to music, use the internet, take photos and so on. E-mail has replaced the need for the postal service nowadays. First of all, e-mails are amazingly fast. Your message arrive from one point of the world to the other in seconds. They make communication much easier. Another advantage of e-mails is that they are absolutely free. In contrast, you must pay for the postal service. As far as I am concerned, I prefer writing a letter with my own hand. In my opinion, it is more personal and I am always very happy if I receive a postcard or a letter from a friend or a family member. Of course I must admit that I use the internet many times as well. I have a couple friends abroad and it would be impossible to keep in touch with them by sending postcards all the time. And on the top of that, we can see and hear each other if we switch on our webcameras. Pictures and videos can be easily attached to the message. All in all, I send postcards if I have the opportunity, but usually I use the computer.