My favourite artist My favourite artist is Monet, a French painter, a founder of French Impressionism. I admire his paintings because they are vivd and full of life and colors. They give me the sense of joy and beauty of nature. I admire Monet's painting style. His brushstrokes are full of energy and passion. I feel the very quintessence of Impressionism when I look at his art. And his choice of colors always deeply moves my heart.

A short story about my hobbies Well, I tend to fire with something new in every several years. But unfortunately it never lasts too long. I used to be passionate about photography, diving, website making, films and books translating, cooking, knitting and crocheting. The same happens to languages. I used to learn French, German, Italian, Serbian, Spanish and even a little Chinese and Japanese. But English is the only language that I learn and use for all my life. So now I hope to improve my English first and then to improve all the languages I ever started at least to level B1-B2.

A report about experience of learning science at school or university. My experience of learning science at school in Russia Introduction The main aims of this report are to describe positive and negative aspects of learning science in Russian schools and to make some recommendations on how Russian schools might encourage young people to study science. Positive aspects Learning science in Russian schools has its advantages. First of all, the scope and students books are really substantial and fundamental. Secondly, the professional qualification of Russian science teachers are rather good. Thirdly, Russian schools usually have all the necessary equipment for scientific experiments. Negative aspects Nevertheless, disadvantages of learning science in Russian schools are prevalent. The main drawback is that the scope and books are boring and not adapted for teenagers. They are too academic and have no practical use. Secondly, scientific equipment is usually out of date in Russian schools. And finally, every branch of science goes separately. There is no connection between chemistry, physics and biology. Recommendations I would recommend make science learning at schools more interesting and exciting. Besides that, updating science equipment might give schools the opportunity to participate in more up to date experiments. This will help to enhance interest of young people in science studying.

A letter of request Dear Mr. White, I was chosen as a successful candidate for the position of photographer with your company with a start date on 1 May. However, I am writing to inform you that my current situation forced me to request a delay of one month. I do apologize for any inconvenience caused. My dilemma is that I feel obligation both for my close-knit family and for your company. My sister is having a baby at the end of April and she needs my help. She and all my family are extremely concerned how this delay might affect my future career. Please let me assure you that I am really interested in this position and career in your company. This situation will not be recurring and I will do my best to meet your expectations. I will be happy to spend some time in your company before my departure and do as much as I can in order to compensate possible losses. Perhaps after that I could do part of my workloads telecommuting and I will send you all the materials for my current project as soon as possible. I hope you will understand my predicament and will accept my suggested solution. Whatever you decide, I will appreciate your decision. Should you wish to discuss the matter, do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely, Barbara B.

What was the most serious challenge that you took part in? Well, in my life there were many situations which, in hindsight, I could name a challenge. For example, I was (and am) always scared of jumping into water, but it didn't stop me from trying scuba diving and even from jumping into the water from a ten-meter-high cliff. It didn't make me brave, though. Jumping into the water even from the edge of the pool still frightens the living daylights out of me. That is very strange providing I used to skydive and I managed to learn scuba diving at almost professional degree (PADI Rescue Diver). Next, the most serious challenges for me always were the exams. It's only getting worse with age. Even the thought of the CAE exam, and especially it's speaking part, drives me crazy. At the moment, besides this challenge, I take part in several challenges. The first one is a healthy nutrition marathon. It started at the same time as our writing challenge. Strictly speaking, it isn't a marathon or a challenge, it's a new and perfect way of nutrition, which I hope I will follow for the rest of my life. But it was really a big challenge for me to get used to all it's rules and details, especially to measurements and records, to organise myself. The next challenge was Language Heroes. It started almost 3 weeks ago, and it stimulates me to spend 2 hours daily on learning English. Actually, I can count writing time, but I forget to write here from time to time as I have many tasks on that other marathon, and I have my own plan of studying. In addition, a couple of weeks ago I joined the Expert Advanced marathon, which was started by our respected September, one of EFL members. Although again, the time I spent on Expert Advanced is credited on my 2 daily hours of English in LH. Moreover, to make things worse, two days ago I started to refresh my French, which I used to learn 20 years ago. I'm so crazy! But I can't stop myself from taking more and more tasks this summer. Definitely, it's the absence of work and especially of my younger son, who is in the summer camp at the moment, that makes me take more and more obligations.

Do you use the phrase 'the bee's knees'? Do you say 'You're the bee's knees'? (And where? UK, USA, Australia?) Isn't this phrase outdated?

A letter of complaint Dear Mr.Smith, I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with unacceptable living conditions at the dormitory of your national park. Although I really appreciated the job in your national park, the living conditions were terrible. Firstly, hot water was available only in some cases. Moreover, cold water was not available sometimes. Secondly, there was no heating and it was really cold in our room. And finally, the size of the room was inedaquate for eight adults. There was not sufficient space for living. I must urge you to consider finding a solution to this problem as soon as possible. Yours sincerely, T.

A description of a festival or celebration. In 2012 my family and I travelled to Italy and we have been to Christmas celebration in Rome. The Italians are inspired Catholics, and they are prone to celebrating Christmas like there's no tomorrow. All the streets were exquisitely decorated and lit up the skies. All the people were happy and smiling. Everybody gave us a warm reception. On the square near the Saint Paul Cathedral there was a huge beautiful Christmas tree. They brought it from Ukraine, and it was ornated with traditional Ukrainian wooden toys. There was also an impressive nativity scene. We saw also the nativity scene in the middle of the Spain ladder. In the evening of New Year's Eve we went to a restaurant to celebrate the New Year. Everybody was welcoming and generous, and they gave us a bottle of champaign and elegant glasses as a gift. It would be very helpful if we went walking in the center of Rome for New Year's celebration. Although I'm not a religious person, Christmas and New Year always bring a smile to my face. For me, it is the magical time of the year.