People I Admire

The Biography of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous American presidents. To be precise, he is the 16th president of the USA. Thanks to him the country successfully went through financial, military, moral and other types of crisis. He was also the person who put an end to the slavery. Hence, he was proclaimed the national hero of the American people. Lincoln made an enormous contribution to normal development and consequent modernization of the country. Abraham Lincoln was born on the 12th of February 1809 in Hodgenville, state Kentucky, in a rather poor family. He was mostly self-educated. Later on, he managed to become a lawyer, then the leader of a Whig Party, and even a member of House of Representatives for a term. He became the president at the age of 51. Not everybody was happy at first when he was elected, but later he managed to make friends with some of his opponents in the government and was able to attract them to work towards common goals. According to social surveys Abraham Lincoln still remains one of the best and most beloved presidents of America, while during the presidency he was often subjected to severe criticism. Lincoln has become the first American president who was assassinated. On the April 14th 1865 Lincoln was fatally shot in a theater. Nowadays, in honour of Abraham Lincoln there is a great memorial, located in the heart of Washington. The memorial also symbolizes the faith of the president that all people should be free. The building is supported by 36 columns, which is the number of states at the time of Lincoln's presidency.

                                                                    Meals In Russia 

Each country has its own traditions of cooking and national dishes. Russia is mainly a northern country with harsh winters, so food there is the source of energy and warmth. The essential components of Russian cuisine are bread and wheat products, vegetables, dairy produce, meat and fish. Russians usually have three meals a day: breakfast, dinner and supper. Breakfast is a quick meal, as the majority of people are in a hurry for work or school. It may contain a sandwich or two, an omelette, a cup of tea or coffee. Some people eat porridges or cornflakes in the morning. Dinner is a more sufficient meal. It is usually in the afternoon and may contain fresh salad, soup, main course and a glass of compote – stewed fruit drink. Typical Russian soups are shchi, solyanka, rassolnik, ukha. One of the people’s favourites in summer is okroshka – cold soup based on kvas or sour milk. Traditional Russian salads include Olivier and vinegret. Supper is served in the evening, when everybody comes home after work or studies. It is the second largest meal after dinner and it usually consists of the main course and dessert. Russians like meat and fish dishes, such as pelmeni, kotlety, shashlyk. Pelmeni are similar to dumplings with meat. Kotlety are like meatballs with spices. Shashlyk is a marinated meat grilled on a skewer. After nourishing dinner Russian people like to drink hot tea with jam or honey. Sometimes they cook blini or syrniki for the dessert. It is worth mentioning that Russians practice various techniques of preserving food, such as drying mushrooms and herbs, canning fruit and vegetables. Thus, in winter they can have a piece of summer goodies.I love pancakes and borsch,pelmeni but,i rarely eat it because it is not possible to cook!!!

I enjoy eating out. We often go to a restaurant with my parents. It usually happens at weekend or Friday evenings, when everybody is free from work and studies. My mum likes Italian food: pasta with different sauces, pizza, lasagne and other national dishes. My father prefers eastern cuisine. His favourite dish is grilled meat with vegetables. As for me, I’m a fan of sushi and fast food. As you see our tastes differ. That’s why we choose to go to various restaurants. For example, last week, we went to the nearest sushi-bar. We had a great time there. First of all, the atmosphere in the restaurant was nice. There were black square tables and lots of Japanese national ornaments. We chose the table next to the window. The waiters were also very kind and welcoming. My parents don’t like Japanese food much, so they ordered simply some salads and fried chicken wings. Luckily, they don’t serve only national food in this restaurant. I ordered a portion of traditional rolls and a cup green tea. Everything was rather delicious. My parents tried a small piece of my rolls and said they weren’t bad. We asked the waiter to bring us the bill and left after paying. It was an excellent evening. Sometimes I eat out with my friends. We usually go to a fast food place. There is a large shopping center not far from my house and we often go there. When we get hungry, we go to the ground floor where many fast food restaurants are situated. There we usually have a sandwich or a portion of pancakes with a glass of juice.