Superstition

Superstition is a part of human life. This phenomenon is an expression of fear. This fear expression appeared centuries ago when our ancestors tried to explainthe events occurring around them, linking them with their lifestyle. Given their knowledge of the confidential nature of those times, this was the best way of explanation. People unconsciously or subconsciously fear of some unknown force. Superstitions can be defined as a belief in the paranormal is. Despite the fact that many people still believe in supernatural phenomena, all of them seem to realize that they don’t have a substantial effect. The widespread superstitions in Armenia are not only superstitious beliefs related to eye beads, black cat, some with numbers, but also to major holidays and festivals. Belief in superstitions are harmless ones, while it has too large and sometimes harmful effect on people. For example, India is considered a bad omen to stay around a widow, or a woman without her husband’s knowledge. In Michigan the wife cannot cut hair without her husband’s permission. In Hayden the woman can’t open her husband’s letters, because she will be charged for it. In Mexico one must not appear unshaven in public places. And the one I liked most is that in New York they will arrest you if your pants do not fit with your shirts. Now in the developed or developing countries, people raise the level of consciousness along with a decrease in the number of superstitious people. In countries where the main population lives in rural areas, engaged in farming, superstitions easily overcomes the barrier of time and pass from generation to generation. The main reason is the high rates of illiteracy. This is because of the blind belief to unreal forces and phenomena. Hardly anyone anywhere in the world benefits from the false beliefs. It will give you damage due to superstition. I think it is the result of just blind belief in all. I do not believe in superstitious signs and omens and that it is the expression of fear to unknown. Though there are some explanations to this phenomenon they don’t have sufficient grounds.

  Great Britain's Iron Age inhabitants are known as the Britons, a group speaking a Celtic language. The Romans conquered most of the island (up to Hadrian's Wall, in northern England) and this became the Ancient Roman province of Britannia. In the course of the 500 years after the Roman Empire fell, the Britons of the south and east of the island were assimilated or displaced by invading Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, often referred to collectively as Anglo-Saxons). At about the same time, Gaelic tribes from Ireland invaded the north-west, absorbing both thePicts and Britons of northern Britain, eventually forming the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. The south-east of Scotland was colonised by the Angles and formed, until 1018, a part of theKingdom of Northumbria. Ultimately, the population of south-east Britain came to be referred to, after the Angles, as the English people.


Germanic speakers referred to Britons as Welsh. This term came to be applied exclusively to the inhabitants of what is now Wales, but it also survives in names such as Wallace and in the second syllable of Cornwall. Cymry, a name the Britons used to describe themselves, is similarly restricted in modern Welsh to people from Wales, but also survives in English in the place name of Cumbria. The Britons living in the areas now known as Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall were not assimilated by the Germanic tribes, a fact reflected in the survival of Celtic languages in these areas into more recent times. At the time of the Germanic invasion of Southern Britain, many Britons emigrated to the area now known as Brittany, where Breton, a Celtic language closely related to Welsh and Cornish and descended from the language of the emigrants, is still spoken. In the 9th century, a series of Danish assaults on northern English kingdoms led to them coming under Danish control (an area known as the Danelaw). In the 10th century, however, all the English kingdoms were unified under one ruler as the kingdom of England when the last constituent kingdom, Northumbria, submitted to Edgar in 959. In 1066, England was conquered by the Normans, who introduced a French-speaking administration that was eventually assimilated. Wales came under Anglo-Norman control in 1282, and was officially annexed to England in the 16th century.
     On 20 October 1604 King James, who had succeeded separately to the two thrones of England and Scotland, proclaimed himself "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland".When James died in 1625 and the Privy Council were drafting a proclamation, Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie insisted that it use the phrase "King of Great Britain", which James had preferred, rather than King of Scotland and England (or vice versa). While that title was also used by many of his successors, England and Scotland each remained legally separate countries with their own parliaments until 1707, when each parliament passed an Act of Union to ratify the Treaty of Union that had been agreed the previous year. This created a united kingdom, with a single, united parliament, from 1 May 1707. Though the Treaty of Union referred to the new all-island state as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain", many regard the term "United Kingdom" as being descriptive of the union rather than part of its formal name, which the Treaty stated was to be "Great Britain" without further qualification. Most reference books, therefore, describe the all-island kingdom that existed between 1707 and 1800 as the "Kingdom of Great Britain".

The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–14, 1861) was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the US Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On December 26, 1860, Major Robert Anderson of the U.S. Army surreptitiously moved his small command from the vulnerable Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island to Fort Sumter, a substantial fortress controlling the entrance of Charleston Harbor. An attempt by U.S. President James Buchanan to reinforce and resupply Anderson, using the unarmed merchant ship Star of the West, failed when it was fired upon by shore batteries on January 9, 1861. South Carolina authorities then seized all Federal property in the Charleston area, except for Fort Sumter.

Warfare in the Eastern theater started poorly for the Union as the Confederates won at Manassas Junction (Bull Run), just outside Washington. Major General George B. McClellan was put in charge of the Union armies. After reorganizing the new Army of the Potomac, McClellan failed to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia in his Peninsula Campaign and retreated after attacks from newly appointed Confederate General Robert E. Lee.Feeling confident in his army after defeating the Union at Second Bull Run, Lee embarked on an invasion of the north that was stopped by McClellan at the bloody Battle of Antietam. Despite this, McClellan was relieved from command for refusing to pursue Lee's crippled army. The next commander, General Ambrose Burnside, suffered a humiliating defeat by Lee's smaller army at the Battle of Fredericksburg late in 1862, causing yet another change in commanders. Lee won again at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, while losing his top aide, Stonewall Jackson. But Lee pushed too hard and ignored the Union threat in the west. Lee invaded Pennsylvania in search of supplies and to cause war weariness in the North. In perhaps the turning point of the war, Lee's army was badly beaten at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863, and barely made it back to Virginia.Simultaneously on July 4, 1863, Union forces under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant gained control of the Mississippi River at the Battle of Vicksburg, thereby splitting the Confederacy. Lincoln made General Grant commander of all Union armies.

Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864

The last two years of the war were bloody for both sides, with Grant launching a war of attrition against General Lee'sArmy of Northern Virginia. This war of attrition was divided into three main campaigns. The first of these, the Overland Campaign forced Lee to retreat into the city of Petersburg where Grant launched his second major offensive, theRichmond-Petersburg Campaign in which he besieged Petersburg. After a near ten-month siege, Petersburg surrendered. However, the defense of Fort Gregg allowed Lee to move his army out of Petersburg. Grant pursued and launched the
final, Appomattox Campaign which resulted in Lee surrendering his Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House. Other Confederate armies followed suit and the war ended with no postwar insurgency.

Based on 1860 census figures, about 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6% from the North and 18% from the South,establishing the American Civil War as the deadliest war in American history. Its legacy includes ending slavery in the United States, restoring the Union, and strengthening the role of the federal government.

 Optimism and Pessimism        

Optimism is a skill of intelligence which tends a person to obtain a better career and great success in life. Optimism is trust that things will get better no matter how bad they seem.  Optimism is look on life with positive way. Optimism is trust that things will get better no matter how bad they seem. Optimism may even help people live longer. Scientific research shows that optimism promotes good health, pessimists are not sure of themselves. They have certain amount of anxiety about everything that is gonna to happen to them. Such people lack self-confidence. This hinders them copying with others. They are not outgoing people. They see life through dark glasses. When they see a single cloud in the sky they say it is going to rain. They can change their view of life with the help of psychologists. A pessimist sees the difficulties in every opportunity an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. I am not afraid of difficulties of life. I think I am an optimist.

 A letter to a friend

Dear Emiko

I haven't written to you since last I saw you. When I received your message I was too busy to answer you write that that you want to see me in Tbilisi again, for what lam pleased.

You also wanted to know a few things from my school-life. Family news a social life. I'm interested in your social life too. Please write a few sentences about it.

As for me I have get some news for tell you. First of all I'm going to tell you about our long winter holidays we had thrice as many days as we have for winter holidays because  of H'N' virus epidemic but we carried out our schooling by studying  a line we received home assignments on line and prepared our work to send back.

Also I would like to tell you that my elder brother joined the Army on January 16. He is in Artsakh now. On February 6 we went to see him on the day when our soldiers and my brother took oath to be loyal and faithful to our country and support our boarders. It was very touching to be the witness of this military ceremony.

You know Emiko, my ideas of Army in general have changed since that day. Well Emiko, come to Armenia as soon as possible. I will meet you and invite you to us.

                                                                                             Yours sincerely

                                                                                                               Vahag  

    My means of communications

Now we live in the age where the main means of communications aren`t only telephone, radio and TY but also electronic mail, social media, fax machines. The introduction of internet changed everybody`s life and mine too. Through the Internet I am able to have free access to any kind of information. Knowledge of English provides great opportunity to possess any kind of scientific writings and use them to my benefit. You can even learn English following the instructions of the tutor. What concerns myself I mostly use my cellphone and PC to enter social sites to communicate with my relatives, friends and so on.  In short I can`t imagine my life without these modern means of communication. Of course. Newspapers also as all kinds of provide information but I rarely read them as social media like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram skype are instant sources of information. Our generation has a happy chance to live in the third millennium with so many advanced information technologies. 

                                 Optimism and Pessimism        

Optimism is a skill of intelligence which tends a person to obtain a better career and great success in life. Optimism is trust that things will get better no matter how bad they seem.  Optimism is look on life with positive way. Optimism is trust that things will get better no matter how bad they seem. Optimism may even help people live longer. Scientific research shows that optimism promotes good health, pessimists are not sure of themselves. They have certain amount of anxiety about everything that is gonna to happen to them. Such people lack self-confidence. This hinders them copying with others. They are not outgoing people. They see life through dark glasses. When they see a single cloud in the sky they say it is going to rain. They can change their view of life with the help of psychologists. A pessimist sees the difficulties in every opportunity an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. I am not afraid of difficulties of life. I think I am an optimist.