There is a huge thing in the world. Introduction

In the modern world there are a huge number of problems, such as preventing nuclear war, overcoming the backwardness of developing countries, food and energy problems, eliminating dangerous diseases, environmental pollution and a number of other problems, but demographics occupies a special place among them. It determines the development of almost all global problems of humanity.

Indicators of the demographic situation are the basic conditions for the socio-economic development of the country as a whole and its subsystems in particular. Almost throughout the world there is a law of correspondence between the socio-economic and demographic development of society, according to which there is a stable relationship between the dynamics of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the state of the population and the parameters of economic and social development, which is realized in the form of macroeconomic proportions between population size, GDP and other social and economic parameters.

There is no doubt that the population is the main wealth of any country; without it, the life of the state is impossible. Changes in population have a direct impact on the scale and extent of development of the country's territory.

Demographic problems are now increasingly discussed at meetings of various representative commissions. Unfortunately, the scientific level of discussion of demographic issues at these very important meetings is not always high enough. Meanwhile, today there is an urgent need for public management of demographic processes. It is public, and not just state.

To date, there is a large amount of literature devoted to the problems of demography; for a long time, such authors as Achille Guillard, Jacques Bertillon, E. Anuchin, A.V. have been studying demographic development. Fortunatov, Yu. Krupnov, Medkov V.M. , A. Vishnevsky and others, but, despite everything, the problem of demographic development, both in Russia and in the world, remains open and requires special attention.

Demographic problems are the result of qualitative changes in the development of productive forces in the sphere of economics, politics, culture, etc.; they cannot be explained from the perspective of just one science. Let us consider some forms of their manifestation, determined by human economic activity.

Taking into account the above, the study of the demographic situation and demographic problems is extremely relevant.

1. The concept of demographic situation

“The demographic situation is the ratio of birth rate, death rate and migration mobility that has developed in a given area, creating a sex-age structure of the population and the dynamics of its population that is specific for a given moment.”

Sometimes the demographic situation is understood more broadly as an economic and demographic situation, which includes the components of many socio-economic processes in a country or region, which indirectly determine the state of demographic processes for a certain period of time. This is a whole complex of components that provide a model for the development of the region’s population for a certain, specified period and its management. (B.N. Volynskaya). The demographic situation is a consequence of many socio-economic and demographic processes, they all act in combination and it is very difficult to isolate the influence of any factor. However, in all cases it is necessary to take into account the specific impact of socio-economic events on the formation of the demographic situation of a given period.

A description of the demographic situation usually includes characteristics of fertility, mortality and general patterns of population reproduction, as well as marriage rates, divorce rates, family formation, and sometimes changes in the composition of the population, as a prerequisite and result of these processes. Many authors include migration processes in the description of the demographic situation.

12 examples of essays written on the Unified State Exam in the Russian language and receiving the maximum score.

War theme

Essay 1 – about the work of a military plant during the war.

Usually human life passes without any major shocks or incidents. Small misfortunes happen to a person, sometimes he experiences small joys - in general, he lives more or less measuredly, obeying the rules and customs established in society. But in the life of not one person, but entire tribes, peoples and states, there are periods when they have to exist in a rather unusual environment. Moreover, this situation is unusual most often from a negative side for a person. Famine, wars, droughts, revolutions... What to do if such a misfortune happens to your country, tribe or nationality? The issue of actions that need to be taken in extreme circumstances is also discussed in Granin’s text.

The text tells about the work of a tank plant producing KV tanks in Chelyabinsk under the leadership of a certain Zaltsman during the Great Patriotic War. The working conditions at the plant and episodes from its history are specifically examined. The above-mentioned conditions were difficult: frost reached minus forty, due to the need to warm up the engines, the air in it was heavily polluted. Zaltsman once rounded up the ventilation specialists, giving them a day to solve the problem and threatening that if they didn’t get it done, he would ban them from the workshop and start all the engines until they went crazy. The author notes that it was precisely this harsh condition that helped ensure that ventilation was established, and proceeds to describe another episode. The plant worked very hard, especially during the days of the battle for Moscow. Since the fate of Moscow depended on Salzman’s tanks, according to Stalin, who called him, the workers, including many old people and children of pre-conscription age, did not leave the plant for five days. As a result, three echelons of tanks went to Moscow, and later a fourth one went: Zaltsman forced chief engineer Gutin to fly after radio equipment that was stuck somewhere with a train, despite the fact that it was not known exactly where the echelon was and how to get to it. Nevertheless, Zaltsman rejected all objections with the words: “There are no impossible things!” Judging by the author's words from the concluding paragraph, such methods used by plant directors were the norm during the war, although they were condemned after the war.

Knowing Granin's attitude towards Zaltsman - and he, apparently, treated him very respectfully - we can formulate the author's position. It apparently lies in the fact that an unusually difficult situation requires non-standard, even harsh methods of getting out of it. Sometimes even the suffering of people in order to achieve a result is justified by the result of their work.

It is difficult to argue with Granin, since in such extraordinary situations one has to make a choice between the bad - overexertion, overwork, injury and even death of people at work, and the very bad - in this case, the victory of the enemy. You can't let difficulties break you. If you try to act in non-human conditions using human methods, you are very likely to fail, although few will judge you for it.

To illustrate the conclusions, it would be nice to start by citing some excerpt from a work about the Great Patriotic War, since war is one of the most critical situations into which a person can, in principle, find himself. In addition, this approach provides some continuity with Granin’s text. Of the many possible works, I would consider “The Tale of a Real Man” by Polevoy, or more precisely, by a certain Vasily Vasilyevich and other personnel of the Moscow clinic where Meresyev was treated. This clinic was famous, with established traditions, and a high level of patient care. The war could not help but affect it: the number of sick and wounded, as well as the beds for them, increased significantly. The latter sometimes had to be put out into the corridor. In an extremely tense environment, the tired clinic staff, led by their boss, managed to maintain the same quality of patient care and more or less pre-war order. Why did they succeed? Because Vasily Vasilyevich, working furiously himself, did not allow others to relax, believing that right now, during the war, the hospital should have the strictest order. He did not accept any excuses for work and did not refuse it himself. Perhaps if doctors, nurses and other hospital employees worked less intensively, they would look better and healthier. But the price for this would be the life and health of the defenders of the Motherland, including the main character.

Of course, the heads of factories, hospitals, and other logistical institutions are not the only people on earth who make important choices in terrible conditions. Moreover, it is not only in war that people have to make superhuman efforts to help themselves and others get out of difficult situations. It was precisely such efforts, literally, that Danko had to make in Gorky’s “Old Woman Izergil.” Let's start with the fact that he turned out to be the only strong-willed person in the tribe to suggest looking for a way out of the forests and swamps, despite all the threatening dangers. It wasn't that the rest of his tribe were particularly weak-willed, it was just that they were overwhelmed by a terrible life without a sky above their heads, with poisonous fumes that they had to inhale, and a terrifying roar of the wind. One way or another, Danko led them. The tribe, exhausted along the way from fatigue, losing people, began to grumble against Danko, and then even threaten to kill him. His explanations did not improve the situation at all. Then, realizing that without his help they would die, Danko decided to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, and, tearing out his heart, burning like a torch, from his chest, illuminating the way for them, he led them further and brought them out into the open space, where he soon fell dead with a smile on his lips. If he had made any other decision, he would have died anyway, but at least he saved his fellow tribesmen, who, alas, did not appreciate his feat.

From the above examples it is clear that unusual difficulties do require unusual measures to be taken to overcome them. But remember: trying some of these methods in a quiet environment will most likely not be beneficial. They may even worsen the situation, which cannot be allowed. After all, almost every method has its limitations and disadvantages.

Essay 2 – about children of war.

Children are our future. A lot depends on how they grow up, which is why parents pay so much attention to their upbringing. It is easy to explain to children what good and evil are in everyday life, but war changes everything. It is difficult to say what kind of children of war will grow up, who were deprived of their childhood and subjected to the fear and horror of battles, which not all adults can endure. In his text, the author raises the problem of the impact of war on children.

At the beginning of the text, the narrator talks about children who were brought from Leningrad by train. Everyone on the platform knew what the blockade of Leningrad was, and at first no one reacted to the announcement of their arrival. But people began to stop and look at them, despite the fact that they had seen a lot in the war. The narrator notes that all the children were different, but they had one thing in common: they were children of war. These two words are absolutely unnatural and express the most destructive essence of war. But the main thing is that the children survived and bring people hope for the future. Apparently, when all the children were dropped off, they followed the woman somewhere, and the narrator compared them to a living stream, in which, according to him, there was an inextricable connection with their neighbors. The narrator ends his text with a question about the future of these children, which remains unanswered.

According to A. Pristavkin, the brought children looked very pitiful, but this did not matter, because they were alive and gave hope for revival: “For, even though these were children of war, pathetic scorches on the black ashes, they were living children ; children saved and taken out of the disastrous flame, and this meant rebirth and hope for the future, without which these people, also different on the platform, could not continue to live.” In addition, the author believes that they had one common distinctive feature: their behavior: “... which was expressed in the way they behaved towards each other and towards adults, how they stood, how they held hands, lined up in a column... “- the author described this with one expression: “children of war.”

I cannot but agree with the author's opinion. Children in war have an extremely difficult time. They are forced to grow up ahead of time and do things that are unusual for children. At the same time, they are the future and hope of our country, so adults must protect them, try to protect them at least a little from the horror that war brings.

L. Kassil’s work “The Story of the Absent” is a striking example confirming the author’s position. The action takes place during wartime. The Germans cut off a small military unit from the main army, and it fell into a trap. It was impossible to get out without preliminary reconnaissance. One of the soldiers volunteered and went. He walked through a ravine in which he saw a child. The soldier found out that the boy had been watching the Germans all day and knew all their positions. They were about to crawl out of the ravine and return to the rest of the unit, but a mine exploded next to them, and the soldier was injured in his leg. They heard that the Germans were coming towards them, then the boy, without hesitation, climbed out of the ravine and went towards the enemy. He ran along the road in the other direction to distract the Germans from the wounded soldier. The child was shot, but the fighter returned to his troops and led the entire unit out of the forest through a ravine, so that not a single person died. This boy, whose name remains unknown, saved an entire military unit with his heroic deed. The child accomplished a feat that is beyond the power of every adult - this suggests that the war forced him to grow up ahead of time. An innocent child gave his life for the lives of other soldiers and other children.

Another example is the story by L. Kassil “Marks of Rimma Lebedeva”. The village where Rimma and her mother lived was close to the front line, so they moved to their aunt in the city. Rimma went to school, but her aunt did not let her study properly, arguing that she was almost at war and now should not overexert herself. At first the girl resisted, but then she herself began to tell everyone that they had not been to war, they did not know what it was like, and she stopped studying. There was a hospital next to the school where children went to help the wounded. Rimma made it with her own hands and brought one of the soldiers a pouch that looked more like a mitten. The wounded man asked Rimma to write a letter, but the girl wrote very illiterately, and the soldier did not like it. He decided to write letters with her every day and teach her literacy. At the end of the quarter, Rimma brought him a report card with grades, which included “excellent” for the Russian language. The war could become an excuse not to get an education. She changed Rimma’s attitude towards the people around her: she looked down on them, because her classmates were not at war. She was lucky that a soldier intervened and helped her become more literate. But it’s easy to imagine how many children were unable to gain knowledge during the war, because they had to fight not for grades, but for life.

In conclusion, I want to say that war never brings anything good. Children who grew up during the war years are very different from others because they did not have a childhood. Some did not receive an education, some did not receive parental love, some simply had to fight for their lives every day - all this changes consciousness, and it is very important to try to explain to such children what is bad and what is bad in this world. - good.

Nature theme

Essay 3 – about chamomile.

People's lives have always depended heavily on nature. Despite the fact that humanity has now achieved great results in its development, it is still an inseparable part of it. In his text, the author raises the problem of the responsibility of generations to their descendants for the conservation of nature.

The text by Yu. Yakovlev tells how the children found an unusual flower near the house. First they asked their parents about him, but they did not give an answer. Neighbors came and looked at it, and everyone had their own version of the appearance of the flower, but no one could say anything for sure. Then everyone remembered about their grandmother and decided to turn to her. The author says that people now know about the time in which she lived only from books. She gave the answer: it was chamomile. The grandmother said that there used to be a lot of these flowers, but they were picked all over and there were none left. The text ends with a statement from the grandmother, who accuses her generation of not saving the most native flower of our land. Modern children do not know about its existence. Yakovlev ended his text with such sad words in order for the reader to think about the fact that each of our actions has its consequences, which our descendants will feel.

According to the author, chamomile is the most native flower of our land: “From childhood to old age, a small sun with white rays shone for man.” Yu. Yakovlev believes that previous generations are to blame for the modern one for not treating nature with care, and because of this, some plant species have not survived to this day: “We are to blame for you, children! They didn't save the chamomile. The most dear flower of our land was not saved, and it became alien to you, like an alien.”

I cannot but agree with the author's opinion. People must protect nature. First of all, she gave us life and supports it now. Secondly, it is unfair that our descendants will not see part of nature due to the negligence of modern people.

The work of R. Bradbury “Smile” describes the events of the future. Humanity survived a war, as a result of which the entire civilization disappeared, and people returned to their traditional way of life. Not only the achievements of science suffered, but also nature and the environment: the roads were like a saw, up and down, from bombings, the fields glowed from radiation at night. It is difficult to say what harm this war caused to the environment, but, of course, children born after these terrible events saw a completely different world. All this happened because someone didn’t share something. People in the past acted irresponsibly and selfishly, and the consequences have to be dealt with by younger generations, who received only a tiny part of natural resources.

Another example confirming the words of the author is the work of A.P. Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard". The estate of the landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya had a huge cherry orchard, which was the pride and simply a favorite place of the Ranevsky family. Unfortunately, the beautiful garden was soon to be sold for debts. Lyubov Andreevna always squandered money, and for the last five years she lived abroad and did not take care of her estate. Ranevskaya receives an offer to cut down the garden and give the land for summer cottages in order to avoid selling the estate. Lyubov Andreevna is horrified by this proposal, and she refuses it. It turns out that she doesn’t want to cut down the garden, but she allowed it to be brought to this state. Gaev, Ranevskaya’s brother, is trying to make some plans to save the garden, he even asks his aunt from Yaroslavl for money, but everything is in vain. It was already too late, and on August 22, the day of the auction, the estate was sold to Lopakhin, who had previously persuaded Ranevskaya to cut down the garden. He planned to do the same after purchasing it. Thus, the family did not preserve this wonderful garden for future generations. Due to the negligence of the Ranevsky family, no one will be able to admire it anymore, walk between the trees and pick cherries. Descendants learn about him only from stories.

In conclusion, I want to say that nature undoubtedly plays a key role in human life. People must understand that nature is very fragile, and we must protect it not only for ourselves, but also for our children, for the sake of the future of all humanity.

Essay 4 – about animals.

Pets have always been man's friends. Therefore, they deserve to be treated properly. Even though humans have a lot of power over their pets, they should not treat them as they please. People must look after their pet, groom and cherish it, and only in this case the pet will respond in kind. It is the problem of people’s attitude towards animals that the author raises in his text.

Goncharova begins her text by introducing the main character, Seraphim, a Chernivtsi veterinarian who dotes on his patients. A man communicates exclusively with those people who treat their pets well; he doesn’t even want to know the rest. For example, Seraphim stopped communicating with Leva Gold, from whom the turtle ran away. For the veterinarian, this person automatically became bad: “Goodbye, Leva Gold, you are an animal.” Next, the writer talks about a beautiful cat who was fed so much by her owners that she stopped moving and being active. Such owners are also not friends of Seraphim. The next pet is a parrot. He behaves horribly, steals and swears. The veterinarian explains that the bird, unlike its owner, can be pointed out once about mistakes, and it will immediately understand them. The first one to receive positive reviews is the donkey Socrates. Seraphim says that he is smart and very quick-witted, although sometimes he still shows his donkey, stupid qualities. Seraphim says about the Osadchikh goat that she is amorous, stupid and annoying. He blames her owners, whom he considers animals, for her tobacco addiction. The veterinarian also talks about the piglet Fyodor, who, according to Seraphim, is not getting fat, because everything goes into his mind. The piglet's owners are evil people, they want to kill him. The owners are to blame for the loss of hearing in the Tomultsovs' dog, who ruined his talent by taking the dog hunting in winter. Seraphim himself does not have his own pet, because he devotes all his time to others: not only animals, but also their owners. For example, recently a great dog I knew brought puppies. Seraphim spends every day with her, but not only because of the puppies, but because the owners are people. Goncharova, concluding her text, writes that it is Seraphim who will be able to tell: which person is good and which one is not worth communicating with.

The author believes that the habits of pets can tell us about the character of their owners, which is why people should treat animals well. According to the author, only decent and intelligent owners can have well-mannered and intelligent pets.

I couldn't agree more with the author. In my life I have encountered similar situations more than once. It seems to me that pets are like children, they take cues from people and imitate their behavior, so owners should monitor their behavior, pay attention to their pets and educate them.

A striking example is the story of Yu. Kazakov “Arcturus - the hound dog”. It talks about a hound dog who was born blind. Because of his shortcomings, his owners threw him out onto the street, where he grew up very fearful because people were always kicking him and shouting at him. One day a doctor who was returning from duty saw him, he took him to his home, washed him and fed him. After that, the doctor wanted to drive the dog away, but he stubbornly refused to go. So a new inhabitant appeared in the house. Kazakov describes Arcturus as an unusual dog. The animal loved its owner passionately, with all his soul. The Doctor is the only one who treated Arcturus kindly, so the dog was incredibly loyal to him. After some time, Arcturus began to spend a lot of time in the forest, hunting instincts made themselves felt. One day he came across a fox and chased it through the entire forest. Rumors about the unusual dog quickly spread, and people came to the doctor and offered big money for the dog. The doctor flatly refused, he loved Arcturus very much, he did not need any money. It seems to me that Arcturus understood everything and therefore did not even think about leaving his master or cheating on him. Probably, if not for the accident in the forest, they would have lived in perfect harmony with the doctor. This story shows in the best possible way that a person’s attitude towards an animal is directly related to the animal’s attitude towards a person.

Another, no less striking example is the work of K. Paustovsky “Grey Gelding”. The story tells about a horse that worked for people all its life. When she could no longer work, the chairman of the collective farm wanted to send her to the farrier, but the groom Petka took pity on the horse and took it for himself. That is why the gelding tagged along with him when Petya and Reuben walked to the river. The horse felt kindly treated by Petka, and therefore treated him the same way.

In conclusion, I want to say that many people treat animals as stupid creatures, treat them poorly and allow themselves to be pushed around by them, but even pets understand everything, therefore they become the same as their owners, they imitate them in everything, in including behavior.

Art theme

Essay 5 – about books.

Lots of people read books every day. At the same time, they have very different attitudes both to the information they read and to the book itself. Some consider literary works to be great food for the mind, spiritual guides. Others perceive reading as a good way to kill time and relieve boredom. Some individuals generally think that books are only suitable for lighting the stove. So how should you treat books? This issue is also discussed in the text by V. Soloukhin.

The text is a dialogue between two friends. More precisely, most of it is the story of one of the interlocutors about an incident that occurred in the city of K. This incident was related to the library, namely, to the old books in it. The librarian Valentina Filippovna, with whom the narrator was on good terms, invited him to take and drive a truck in order to choose any books from those available. She still needed, by order of the city authorities, to hand over these works for waste paper, and she hoped that he, her acquaintance, as the only professional writer in the city, would at least save something. By the way, among these books were the first editions of Radishchev, Derzhavin, Baratynsky and Batyushkov, the first books in French by Dumas and Balzac, the Bible illustrated by Doré... The writer did not take all these rarities because he was in a lousy mood due to a quarrel with his wife , and he was too lazy to hire a truck. Apparently, this attitude towards truly valuable books offended the librarian. The narrator subsequently condemned himself, comparing himself to a fool who is given a treasure.

Apparently, the author's position is that books should be treated with care and valued. Some books, from Soloukhin’s point of view, really are a treasure. The author condemns those who pass by this wealth.

It’s hard to disagree with Soloukhin, because books contain a lot of knowledge that can be useful to us in life. Reading books also teaches us how to work with information. Finally, by reading books, we can touch the beautiful, discover a whole world of new emotions and impressions.

In literature, as in life, unfortunately, quite often there is a type of people who do not appreciate books and do not like to read. Some people prefer to replace the knowledge gleaned from books with something pseudoscientific. If such people make up the majority in a society, which, fortunately, is quite difficult to imagine, such a society will face degradation. Let's take, for example, some pitiful remnants of humanity from K. Simak's story “The Generation that Achieved the Goal.” These people, having been flying for a long time on the spaceship that took them away from the earth, had already forgotten how to control it and what it was generally intended for. Over time, reading books became banned among them. They considered their ship to be a whole separate world, and not one of hundreds of the same. The development of science stopped, and a religious view of the world dominated in society. On the whole ship, fortunately, there was only one person named John Hoff, to whom an ancestor bequeathed a manual for operating the ship and various books. Having read far from everything that was bequeathed to him, John sharply realized that the picture of the world that all the inhabitants of the ship imagine is strikingly different from the true one. Moreover, he discovered that the ship was rushing towards the star and they were all in danger of death. Looking ahead, I will say that if he had not dared, despite the ban, to pick up the book, people would have died without even knowing what killed them. No one would change the course of the ship, and the people burned in the flames of the star. By the way, Hoffa’s adventures did not end with the realization of the truth. He was left almost alone with his truth. He also had to make sure that, in addition to books, it was not in vain that his ancestors also bequeathed him a pistol...

Naturally, the literary example of degenerating humanity, which ceases to value books, is quite vivid. Another thing is that, as experience shows, in the near future it is unlikely that anyone will prohibit reading books at all. Reading books for the younger generation will slowly be replaced by computers and television. This undesirable development of events was also noticed by physicist Georgy Andreevich from F. Iskander’s story “Authority,” and the general trend directly affected his youngest son. The latter, grasping the formal meaning of the books, did not understand the deeper meanings embedded in them by the author. In addition, he himself did not like to read books, and he was reluctant to listen to his father’s reading. Neither “The Shot”, nor “The Captain’s Daughter”, nor “Hadji Murat” particularly touched him. Realizing that without reading books, his son would miss something very important in his life and move away from him, Georgiy Andreevich decided to sit his son down with a book, betting with him that he would beat him at badminton. I managed to beat my son at badminton, albeit with great difficulty. The reader remains hopeful that at least in this way the wonderful world of literature will open up for him.

In conclusion, I would like to say that a good attitude towards books and the ability to appreciate them, of course, is not yet a guarantee of education and success in life. But this quality in itself is very worthy. It’s a pity, it’s becoming less and less common...

Essay 6 – about beauty.

There are a huge number of works of art in the world. Each author wants to convey something of his own to the reader, viewer. Some admire the beauty of nature, others admire the appearance of people. But which work has real beauty? This is precisely the question that worries V.V. Veresaeva.

In this text, the author talks about a competition between a teacher and a student. They had to depict “the highest Beauty” in the paintings. First, the writer shows how the public reacted to the artist’s work. He writes: “No one has ever seen such beauty in the world.” The picture was certainly lovely, but it made people look at the world around them differently, and then they noticed a bunch of flaws in it. Thus V.V. Veresaev wants to convey to the reader that real beauty should illuminate everything with light, and not oppress. In addition, the author describes the public's perception of the student's painting. At first there was murmur and bewilderment throughout the square, but later people saw the true beauty: “Everyone remembered the best moments of his love.” Thus, V.V. Veresaev shows how the joyful light from the painting illuminated everything around, and this is real beauty.

The author's position is extremely clear. He believes that a work in which the soul is invested has true beauty. It is this that will help awaken the best feelings in people, will help them see the beauty in what we have, because without it our life becomes gray and joyless.

It is difficult to disagree with the author's position. Indeed, real beauty depends on the soul that the author put into his work. After all, if a person works for profit, then he does not even try to convey at least some personal emotions and experiences.

To prove the validity of all of the above, I will give the following literary example. Let us recall the work “Portrait” by N.V. Gogol. In it, the author writes about the young artist Chartkov, who loved to create and put his whole soul into his works. But one day a large sum of money ended up in his hands. At first he wanted to buy everything he needed for creativity, lock himself in the workshop and create. But then the desire for fame and profit got the better of him. Over time, Chartkov became a fashionable painter and lost his talent. One day he was invited to an exhibition of an artist who had come from Italy. When Chartkov saw his painting, he wanted to draw something similar, but it didn’t work out. Thus N.V. Gogol shows how, in pursuit of profit, a person stops putting his soul into his works, and as a result loses his talent.

As another example from literature, I will give the work of R. Bradbury “Smile”. The author writes about people who gathered in the square to destroy another work of art. When the picture was presented to the public, everyone except Tom began spitting and throwing stones at it. The boy saw something beautiful in her. Suddenly someone threw him over the frame, and he tore out a piece of the canvas. But, despite other people who tore it all and trampled on it, he put it in his pocket. Perhaps Tom will be the one who can return civilization to the people. Thus, R. Bradbury shows how people without art become evil and cannot see real beauty.

In conclusion, I would like to say that people should try to feel the author’s work and understand what he wanted to tell them. Only then will they be able to truly appreciate it and know its true beauty.

Theme of Motherland and Childhood

Essay 7 – about grandfather’s house.

People relate to places differently. When I say the word “place,” I mean not just a geographic coordinate, but something associated with one’s own human memories, like the playground where you played as a child, school, home... The latter, for example, can be remembered with warmth every day. But not for everyone it plays such an important role - others consider it only the first place of residence. So how should you feel about the place where you spent your childhood? This issue is also discussed in Iskander’s text.

The narration is told in the first person. The narrator describes his longing for his grandfather's house and its reasons. Already in the second paragraph he says that now that this house is gone, he feels robbed. It seems to him that some of his main roots have been cut off. Explaining his idea, the narrator describes to us all the charm of a place dear to him. It, of course, lies partly in the beauty of both the nature of the yard and the interior decoration of the house, but more important for a person who is familiar with all this is the memories associated with these beautiful objects and objects of nature. About how he listened to hunting stories in the kitchen, how many unripe apples he picked from the apple tree, and so on. Perhaps the most important thing was that the house, with its hearth smoke and the kind shade of the trees, supported the narrator and made him bold and confident.

The author’s position, apparently, is that one should treat one’s home with care, with respect and care, because it is important to you, it can help you in your life. The memories associated with him are of great value.

It is difficult to argue with Iskander, because in difficult times, happy memories greatly help to dispel sadness and melancholy, at least for a short time. I think many people have plenty of these connected to their home. In addition, this house is your fortress, a place where you almost always feel comfortable, a place that is almost alive for you. Perhaps for some he is even an almost full-fledged interlocutor...

There are many works in literature where the main characters in one way or another realize the value of their home. In Bradbury’s “Strawberry Window,” for example, a family that moved to Mars experiences homesickness on Earth. This is especially evident in the example of Kerry. She missed, it would seem, all the little trinkets that created coziness in an old house, like an Armenian carpet or Swedish mirrors. The earthly house itself was very different from her and Bob's current one - it was made of wood, and the sounds generated by the wood gave it something like a soul. It was as if he had absorbed the years. The current house made only tinny sounds, as if it didn’t care whether the owner lived in it or not. Bob, understanding all this, but at the same time believing that humanity should spread throughout the Universe for the purpose of self-preservation, in order to settle down well somewhere by the time the Sun explodes, decides to spend ten years of savings accumulated to transport some of the dear the heart of things to Mars, making living on it at least a little more comfortable. His decision was understandable, but hasty: Kerry and the children were hardly happy about spending money so quickly, and without their knowledge. However, this is no longer directly related to the issue we are considering...

Naturally, the theme of loving the place where you spent your youth is not only found in science fiction literature. Let's say, in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard she is one of the main ones. Ranevskaya and Gaev have warm feelings towards the garden itself, the estate, children's rooms and the old closet. The reason is simple: these things remind them of childhood - that glorious time when life was easy, when they did not feel any responsibility for their actions or inactions. Alas, these individuals were still childish, so they could not save the garden from being auctioned off - instead of taking decisive action, they talked about the beauty of the garden, the fate of Russia, and also had fun. Ironically, the garden went to a man who did not understand its value, but offered the most realistic ways to save it, that is, Lopakhin. As a result, the cherry orchard was cut down, the house was boarded up along with the footman Firs, forgotten by his masters. The former owners were hardly happy with the fate of the estate where they spent their best years.

In conclusion, I would like to say that, of course, your home is unlikely to be the only memorable place in your life. There are cases when a person initially does not have a place that he could call home - and that’s okay, he lives! But in most cases, it is best to remember where you come from, where you grew up, how your life journey began.

Essay 8 is about childhood.

Childhood is the most important period in the life of every person, because at this time the child’s worldview is formed and his personality is formed. It is no coincidence that V.A. Soloukhin raises in this text the problem of the role of childhood impressions in the future fate of a person.

At the beginning of the text, the author talks about three Russian poets and what influenced their work. For example, oak is often found in Lermontov’s poems due to the fact that in his youth he loved to spend time in the oak forest. Yesenin often mentioned the birch tree in his works, since there was a birch grove next to his house. Blok’s work was also influenced by nature, and especially by the Lutosnya River, above which magnificent fogs rose. The author says that his native places gave the poet a feeling of the Motherland. Further, Soloukhin discusses the significance of childhood impressions, calling them “the foundation of future spiritual life.” He gives an extended metaphor, saying that “seeds are sown in childhood,” which germinate (or do not germinate) throughout a person’s life and determine what he will be: “Some become bright and pure flowers, some become ears of grain, some become evil thistle." At the end of the text, the author claims that in Blok’s soul the flower was the feeling of the Motherland, which blossomed and blossomed over the decades. This is what became the reason for the deep connection between the poet and Russia.

The author's position is expressed in the penultimate paragraph of this text. Soloukhin convinces the reader that the period of childhood determines how a person will grow up. He believes that every adult character trait was laid down in him when he was still a child.

I completely share the author's point of view. Indeed, the period of childhood has a huge impact on a person’s future life, since at this time the child is very susceptible to everything that happens around him, because his views on the world and life position have not yet been formed in his mind. That is why all childhood memories and impressions are reflected in adulthood.

Agreeing with V.A. Soloukhin, I would like to turn to fiction and find in it arguments to confirm the author’s position. Let us recall, for example, the work of M.Yu. Lermontov "Mtsyri". The main character was forcibly taken away from his homeland when he was still a child and held captive in a foreign land. For many years he suffered in captivity, dreaming of returning home, and one day he escaped. In the days of his freedom, when he was close to his homeland, Mtsyri recalled happy moments from his childhood, his native places, his family. Unfortunately, he was unable to get home, as he was weak from hunger. Dying, he stated that he could not bear to live outside his home. Thus, Lermontov shows the influence of childhood memories and the Motherland on a person.

Also, as an example, we can cite the work of A. Aleksin “Actress”. This story tells about a man who came to the theater he went to as a child. After the performance, he waylaid an actress who had performed in this theater when he was little. The hero told her how he once went with his grandmother to her performance. This was a very important event in his life, so when he, as an adult, saw the actress play, memories of his grandmother came flooding back to him. He thanked the actress because she brought him a feeling of happiness for one evening. Thus, the author shows how childhood experiences influence adult life.

In conclusion, I would like to note once again that it is impossible to overestimate the importance of the childhood period in a person’s life, because it determines his entire future life.

Theme of life values

Essay 9 – about spiritual and material values.

In the modern world, people attach great importance to their material well-being, which determines their status in society. Spiritual values ​​sometimes fade into the background, but people still need them to satisfy their internal aesthetic needs. What does a person need more in life: material or spiritual values? This is precisely the question the author raises in the text.

The narration is told in the first person. The narrator begins by describing the events that take place. He was on a business trip in Italy, where he met an Italian millionaire, who at the end of the evening invited him to his home for dinner. At first glance, this man was a typical bourgeois millionaire with the appropriate behavior and manners. However, at home, the millionaire said that he really loves poetry and published a small collection for friends. The narrator was amazed by the beauty of this collection: it was made from expensive materials, and with great taste. Then he notices how the Italian has changed when talking about poetry: he has become softer. The millionaire read him a short poem that had developed over the course of the evening, and the narrator noted that it made sense, although he did not expect this from the factory owner. The text ends with a speech from an Italian millionaire who says that he is unhappy because he has to work in a factory, that is, his least favorite job, but without the factory, according to him, he would be even more unhappy.

The author’s opinion is expressed in the text through the words of an Italian millionaire: “I’m unhappy, God knows... But without the factory I would be even more unhappy!” These words make it clear that, according to the author, material values ​​play a dominant role in our lives, but we cannot do without spiritual values.

I cannot but agree with the author that most people now do not do what they want, do not satisfy their spiritual needs, but do everything in order to become rich, because money can buy everything, including what what is needed for the soul.

An example of this problem is the work of N.V. Gogol "Portrait". The work tells about a young artist who had a talent for drawing, but at the very beginning of his journey he looked at the life of the rich and dreamed of joining their ranks. And he was presented with such an opportunity: by the will of fate, the artist Chartkov received money, with the help of which he was transformed and became famous. Of course, his first thought was to buy everything he needed for practice and practice his skills for several years, but still the craving for fame turned out to be stronger. In the end, he became very rich and famous, had a certain authority in society, but his portraits were similar to one another and did not contain anything special. Chartkov did not notice this until a painting by his old friend, who had gone to Italy to develop his skills, was brought to the city. The artist was amazed by the picture to the core, so he rushed home to try to draw a fallen angel, but it didn’t work out. Then he realized that he could not do anything, because he did not know the very beginning, he had ruined his talent and nothing could be changed. Chartkov, in a fit of envy and anger, began to buy paintings and destroy them. He eventually died of madness. This example shows that spiritual values ​​are still more important than material ones. For Chartkov, the main thing in life was wealth, of course, he realized that this was wrong, but it was too late to change anything.

Another example is the work of A.P. Chekhov's "Ionych". The main character of the story, zemstvo doctor Dmitry Ionovich Startsev, comes to work in the provincial town of S. He is an open person, ready to communicate, and soon the doctor meets the Turkins family and goes to visit them. He liked their company: each family member had his own talents. Having renewed their acquaintance a year later, he falls in love with Kotik, the Turkins’ daughter. Having called the girl into the garden, Startsev tries to declare his love and unexpectedly receives a note from Kotik, where he is given a date at the cemetery. Startsev is almost sure that this is a joke, but he still goes to the cemetery at night and waits for Ekaterina Ivanovna for several hours to no avail, indulging in romantic dreams. The next day, dressed in someone else’s tailcoat, Startsev goes to propose to Ekaterina Ivanovna, and is refused. We see that for the zemstvo doctor, spiritual values ​​come first, he is passionate about communicating with people, his feelings for Kotik, but her refusal hurt his pride. Four years later, Startsev has a lot of practice and a lot of work. He visits the Turkins again, but, remembering his love for Kotik, he feels awkward, and the Turkins’ talents no longer attract him so much. Over time, Ionych only increases his practice; out of greed he cannot quit his business. Startsev's life is boring, nothing interests him, he is lonely. It is easy to notice that at the beginning of the story, when spiritual values ​​were important to Ionych, he was a more pleasant and cheerful person than at the end, when he began to be interested only in money. It turns out that spiritual values ​​are needed in a person’s life, because they give him the strength to live and develop.

In conclusion, I want to say that you need to be able to combine material wealth and spiritual needs. Sometimes you cannot fulfill your spiritual dreams without money, but we must not forget that it is internal human values ​​that help us remain human. It seems to me that everything is important: both material and spiritual values, the main thing is not to forget that one contributes to the development of the other.

Essay 10 is about selfless help.

In modern society, people do everything for a certain fee, no one will make an extra effort to help a person, although previously there was nothing special about coming to the aid of other people and not demanding anything in return. That is why in his text the author raises the problem of selfless help to people.

The narration is told in the first person. The narrator begins by describing the situation discussed in this text. He says that one day his son was very ill, and on one of those days Arkady Gaidar came to see him. The narrator's family could not get a rare medicine for their son, then Gaidar called to his home and asked to send all the boys from their yard. When they arrived, he sent them all over Moscow in search of this medicine. Gaidar sat by the phone, and when someone called and said that the medicine was not in the pharmacy, he sent the boy on his way. In the end, the necessary medicine was found in Maryina Roshcha. The narrator says that Gaidar could not be thanked, he did not like it, since he considered any help to be the norm of life. Next, he describes another incident, how he and Gaidar were walking along the street on which a pipe faucet burst. People had already run to block it, but the water was still flowing and washing away the soil from under the small garden. Then Arkady Petrovich, without hesitation, ran up to the pipe and blocked it with his hand. Even though he was in great pain, he held her until the pipe was closed. He was glad that he managed to save the small garden. The narrator ends his text with warm words about Gaidar.

According to the author, helping other people should become the norm of life for every person. The author’s opinion is confirmed by the narrator’s words about Gaidar: “It was impossible to thank him. He became very angry when people thanked him for his help. He considered helping a person to be the same thing as, say, greeting.” K. Paustovsky believes that selfless help brings joy to both those who were helped and the one who helped.

I cannot but agree with the author’s words; selfless help must come from the heart, so it does not require any gratitude. It seems to me that we need to cultivate this from childhood, only then helping other people will become the norm of life.

An example of this problem is the work of M. Gorky “The Old Woman Izergil”. The third part tells how in the old days there lived a tribe that was strong, cheerful and brave, but other tribes came and drove out the previous ones. They began to wander through the forests in search of a new place to live, but it was impossible to live in the forests, since the sun did not penetrate there, and a terrible stench emanated from the swamps. When people were already desperate, Danko appeared. He led them through the forest, and the people followed him. It was a difficult journey with no end in sight. When everyone was completely exhausted, they blamed Danko for all their troubles. People wanted to kill him, but Danko tore out his heart, which illuminated the entire forest. People followed Danko again, enchanted by the radiance of his heart. In the end, the forest ended, and the steppe spread out before everyone. Danko looked at it proudly and died. People immediately forgot about him, one even stepped on Danko’s heart, but he never asked for anything in return. His love for people was so great that he was able to sacrifice his life to save his tribe and did not even demand gratitude in return.

Another example is L. Kassil’s story “Marks of Rimma Lebedeva.” The action takes place during the war. Rimma and her mother stayed near the front line for some time, and then went to their aunt. In a new place, Rimma went to school again, but her aunt did not allow her to exert herself too much, because she said that she had not yet recovered from the experience. Over time, Rimma herself began to think the same way, so she did not do her homework and studied poorly. All the children in their class went to the hospital. The girls were embroidering pouches for the wounded, and Rimma also sewed one, although it didn’t turn out very foldable. The soldier to whom she gave it asked to write the letter for him, since his hand was injured. When the wounded man began checking on Rimma, he saw a large number of mistakes. Since then, Rimma came to the soldier every day, and they wrote letters and then sorted out the mistakes. At the end of the quarter, the girl brought the wounded a report with grades, for Russian it was “excellent”. She asked the soldier to sign as a parent, and the wounded man was very surprised by this. So Lieutenant Tarasov helped the girl correct her grades and learn to write correctly. It is easy to understand that he did this out of the kindness of his heart, because he wanted to help the girl. Of course, she was very grateful to him, but it was enough for him to see her grades; the wounded man realized that his work had not been in vain, and was very happy about it.

In conclusion, I want to say that selfless help should come from the heart and be done by every person. The person who provided this help will also feel joy. People must make every effort to ensure that mutual aid again becomes the norm in our lives.

Essay 11 is about happiness.

By the word “happiness,” each person means something different: for some it is a large family, for others it is wealth, for others it is the opportunity to travel the world. Of course, it is not so easy to find your own happiness. So how can you become happy? This is the question the author raises in his text.

The text begins with a description of the main character - a boy whose name is Genya Pirap-pilots. The author lists all the physical ailments that made this child unhappy and lonely; other children even threw clods of dirt at him. But one day everything changed. It was Gena’s birthday, and his mother forced him to invite his classmates and children from the yard to the holiday, although he did not communicate with anyone. The boy's favorite pastime was folding various shapes from newspapers. When the guests entered the house, he was doing just that, so within a few minutes everyone was bending over the table. Genya only had time to make new figures; everyone wanted to get something, because the events took place during wartime, and there were almost no toys then. The children smiled at Gene, reached out to him, and he experienced real happiness, because he was in a team, he had friends. The author ends his text with the words that at that time the mother was washing the dishes, smiling and crying. Genya was truly happy for the first time in his life.

According to L. Ulitskaya, in order to become happy, you need to be useful to society: this will help you join the team and overcome loneliness. The author’s opinion is directly expressed in the text: “They stretched out their hands to him, and he gave them his paper miracles, and everyone smiled, and everyone thanked him... He was happy.” And also the author’s position is contained in the last sentence of the text: “The happy boy gave away paper toys.”

I cannot but agree with the author’s opinion, because any person needs communication and a team. The best way to join a team is to be useful, so a person must have something to do: that’s how he becomes happy.

A striking example confirming the author’s position is the story by R. Bradbury “The Strawberry Window”. The work talks about a family whose head was a builder. He wanted to work on new cities on Mars, so they had to leave their earthly home and move to the red planet. It was deserted and uncomfortable on Mars; the builder's wife, Kerry, was constantly crying and really wanted to return home, but could not leave her husband. Despite all the unattractiveness of Mars, Bob felt truly happy there. He talked about what the future gives to new generations: when it becomes impossible to live on Earth, everyone will move to Mars, and he is one of those people who will help make this happen. Thus, Bob brings benefits to people, not only those currently living, but also those in the future - this thought inspires him and makes him happy.

Another example is the work of M. Gorky “Old Woman Izergil”. The third part tells how in the old days there lived a tribe that was strong, cheerful and brave, but other tribes came and drove out the previous ones. They began to wander through the forests in search of a new place to live, but it was impossible to live in the forests, since the sun did not penetrate there, and a terrible stench emanated from the swamps. When people were already desperate, Danko appeared. He led them through the forest, and the people followed him. It was a difficult journey with no end in sight. When everyone was completely exhausted, they blamed Danko for all their troubles. People wanted to kill him, but Danko tore out his heart, which illuminated the entire forest. People followed Danko again, enchanted by the radiance of his heart. In the end, the forest ended, and the steppe spread out before everyone. Danko looked at it proudly and died. People immediately forgot about him, one even stepped on Danko’s heart, but he died happy, because his love for people was boundless. He brought great benefit to the whole tribe, Danko saved them all from death, he knew this, so he was happy.

In conclusion, I want to say that there are many different ways to find happiness, but the surest one is to bring benefit and joy to other people, because if you do this from the bottom of your heart, then you yourself involuntarily become happy.

Essay 12 is about lamenting one’s time.

People often say that life was better in the time of their parents or, conversely, that now everyone is trying for future generations, and only they will have a good life. Few people notice that the present tense has many advantages compared to the past and future. In this text, the author raises the problem of complaining about one’s time.

Degoev begins his text with the argument that people constantly complain about their time and each generation has its own reasons for this. This is especially evident at turning points, for example, during the revolution, although later this unhappy time becomes a subject of admiration among descendants. The author says that our time is no exception, many are dissatisfied with their lives, and they have reason for this. The parties in power offer people a shortcut to happiness, but it ends up dragging on for a long time and everyone runs out of patience. The history of the twentieth century is full of terrible moments, in comparison with which our time no longer seems so bad, although the 20th century is memorable for other events. The author ends the text by saying that people no longer want the past or the future, they just want to live in peace, to live in the moment. And this does not prevent them from learning about their time, as well as looking into the future.

The author's opinion on this problem is directly expressed in the text: “Every generation has reasons to complain about its own time...” He believes that people are always more attracted to other people's times. Although he has a separate opinion about modern people: “However, people no longer want to live either in a blissful past or in a promised future. They just want to live, without wars, shocks and poverty.”

I cannot but agree with the author that people dream of going to the past or future. It seems to me that this happens because when studying history, we pay more attention to its positive aspects, often forgetting about the serious problems of those times. Probably, now people have already come to terms with the fact that they cannot go to another time, which is why they wish for a quiet life, devote time to the present, live in the moment.

An example of this problem is the work of R. Bradbury “Smile”. A war occurred in the world, during which almost the entire civilization was destroyed, and what little was left of it was now purposefully exterminated by the survivors. The action takes place in a small town, where they were supposed to bring a painting into which each of the residents could spit. There was a big queue about this. In line, people were discussing the upcoming event, and also discussing the time in which they live. Someone was indignant that after the war they had almost nothing left. But for the most part, people hated the past, because because of those people who ruled then, they now live practically among the ruins, among radioactive fields. There was only one person who noted that civilization had its advantages. And yet people hated their time, because they lived in the ruins of the past, although on the other hand, they had the chance to start all over again. Maybe the boy from the queue, who was never able to spit in the picture, will become the very person who will create a new civilization without flaws.

Another example is the story by R. Bradbury “The Strawberry Window”. Events take place in the future, on Mars. The family moved there because the father was a worker and he wanted to build cities on Mars. Unfortunately, his wife did not like it there at all, and she really wanted to return to Earth, but could not leave her husband. Bob said that soon there would be a big city here, she would have new friends, and this place would no longer be distinguishable from Earth. He was doing a good deed, building a place of residence for future generations. Bob lived with dreams of a bright future, but his wife did not share his inspiration. She didn’t like the environment in which they lived at that moment, and every night she wanted to pack her things and go back. For her, their former home on Earth was the best place, she lived in thoughts of it. At the end of the story, Bob takes the whole family to the spaceport, he spent all the money and moved part of their house from Earth to Mars. The wife's reaction is ambiguous, and we cannot say for sure whether she is happy about this or not. Thus, Bob lived with dreams of the future, and his wife lived with thoughts of the past, neither of them could say that the time in which they were living at the moment was the best.

In conclusion, I want to say that you don’t need to dream that everything will be the same as before, you need to look for the positives in your time and try to make it better and more comfortable. We must not forget about the future, because our children will live in it, but we should not think that our time is bad, because time is always good.

There are a huge number of different diseases in the world. But sometimes it’s an ordinary runny nose that goes away in a couple of days, sometimes it’s an illness that requires surgery. In our review, 10 diseases that not only slowly kill, but also terribly disfigure a person.

1. Necrosis of the jaw

Fortunately, this disease disappeared a long time ago. In the 1800s, workers in match factories were exposed to huge amounts of white phosphorus, a toxic substance that eventually led to terrible jaw pain. Eventually the entire jaw cavity would fill with pus and simply rot. At the same time, the jaw spread a miasma of decay and even glowed in the dark from an excess of phosphorus. If it was not removed surgically, the phosphorus would spread further to all organs of the body, leading to death.

2. Proteus syndrome

Proteus syndrome is one of the rarest diseases in the world. There are only about 200 cases reported worldwide. O This is a congenital disorder that causes excessive growth of various parts of the body. Asymmetrical growth of bones and skin often affects the skull and limbs, especially the legs. There is a theory that Joseph Merrick, the so-called "Elephant Man", suffers from Proteus syndrome, although DNA tests have not proven this.

3. Acromegaly

Acromegaly occurs when the pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone. As a rule, the pituitary gland is previously affected by a benign tumor. The development of the disease leads to the fact that victims begin to grow to completely disproportionate sizes. In addition to their enormous size, victims of acromegaly also have a prominent forehead and very sparsely set teeth. Probably the most famous person suffering from acromegaly was Andre the Giant, who grew to 220 centimeters and weighed more than 225 kg. If this disease is not treated in time, the body will grow to such a size that the heart cannot cope with the load, and the patient dies. Andre died of heart disease at the age of forty-six.

4. Leprosy

Leprosy is one of the most terrible diseases, which is caused by bacteria that destroy the skin. It manifests itself slowly: first, ulcers appear on the skin, which gradually expand until the patient begins to rot. The disease usually most severely affects the face, arms, legs and genitals. Although victims of leprosy do not lose entire limbs, victims often have their fingers, toes, and nose rot and fall off, leaving a nightmarish ragged hole in the middle of their face. Lepers have been cast out of society for centuries, and even today there are "leper colonies."

5. Smallpox

Another ancient disease is smallpox. It is even found on Egyptian mummies. It is believed that she was defeated in 1979. Two weeks after contracting the disease, the body becomes covered in a painful, bloody rash and pimples. After a few days, if the person survives, the pimples dry out, leaving behind terrible scars. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln suffered from smallpox, as well as Joseph Stalin, who was especially embarrassed by smallpox on his face and ordered his photographs to be retouched.

6. Epidermodysplasia verruciformis

A very rare skin disease, epidermodysplasia verruciformis, is characterized by a person’s susceptibility to the papilloma virus, which causes rapid growth of scattered warts throughout the body. The world first heard about the terrible disease in 2007, when Dede Kosvar was diagnosed with the disease. Since then, the patient has undergone several operations, during which several kilograms of warts and papillomas were removed from him. Unfortunately, the disease progresses very quickly and Dede will require at least two surgeries a year to maintain a relatively normal appearance.

7. Porphyria

Porphyria disease is an inherited genetic disorder that results in the accumulation of porphyrins (organic compounds that have various functions in the body, including producing red blood cells). Porphyria primarily attacks the liver and can lead to all sorts of mental health problems. Sufferers of this skin condition should avoid exposure to sunlight, which causes swelling and blisters on the skin. It is believed that the appearance of people with porphyria gave rise to legends about vampires and werewolves.

8. Cutaneous leishmaniasis

9. Elephant disease

10. Necrotizing fasciitis

Minor cuts and abrasions are a part of everyone's life, and they usually cause minimal inconvenience. But if flesh-eating bacteria gets into the wound, even a small cut can become life-threatening in a matter of hours. The bacteria actually “eat” the flesh and release toxins that destroy the soft tissue. The only way to treat the infection is with massive amounts of antibiotics, but even then, all of the affected flesh must be cut out to stop the fasciitis from spreading. Surgeries also often involve amputation of limbs and other obvious mutilations. But even with medical attention, necrotizing fasciitis is fatal in 30-40% of all cases.

While scientists are looking for cures for terrible diseases, ordinary people can only get their fill.

You can often see a couple on the street in which one of the partners is not very handsome. Sometimes we think about what is unusual about such people if they are unattractive, and their chosen ones look at them with loving eyes? Perhaps we don’t understand something, because everyone’s concept of human beauty is different. And then the question arises: how exactly do lovers’ ideas about beauty differ from ordinary people? V.V. Veresaev reflects on these questions.

In this text, the author describes an incident that occurred between a famous artist and his student. They wanted to participate in a competition for the best painting, which should depict “the highest Beauty captured in a female form.” Each hero had his own idea of ​​the beauty of girls and women. And as the first example illustrating this problem, the author cites the opinion of the artist who “was looking for a maiden in whom nature had invested her best beauty.” And he found one. The girl was very attractive; at the competition, spectators could not take their eyes off her portrait. Thus, it becomes clear that true beauty in the artist’s view is external attractiveness. But his student had a different opinion: he considered his beloved Zorka to be a real beauty, although his teacher did not agree with him, because, in his opinion, Zorka is “an ordinary girl, of which you can meet dozens everywhere.” But on the day of the competition, everyone saw that this girl was actually a real beauty. Her face shone with happiness and love, and every person in the square remembered the best moments of their love. For example, the old driver looked differently at his old woman, in whose eyes he saw reflections of the light that came from Zorka, as well as love and tenderness. Thus, the author concludes that for a loving person, his chosen one is always beautiful, no matter how terrible his appearance may be.

According to the writer, the ideas of beauty of a person who is in love differ from the opinions of ordinary people, because such a high feeling as love makes the entire world around him more beautiful than it really is. A person in love does not look at external beauty; it is important to him what his chosen one really is.

I agree with the author's position. Indeed, a person who is under the power of love for another sees beauty completely differently, as they say, “through rose-colored glasses.” Love gives people happiness and joy from being near their loved ones. Such people accept the chosen one for who he is, not paying attention to any external shortcomings. And these people are truly happy.

As the first example from fiction confirming the fact that a person in love does not care about the appearance of his chosen one, we can cite the work of Charlotte Bronte “Jane Eyre”. The main character, a young girl named Jane, was very ugly. The heroine worked as a governess in the house of a wealthy gentleman, Mr. Edward Rochester, who fell in love with the girl, despite the fact that she was not a beauty. He appreciated Jane's kindness, honesty and sincerity; in his eyes she still remained the most attractive, although she, according to other people, was much worse in appearance than the proud and cold beauty Blanche Ingram. Thus, I would like to note that for a person in love, all the external flaws of his chosen one become invisible, because love reveals everything to him in a new light.

Another example from literature is the work of L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”. Let's look at the images of two characters: Nikolai Rostov and Marya Bolkonskaya. Princess Bolkonskaya, as Tolstoy describes her, was a real ugly girl, even her own father thought so. Nikolai Rostov, on the contrary, was very attractive. It would seem, how could these two be together? As they say, love works wonders. Although the princess was ugly in appearance, Rostov fell in love with her for her kindness, sincerity and tenderness, which made her truly beautiful. And again I would like to note that even a very ugly person can look beautiful in the eyes of someone who loves him.

In conclusion, I would like to say that a person will be truly attractive to someone who truly loves him. If people only like the appearance of their chosen ones, then this cannot be called true love. Therefore, I urge: love and accept each other for who you are. Only then will you be happy. And the more such people there are, the happier and brighter our world seems to us.

• Essay 2.

There are a huge number of works of art in the world. Each author wants to convey something of his own to the reader, viewer. Some admire the beauty of nature, others admire the appearance of people. But which work has real beauty? This is precisely the question that worries V.V. Veresaeva.

In this text, the author talks about a competition between a teacher and a student. They had to depict “the highest Beauty” in the paintings. First, the writer shows how the public reacted to the artist’s work. He writes: “No one has ever seen such beauty in the world.” The picture was certainly lovely, but it made people look at the world around them differently, and then they noticed a bunch of flaws in it. Thus V.V. Veresaev wants to convey to the reader that real beauty should illuminate everything with light, and not oppress. In addition, the author describes the public's perception of the student's painting. At first there was murmur and bewilderment throughout the square, but later people saw the true beauty: “Everyone remembered the best moments of his love.” Thus, V.V. Veresaev shows how the joyful light from the painting illuminated everything around, and this is real beauty.

The author's position is extremely clear. He believes that a work in which the soul is invested has true beauty. It is this that will help awaken the best feelings in people, will help them see the beauty in what we have, because without it our life becomes gray and joyless.

It is difficult to disagree with the author's position. Indeed, real beauty depends on the soul that the author put into his work. After all, if a person works for profit, then he does not even try to convey at least some personal emotions and experiences.

To prove the validity of all of the above, I will give the following literary example. Let us recall the work “Portrait” by N.V. Gogol. In it, the author writes about the young artist Chartkov, who loved to create and put his whole soul into his works. But one day a large sum of money ended up in his hands. At first he wanted to buy everything he needed for creativity, lock himself in the workshop and create. But then the desire for fame and profit got the better of him. Over time, Chartkov became a fashionable painter and lost his talent. One day he was invited to an exhibition of an artist who had come from Italy. When Chartkov saw his painting, he wanted to draw something similar, but it didn’t work out. Thus N.V. Gogol shows how, in pursuit of profit, a person stops putting his soul into his works, and as a result loses his talent.

As another example from literature, I will give the work of R. Bradbury “Smile”. The author writes about people who gathered in the square to destroy another work of art. When the picture was presented to the public, everyone except Tom began spitting and throwing stones at it. The boy saw something beautiful in her. Suddenly someone threw him over the frame, and he tore out a piece of the canvas. But, despite other people who tore it all and trampled on it, he put it in his pocket. Perhaps Tom will be the one who can return civilization to the people. Thus, R. Bradbury shows how people without art become evil and cannot see real beauty.

In conclusion, I would like to say that people should try to feel the author’s work and understand what he wanted to tell them. Only then will they be able to truly appreciate it and know its true beauty.

There are a huge number of places in the world that ordinary guidebooks do not tell about. In 2009, the authors of the project Atlas Obscura decided to create a catalog of such places, as well as people and things that give a sense of wonder and are located far from the beaten tourist path. It turned out book, which under one cover contains more than 700 unusual, strange, unknown, mystical, impressive places on the planet - natural and man-made - with descriptions and photographs, as well as coordinates, so that everyone can get to them and see everything with their own eyes.

Europe: nuclear bunker in Great Britain

If you come to the UK and decide to see something else besides the popular attractions, go to Essex, to the nuclear bunker at Kelvedon Hatch. It is no longer hidden - now signs will direct you to the “secret atomic bunker”, although quite recently the underground shelter was supposed to shelter several hundred military and civilian officials in the event of a nuclear war.

The bunker had an entrance shaped like a forest house and was equipped with air conditioning and heating systems, drinking water sources, generators, modern radio equipment and secure telecommunications systems.

Now the bunker has been turned into a museum. Its corridors are full of dusty old telephones, Geiger counters and maps.

Asia: Abandoned Ship Graveyard in Bangladesh

If you're drawn to all things sea, visit the shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh. The sandy coast of Chittagong is a huge cemetery of decommissioned and abandoned ships and tankers. After decades of sailing the seas and oceans, their battered, rusting hulls lie helpless on the sand, waiting to be dismantled by workers in T-shirts, shorts and sandals.

Every year, about 25 thousand workers (once there were up to 200 thousand) dismantle 250 ships from around the world to sell spare parts and materials. Since the 1970s, decommissioned ships have been brought here to be dismantled into mountains of iron sheets, kilometers of cables, generators and other machinery, millions of rivets, nuts and bolts.

The many kilometers of shipyards along the Chittagong coastline are inaccessible to visitors. But the skeletons of the ships are clearly visible from a distance. As you approach the shipyard, you will see metal products from ships in many shops, stretching along the road in long rows.

Africa: Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar

Did you know about the amazing Alley of Baobabs on the island of Madagascar? Along the dirt road leading from Murondava to Belo Tsiribijina are rows of majestic trees.

This is the Avenue of Baobabs and a spectacular place on the planet for observing Adansonia grandidieri- one of the six species of baobabs endemic to Madagascar. These trees are several hundred years old, reach 30 meters in height and look as if they were planted with their roots up. The branches, growing only from the upper part of the trunk, are decorated with flat bunches of leaves, sparkling in the rays of the setting sun. The best time to visit is sunrise and sunset.

Oceania: "death cage" in Crocodile Bay

Is it possible to visit Australia and not see a crocodile? Check this box by being in the cage of death.

When you are lowered into the pool with the saltwater crocodiles at Crocodile Bay, pay attention to the claw marks left on the walls of the acrylic cage in which you will be placed. Don't worry: there is 4 cm of durable plastic between you and the 5.5 meter deadly reptile. There are other reptiles and fish in this urban wildlife park, but the main draw is the saltwater crocodiles. They are larger, faster and more aggressive towards people than alligators. “Scallops,” as they are called locally, are found in abundance in the rivers of Northern Australia, where swimming is strictly prohibited.

In Crocodile Bay you will be offered a rare entertainment: splash around next to the “scallop” in the “death cage” - a transparent cylinder lowered into the pool with the crocodile. Not a single person was injured in this attraction, which cannot be said about the crocodiles. In 2010, Bert the Crocodile, the 80-year-old hero of the film Crocodile Dundee, lost a tooth after attacking two football players who were taunting him from his cage. In 2011, the cable used to lower the cage broke, and a couple of tourists fell straight to the huge Choppa. But, fortunately for the people, he ignored the guests, and they were quickly pulled out.

Latin America: eternal thunderstorm over Maracaibo

Something strange is in the air where the Catatumbo River flows into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela: 260 nights a year, sometimes for 10 hours without stopping, lightning pierces the sky above the river, producing more than 280 strikes per hour. This thunderstorm known as relampago del Catatumbo(“Catatumbo lightning”), was always going on, according to the recollections of local old-timers. In 1595, Francis Drake's attempt to capture the city of Maracaibo under cover of darkness ended in failure when flashes of lightning betrayed his position to the city's defenders. And during the Venezuelan War of Independence in 1823, Spanish ships became visible in flashes of lightning and were destroyed by the fleet of Simon Bolivar.

Lightning, which can be seen 40 km away, is so regular that it has been used for navigation purposes. Interestingly, the discharges are practically not accompanied by thunder, as they wander from cloud to cloud high above the ground. It is still unknown why these constant lightning strikes occur here and only here. According to one version, ionized methane from the fogs above Catatumbo meets cold air flowing down from the Andes; This creates ideal conditions for thunderstorms. The best place to watch the thunderstorm is Congo Mirador, a village on stilts built on Lake Maracaibo.

The material was prepared based on the book “Atlas Obscura. The most extraordinary places on the planet" (18+).