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History of archery 

Archery is one of the oldest arts still practised today. The evolution of archery began at the start of mankind’s history, and evidence of ancient archers has been found around the world.

Although archery probably dates back to the Stone Age – around 20,000BC – the earliest people known to have regularly used bows and arrows were the Ancient Egyptians, who adopted archery around 3,000BC for hunting and warfare. In China, the earliest evidence of archery dates to the Shang Dynasty – 1766-1027BC. A war chariot of that time carried a three-man team, a driver, a lancer and an archer. During the Zhou Dynasty that followed – 1027-256BC – nobles at court attended archery tournaments that were accompanied my music and interspersed with entertainment.

When Chinese people introduced Japan to archery in the sixth century it had an overwhelming influence on culture. One of Japan’s most well-known martial arts, originally known as “kyujutsu” (the art of the bow), is known as “kyudo” (the way of the bow). Modern kyudo is practised primarily for physical, moral and spiritual development. After certain ritual movements, a kyudo archer steps onto the shooting line to shoot at a target 36cm in diamter, 28 metres away, set in a roofed bank of sand. The kyudo bow is 2.21 metres long and made of laminated strips of bamboo.

In the Greco-Roman period, archers in both warfare and hunting settings were frequently shown on pottery. Middle Eastern superiority in archery equipment and technique reigned for centuries. With bows like those of the Assyrians and Parthians, who were probably the first to master archery from horseback, Attila the Hun and his Mongols conquered much of Europe and Asia, and Turkish archers threw back the Crusaders.


The English longbow became a force in the middle ages and was used in many famous European battles such as Crécy and Agincourt. A law in England that forced every man of adult age to practise archery every Sunday was never repealed, though it is presently ignored.

The first-known archery competition relatable to modern times was held in Finsbury, England in 1583 and had 3,000 participants. Since the advent of gunpowder, archery’s importance in warfare decreased – and it instead developed into a recreational and competitive sport.

Mythology and pop culture 

Archery is featured in folklore around the world, Robin Hood being probably the most famous. Based in Nottingham forest, he used his bow to steal from the rich and give to the poor, while combating the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.

Odysseus, who returned home to Ithaca after 20 years at war in the Greek epic The Odyssey, was also an excellent archer. He was the only one to be able to draw his bow and shoot an arrow through 12 rings to claim back his wife, Penelope, and fend off a host of suitors.

In modern literature and films, elf Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the Green Arrow in TV series Archer and Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games series have all been credited with boosting archery’s popularity, especially with younger generations. Hawkeye from marvel’s comics and films has a speciall place in my heart, as I consider him to be the best archer ever.

Archery at the olympic 

Archery was first included in the Olympic Games in 1900. It was also featured on the programme in 1904, 1908 and 1920 before a 52-year hiatus until 1972, when it returned. It has remained on the Olympic Programme ever since, with competition in men’s and women’s, individual and team, recurve archery.

Archery at the paralympic 

Para archery was one of the original sports at the Paralympic Games in 1960, and has been featured on the programme ever since, with men's and women's individual competitions. Three-athlete team events were replaced by mixed team competitions at Rio 2016.

Mr. Burton was telling the story about his namesake, who was asking him for a job.
Young Burton was down and out. Mr. Burton didn't want to hire him, because young Burton played cards. So, Burton said that he had swum for his university. An idea came to Mr. Burton's mind that he could make his young namesake funk or die. He told him that young Burton should swim round the beacon and land at the creek of Tarumi, where he met him. Mr. Burton knew about young Burton's bad condition, but he offered it to him. Burton agreed as he had nothing left to do. When Mr. Burton got to the creek of Tarumi, he understood, that his namesake would never turn up. He was drowned. He couldn't manage the currents round the beacon because of his ruined condition.
When the author asked if Mr. Burton had known that Burton would be drowned, he answered that he hadn't had a vacancy.
It's very strong and meaningful story. I had different emotions while reading it.

People over forty:

People under forty:

The University of Oxford is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world and also the oldest university in the UK. It is located in Oxford town of Oxfordshire country. It is one on the top of the list of the seven British and Irish ancient universities.

The university is made up of 38 constituent colleges, and a range of academic departments, which are organised into four divisions. All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. It does not have a main campus, and its buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city centre.

The exact date of Oxford University fondation is unknown, however it was fiestly mentioned in 1096. Since 1167 the university has started to attract the brightest minds from all over the UK.

Even though nowadays Oxford University is mostly famous for the fiels of Humanities, the exact, social and medical sciences are taught on the same top level ass well as banking and law. All facultiesare combined into four majour divisions: humanities, social sciences, mathematics, physical and life sciences, and medical sciences.

In total, in 2017 the Oxford University Admission Comittee received more than 45000 entry applications, but most of the candidats are screenedout at the first stages of the entry campaign.

Fun fact that in 2013 genetics professor Bryan Sykes and a group of Oxford researchers finally disproved the existence of a snowman. A mysterious animal which was taken for a snowman was revealed to be a rare species of bear.

After First World War and the loss of about 40% of students on the battlefields, Oxford experienced a significant modernization and began to train specialists in virtually all fields of knowledge. The study process was becoming more systematic, which eventually made the university one of the foremost scientific institutions in Europe.

My dear friend,

As you know, I entered university. I was very exited to study there, because I always wanted to learn languages. I really worried about my group, the students in there, the teachers. I knew that environment is very important for me, as our relationships with other students and teachers really influence on studying. 

I didn't know much about universities and I knew only one person in there, so tried to keep close to her and other girls in the group. By the way, there are only girls in my group, but we have one boy at our faculty. It's very weird to me, because in school we had as much boys as girls. 

But as time gone on I started to get used to everything strange (strange to my freshman's mind).  I started to understand how the classes and exams should take place, how the teachers put marks for the lessons. 

And now I know almost everything about studying here, became friends with some students and expect to finish my education here with good marks and memories.

I hope, it didn't tire you to read my letter and hope to get your answer about your feelings on your first day and year in university.

Your friend,

Karina.