There are many traditions in the world. But if you can follow any tradition to its source, you will see it is only an outer manifestation or expression of an inner experience of one person or a group of people. When people try to organize and deliver that experience to more people, it becomes a system, and then becomes a tradition, and tradition sometimes turns into a religion, and sometimes into many other things.
All these things start with an inner experience before the process of either disorganized flow or organized conduct. If it is a disorganized flow, generally it gets referred to as a tradition because it is a loose organization. If it is a more organized expression, it becomes an organized religion. But essentially, if you go back, you will see all these things originated in an inner experience of an individual human being or a group of human beings.

source - источник
manifestation - проявление
inner - внутренний
organized conduct - организованное поведение
originate - происходить


#intermediate

Free public transport can rightfully claim to be the dream of every city dweller. However, in order to implement this project in the right way, it is vital to carefully consider all the details and analyze major points: whether positive aspects for the population and workers of the transport industry would overwhelm losses for the economy of the country.
The zero-fare public transport idea was first introduced in 1962 in Commerce city. The city had some social problems, and the government believed that the cancellation of fares could increase the demand for different types of public transport. This would mean that the automobile industry could lose large amounts of funding. Thus, the population would rather choose surface and underground transport, most of which were electric.

rightfully - по праву
city dweller - горожанин
implement - осуществлять
overwhelm - покрывать
cancellation - отмена
demand - требование
funding - финансирование
surface transport - наземный транспорт


#intermediate

Icons are considered an essential part of the church and are given special liturgical veneration. They serve as mediums of instruction for the uneducated faithful through the iconostasis, a screen shielding the altar, covered with icons depicting scenes from the New Testament, church feasts, and popular saints. In the classical Byzantine and Orthodox tradition, iconography is not a realistic but a symbolical art, and its function is to express in line and colour the theological teaching of the church.
Icons are traditionally painted on a wooden board with egg tempera, which needs to be applied to a firm surface to prevent it from cracking upon drying. The wooden panel is usually prepared with several coats of white gesso (a thick preparation of white pigment, such as gypsum, in an adhesive base).

liturgical veneration - литургическое почитание
iconostasis - иконостас
Byzantine  - византийский
Orthodox - православный
iconography - иконография
theological - богословский
adhesive - клейкое вещество

#advanced

A cloud is made of water drops or ice crystals floating in the sky. There are many kinds of clouds. Clouds are an important part of Earth's weather.
Clouds get their names in two ways. One way is by where they are found in the sky. Some clouds are high up in the sky. Low clouds form closer to Earth's surface. In fact, low clouds can even touch the ground. These clouds are called fog. Middle clouds are found between low and high clouds.
Another way clouds are named is by their shape. Cirrus clouds are high clouds. They look like feathers. Cumulus clouds are middle clouds. These clouds look like giant cotton balls in the sky. Stratus clouds are low clouds. They cover the sky like bed sheets.
Most of the water in clouds is in very small droplets. The droplets are so light they float in the air.

drops - капли
surface - поверхность
fog - туман
cirrus - перистые
feathers - перья
cumulus - кучевые
cotton balls - хлопковые шарики
stratus - слоистый
bed sheets - простыни
droplets - маленькие капли


#elementary

Monkeys are clever, social animals. They are known for running and leaping through trees with ease. Like apes and humans, monkeys belong to the group of mammals called primates.
Monkeys look somewhat like apes such as chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas. But monkeys differ from apes in several ways. For instance, every monkey has a tail, even if it is just a tiny nub. Apes do not have tails. Monkeys also generally have narrower chests than apes do.
Monkeys are intelligent animals that are good at solving problems. Almost all types live together in groups. A monkey group commonly includes several related females, their young, and one or more males.
Most monkeys eat mainly plants. Different types eat fruits, flowers, seeds, shoots, roots, and leaves. Some types of monkey also eat birds’ eggs, insects, and other small animals.

leaping - скачущий
apes - обезьяны (крупные)
mammals - млекопитающие
nub - шишка
chest - грудная клетка
solve - решать
mainly - в основном
shoots - побеги


#elementary

Probably, every woman dreams of her own knight on a white horse, who will come and take her to a fairy tale, in which he will Serenade her, kiss her hands and generally perform various feats in her honor. This is in our view the standard of a knight without fear and reproach.
Knights in our understanding are closely connected with the middle ages, it is from there that the ringing of swords and the trampling of hot horses from famous jousting tournaments are heard.
The middle ages are shrouded in a cloak of romance and hidden from us under the visor of time.
Knights appeared in Europe around the time of 10 in the 19th century, they were the personal cavalry army of a separate feudal Lord or king, in fact, they were the equestrian bodyguards of their master.

various feats - различные подвиги
reproach - упрек
trampling - топот
jousting tournaments - рыцарские турниры
shrouded - окутанный
cloak - плащ, мантия
cavalry army - кавалерийская армия
feudal - феодальный
equestrian - конный



#intermediate

A sore throat is pain, scratchiness or irritation of the throat that often worsens when you swallow. The most common cause of a sore throat (pharyngitis) is a viral infection, such as a cold or the flu. A sore throat caused by a virus resolves on its own.
Strep throat (streptococcal infection), a less common type of sore throat caused by bacteria, requires treatment with antibiotics to prevent complications. Other less common causes of sore throat might require more complex treatment.
The best way to prevent sore throats is to avoid the germs that cause them and practice good hygiene.
- Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently for at least 20 seconds.
- Avoid touching your face. 
- Cough or sneeze into a tissue and throw it away, and then wash your hands.

scratchiness - царапанье
viral infection - вирусная инфекция
strep - стрептококк
complications - осложнения
prevent - предотвращать
hygiene - гигиена


#intermediate

Ancient Egypt and India used tattoos as methods of healing and as methods of religious worship. They were also marks of a status in a society but also a punishment. Tattoos in Philippines were marks of the rank and accomplishments and people there believed that they have magical properties.
When Christianity appeared, tattooing was considered a barbaric tradition and it slowly faded in Europe to return with transoceanic travels in 16th. At first, tattooing was “reserved” for sailors and lower classes but in time, as tattoo artists became more and more proficient, tattooing became hobby of aristocracy which had money to pay high prices of professionals. As the tattooing became cheaper it again was seen as a mark of a lower class. 

healing - исцеление
worship - поклонение
accomplishments - достоинства
barbaric - варварский
proficient - опытный
aristocracy - аристократия


#intermediate

Backpacking is a very loose definition. There are backpackers who go tramping in the forests sleeping in tents and on the beach, and hitchhike their way around the world.
And there are those who backpack with roller-bag suitcases, sleep in hotels and rent a car to get around a country.
These are two completely different types of traveling, but they both like to call themselves backpackers.
A backpacker is a person who is taking a vacation or traveling for whatever reason but instead of carrying a suitcase and luggage, is carrying everything in a backpack. They are likely someone who would be staying in a hostel rather than in a hotel. They will be more likely to take public transportation and walk than to rent a car.
Backpacking is considered to be an inexpensive way of traveling.

loose - обширный
tramping - бродить
hitchhike - путешествовать автостопом
roller-bag suitcases - чемоданы на роликах
vacation - отпуск
considered - считается
inexpensive - недорогой


#elementary

Without light, there is no color. When people see colors, they are really seeing different types of light bouncing off objects.
Three colors of light—red, blue, and green—can combine to make any other color. For example, if a beam of green light shines over a beam of red light, yellow light appears. Red, blue, and green are called primary colors of light. Mixtures of the primary colors of light produce all the other colors.
Cells in the eyes called cones make it possible for humans to see color. Different types of cones absorb different colors. Some people are color blind. This does not necessarily mean that they cannot see any color at all. More commonly, people with color blindness think certain colors, such as red and green, look the same.

bouncing off - отскакивая от
combine - соединять, объединять
beam - луч
primary - первичный
cells - клетки
absorb - поглощать
color blind - дальтонизм, дальтоник


#elementary