Education and Role of Foreign Languages

American Sports and Games
The United States have been a powerhouse in world sports for a long time. Americans take great pride in their sporting accomplishments, and sports are an important part of their culture. There’s no doubt, United States rule in well-known sports such as basketball, baseball and their home grown sport of American football. See a list of the 10 top sports in the USA.
We may consider baseball as their traditional sport for it started in the 18th century, with a semi-pro National Baseball Club in the 1860’s and from that point on, baseball became the “national past time” of Americans. Nowadays, the most played sport in United States is football. Let us not forget that basketball also started in the U.S. in 1891. YMCA had a major role in spreading this sport globally. The first training ground for basketball is in YMCA and these students had disseminated across the globe. The United States also have hosted quite a number of Olympic Games from 1904 (St. Louis, Missouri) to 2002 (Salt Lake City, Utah), and will again in 2028 in LA. They have also won more than the average Olympic medals in virtually all sports.
With all these in mind, we also have to mention the long list of great athletes that the U.S. had produced starting with Mike Trout, the famous slugger of today’s baseball season. With 49 stolen bases, leading the league with a 10.9 WAR, he unanimously won the American League and still plays outstandingly from his breakout season up to now. On the other hand, football has Tom Brady. This quarterback led his team, Patriots, to more division titles than any other team in NFL history.
Speaking of popularity, no one ever came close from the Michael Jordan. This man popularized NBA to the world in the 1980s to 1990s. He also was the most well-rounded and marketed athlete of his generation. No wonder, every basketball player looks up to him.


Uzbekistan
The Uzbek ethnic group proved to be one of the oldest on our planet. The distinctive culture of Uzbekistan has begun to develop at the dawn of civilizations and has undergone significant changes over millennia.
The territory of Uzbekistan is located in the centre of the Central Asia between the two rivers Syr Darya and Amu Darya. Unsurprisingly, an oasis in the middle of the desert has always attracted the brave and ambitious merchants, warriors, adventurers and travelers.
The Achaemenid Empire (the First Persian Empire) prospered here in the VI-IV centuries BC. The Empire dissolved, when Alexander the Great had invaded the territory. The Hellenistic era began. At that time, trade began to develop, large cities began to grow, and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom began to rule.
In the middle of the 2nd century BC the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom collapsed and a new part of history set in. The nomadic Kushan tribe founded the Kushan state. At this time, trade, movement of people and interethnic communication began to develop.Due to the advantageous territorial location of cities, the route of the Great Silk Road passed through the territory of modern Uzbekistan. Large trade cities such as Andijan, Kokand, Rishtan, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and Tashkent appeared and grew along this route.Then such countries as the Parthian Empire, Kangju, the Hephthalites Empire, and the Turkic Khaganate prospered and developed here. In the VII century AD the Arabs conquered the territory. The territory began to be called Mawarannahr.
In the XII century, Genghis Khan conquered this territory and founded the Chagatai ulus here. However, the heyday of this territory began in the XIV century, when Amir Temur came to power. Samarkand became the capital of the state, economic and cultural centre. After Samarkand was conquered by the nomadic tribes Dasht-I-Kipchak. The new state of the Shaybanids dynasty was founded. From the VI century and to the middle of the XIX century the Khiva, Kokand khanates and the Bukhara Emirate ruled on this territory.