Words and phrases to be remembered

Revolt - бунт, возмущение, восстание, мятеж

Sovereigns – монарх, повелитель, властелин, правитель; владыка

Unsurpassed - непревзойденный, неповторимый

Income - доход, приход, прибыль; заработок

To retreat - отступать, отходить

To fail - потерпеть неудачу; не иметь успеха (in)

Legislative assembly - законодательное собрание

To be responsible for - ответственный, несущий ответственность, отвечающий (за что-л.)

Branches of power – ветви власти

TEXT 2

Orenburg region is the land of various natural conditions. In its geological structure one can find rocks dating back to pre-Cambrian period and from modern Quaternary. The surface of the region is plain, hilly or low mountainous. Its landscape is unique because of erosive and karst processes and asymmetry of its slopes, salt tectonics and breaks of the earth's crust.

Orenburg flora and fauna are extremely rich. The trout and umber are splashing in its foothills streams. The beluga and sturgeon come to the Ural River from the Caspian Sea for spawning and stay there for winter. Quick saigas are running in the sun-dried steppe behind the Or. Brown bears, capercailzies and lynxes inhabit the forests of Shaitantau and Maly Nakas.

The world of plants is also diverse. In the Buzuluk forest one can meet swamp sundew and near the river Ilek there is tamarisk which comes from the countries of the Persian Gulf.

In the South of the region swamps are neighboring upon alkali and sandy soils.

The man has been living in this region since ancient times. He is using its natural resources and changing its face. Ancient people's traces can be found here: hundreds of barrows, sanctuaries, ruined settlements, stone cemeteries and ancient mines.

Words and phrases to be remembered

Natural conditions – зд. природные ресурсы

Rock - скала, утес

Pre-Cambrian period – докембрий (геол.)

Quaternary - четвертичный период, антропоген (последняя современная система кайнозоя)

Erosive - эрозийный, вызывающий эрозию; выветривающий; размывающий

Slope - наклон, уклон, скат, склон; откос, крутизна, спуск

Crust - земная кора

Trout – форель

Umber – умбра

Foothills – предгорье

Sturgeon – осетр

Spawning – нерест

Capercailzies – глухарь

Lynx – рысь

Swamp sundew – болотная росянка

Alkali soils – солончаки

Barrow - курган, (могильный) холм

Sanctuary - святилище (храм, церковь)

TEXT 3

Downy shawls were in popular demand. Since the beginning of the XIX century they had become the essential part of women's costume. The wives of peasants, merchants and aristocrats wore them. A lot of merchants came to buy shawls and to sell them on Russian bazaars and fairs. Sometimes downy shawls knitting provided the main profit of the population.

As well as two hundred years ago everything is done by hand even now. Nothing could replace women's hands. The secrets of the craft are learned from the early childhood. The first thing the future knitters learn is that the down loves kindness: the better you clean and comb it the thinner the thread will be and the shawl will be even.

Girls begin to knit at the age of seven or eight and don't part with knitting needles till the old age. The knitters joke: "We don't knit only when we are sleeping". They work so hard that they have a corn on their right hand forefingers because they use about five kilogram’s of downy yarn while they are knitting a middle-sized shawl.

When the shawl is ready it is washed and dried on the frame. Nowadays it is not a problem. But in the last century when the shawls were very large (up to two meters) it was difficult to stretch them inside the house. So they were sold without washing and drying. Only small shawls, which were called "katetki", were washed and dried at home on the ceiling (up to ten at a time). The rooms became lighter and that didn't bring discomfort to anybody.