Vocabulary Training

1. Read the words and the expressions below:

Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad Oblast, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and Democratic People's Republic of Korea, mineral and energy resources, unfrozen fresh water

2. Group the words into subject groups:

republic, country, land borders, energy, minerals, water, land

3. Work with your partner.

Semi-presidential republic, the eighth of the Earth’s land area, federal subjects, the ninth largest by population.

4. Read English sentences choosing one of the Russian words in brackets with the proper meaning. This time work in small groups.

1. The Russian Federation is a transcontinental (пересекающийся, трансконти-нентальный, трансматериковый) country.

2. Democratic People's (национальный, народный, общественный) Republic of Korea is our eastern neighbour.

3. Russia`s lakes contain approximately (приблизительно, приближенно, точно) one-quarter of the world's unfrozen fresh water.

Reading

5. Read this text quickly and define the main idea of this text.

Russia or the Russian Federation is a transcontinental country. It is a semi-presidential republic comprising 83 federal subjects. Russia shares land borders with the following countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (via Kaliningrad Oblast), Poland (via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and Democratic People's Republic of Korea. At more than 17 million square kilometres, Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 142 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. Russia has the world's greatest reserves of mineral and energy resources, and is considered an energy superpower. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's unfrozen fresh water.

6. Using the information from the text above, complete these sentences.

1. Russia is a … .

2. Russia shares its borders with … .

3. Russia is the largest … .

4. Russia has the world’s greatest … .

5. Russia is considered … .

6. Russia’s lakes contain … .

7. forest reserves are … .

7. Work with your partner. Compose 4 or 5 questions to the text.

Vocabulary Training

8. Read the following words and word combinations:

AD (Anno Domini) – от Рождества Христова

Emerge – появляться

Byzantine Empire – Византийская империя

Ultimately – в конце концов

Principality – княжество

cultural and political legacy – культурное и политическое наследие

annexation – аннексия (присоединение)

successor state – государство-правопреемник

Grand Duchy of Moscow – Великое княжество Московское

9. Read the following words and expressions and guess their meaning:

nation's history, a noble Viking warrior class, Byzantine Empire, many small feudal states, reunification process, independence struggle

10. Scan the text quickly and find the English equivalents of the following words and word expressions:

восточные славяне, различимая группа, государство-правопреемник, посредст-вом завоеваний, простираясь от.