Unit 4. Murmansk and the murmansk region part 1

PRACTISE YOUR TRANSLATION SKILLS

Text 1

Translate the text from English into Russian with the help of a dictionary and get ready to answer the questions.

My native town

Murmansk is the capital of the Murmansk region. It was founded on the 4th of October, 1916. The city's first name was Romanov-on-Murman. Then it was renamed and became Murmansk.

The city is situated beyond the Polar Circle on the eastern coast of the Kola Inlet which doesn't freeze all the year round due to the warm Gulf Stream. It lies about 2000 thousand kilometers from Moscow. Murmansk stretches from the north to the south for more than 20 km.

The climate in Murmansk is maritime. Summers are short and cool. Winters are long and mild.

The average temperature is about zero. Winter lasts from November till April. The Polar night begins at the end of November and lasts till the middle January. The sun stays below the horizon, and the city is in darkness. The sky is sometimes lit with wonderful northern lights. But the Polar night is a very depressing period because people suffer from the lack of sunshine. The Polar day begins in the middle of May and lasts till the end of July. The sun never sets and people can enjoy the white nights.

Murmansk began to develop rapidly since the birth of the fishing fleet. It has become a large seaport since that time. The city's life is closely connected with fishing industry. There are two ports in Murmansk, the fishing port and the commercial port. The fish products are famous not only in Russia but in many foreign countries. A lot of Russian and foreign ships visit the port every day.

During the Great Patriotic war the city was completely destroyed by the German air attacks. But Murmansk remained unconquerable. The heroic defenders of Murmansk gave their lives in the battles for freedom and independence. Murmansk is a Hero city. After the war it was rebuilt.

Now Murmansk is the largest industrial center and the major Russian seaport beyond the Polar Circle with the population 388000 people. The main industrial enterprises include a shipyard, shiprepairing plants, fish processing plants, a fishing gear factory, food industry enterprises and some gas and oil prospecting enterprises.

Murmansk is a large cultural center. It has three professional theatres, a TV center, a Philarmonic society, a concert hall, some museums, palaces of culture and clubs, libraries and cinemas.

There are also many educational institutions including the Murmansk State Humanitarian University, the Murmansk State Technical University and some commercial institutes.

There are many sport facilities: a winter swimming-pool, some hockey courts and two stadiums. In the southern part of the city, in the Valley of Comfort, sports competitions are held every spring during Polar Olympiads. They include ski race, ski jumping and reindeer race.

There are many monuments in Murmansk: the monument to Bredov, the monument to the victims of intervention and to the heroic sixth battery, the Memorial to the defenders of the Soviet Far North and others.

Murmansk is a tourist center visited by Russian and foreign people.

Questions:

1. Where is Murmansk situated?

2. What is the climate in our city?

3. Why is Murmansk called an industrial center?

4. Why was Murmansk awarded the title of a Hero city?

5. What sport facilities are there in Murmansk?

6. When was our city founded?

7. What places of interest can you visit in Murmansk?

Text 2

Translate the text from English into Russian with the help of a dictionary and get ready to answer the questions.