II. Read and translate the text. My native town

My hometown is Shakhty. It is situated in the southern part of Russia in the Rostov region. Shakhty was founded more than 130 years ago as a coal-mining town named Aleksandrovsk-Grushevsk. It got its present name in 1921 only. The population of Shakhty is about 150,000 people.

The town consists of a central part and a number of settlements. The settlements grew around mines. Every settlement has a school, a kindergarten, shops, and a club.

There is a beautiful square in the center of the town. One of the most beautiful buildings of the town - the one of the Polytechnic Institute- faces the square. On the opposite side of the square you can see the central department store and the central library. There are a lot of educational institutions in our town: schools, colleges, institutes, universities.

The central park is one of the nicest places in Shakhty. Many people come here on their days-off. Near the park you can see a stadium. We have a theatre and a museum in our town too. We have several clubs and cinemas in our town as well. The main street is Sovetskaya.

Our town is not very large but it looks nice, especially in spring and summer with a lot of greenery. 3- and 5- storeyed buildings are typical for our town but one can find 9- and 14- storeyed houses in the center of the town.

The main industry in our town is coal-mining. There exists a number of other industries. There are many private enterprises producing food, clothes, furniture. Gloria-Jeans factory is one of them. It produces clothes for children and grown-ups. A cotton factory was built in 1972 and a new settlement appeared around it with modern many-storeyed buildings.

III. Answer the questions.

1. What is your hometown?

2. When was your town founded?

3. When did it get its present name?

4. How was it called before?

5. Is you town a small place or a big modern city?

6. Where is it situated?

7. What is special about the town?

8. Why are there many settlements in the town?

9. Which is the main street in your town?

10. What is there in the centre of the town?

11. Are there any educational establishments in your town?

12. What cultural establishments are there in your town?

13. What is the main industry in the town?

14. Are there any other industries here?

15. Are you proud of your town?

IV. Write your own story about your native town.

V. Be ready to speak about your native town. The russian federation

I. Learn the topical vocabulary.

vast territory	обширная территория
to be situated	располагаться
to be washed	омываться
to border on	граничить с
land	земля
to vary	изменяться
desert valley	пустыня долина
mountains	горы
mountain chains	горные цепи
the Urals	уральские горы
the Caucasus	кавказские горы
the Altai	алтайские горы
river	река
lake	озеро
deposit	месторождение
oil	нефть
coal	уголь
iron	железо
gold	золото
granary	житница
densely populated	густонаселенный
the legislative power	законодательная власть
to be exercised	осуществляться
chamber	палата
the сouncil of federation	совет федерации
the state duma	государственная дума
the executive power	исполнительная власть
government	правительство
the judicial power	юридическая власть
the constitutional court	конституционный суд
the supreme court	верховный суд
banner	флаг