Vocabulary File.

Ex. 1 Listen, look, repeat.

1. at the request of – по просьбе

2. to acquaint smb – познакомить кого-либо

3. former – бывший

4. a plaster sculpture – гипсовая скульптура

5. an impressionist – импрессионист

Ex. 2 Read the sentences with the new words.

1. at the request of – по просьбе

The museum was constructed at the request of the group of professors of Moscow

University.

2. to acquaint smb – познакомить кого-либо

They wanted to acquaint their students with the best works of art from all parts of

the world.

3. former – бывший

The former name of the museum was Fine Arts Museum of Moscow University.

4. a plaster sculpture – гипсовая скульптура

Here you can see plaster sculptures of Greek gods.

5. an impressionist – импрессионист

The collection of French impressionists is the richest one in the world.

Pushkin Fine Arts Museum is a museum of foreign art with a world reputation. It has one of the biggest collections of art in our country. Today this is the second country museum after the Hermitage. The building was constructed in 1912 by architect Roman Klein at the request of the group of professors of Moscow University who wanted to acquaint the students with the best works of art from all parts of the world.

The former name of the museum was Fine Arts Museum of Moscow University. The founder of the museum was Ivan Tsvetaev, the professor of Moscow University and the father of the famous Russian poetess Marina Tsvetaeva.

Here you can see the plaster sculptures of Greek gods, the unique works of art from ancient Egypt, a large collection of paintings of European artists. The collection of French impressionists of the 19^th-20^th centuries is the richest one in the world: Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and others. The Museum regularly organizes temporary exhibitions of masterpieces of the world culture from other Russian and foreign museums.

Ex.3 Make up word combinations matching the words according to the text.

Use them in your own sentences.

1. world 2. former 3. plaster 4. unique 5. ancient 6. temporary 7. European

a)sculptures b)works of art c)reputation d)Egypt e)exhibitions f)artists g)name

Ex.4 Act out as a guide answering the tourist’s questions in this dialogue.

T. - I’m interested in art. Which museums would you recommend me to visit?

G. - Если вы интересуетесь русским искусством, я бы рекомендовала вам

посетить Третьяковскую Художественную Галерею. Если вы любите

зарубежное искусство – Музей Изобразительных искусств имени Пушкина.

T. – Is the Tretyakov Art Gallery worth seeing?

G. - Да, обязательно. Коллекция музея отображает (reflects) всю историю

русского искусства и имеет около 100 тысяч экспонатов. Это – древние

иконы, скульптуры и картины самых знаменитых русских художников.

T. - What about the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum?

G. - Музей Изобразительных Искусств имени Пушкина – музей с мировой

репутацией. Он имеет около полумиллиона экспонатов. Это – уникальная

коллекция искусства из древнего Египта, гипсовые скульптуры греческих

богов, большая коллекция европейской живописи. Коллекция французских

импрессионистов 19-20 веков является самой богатой коллекцией в мире.

T. - Where is the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum located?

G. - Музей расположен на улице Волхонка в центре города.

T. - What’s the easiest way to get to the museum from the hotel?

G. - В Музей имени Пушкина лучше всего добраться на метро. Ближайшая

станция метро «Кропоткинская» находится в пяти минутах ходьбы от Музея.

Unit 15. From Volkhonka Street to Novodevichy Convent.