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46.Fill in the gaps:

1.Initially steppe is a vast territory where ... grow.

2.Natural conditions, such as ... , make this part of Siberia especially good for agriculture.

3.The main agricultural products are ...

4. ... has been a common plant of our fields since 60's, but its native land is America.

5. ... are the biggest cities of this region.

6. ... is the greatest educational centre of Siberia.

7. ... has more vegetation than any other city in Siberia.

8.The production of Siberia must make up ... annually.

47.Make as many sentences as possible:

to be densely populated

to be occupied by plough-land to be favorable for agriculture a high level of mechanization the territory of wheat and maize to be on a big scale

an important junction on the Trans – Siberian Railway to make a large contribution

an abundance of farm produce to play the principal role

48.Close your books and say as many words as possible related to the title of this text.

49.Make sentences using the following:

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50. Fill in the words from the list, then make sentences using the completed phrases:

51.Chain story. In teams continue the story using words as possible related to the title of the text (The Steppe). Each correct sentence wins a point. The team with the most points is the winner.

52.What makes steppe the most convenient place for living? Give several reasons.

53.Explain the difference between the following forms of verbs and give equivalents in Russian:

highly developed regions – developing countries

the area occupied by plough-land – the army occupying the city roads built by Romans – workers building the house

Text 5

54.Think of three questions you would like to ask about South Siberian Mountains.

55.Read the text and think what determines such a variety of scenery and vegetation of this region, what makes Altai so important for the development of industry of Siberia:

SOUTH SIBERIAN MOUNTAINS

The landscape of Southern Siberia, an area of large highland plateaus, intermontane basins and mountain systems, is breath-takingly beautiful and varied. It changes frequently. A taiga consisting of fir predominates in the cooler and more humid western regions, while the drier and hotter Trans-Baikal area is wooded chiefly with larchtrees and pine. There is steppeland in the Kuznetsk,

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Minusinsk and other intermontane basins, in the foothills of Western Altai and, in particular, in the southern TransBaikal area where the hot breath of Mongolia's semi-deserts can be felt. Isolated tracts of steppe and semi-desert can also be found in the mountains, sometimes as high as 1500-2000 metres above sea level. Such, for example, is the Chuya Steppe in the Altai Mountains. Lake Baikal, the deepest fresh-water lake in the world, is one of Siberia's most fascinating sights. It regulates the water regime in the Angara. The steep cliffs on its stately shores alternate with tracts of impenetrable taiga. Livestock is bred in the Trans-Baikal area, the Tuva and the Altai Mountains, and the fertile sections of the intermontane basins are occupied

by farm crops. But the principal wealth of the mountainous regions of Southern Siberia consists of enormous deposits of coal, iron ore, gold, and nonferrous and rare metals. No other region of Siberia has such a diversity of minerals. New motor roads and railways have been built to give access to these riches. A new railway now stretches to Abakan, linking up the Kuznetsk Iron and Steel Works with the iron-ore deposits in the Khakass Autonomous Region. One more section of this line, to Taishet, is required to complete the South-Siberian Railway. A happy combination of natural resources has led to the appearance of big industrial centres in Southern Siberia. The biggest of these is the Kuzbas, a major power base of Siberia and a centre of ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, cokechemistry and engineering. The West-Siberian Iron and Steel Mills, the biggest metallurgical centre in Russia, are under construction in the Kuzbas near the town of Novokuznetsk. A town is springing up around the construction site.

56.Compose questions that will match with the following answers:

-The landscape is very beautiful and varied.

-It's Lake Baikal.

-Yes, that's the principal wealth of Altai.

-Fertile sections, suitable for agriculture, are situated in the intermontane basins.

-Because it's the only region in Siberia with such diversity of minerals.

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61.Make sentences of your own using the following verbs:

1.to spring up

2.to alternate with

3.to consist of

4.to stretch to

62.Choose the right preposition:

1.No other region of Siberia has such a diversity … minerals.

a) at b) in c) of

2. The horizon is broken only here and there … small groves of birch-trees and asps.

a) in b) from c) by

3. In this part of Siberia the natural conditions are the most favourable … ag-

63.Write short descriptions of objects (The Tundra, The Taiga The Steppe, The South Siberian Mountains). Read them aloud and let the class guess what object you are describing.

64.Fill in the table:

tundra taiga steppe mountains

Vegetation

Resources

Industries and

agriculture

65. Answer the following questions using all the information you have got from the texts:

1.What are the main regions of Siberia depending on the landscape and the vegetation?

2.What is the climate like in each of them?

3.Which of the regions is the most densely populated and why?

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4.What makes people live in unfavourable conditions of the north?

5.Which of the regions is the best suitable for ploughing?

6.In what region can you find the best timber?

7.What other resources can be found in Siberia?

8.Can you name the main industries?

9.What is the biggest city of Siberia?

10.In what region is it situated?

11.Where is your native city located?

12.What are the main industries there?

66. Fill in the crossword:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1.Plants as a whole.

2.A wide treeless plain.

3.An area of coniferous forests.

4.A supply or stock of something useful.

5.A frozen area where no trees grow.

6.A plant, one of the main agricultural products.

7.Trees as a resource.

8.The Pole of Cold.

9.A territory where grain is grown.

67.Work in pairs. Ask your friend to describe the landscape of Southern Siberia. Use the following phrases and words:

-Could you please tell me about…

-Can I ask you a question concerning…

-With great pleasure…

-…is one of Siberian most fascinating sights

-The landscape of Southern Siberia

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-…isolated tracts of steppe

-enormous deposits of coal, iron ore, gold

-a new railway

-a happy combination of natural resources

-the biggest metallurgical centre in Russia

68.You came to Russia as a tourist and ask your friend about the landscape of Southern Siberia, about the Altai Mountains.

69.Express your opinion concerning the following idea:

Lake Baikal, the deepest fresh-water lake in the world, is one of Siberia’s most fascinating sights.

70.Do you agree that:

1.Altai can be very attractive for tourists.

2.Agricultural production of this region is very important for the whole country.

3.Railway is very important for Altai.

Prove your point of view.

Text 6

71. Read the following words and learn them by heart:

insular – островной moist – сырой

breath – дыхание, дуновение assault – нападение, штурм numb – оцепенелый, онемелый hoarfrost – иней, изморозь shovel – лопатка для снега plough – снегоочиститель thaw – оттепель

severe – холодный, суровый (о климате) sheepskin – овчина

to rub – растирать, тереть mitten-рукавица

to crunch – скрипеть (под ногами) branch – ветвь

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to loom – неясно вырисовываться mist – (легкий) туман, мгла

core – сердцевина, суть, сущность snowball – снежок, снежный ком to melt – таять

snowman – снеговик obligatory – обязательный tobogganing – катание на санях

72. Read the following text and try to retell it in English using only general facts:

WINTER IN OMSK

A.Omsk lies in the southern part of Western Siberia. Very often the word "Siberia" is associated with sever winter frosts for the English but many of them would be, perhaps, surprised to know that Omsk is situated almost in the same latitudes as Central England with its green winters.

Whence this striking difference in climate? The point is that the climate of any area depends on its geographic position. Unlike insular Britain, where the mildening moist breath of the sea is felt practically in any part of its surface, our district is separated from seas and oceans by thousands of kilometres and this makes its climate extremely continental. Winters here are long and frosty while summers are short and sultry.

Winter begins early in Omsk. Sometimes the first snowfalls occur at the beginning of October, but the snow melts away quickly, and it is only in November that real winter sets in. The coldest months are December and February when the mercury can drop to -40 or even -45 C, a temperature low enough for a European to think twice before undertaking a trip to our city in winter. But such frosts are not as frightful as they may seem. What makes frosts really assaulting is wind and moist air! But in Omsk frosty days are more often than not windless and dry and so even hard frosts are endured here better than in Europe.

B.A great deal depends of course on your clothes, footwear and headgear too. A fur-cap, a long sheepskin coat and warm topboots or valenki (a kind of high felt boots) will safely protect you from cold. But no matter how warmly you are dressed, you must be very careful when it is -40 below zero. You ought to move quickly and breathe through the nose. As soon as you feel your nose or your cheeks grow numb, you should give them a thorough rub with your mittens. If you fail to do so at once you are likely to get them frost-bitten in just five minutes.

Awalk through the frost-bound city is great fun. The sharp air makes your

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blood run faster. The snow crunches under your feet with a peculiar crisp sound which is a sure sigh of hard frost. The branches of the trees, silvery white with hoarfrost, form fantastic patterns mysteriously looming through the icy mist. This wintry beauty, however, proves sometimes ruinous. When such ringing frosts persist for a week or more some trees freeze to the core never to burst into leaf again. But that happens rather seldom, as most of the plants in these parts are frost hardly enough.

Snowfalls are very plentiful here and so for the yard-keepers winter is definitely the "hot" season. Practically every other morning they have to fight snow armed with snow-shovels. Snow-ploughs and snow-loaders of all kinds are also a common sight in the streets in winter. But for them the traffic in Omsk would be paralyzed because of snowbanks.

C. What is really exceptional in December are thaws. That is why you can but seldom see kids snowballing or making snow-men in winter for it takes sticky, a bit melted snow for that.

Needless to say, skiing and skating are the most popular winter sports here. Skiing is an obligatory item of both school and college physical training programmes. One should bear in mind, though, that the type of skiing which is traditional in Russia is unfamiliar to most English people. "Skiing" to an Englishman means skiing down mountain slopes. So British visitors to our country describe our type of skiing as "walking or running on skis" and call it crosscountry skiing or Nordic skiing.

Ice-hockey is played here all winter and is hardly less popular than soccer. Frost or no frost, hockey matches always draw large crowds of fans to the stadiums. Tobogganing as a sport is not known here but children enjoy it greatly, and you can see a slide almost in every yard.

73.Look through the text (extract C). What does this extract describe?

74.Entitle these extracts of the text in English.

75.What is the main idea of the extract B? Retell it in English.

76.Make up a dialogue about winter in Omsk using words and phrases from the text.

SIBERIAN EXTREME

77. What extreme sports do you know? What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

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78. Look at the list of sports and hobbies and their equipment and underline the odd words out:

wind-surfing: board, camera, wetsuit, sail; rafting: paddles, life-jackets, raft, binoculars; fishing: trainers, boat, fishing rod, hooks;

scuba-diving: mask, oxygen tank, life-jacket, flippers; rock-climbing: ropes, boots, light clothes, bat; hunting: gun, sporting cartridges, club, knife; skydiving: skis, parachute, gloves, goggles; jet-skiing: life-jacket, jet-ski, flippers, swimming suit.

79.Carry out a survey in order to find out if there are any adventurers in your group. Then write down the questions and answer them:

1.Siberia / travel around ex. Have you ever travelled around Siberia?

2.a horse / ride

3.windsurfing / go

4.raw fish / eat

5.a parachute jump / have

6.outdoors / sleep

7.a high mountain / climb

8.a wide river / cross

9.rafting / go

10.hunting / be on.

80.Divide into groups and translate texts into English:

«СТОЛБЫ»

В туристской зоне можно выделить три района: Эстетический, Калтатский, Такмановский. Наиболее популярным является Эстетический район. В этом районе на небольшой площади размещены скалы: «Дед», названная так за свое сходство с головой сурового старика с высоким лбом; «Перья», напоминающая воткнутые в землю перья гигантской птицы; «Львиные ворота» и другие.

О «Столбах» сложены легенды, написаны стихи, сняты фильмы. Сейчас это государственный заповедник.

Среди зеленого моря красноярской тайги вздымаются огромные, причудливые каменные утесы-столбы. В далекие времена в земной коре образовались трещины, по которым поднималась магма. Магма застыла и

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