Table 5.3

Present Simple Tense with the Future Meaning

The show begins at 8 and it ends at midnight.

When does our plane leave?

This train doesn’t arrive early.

5.10.Choose the correct variant.

1.Madonna (arrives / is arriving / arrive) on Monday according to the contract.

2.The examinations (are taking place / take place / takes place / is taking place) next month as announced.

3.The office always closes at 6 o’clock in the evening but today it (closes / is closing / close) an hour later.

4.We (have / are having / has) breakfast very early tomorrow so that we could leave home before 8 a.m.

5.He usually works at the station but next month he (is working / work / works) at the dock for a few days.

6.I’m sorry I can’t accept your invitation. I (have / am having / has) lunch with some business people next Thursday.

7.We always go to Paris on holiday. Next year I (am going / go / goes) to Spain for a change.

8.Saturday is his day off. However, he (plays / play / is playing) in the finals of the tennis tournament next Saturday.

9.My uncle John from London (are visiting / visits / is visiting) us soon.

5.11. Read the text.

HISTORY OF ST. PETERSBURG

Saint Petersburg was founded on the 16th of May, 1703. That day the six-bastion Peter and Paul fortress was ceremonially laid on the Zayachy Island in the broadest part of the Neva estuary as a result of Russia’s victory in the Northern War against Sweden. Fortress was aimed to control the whole region. The fortress paved the way to the construction of the city and in 1710 the capital of Russia was transferred from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. Later, in 1712, the Tsar Family and households together with the major Governmental Bodies moved to the newly built city.

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Peter the Great conceived the idea of a regularly planned city with well-defined general layout. The combined efforts of the outstanding architects Domenico Tresini and Jean Batist Leblon (developed the general layout of Saint Petersburg) led to the specific style of Saint Petersburg baroque. During that period such buildings as the Summer Palace of Peter the Great and the laying of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and Menshikov Palace were constructed. During the period of Empress Catherine’s II (1762–1796) reign a new style – classicism was established. The victorious parry of Napoleon’s invasion in 1812 was reflected in a new rise of the city development in the capital of mighty Russia. The ensemble of the Alexandrinsky Theater, buildings of the top governmental bodies of Russia (The Senate and The Synod), the building of the Headquarters with the Triumph Arch and the House of Ministries in the Palace Square were constructed during this period. During the reign of Nicolay I Saint Petersburg acquired new features typical of capitalism epoch. The city appearance became more complicated, multifaceted, and contradictory. Private housing development was on the upgrade. More buildings appeared in the city center during that period. These trends in

the city development were followed during the reign of Emperor Alexander III (1881–1894), which was a short peaceful reprieve for Russia. The social, economical and political contradictions of Russia development after bourgeois reforms of 1860–1870 opened the way for the growth of capitalism.

However, Russia could not get entirely rid of feudal/serfdom survivals. Social contradictions that had been accumulating for a long time and wars that Russia was waging brought about the Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution of 1905–1907 that was accompanied by the series of political strikes. The most severe strikes in Russia took place in Saint Petersburg. During the reign of Nicolay II (1894–1917) Russia waged a number of wars that happened to be extremely hard for the country. In 1914, World War I broke out. Under the influence of anti-German vein Saint Petersburg was renamed into Petrograd in 1914. This war (1914–1918) appeared to be fatal for the Russian autocracy. Finally, the October coup d’etat inspired by the Bolsheviks headed by V. Lenin in November 6–7, 1917 led to the change of the political system in Russia. The Civil War and the mess in economy followed these events. All private properties in the city were nationalized.

After Lenin’s death in 1924 Bolsheviks renamed the city into Leningrad in order to immortalize Lenin’s name. In the 1930s and 1940s such districts as Avtovo, Moskovsky Avenue, and Malaya Okhta were developed.

The Great Patriotic War with Nazi Germany became the hardest ordeal for the whole country and in particular for Saint Petersburg. According to the plan of Hitler, Leningrad was supposed to be totally demolished. The Blockade of Leningrad was the most tragic period for the city during World War II. It lasted from September 8, 1941 till January 27, 1944, about 900 days and nights. Fighting for Leningrad the Soviet troops managed to keep the enemy back from the city at quite a short distance setting an example of real heroism. The memorial ensembles were created in the 1960s at Piskarevskoye and Seraphimovskye cemeteries, where the victims of the Blockade

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had been buried. During the siege the monuments of history and culture and the suburban palace complexes were ruined or devastated. The restoration works started right after the war. These works were most successfully performed in the 1950s and 1960s. The city was developed along the arch of the Finnish Gulf coast, as well as to the Northwest and South.

The 1990s marked the drastic changes in the governmental structures and economical policy. In 1991, the name of Saint Peter was returned to the city. The high speed Saint Petersburg-Moscow railroad project was started in 1991. In 1994, Saint Petersburg became the place of the Good Will Games. The projects for revamping of the City Sea Port and the Airport have been initiated. The growth of business, political and cultural activity is quite obvious. Being one of the major European centers Saint Petersburg has the honor to be referred to as the Northern capital of Russia.

Upon the decision of UNESCO Saint Petersburg has been recognized as a cultural monument. As a part of the tercentenary preparations conducted in 2003, the city has undertaken projects aimed at the long-term improvement of the city’s infrastructure. Celebrations gave a great impulse for stimulating the resurrection and effective use of the city’s unique resource – its cultural climate.

5.12. Match the following words and expressions with their equivalents.

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5.13.Read the text again and answer the following questions.

1.When was Saint Petersburg founded?

2.What year was the capital of Russia transferred from Moscow to Saint Petersburg?

3.What idea did Peter the Great conceive?

4.Who was the first architect who made the general layout of the city center?

5.When was the classicism established?

6.What year was Saint Petersburg renamed into Petrograd?

7.Why did Bolsheviks rename the city into Leningrad?

8.How long did the Blockade of Leningrad last?

9.What was created in the 1960s at Piskarevskoye and Seraphimovskye cemeteries?

10.When did the restoration works start and when were they most successfully performed?

11.What year was the name of Saint Peter returned to the city?

12.Has Saint Petersburg been recognized as a cultural monument?

5.14.Read the following words and notice their pronunciation.

tercentenary [`tWsen`tJn(q)rI]

Table 5.4

Future Simple Tense

I’ll call you later.

Will you work?

– Yes, I will. / No, I won’t.

You will not (won’t) get to work in time.

Where will you work? – I will work at home.

Note: I, We shall work (in written and official speech)

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