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Файл:Learning to Speak English. Учебное пособие по разговорному английскому языку
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twelve seas and three oceans. The oceans are: the Atlantic, the Arctic
View on the Volga river from
Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
plain. The Urals, the longest mountain chain, separates Europe from
Asia. Russia is a land of long rivers
and deep lakes. The broad Volga river system is of great historic, economic and cultural importance to
Russia. The Volga River runs into the
Caspian Sea, which is in reality, the
largest lake in the world. The Baikal
is the deepest lake in the world.
and the Pacific. The northern and eastern coasts of Russia are washed
by the White Sea, the Barents Sea and the Okhotsk Sea.
There are various types of climate on the territory of Russia. It
is very cold in the North even in summer. The central part of the
country has mild climate. In the South the temperature is usually
above zero all year round even in winter, the climate is very favourable.
The land of Russia varies a lot from thick forests to barren deserts, from high peaked mountains to deep valleys. Russia is located on two plains: the Great Russian plain and the West Siberian
Russia is rich in natural resources. It has deposits of coal, oil,
natural gas, iron ore, gold, nickel, etc.
Russia borders fourteen countries, including the former republics of the USSR, which are now independent states.
Russia has all modern branches of industry. It is a foremost
producer of cement, metal-cutting machines, timber, woolen cloth,
sugar and butter. It takes one of the leading places in Europe in industrial output and electric energy production.
The history of Russia dates back to the year 862. Now Russia
is a Presidential Republic. The Russian Federative Republic is set up
by the Constitution of 1993. The Federal Government consists of
three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them is
checked and balanced by the President. The legislative power is
vested in the Federal Assembly. It consists of two Houses. The Upper House is the Federation Council. The Lower House is the State
Duma. Each House is headed by the Speaker. Legislature may be
initiated in either of the two Houses. However, to become a law a bill
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must be approved by both Houses and signed by the President. The
President may veto the bill. The President is Commander-in-chief of
the armed forces; he makes treaties, enforces laws, and appoints ministers to be approved by the Federal Assembly. The executive power
belongs to the Government, which is headed by the Prime Minister.
The first action by the Prime Minister on appointment is to form the
Cabinet. The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional
Court, the Supreme Court and regional courts. The members of the
Federal Assembly are elected by the popular vote for a four-year period.
Today the state symbol of Russia is a three-coloured banner. It
has three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe
symbolises the earth, the blue one stands for the sky, and the red one
symbolises liberty. A new national emblem is a two-headed eagle. It
is the most ancient symbol of Russia. It originates from the heraldic
emblem of the Ruricovitchies. Russia has always played an important role in the world. It is one of its leading powers.
8. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the area of the Russian Federation?
2. What seas and oceans is Russia washed by?
3. What is the climate in the North, central part and South of
the country?
4. What plains is Russia located on?
5. What can you say about the rivers and lakes in Russia?
6. What natural resources is Russia rich in?
7. What are the borders of Russia?
8. What branches of industry does Russia have?
9. What is the population of the country?
10. What is Moscow famous for?
11. What is the political system of the country?
12. What does the federal government consist of?
13. What is the Upper House?
14. What is the Lower House?
15. What is the President responsible for?
16. What can you say about the executive power, the judicial
branch and the Federal Assembly?
17. What does the state symbol of Russia symbolise?
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9. Say what is true and what is false. Correct the false
statements.
1. The territory of the Russian Federation is situated in the
Western part of Europe and in the Eastern part of Asia.
2. Russia is not washed by seas and oceans.
3. The climate of Russia is various.
4. The land of Russia varies a little.
5. There are a lot of rivers and lakes in Russia.
6. Russia is poor in natural resources.
7. The population of Russia is not very high.
8. There are no places of interest in Moscow.
9. The present Constitution of the Russia Federation was
adopted in 1991.
10. The Federal Assembly consists of three Houses.
11. The Prime Minister is Commander-in-chief of the armed
forces.
12. The first action of the Prime Minister on appointment is to
form the government.
13. The state symbol of Russia has two horizontal stripes:
white and red.
10. Comment on the picture given in the text.
11. Underline the main ideas of the text and retell it in Eng-
lish.
12. Read and translate Text 8B “The Capital of the Russian
Federation”.
TEXT 8B
THE CAPITAL OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Moscow is the capital of Russia. It was first mentioned in the
records dated back to the year 1147 and was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky. Nowadays Moscow is the largest city of Russia. It is also
one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is a political, administrative, economic, educational and cultural centre of the country. The
population of the city is about twelve million people. The total area
of Moscow is about nine hundred square kilometres. We say that
Moscow is a port of five seas; the Moscow-Volga Canal links Moscow with the Baltic, White, Caspian and Black Seas and the Sea of
Azov.
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Moscow is an industrial centre. There are a lot of factories and
Red Square
search institutes where scientific
work in various branches of industry
is conducted. At Moscow Sate University, which is one of the centres of
Russian science, thousands of young
people from Russia and other countries get their education. There are a
lot of secondary schools and colleges
in Moscow.
plants in it. One of the best known plants is Likhachev Automobile
Plant, which produces a lot of lorries. Engineering, electric, light and
chemical industries are highly developed in Moscow.
Moscow is a scientific centre, too. It is the seat of the Russian
Academy of Sciences and academies of special branches of science.
It has hundreds of higher educational in stitutions and a lot of re-
There are a lot of places of interest in Moscow. The city is famous for its historical monuments, museums, art galleries and theatres. The Historical museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the
Tretyakov State Picture Gallery are world famous. The ancient
Kremlin, which stands on the hill overlooking the Moskva River, is
one of the greatest monuments of Russian history and architecture.
Its red brick towers, cathedrals and palaces are a magnificent sight.
In front of the Kremlin wall lies the vast space of Red Square which
was the witness of many major events in Russian history. Moscow is
proud of the Bolshoi, Maly and Art theatres which are the leading
centres of the Russian stage. Moscow theatres are very popular in
other countries.
The city transport system is modernised. The Moscow Metro
began its work on the 15th of May, 1935. There were 13 stations at
that time. Now it has 188 stations. The Metro is a beautiful and convenient one. Buses, trolley-buses, trams, cars and taxis carry thousands of passengers a day. There are nine railway stations in Moscow
and some airports around the city.
There are a lot of stadiums in Moscow. The Central Stadium is
in Luzhniki. A lot of sport competitions are held there. The Olympic
village was built for the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. It
is a big complex for sport games.
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Moscow has become one of the world’s biggest international
centres, where different festivals, scientific congresses, international
exhibitions and world sport events take place every year.
13. What would you say if you took part in the following
dialogue? Act it.
A.: What is the capital of the Russian Federation?
В.:… .
A.: What is Moscow like nowadays?
B.:…
A.: What is the population of Moscow?
В.:. .. .
A.: Why do we say that Moscow is a port of five seas?
В.:… .
A.: What industries are highly developed in Moscow?
В.:… .
A.: What can you say about Moscow as a scientific centre?
В.:… .
A.: What places of interest is Moscow famous for?
В.: … .
A.: What can you say about Moscow theatres?
В.:… .
A.: What is Red Square famous for?
В.:… .
A.: What can you say about the Moscow transport system?
В.:… .
A.: When was the Olympic village built?
В.:… .
A.: Why is Moscow considered to be one of the world’s big-
gest international centres?
В.:… .
14. Finish up the sentences of the text.
1. Moscow was first mentioned in ... .
2. Moscow is a political ... .
3. The total area of Moscow is ... .
4. One of the most known plants in Moscow is ... .
5. Moscow has hundreds of ... .
6. The ancient Kremlin is ... .
7. The Moscow Metro is ... .
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8. A lot of sport competitions are ... .
9. Moscow has become ... .
10. The people of Russia are proud ... .
15. Comment on the picture given in the text.
16. Underline the main ideas of the text and retell it in Eng-
lish.
17. Read and translate Text 8C “Siberia”. Give a brief
overview of its structure and contents in English.
TEXT 8C
SIBERIA
Siberia is extremely rich. 75 per cent of coal deposits in this
country, up to 80 per cent of its hydropower resources and 80 per
cent of its timber reserves, the biggest deposits of non-ferrous and
precious metals, huge resources of iron ore, building materials, etc.
are concentrated here. The difficulty is to find easy and cheap ways
of extracting coal, ores and other minerals. This can be done by the
common effort of big scientific establishments. Oil was first discovered in Western Siberia in 1960. Extraction began in 1964. A major
oil-producing centre has been set up in a short period under very difficult natural and climatic conditions.
Siberia, which used to be a place of exile in tsarist times, now
has scores of modern cities. There are a lot of educational establishments, research institutes, modern plants and factories there. These
modern plants and factories, whether already in operation or still under construction express the gigantic scale of everything in Siberia.
All the technology is based firmly on the latest achievements of science.
The rivers of Russian Siberia are an impressive symbol of its
inexhaustible strength and might. The Angara river alone has a
greater power-engineering potential than all the power stations in
France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Holland and Spain put together. The
Bratsk Hydro-Power Station is one of the biggest in the world.
Siberia is not only a highly industrialised region. It is a major
granary. The climate in some regions of Siberia is very warm and
humid and never affected by severe drought. Good harvests are usual. Lake Baikal in Siberia is a huge depository of fresh water. Siberia
is a major economic area in this country.
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18. Answer the following questions.
1. What are the main industrial resources in Siberia?
2. When did oil extraction begin?
3. What expresses the enormous scale of everything in Siberia?
4. What is an impressive symbol of the inexhaustible strength
and might of Siberia?
5. What is the Angara river famous for?
6. What is the climate of Siberia?
7. What is a huge depository of fresh water?
8. Have you ever been to Siberia? If yes, what can you add to
the information given in the text?
19. Consider the following statements.
1. Siberia is extremely rich.
Do you agree? What is really meant?
2. Siberia is a highly industrialized region.
Can you give your reasons? Why? Do you agree to that?
3. Siberia is a major granary.
How do you understand it? Do you agree?
20. Discuss pros and cons of the fact that the mining of deposits is going on very fast in Siberia nowadays. Use the helpful
expressions for supporters and the opponents given in the above
Units.
21. Find the key sentence in each para expressing the main
idea.
22. Retell the text according to the plan made up.
23. Make up a story about the Russian Federation based on
the information given in the above texts.
SECTION 3
SPEAKING
24. Practise dialogue 1.
Dialogue 1
On the Isle of Kizhi
Guide: This church is an excellent example of Russian wooden
architecture. It was built at the turn of the seventeenth century and is
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made of wood. It was built with an axe alone, no other tools were
used by the craftsman, and the wooden parts were joined without any
nails.
Tourists: Fantastic! Unbelievable! Incredible!
Tourist A: It’s the most beautiful wooden church I’ve ever
seen! Who was it designed by?
Guide: It was designed and built by one and the same man.
There’s a legend about him. Would you like to listen to it?
Tourists: Yes, yes, of course!
Guide: Well, the legend says that after finishing his work he
looked at the church and thought: “I’ll never be able to build anything better than this, even if it takes me a lifetime!” So he threw his
axe into the lake and left the island for good!
25. Make up dialogues of your own using dialogue 1 as a
model and the information given.
Situations: You meet your friend and talk about:
a) St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow (erected in 1561; com-
memorated to the capture of Kazan; it houses the tomb of the holy
Basil that is in the north-eastern church; one of the legends; the English Queen heard about the Moscow miracle and asked the Moscow
Sovereign to send those miracle-workers to England to create something similar; the masters set off on their long journey to England;
but when they once stayed in an inn for the night they were blinded
by some robbers, as it was claimed);
b) the Holy Trinity Cathedral in the St. Sergius Laura (situated
in Sergiev Posad; the oldest building in the Laura, 1422 – 1423; built
over the grave of Sergiy of Radonezh; adorned with frescoes by Andrew Rublev and Daniil Chorny; the frescoes have not survived; only
some icons painted by Andrew Rublev and his pupils remained);
c) any historical monuments / buildings in your region.
26. Practise dialogue 2.
Dialogue 2
St. Petersburg
A.: May I ask you some questions about St. Petersburg?
B.: Certainly.
A.: When was it founded?
B.: It was founded in 1703 by Peter the First.
138
A.: Was St. Petersburg the original name of the city?
B.: Yes, it was originally called St. Petersburg, then it was
called Petrograd, and later Leningrad.
A.: And when was it renamed Leningrad?
B.: It was renamed Leningrad after V.I. Lenin’s death in
1924. And now the city has its original name.
A.: Are there many places of interest in St. Petersburg?
B.: Oh, the whole city is a wonderful museum in itself because
many famous architects took part in the creation of St. Petersburg.
A.: Could you name the most beautiful places of the city,
please.
B.: With pleasure. They are the Peter-and-Paul Fortress, the
Rostral Columns, the Bronze Horseman, Palace Square, Saint Isaac’s
Cathedral and many others.
A.: What is the Bronze Horseman famous for?
B.: It is famous because it is the statue of the city’s founder,
Peter the First. Pushkin wrote about this statue in his famous poem
“Bronze Horseman”.
A.: Thank you very much.
B.: Not at all. I like St. Petersburg very much and it is real
pleasure to speak about it.
27. Fill in the missing remarks of the dialogue “The Altai
Mountains”.
Dialogue 3
The Altai Mountains
A.: Could you tell me something about the Altai Mountains?
B.: Yes, I’ll do it with pleasure.
A.: … .
B.: The Altai mountains are a vast range in southern Siberia.
A.: … .
B.: The name derives from a Mongolian word that means
golden.
A.: … .
B.: The great variety in landscape makes it one of the most
beautiful mountain ranges of Russia.
A.: … .
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B.: The region boasts caves, waterfalls, rivers with fast moving
rapids and more than 7,000 lakes.
A.: … .
B.: These mountains still host rare snow leopards. Maral deer
live here.
A.: … .
B.: Rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking and horseback rid-
ing opportunities are very popular here.
A.: … .
B.: If you are ready to have an adventure trip, there is no better
place than the Altai Mountains.
28. Practise dialogue 4.
Dialogue 4
A New-comer in St. Petersburg
New-comer: Excuse me, could you tell me the way to the
“Druzhba” hotel? I’m a stranger here; I’ve just arrived in St. Peters-
burg.
Passer-by: Oh, it’s quite a long way from here.
New-comer: Yes, I know, but my friends advised me to put up
at this hotel.
Passer-by: Your friends are right; it is one of the best hotels.
You may go by underground there. It’s the quickest way to get there,
though you’ll have to change on to a bus in Lev Tolstoy Square or
walk.
New-comer: What bus shall I change on to?
Passer-by: The 65 bus will take you to Popov street. It is only
one stop from the underground station.
New-comer: Thank you very much. Is it possible to get there
by tram or trolley-bus? I haven’t seen anything of St. Petersburg yet
and I’ve heard so much about this beautiful city!
Passer-by: You can get on the 1 trolley-bus. It will take you as
far as Palace Square where you may get off. When you have admired
the wonderful view around you, take the 10 bus.
New-comer: Where shall I get off for the “Druzhba” hotel?
Passer-by: In Popov street, but you’d better ask the conductor
to put you down, otherwise you may miss your stop.
New-comer: I’m very much obliged to you.
Passer-by: That’s all right.
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