General information

Novosibirsk is one of the biggest cities in Russia and considered the third largest city after Moscow and St. Petersburg and the biggest one behind the Urals.

It is situated right in the middle of Russia.

The city lies on both banks of the Ob river.

Today it covers an area of 480 square kilometres.

The birth of its millionth citizen was celebrated in 1965.

Novosibirsk local time is Greenwich Mean Time plus 6.

The Mayor of Novosibirsk is Vladimir Gorodetsky.

Administratively Novosibirsk is segmented into 10 administration districts.

Leninsky and Kirovsky districts are situated on the left bank of the Ob river while Zaeltsovsky, Zheleznodorozhny, Dzerzhinsky, Tsentralny, Oktyabrsky, Kalininsky, Pervomaysky and Sovjetsky are on the right one. In Sovjetsky district, there is Akademgorodok. The principal street of the city is Krasny Prospekt that connects the Ob embankment to Kalinin Square.

cover-покрывать, охватывать

citizen-гражданин

mayor-мэр

district-район

principal-главный

embankment-набережная

connect-соединять

What city is considered the third largest in the country?

What is the area of Novosibirsk?

Who is the mayor of the city?

How many districts are there in Novosibirsk?

What is the main street of the city?

CLIMATE

The climate is sharply continental. Winters here are very severe, cold and snowy. Summer is

rather hot and dry. Temperatures in summer range from 20 to 22°C, in winter -18,- 20°C, but

sometimes they may go up to -35°C in winter and 35°C in summer. The difference between the highest and the lowest temperature is 88°C. Most of the time the weather is sunny. The spell of sunny weather is 2880 hours a year.

sharply-резко

severe-суровый

range-колебаться в известных пределах

spell-короткий промежуток времени

a year-в год

What is the climate of Novosibirsk?

ALL ROADS LEAD TO NOVOSIBIRSK

A traveller beyond the Urals cannot miss Novosibirsk whether he or she travels east or south and by whatever transport he or she goes. The essential railways from the Kuzbass and Central Asia and the Transsib meet here. The airliners which are bound for the Far East from Europe make a landing in Novosibirsk. Highways from Omsk, Tomsk, Barnaul, Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk meet in Novosibirsk which is situated on the ancient Moscow Highway. Convoys of ships carry the cargo northwards day and night by the mighty Ob to ensure the uninterrupted work of oil-field workers.

beyond-за, по ту сторону

whatever-любой

essential-необходимый, существенный

airliner-пассажирский самолет

make a landing in-совершать приземление в

highway-шоссе

convoy-колонна автотранспорта, сопровождение

uninterrupted-бесперебойный

All roads lead to Novosibirsk, don’t they?

Railway transport

It takes certainly the main place. Its share is 87 percent in the total volume of freight turnover, 38 percent of passenger turnover. 84 percent of goods are carried by electric traction. Novosibirsk is the seat of West Siberian Railway Administration. It is one of the most important railways in the country. Its operating length is 4180.7 km, in the first half-year 1993 it conveyed 119 million tons of goods, transit goods having amounted to 70.6 million tons. The volume of traffic is here 2.2 times as high as on the average in the country, the weight of freight cars is 20 percent higher, and the cost price of freightage is 28 percent lower.

Novosibirsk is the largest transport junction of the West Siberian Railway. The city has 4 railway stations: Novosibirsk-Main as well as Novosibirsk-West, -East and South. Over 60,000 passengers set out from these stations daily, 45,000 of them making their way through the large building of the Main Station which is the most striking architectural structure in the city. Local service is done by electric trains.

share-доля

volume-объем

turnover-оборот

electric traction-электрическая тяга

amount-быть равным, составлять(сумму)

on the average-в среднем

junction-узел(транспортный)

striking-поразительный, замечательный

structure-структура, строение

electric train-электричка

What place does railway transport take?

What is the volume of traffic?

How many railway stations are there in Novosibirsk?

What can you tell your teacher about the Main Station of the city?