The Capital of Fountains

15. Read the text and say where in Russia the capital of fountains is. Do

you know why it was built there?

Peterhof is located 30km west of St.Petersburg on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. It was the summer residence of Peter the Great, built to commemorate victory over the Swedes in 1709 and to show the strength of the Russian Empire.

Peterhof was designed to resemble Versailles in France and architects from all over the world were involved in its design. Over 4,000 peasants dug the gardens, parks and canals, and Peter the Great himself helped to plan the layout of the gardens and fountains. Vasily Tuvolkov, Russia’s first hydraulics engineer, built the fountains in 1721-1722.

The Great Cascade fountain in the gardens has 17 waterfalls, 142 water jets, 66 fountains, 29 bas-reliefs and 39 gilded statues, including the famous five-ton Sampson Fountain. It is surrounded by eight dolphins and is wrestling the open jaws of a lion from which a jet of water shoots over 20 metres into the air. Another fountain, the Chess Hill, contains some of the best waterfalls cascading over bronze dragons. The Triton Fountain shows Neptune’s son wrestling with a sea monster. The Pyramid fountain was designed by Peter the Great and is made up of seven tiers and 505 jets.

Some of the fountains are there to surprise and amuse visitors. The Little Umbrella fountain sprays out water from 164 jets as soon as anyone sits on a bench underneath it. The Little Oak fountain sprays out water if it senses any weight approaching it and the Pebbles fountain also drenches visitors who sit on a nearby bench.

To feel happy and make their spirits high, Russians and foreign visitors come to Peterhof to enjoy its magic charms.

Notes:

commemorate victory – праздновать победу

resemble – походить

layout – расположение

bas-reliefs – барельеф

wrestle – бороться

tier – ряд, ярус

16. What do these numbers in the text stand for?

30, 4000, 17, 29, 142, 39, 66, 505, 20.

Example: “30” stands for a distance from St. Petersburg in km.

17. Read and replace the pronouns with information from the text.

1. It was the summer residence of Peter the Great. – Peterhof.

2. He built the fountains.

3. It contains some of the best waterfalls cascading over bronzed

dragons.

4. He designed the Pyramid fountain.

5. It sprays out water from 164 jets.

18. Speaking. A foreign visitor would like to learn about Peterhof. What

can you tell him/her?

19. Read and act out the dialogue. Which phrases are useful to make a conversation? Find and learn them. What view of Saint-Petersburg do you like best?

Mary: What a marvelous view! Liz: Fantastic, isn’t it? St. Petersburg is the most beautiful city in the world. Mary: It’s beautiful. But don’t forget you haven’t been to Rome. Liz: As far as I know Rome is much older than St. Petersburg. Mary: It’s much older. St. Petersburg is a relatively young city. Liz: When was it founded? Mary: It was founded in 1703.

Liz: By Peter the Great? I’ve read a lot about that king. Mary: He was not a king, Liz. He was a tzar. All kings in Russia were called tzars. Liz: I’m well informed about Russian history. Peter the Great was a very democratic, energetic and business-like man. Mary: I agree. By the way, we’ve spent the whole day here and we haven’t seen anything of St. Petersburg yet. Liz: We are going sightseeing at last! Mary: OK! I am ready. Let’s go.

20. Learn the useful phrases.

Thanking. Possible replies are:

Thank you. Not at all.

Thank you very much. You’re welcome.

Thanks a lot. That’s OK.

I’m very grateful to you. Never mind.

How kind of you. Don’t mention it.

It was a pleasure.

21. Write about your native place according to the plan:

… is a big city/small town in the north/south/west/east of the country.

Its population is … .

Its area is … .

It’s far from/not far from/near St. Petersburg.

It’s (much/a little) smaller than St. Petersburg.

It’s (much/a little) younger/older than St. Petersburg.

Pay attention to the use of prepositions in and to:

in the west (east, north, south) – на западе (востоке, севере, юге)

to the west (east, north, south) с западу (востоку, северу, югу)

22. Read the text about Russian Nobel prizewinners and say if the statements are true (T) or false (F).