The Far East: people and culture

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12.the areas of a town or city that are farthest away from the center

13.extremely beautiful and peaceful; extremely happy, without any problems

14.a low thick bush, especially one that has been planted in a garden

15.extremely unpleasant weather likely to cause harm or damage

16.especially true or typical of a particular person, thing, or situation

17.someone who breeds animals or plants, especially as their job

18.the development of a piece of land by adding plants and other features to make it more attractive

19.continuing for a very long time or existing forever

20.a young tree

21.interesting or exciting because of being unusual or not familiar

III. Find English equivalents of the following expressions:

2.теплолюбивые растения

3.самостоятельно приспосабливаться

4.центр научных исследований

5.работать над введением в состав флоры и акклиматизацией

6.исследовать особенности

7.коммерчески выгодные виды

8.экспериментальная основа

9.основы лесоводства

10.развивать любовь к природе

11.значительно меняться

12.быть в полном расцвете на протяжении всего лета

13.наиболее почитаемый

14.украшать Дендрарий

15.стволы (деревьев), обвитые лианами

16.быть эффективным для лечения нервных срывов

17.создавать неповторимую атмосферу очарования

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18.приглашать на приятную прогулку

19.быть прекрасным во все времена года

20.обмениваться семенами и саженцами

21.стремление людей узнать о природе

IV. Write out the names of all plants used in the text and memorize them.

V.Comment on the following legend. What peculiarity of Far Eastern nature does it explain?

After the creation of the world God began to sow it with vegetation. He sowed the North with stunted and frost-resistant plants and settled animals of great endurance there. Moving to the South, God sowed heat loving plants and settled warm blooded animals. Having finished the job he took a rest but angels broke his sleep. They found the creator‟s mistake: God had not sown anything in the very Far East. God got angry with the angels and asked them what seeds were left. The answer was that there were seeds for both the North and the South, so he sent the angels to sow that land with both types of seeds. That particular area was the Far East.

VI. Make 10 questions from the text.

VII. Make a summary of the text.

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INDEGENOUS PEOPLE

TEXT 14.

THE PECULIARITIES OF RUSSIAN FAR EASTERN ETHNIC

CUISINE

The Russian Far East occupies the greatest territory in the eastern part of Russia. It possesses an abundance of natural resources – land, water, forests,

plant resources and unique animal life.

This unique region is characterized by certain peculiarities of cuisine determined by the diversity of the inhabitants – the indigenous people (aboriginals), the settlers and newly arrived people (immigrants and tourists).

foods are nourishing and simple.

The Khabarovsky and Primorsky (Maritime) Krais

The Nanai people traditionally hunted wild animals and harvested fish. Their favorite dishes were:

-“tala” (raw or frozen salmon or sturgeon cut into small pieces. Pepper, salt or other condiments are added in small amounts to enhance the taste.)

-“yukola” (dried fish)

-“boda” (a sort of porridge with dried salmon roe)

-“firun”(dried bird cherry with rendered fish fat)

-“taksan” (fish paste with fresh berries – bilberry and cowberry)

-“ula” (half-cooked potatoes are mixed with chopped yukola and onion and cut into shavings. The mixture is seasoned with salt, pepper and cooked afterwards).

The Udegei (forest people) ate:

-“uafa” (salt caviar)

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-fish pelmeni

-“solimo” (cooked yukola with salt, oil and rendered fat)

-“oloho” (fish cooked without salt)

The Nivchi, who also inhabited Sakhalin, preferred “stroganina” (the raw meat) of frozen white-fleshed fishes (sturgeon, pike, sazan and navaga). They also favored salted smelt fish and the meat of seals and dolphins. The meat was usually cooked, but the heart and the kidney were preferred eaten raw as delicacies. When eating bear‟s meat, they followed the custom of giving the best meat (the heart, the tongue, etc.) to senior relatives.

The meat of ducks, geese, seagulls, partridges, herons and other species of game was widely taken. They started to eat pork, mutton, beef, etc. and poultry after the Soviet Revolution.

Such berries as bilberry, blackberry, blueberry, cowberry, raspberry, rose hips and haw played an important role in the aboriginals‟ diet. Berries were mixed with ground dried fish and seal fat.

Sea-weed and sea-kale were dried and boiled in salt water (“tyzyl”).

Most dishes were seasoned with chopped and dried roots. To preserve the natural flavors, strong spices were avoided. Among flour dishes, unleavened flat cakes were cooked.

The Komsomolsky Region and Soviet Gavan

The Orochi mostly ate fish and meat of hunted marine animals. They often dined with:

-“tala” from chum salmon and pink salmon. Fish was boiled, baked and served with seal fat

-“stroganina”(raw meat). The heart and liver of bears and elks were delicacies.

Such wild plants as bird cherry, ramsons and garlic were added to food. In the 20th century the aboriginals started to eat crops, vegetables and

beans.

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The Koryaksky Okrug

The Koryaks called themselves “nimilany”, the residents of a settled village. They bred reindeer that gave them everything necessary: meat, skin (for coveralls, footwear, and material for building portable dwellings (“yarangas”)), bones (tools and household articles), and fat (for lighting their dwellings). Fishing and marine hunting also helped them to survive.

The Itelmens (living here) ate a lot of fish, baked fish (“chupric”) and fish cakes (“telno”). They also consumed sprouts and runners of different plants (like stinging-nettle). Cedar cones with dried salmon roe served with tea were used as a medicine for scurvy. Fat was added to food.

The Evens caught fish and hunted marine animals. They made different sorts of dams and traps for fishing.

The Chukotsky Okrug

The Chukchis (reindeer men) were also expert seamen, skillfully operating boats on a cold sea. Their main hunting implements were bow and arrows, spear and harpoon. A bow and a spear were used in hunting for wild reindeer and snow sheep. A harpoon and a lance were used in marine hunting. In catching small water-fowl and game, the Chukchis used the “bola” (an instrument for catching birds on the wing).

Among their national dishes we can name:

-“kapalgan” (big pieces of walrus meat are stored in the ground, wrapped in skins so they can ferment)

-“rilkail” (the content of a freshly killed deer‟s stomach is mixed with blood and small intestines then boiled).

After coming across the indigenous people in the Far East, the Russians did their best to make them accustom themselves to a “new order”. The process became most forceful after the Soviet Revolution. Such an intrusion had a negative impact on the life and the self-consciousness of the indigenous people.

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Now we shall observe the present situation in the region‟s food industry.

On account of changeable climatic conditions many food products are imported, but the agriculture and food industry still plays an important role in the region‟s economy. Cattle and pigs are bred throughout the region and reindeer primarily in the north. The main crops cultivated are cereals, soy beans, potatoes and vegetables. There is livestock farming, as well as plant farming.

The food industry is comprised of different enterprises: meat, diary, flour processing, butter, confectionery, winery, baking, etc. Fish harvesting and processing are done by catching and processing enterprises.

Khabarovsk city has recently come of age for eating out. Some of the cuisines available are: Russian, Ukrainian, European and Oriental. There is something for almost everyone. The thing is to find something that would suit your taste and your wallet.

Assignments frm the text “The peculiarities of Russian Far Eastern Ethnic Cuisine”

I.Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word-combinations. Check their pronunciation in the dictionary. Reconstruct the sentences from the text where these words and word-combinations were used:

1.to possess an abundance of natural resources

2.certain peculiarities of cuisine

3.nourishing

4.raw fish

5.condiments

6.to enhance the taste

7.to season (food)

8.salt caviar

9.white-fleshed fish

10.smelt fish

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11.salmon roe

12.to preserve the natural flavors of ingredients

13.to avoid strong spices

14.to do to a turn

15.cut into shavings

16.to cultivate grain crops

17.to come of age for something

II.Explain in English the meaning of the following words and word-com- binations:

1.eating out network

2.smelt fish

3.unleavened (bread)

4.cuisine

5.scurvy

6.ground (dried fish)

7.poultry meat

8.sprouts and runners

9.raw meat (fish)

III.Find synonyms for the following words and word combinations:

10.to eat

11.to do to a turn

12.to have an abundance of something

13.to enhance (the taste)

14.to preserve (the natural flavor)

15.to season (food)

16.to worship

17.wilderness

IV. Consult the dictionary to explain the difference between the following words:

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1.condiment spice flavoring seasoning relish

2.salt salted

salty

V. Insert a suitable word from the previous exercise:

1.I need some __________. Can you pass me some salt and pepper please?

2.__________water fish lives in the sea (the opposite is freshwater fish).

3.This soup is a bit __________.

4.(old-fashioned) That was a ___________ story (it involved some humor relating to sex).

5.I like __________ cucumbers (I like to sprinkle them with salt).

6.A cold sauce that you put on your food (for example, “beefburgers”) is called __________.

7.He is a __________ trader. He can sell everything.

8.Can we say “__________” instead of “condiment”?

9.This product contains no artificial __________ (there is no substance to enhance the taste).

10.Such __________ as coriander and cumin give food a particular _______.

VI. Fill in the table using the text:

The flora and the fauna of the Russian Far East

VII. Explain the difference:

-to chop, to cut (into quarters, shavings, shreds), to dice, to slice, to grate, to mince, to mash

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1.Tell your foreign friend about the local peoples of the Russian Far East and what makes their mode of living unique.

2.One of you is a nutritionist. Recommend a healthy diet to your client (or your friend) who lives in the Russian Far East.

3.There exist many legends and myths connected with certain plants, animals, birds. Some of them are well known but some are almost forgotten. Can you create, in pairs, your own legends, for example, why this or that thing appeared? Use your imagination.

For example, here is a story about plantain. The ancient Germans

called it “wegewarte” or a “road warden”. They said, once upon a time a young girl was waiting for her beloved by the road, but he never came. She was distraught with grief and died at that very place. Where her body lay there appeared the delicate white flowers and broad leaves of plantain.