3.6. Answer the following questions according to the text.

1. What is the total area of the Russian Federation?

2. How many countries does Russia border on?

3. What climate conditions are there in Russia?

4. What lake is the deepest in Russia?

5. Can you name the longest rivers of the country?

6. Who (What) is the Russian Federation headed by?

7. Which mineral resources is Russia rich in?

8. How many branches of power does the country consist of?

9. What are the national symbols of the Russian Federation?

10. What kind of state is Russia?

Text B

Tomsk Pretext exercises

3.7. Read the words and expressions and try to guess their meaning.

Siberian town, tsar, commercial centre, gubernia, administrative center, intensive, history, medicine, Technological Institute, Asian, Polytechnical University, pedagogical, medical, institute, revolution, territory, center, the Urals, college, architecture, academy, cultural centre, Drama Theatre, concert, monument, memorial.

3.8. Read the following words and notice their pronunciation.

Siberian	[saI`bIqrIqn]	situate	[`sItjueIt]
commercial	[kq`mWSql]	emperor	[`empqrq]
cereal	[`sIqrIql]	medicine	[`medIsIn]
Asian	[`eISqn]

Memorize the following words and expressions

to be situated	быть расположенным	booming	процветающий
to be founded	быть основанным	mining	добыча, добывание
cereals	зерновые культуры	to be engaged in	заниматься
wax	воск

3.9. Read the text.

TOMSK

Tomsk is an old Siberian town which is situated on the bank of the river Tom, in West Siberia. Tomsk was founded in 1604 by Tsar Boris Godunov. At the beginning of the 18^th century, Tomsk became a commercial centre of Siberia. It supplied cereals, fish, salt, wine, fat, copper, wax and leather to the neighbor gubernias. In 1804, Tomsk became an administrative center of the Gubernia. The growth of the town was especially booming in the 30s of the 19^th century when gold was found and its intensive mining started in the Tomsk Gubernia. In 1888, Emperor Alexander III opened the Tomsk University, the first in Siberia. In its early history the University had only the department of medicine. The year 1900 saw the opening of the first Technological Institute in the Asian part of Russia (now the Polytechnical University). And a few years later the Pedagogical, Medical and Civil Engineering Institutes were founded. After the revolution of 1917, Tomsk became the part of the Siberian Territory and later of the West-Siberian Territory.

Tomsk is the oldest educational and scientific center in Russia to the east of the Urals. About 60,000 students (local residents and newcomers from different parts of Russia) study at technical schools, colleges and universities. There are more than 9 higher educational establishments in Tomsk. The most prominent of them are State University, Polytechnical University, Siberian Medical University, Teachers’ Training University, University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and Agricultural Academy. About 50 scientific institutions are engaged in research work, with more than 15 being part of the universities. 

NowTomsk is known as a cultural centre of Siberia. There are several theatres, such as a Drama Theatre, “Intim” Theatre, a Puppet Theatre, a Young Spectators’ Theatre, concert halls, museums in Tomsk. Tomsk is proud of its wooden architecture. There are also a lot of monuments to the famous people. The memorial of Glory devoted to the people who perished during the Great Patriotic War is situated in Lagerny Garden.

Tomsk has been changing a lot recently. The authorities of the town are trying to do their best to make it more beautiful and modern.