Text b. Barnaul

I am sure everyone knows where Barnaul is. It is situated on the left bank of the river Ob about 250 km south of Novosibirsk. Barnaul is the capital of the Altai Region which spreads across a vast area not far from the Altai Mountains. Nowadays it’s a modern industrial, commercial and cultural centre. Its population is over 600 thousand people and is still growing.

Its history goes back to the 18^th century: it was founded in 1730. Today Barnaul is a river port and an important railway junction. It’s called “The Gateway to the Central Asia”. The main brunch of industry here is agricultural machine building. Our factories produce confectionery, wine, sugar, vegetable oil, etc.

Barnaul is a cultural centre of the western Siberia. We have 8 universities:

• Altai State University;

• Altai State Technical University;

• Altai State Medical University;

• Altai State Agricultural University;

• Altai State Academy of Arts and Culture;

• Barnaul State Pedagogical Academy;

• Barnaul Institute of Law;

• Altai University of Finance.

In our city there are 5 theatres: Drama theatre, Theatre of musical comedy, Philharmonic, Puppet theatre, Altai youth theatre. The city has several picture galleries, numerous museums (of local lore, Town museum, Museum of fine arts and literature, to name but a few); many stadiums, palaces of culture, a sports palace, a lot of swimming pools, cinemas, libraries, night clubs, restaurants, a planetarium, a railway station, a bus terminal, a river port, 5 churches (of Orthodox and other confessions) and two health resorts (“The Ob” and “Barnaulsky”).

Barnaul’s broad and straight streets, boulevards, thoroughfares and avenues are crowded with pedestrians, cars, buses, trolleybuses, taxicabs, minibuses and trams. It’s a green city with many parks, public gardens, botanical gardens and an arboretum. Its large public squares and outstanding architecture, many historical and cultural landmarks make it a pleasant place to work and to enjoy life. With its new international airport, it is not surprising that Barnaul will soon become a popular tourist destination.

Barnaul is a student city: one in every six residents is a student.

Our city administration is creating an extensive innovation infrastructure, complete with business incubators, venture funds, a techno park, and several research centers.

Exercise 1.

Memorize the following words and phrases.

to spread раскинуться

railway junction железнодорожный узел

commercial торговый

to found основать

gateway ворота

machine building машиностроение

vegetable oil растительное масло

Philharmonic филармония

Museum of local lore краеведческий музей

fine arts изящные искусства

sports palace дворец спорта

health resort курорт

broad широкий

straight прямой

boulevard бульвар

thoroughfare магистраль

avenue проспект

tourist destination центр туризма

church церковь

Orthodox православие

confession вероисповедание

Exercise 2.

Answer the following questions.

1. Do you study in your hometown or you live here while studying?

2. Do you like the city? Why and why not?

3. Do you know the history of this city?

4. When was it founded?

5. Do you know any famous people who were born here?

6. What are the places of interest in your hometown?

7. What is your favorite place in the city?

8. What is the population of Barnaul today?

9. How many educational institutions are located in the city of your birth?

(universities, academies, Institutes, colleges, schools, gymnasiums, lyceums)

10. What night clubs and restaurants do you know in the city?

11. Can you remember the largest shops (stores) of our city?

(shopping mall, trading centre, boutiques, warehouses, supermarkets, hypermarkets, etc.)

12. When do you think Barnaul will become a popular tourist destination?

Exercise 3.

Suppose tonight you are having guests to entertain at your place of residence. What are you going to show them in your hometown?

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