II Be ready to give brief retelling of the text, using Appendix 1.

I Reading

a) Read the following text

Put down the unknown words (with their transcription and translation) into your vocabulary. Be ready to translate the text orally.

b) Find and write out all irregular verbs given in the text. Remember three forms of them.

Kyiv the mother of russian cities (Part II)

Internecine wars, raids of nomadic neighbours weakened the country and especially Kyiv. The countless hordes of Batyi-Khan reached the city walls in 1240. The defenders of Kyiv were fight­ing to death. The city fell after the sus­tained siege. The Tatar-Mongols pun­ished the peaceful population cruelly; the city was actually torn to pieces, ransacked, reduced to ashes and destroyed. No more than 2-3 thou­sand people out of 50 thousand sur­vived. By the end of the XIII century first the Lithuanians and later the Poles replaced the Tatars in Kyiv.

Magdeburg Right, the medieval European local city government, was extended over Kyiv in 1499 on the deci­sion of the Great Lithuanian Prince Alexander to avoid further con­flicts between voivodes and the city population. This allowed the city inhab­itants not merely to take the power into their hands, but to secure certain privi­leges for merchants.

The bloody wars against the rule of the Polish gentry started in the middle of the XVII century. The world first dem­ocratic constitution which entered the history under the following title: "Pacts and Constitution of Rights and Liberties of Zaporizska Sich Troops" appeared amidst the Ukrainian Cossacks. Unfortunately, it was never implemented in practice. After the Poles had been ousted from Ukraine, the Poles united with the Tatars and Turks, finally attempting to occupy Ukraine. It was the time, when the hetman appealed to the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich for support, asking him to take Ukraine under his protection.

The period of the Russian tsars rule was hard and contradictory one. On one hand, it certainly was the time of national ens/avemenf (even the usage of the Ukrainian Language was forbid­den], the rights of Ukrainian cultural workers and men of science were vio­lated. Taras Shevchenko, the world known artist and poet, was sent to serve as a soldier in the Russian army and was banished to a far-away Tajikia for his freedom-loving poetry concerning Ukraine. On the other hand, it was just the time when the city acquired the European look. Podol was ennobled; Pechersk became the political and administrative centre of the city. It was the time, when Kyiv University named after St. Volodymyr was founded. Later it was renamed after Taras Shevchenko. The first Fraternal School, founded in 1615, had been already dealing with the educa­tion of Kyivites. Later, in the times of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, it was trans­formed into the Kyiv-Mohyla Collegium. It has become the world famous Kyiv-Mohyla Academy later on. The outstanding figures not only from Ukraine, but also from Russia, Poland and other countries studied here, Mikhail Lomonosov, Grygoryi Skovoroda, Innokentyi Gisel and others were among them. Ukraine attempted to gain independence and state system after the collapse of the Russian monarchy, but for another sev1933, when more than seven million people perished, the Great Patriotic war of 1941-1945, which took away millions of people and the appalling tragedy of Chernobyl, which makes us the hostages of it even today.

In spite of such tragic history Kyiv is growing, developing and becoming more beautiful. The golden-domed, multi-faced and buried in verdure Kyiv is the most ancient and at the same time the eternally young city, unique in all senses. Kyiv of today is inferior to no other European city in its beauty and origi­nality. One can compare it with any other European capital. Montmartre, for example, is one of the most favourite places in Paris and Andriyivskyi Descent (Uzviz) with its diverse and multi-style paintings, noisy and gay crowds of revellers and idle onlookers is the similar place in Kyiv. Similar to the ancient Christian cata­combs in Rome there are the unique Kyiv Pechersk caves, just visiting of which, as the experts assure, can heal various diseases. Similar to the Museum Island in Berlin, there is a museum street in Kyiv, where the fol­lowing museums are situated: Kyiv Museum of the Russian Art, the Museum of the Western and the Eastern Art named after Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko, Taras Shevchenko Museum located close to it.

There is the sculptural monument to him in the park nearby, depicting the great poet stand­ing deep in thoughts. The St. Sophia's Cathedral is the heart of the city; The streets are extremely tidy and Khreshchatyk, the main avenue of the capital, is its soul; the monument to St. Volodymyr, which stands on the Starokyivska Hill is its symbol; Lavra Caves are the ancient history and the archangel Michael, the patron of Kyiv, flies proudly emblem. However, people are the main treas­ure of the capital. They are tender, senti­mental and dreamy on one hand, and diligent, courageous, stubborn, but ami­able and persistent, on the other hand. They are people that do not forget their past, the people that keep pace with the transient present and the people fixed upon the future.

Kyiv is very beautiful in spring, when the chestnut-trees are blossoming. It is exceptionally beautiful, when lilac is blos soming in the Botanical Gardens, located above Vydubychi. The gardens are majestically beautiful in autumn, when the nature flares out like an orange-red fire, and the city streets, parks and gardens plunge into the fiery red splendour, as if for the last time. Kyiv is fascinating in winter, when the sound­less snowflake whirling makes one forget about time and submerge into the silent fascination of frozen windows.