- •The republic of belarus the republic of belarus
- •1. Practice saying the following words:
- •2. Memorize the following words:
- •I. Oral Practice Section
- •1. Look through the following quotations and proverbs and try to outline the problems to be discussed.
- •2. Find all the suitable nouns for each of the adjectives or participles.
- •3. Make sure that you know the words. Read the definitions and match the words and definitions:
- •4. Read the text. Fill in the gaps with the words from ex. 3. Put some verbs into the past form. From the History of Belarus
- •5. Work in pairs. Speak of the main steps in the history of our country to your partner matching the dates and the events and arranging the facts in the right order.
- •6. Read a small extract about the history of the name of our country. Say whether you know other versions concerning the history of the name.
- •7. Work in pairs. Restore the dialogue between Mike, a student from Belarus and Alex, a student from Australia. They are speaking about the history of the name “ Belarus “.
- •State system of the Republic of Belarus
- •9. Study the information about the state system of the Republic of Belarus. Open the brackets, using English words from the box below the text instead of Russian ones.
- •10. State system quiz
- •11. Use the tables below and the word list to essence of the state power of the Rep. Of Belarus to a foreigner. Speak about the main functions of each body of power.
- •Geography
- •12. Read the text, pay attention to the underlined words. Make an outline to speak about your native land Belarus. Geography of Belarus
- •14. Work in pairs. Reproduce the answers to your partners.
- •16. Work in groups. Find out from your partners:
- •Made in Belarus
- •21. Read the article “Education in Belarus”. Characterize the educational system of our republic.
- •22. Examine the following description of our capital. List five well-known places you’d like to visit. Minsk
- •23. Work in pairs. At the airport a Westerner and our countryman are talking about the most popular sightseeing of Belarus. Take part in this conversation and share your opinion with partners.
- •24. Work in pairs. Look through the following text and render it to your deskmate.
- •Eyeballing belarus
- •25. Quiz “Do you know the history of motherland?”
- •26. Comment on the following quotations.
14. Work in pairs. Reproduce the answers to your partners.
|
A |
I wish I knew more about your country. What is the area of Belarus? |
|
B |
… 207.600 sq km |
|
A |
It’s quite large, isn’t it? |
|
B |
Yes … that of Great Britain. |
|
A |
What’s its population? |
|
B |
… about 10 mln people. |
|
A |
Do only Belarusians live here? |
|
B |
No … in good neighborhood. |
|
A |
What countries does your country border on? |
|
B |
… Russia to the north and east, Ukraine … and Latvia and Lithuania … |
|
A |
Are there any long rivers and big lakes? |
|
B |
Certainly. … are the Dnieper, Western Dvina, Neman while … is Naroch. |
|
A |
I’ve heard something about Belavezhskay Puscha. What is it? |
|
B |
It’s … Rare … live there. And it’s famous for its unique collection of wild life. |
|
A |
Thank you. That was interesting and useful. |
15. Read tables A and B, make your guesses about the countries names and capitals. Exchange your points of view with your partner and describe the countries to each other. Then discuss the following questions with him/her.
Are these countries situated far from each other or close to each other?
Are they equal in areas?
Are both of the countries multicultural?
What cultures intermingle with each other in these countries?
Table A
|
Name of the country |
|
|
Capital |
|
|
Location |
Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, a country bordering the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, some Northern and Eastern European countries, some Asian countries. |
|
Map references |
Europe and Asia |
|
Area |
17,075 200 sq km |
|
Population |
145,470,197 (July 2001) |
|
Ethnic groups |
Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belarussians 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% |
|
Religions |
Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other |
|
Government type |
Federation state. |
Table B
|
Name of the country |
|
|
Capital |
|
|
Location |
Eastern Europe, a country bordering Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine |
|
Map references |
Europe |
|
Area |
207,600 sq km |
|
Population |
10,293,011 |
|
Ethnic groups |
Belarussians 81.2%, Russians 11.4%, Poles 3.9%, Ukrainians 2.4%, other 1.1% |
|
Religions |
Orthodox, catholic |
|
Government type |
President Republic |
16. Work in groups. Find out from your partners:
About the influence of the geographical position of Belarus on its history
Why Belarus is sometimes called “a blue-eyed country”?
What they know about the origin of the name “Belaya Rus”?
What they know about the ancestors of the Belarussians?
What influences the climate of the country?