Spotlight on Our Region
Lead-in
Think and answer:
What do you know about Irkutsk region (population, cities, industry, economy)?
What can you say about Irkutsk as a cultural, administrative, economic and educational center of the region?
Speak about the city you are from (age, population, sights, educational institutions, companies...).
Dialogue Pre-reading
Ex. 1 Check out the pronunciation of the following words and give their Russian equivalents:
exhausting; magnificent; exile; climate; average; Celsius; unbearable; extremely; surrounding; surface; coniferous; deciduous
Ex. 2 Scan the dialogue for the information about:
population and cities of Irkutsk region
the climate in East Siberia
Lake Baikal
Siberian forest
Ex. 3 Read and translate the dialogue:
(Cliff, an exchange student from the USA, is talking to Alexander, a Russian student)
Alex: Well, Cliff, how was your trip from Moscow to Irkutsk?
Cliff: Oh, it was just fine, and not as exhausting as I had expected. And I had a chance to enjoy the view below while the plane was coming in for a landing. It was magnificent! The immense green forests and the shiny blue water! The area doesn't look like a dark, frozen place of exile.
Alex: Oh, not at all! Otherwise people wouldn't like living here.
Cliff: And how many people live in this region?
Alex: About 3 million people, as far as I know.
Cliff: I see. Are there many big cities in the Irkutsk region?
Alex: I don't know exactly, about 20. The largest are Irkutsk, Angarsk, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk and Usolie-Sibirskoye.
Cliff: Alex, what about the climate? I heard in winter it's always pretty cold here and summers are rainy. Is that so?
Alex: Sometimes it may be very cold in winter, -30 degrees Celsius and lower. But in general, it's -22, which is quite all right for us. In the fall it often rains. Springs are windy with unstable temperatures. But in summer the average temperature is about +22, and the maximum is sometimes +37. It's unbearable to stay in the city in such hot weather!
Cliff: Oh, yes, I can imagine! Where do you spend summers?
Alex: Well, most citizens go to their summer cottages. We call them dachas. Also, every summer many people try to spend 2 or 3 weeks near Lake Baikal. The lake attracts tourists from other regions and countries, too.
Cliff: Why is it so popular? Could you tell me more about Baikal?
Alex: Sure! First, Baikal is extremely beautiful due to its crystal clear water and the surrounding scenery! Second, being about 20 million years old, it is the largest freshwater lake in the world. It contains 20 % of the planet's fresh water!
Cliff: Wow! It seems to be bigger than all the 5 American Great Lakes put together!
Alex: It is greater! Mostly due to its depth - it's more than a mile deep. I just don't know the exact figures, Cliff.
Cliff: That's really amazing!... Look, Alex, where can I get a good informative book about the lake, its surrounding area and wildlife?
Alex: Let me see... Oh, I have a better idea! I can take you on a one-day trip to the lake next weekend. We'll visit the Baikal Museum where you'll learn everything about the lake and its ecology. Then we could have a picnic somewhere on the shore.
Cliff: Oh, great idea! That would be good, thank you! And how far is the lake?
Alex: About 70 km away from Irkutsk. We'll go there by car. The Baikal highway goes through real Siberian forest called taiga. It's a mixed forest consisting of coniferous and deciduous trees, such as pine, larch, cedar, birch, aspen and so on.
Cliff: Oh, I love forests! I'm already looking forward to going there! When - Saturday or Sunday?
Alex: I think Sunday would be better.
Cliff: Then it's a deal!
Alex: Ok! I'm sure you'll enjoy the trip.
Ex. 4 Answer the questions using the dialogue and other sources of information:
What is the area of the Irkutsk region (in sq. km)?
What is the population of Irkutsk?
What cities of the Irkutsk region do you know? What industries are they famous for?
What else could you tell Cliff about Lake Baikal (origin, surface area, inflowing and outflowing rivers, flora and fauna...)?
What do you know about local wildlife?
What would you tell Cliff about common Siberian food?
Text
Pre-reading
Ex.1 Check out the pronunciation of the following words and give their Russian equivalents:
industrially; industry; scientific; potential; precious; niobium; tantalum; lazurite; charoite; chemicals; aluminum; unique; variety; accessible; enterprise; hydro-electric
Ex. 2 Read the text, make sure you understand everything: