Words and expressions

to lay (laid, laid) − класть

peasant − крестьянин, сельский житель

magnificent − великолепный, величественный

swampland − болотистая местность

UNESCO − United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - ЮНЕСКО

heritage − наследство; наследие

list − список, перечень, реестр

fortress − крепость

cathedral − кафедральный собор

gilded − позолоченный

spire − шпиль

to be buried − быть похороненным

duke − князь, герцог

treasure − сокровище

glorious − знаменитый, прославленный

mansion − большой особняк, дворец

permanent − постоянный

display − показ, демонстрация

to comprise – включать, содержать

item − предмет

to occupy − занимать

embankment − набережная

former − бывший

residence − жильё; дом, резиденция

emperor − император

to adorn − украшать

rapidly − быстро

marble − мрамор

cemetery − кладбище

convent − монастырь (преим. женский)

to raise − поднимать

chamber music − камерная музыка

suburbs − пригород, пригородные районы

Task 2. How much do you know about the city you study at? How many of these questions can you answer?

1. When was St. Petersburg founded?

2. Who is the founder of the city?

3. What is the city’s oldest building?

4. What is the State Hermitage Museum famous for?

5. How big is the collection of the Hermitage?

6. Which other museums are there in St. Petersburg?

7. How long is Nevsky Prospect, the main thoroughfare of the city?

8. What are the best known cathedrals in St. Petersburg?

9. How many bridges does St. Petersburg have?

Task 3. Translate into Russian.

1. Одна из достопримечательностей Петербурга – фонтаны. Наиболее знаменитый из них – фонтанный комплекс Петергофа.

2. В черте города находится около 100 водоёмов (озёр, прудов, искус- ственных водоёмов), через которые перекинуто около 800 мостов, в том числе 218 пешеходных.

3. Собственно городских мостов – 342, остальные в пригородах (Кронштадт – 5, Пушкин – 54, Петергоф – 51, Павловск – 16, Ломоносов – 7); из них 22 моста разводные.

4. Самый длинный мост – Большой Обуховский (вантовый) мост через Неву (2824 метров), самый широкий мост – Синий мост на реке Мойке (99,5 м).

5. Центральная часть города находится с 1990 г. под охраной ЮНЕСКО; сохранность исторической архитектурной среды в центре города до начала XXI века была достаточно высока.

6. Под охраной государства в Санкт-Петербурге находится около 8 тысяч памятников архитектуры.

7. Ряд новых строительных проектов, нарастающий объём сноса зданий фоновой застройки центра и появление в центре новых зданий, разрывающих ансамбли и искажающих виды, вызывают возражения у общественности.

8. Всё чаще звучат мнения, что такие действия могут разрушить уникальную городскую среду петербургского центра.

Task 4 Practice the following dialogue.

– Добрый вечер, мистер Браун. Как дела? Хорошо провели время?

– It’s everything all right. I had an appointment with my business partner at 9 o’clock. I'm on business here, you know, but whenever I find an hour to spare I go sightseeing. I’m so full of impressions. And what about you, Mr. Rodgers, did you enjoy the afternoon walk?

– О, конечно! Петербург – поистине удивительный город! Здесь на каждом шагу есть что-то, что привлекает ваше внимание. Я здесь уже третий день. Завтра я хочу сходить в Эрмитаж.

– It’s a good idea. The Hermitage, like all museums, needs to be taken a little at a time.

– Я слышал, что Эрмитаж занимает шесть великолепных исторических зданий с протяжённостью коридоров более чем 30 км. Художественная коллекция насчитывает около 3 миллионов экспонатов. Сначала я хочу осмотреть старейшее здание Эрмитажа – Зимний дворец. Это далеко отсюда?

– No, it’s no distance at all, only 20-minute walk.

Task 5.Read the text and answer the question.

The 900-day Siege of Leningrad

In September 1941, less than two and a half months after the Soviet Union was attacked by Nazi Germany, German troops were already approaching Leningrad. By 8 September, German forces had largely surrounded the city, cutting off all supply routes to Leningrad and its suburbs, and the Siege began. It lasted for a total of 900 days, from September 8, 1941 until January 27, 1944. The city's almost 3 million civilians (including about 400,000 children) refused to surrender and endured rapidly increasing hardships in the encircled city. Food and fuel stocks were limited to a mere 1-2 month supply, public transport was not operating and by the winter of 1941-1942 there was no heating, no water supply, almost no electricity and very little food. In January 1942 in the depths of an unusually cold winter, the only food available to the citizens was 125 grams of bread per day. In just two months, January and February of 1942, 200,000 people died of cold and starvation. Despite these tragic losses and the inhuman conditions, the city's war industries still continued to work and the city did not surrender.

Several hundred thousand people were evacuated from the city across Lake Ladoga via the famous "Road of Life" - the only route that connected the besieged city with the mainland. During the warm season people were ferried to the mainland, and in winter - carried by trucks that drove across the frozen lake under constant enemy bombardment.

Meanwhile, the city lived on. The treasures of the Hermitage and the suburban palaces of Petrodvorets and Pushkin were hidden in the basements of the Hermitage and St Isaac's Cathedral. Many of the city's students continued their studies and even passed their finals exams. Dmitry Shostakovich wrote his Seventh "Leningrad" Symphony and it was performed in the besieged city.

In January 1943 the Siege was broken and a year later, on January 27, 1944 it was fully lifted. At least 641,000 people died in Leningrad during the siege (some estimates put this figure closer to 800,000). Most of them were buried in mass graves in different cemeteries, with the majority in the Piskariovskoye Memorial Cemetery, resting place to over 500,000 people and a timeless reminder of the heroic deeds of the city.

The Siege was undoubtedly the most tragic period in the history of the city, a period full of suffering and heroism.

1. When did the siege start?

2. How long did it last?

3. How many people were there in the city when the siege started?

4. How big was the city’s daily ration in winter of 1941-1942?

5. When was the siege broken?

6. In which month was the siege lifted?

6. How many people died during the Siege?

7. In which way are the Siege victims commemorated?