24. Comprehension check. Choose the best alternative according to the text:

1. The Cross of St. Evfrosiniya Polotskaya was made

a) in 1165 by Lazarus Bogsha;

b) in 1161 by an unknown master;

c) in 1161 by Lazarus Bogsha.

2. The Cross was

a) rather small and had 4 ends;

b) was more man half a meter long and had 6 ends;

c) was really huge.

3. The basis of the Cross was

a) cypress tree;

b) alder tree;

c) oak tree.

4. The wood itself was covered with

a) a special mixture of paint to protect the Cross from moisture;

b) 21 golden plates and 20 silver plates covered with gold;

c) pearls and jewels.

5. On thejop ends of the Cross there were images of

a) St. Evfrosiniya of Alexandria and St. Sophia;

b) St. Basil the Great, St. Stephen and St. Dimitry;

c) Jesus Christ, St. Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist.

6. The Heavenly patrons of St. Evfrosiniya Polotskaya were

a) St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom;

b) St. Pantheleimone, St. Stephen and St. Dimitry;

c) St. Evfrosiniya of Alexandria, St. Martyr George and St. Sophia.

7. The total number of the images on the Cross is

a)21;

b)13;

c)20.

8. The Cross was sometimes called an ark because

a) it was a kind of container for religious relics;

b) it was taken from Byzantium;

c) it was a unique masterpiece of art.

9. Historians got to know the exact date of the creation of the Cross, its cost and the name of the master due to

a) the description of the Cross in Smolensk chronicles;

b) the inscription on the lateral plates of the Cross;

c) many legends.

10. The Cross had a special inscription on its lateral plates because

a) it was usual to do such things in the past;

b) it was unique and very expensive;

c) religious things always had a prayer or some holy words on them.

11. The Cross was kept

a) in Polotsk till the World War II;

b) in Moscow and St. Petersburg museums;

c) in different places beginning from the 13* century, but in the 19* century it came back to Polotsk.

12. For the first time the Cross was captured by

a) Ivan the Great;

b) Smolensk princes;

c) the Red Army.

13. The Soviet authorities

a) destroyed the Cross;

b) sold it to a European collector;

c) moved it from Polotsk to Mogilev.

14. The Cross disappeared

a) during the Great Patriotic War;

b) in some years after the war;

c) only at the end of the 20^th century,

15. The Cross was restored

a) by a Belarusian monk in 1992;

b) by an international group of artists;

c) by HP. Kuzmich in 1997.

Unit XVII the sophia cathedral: our national heritage

1. Pay attention to the following words. Pick out sentences with these words from the text and read them:

angular towers — угловые башни;

the gothic style — готический стиль;

circle — ярус;

the baroque style — стиль барокко;

the catholic typ e— католический