Capital

1.to mention - упоминать

2.chronicle – хроника, летопись

3.frontier settlement – пограничный поселок

4.unique - уникальный

Moscow is the capital of Russia, its administrative, economic, political and educational centre. It is one of Russia’s major cities with the population of about 10 million people. Its total area is about 900 thousand square kilometres.

The city was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky and was first mentioned in the chronicles in 1147. At that time it was a small frontier settlement. By the 15^th century Moscow had grown into a wealthy city.

The present-day Moscow is the seat of the government of the Russian Federation.

Moscow is a major industrial city. Its leading industries are engineering, chemichal and light industries.

Moscow is known for its many historical buildings, museums and art galleries, as well as for the famous Bolshoi, Maly and Art theatres. There are more than 80 museums in Moscow, among them the unique Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Andrey Rublyov Museum of Early Russian Art and many others.

Moscow is a city of science and learning. There are over 80 higher educational institutions in the city, including a number of universities.

Read and translate the text.

Answer the questions.

1.What is the role of Moscow in Russia?

2.When was Moscow founded? Who founded Moscow?

3.Why do we say that the year of 1147 is only the official date of the foundation of Moscow?

4.What part does the present-day Moscow play in the life of Russia?

Translate into English:

1.Москва – административный, экономический, политический центр России и один из

крупнейших городов страны.

2.Население Москвы – около 10 миллионов человек, общая площадь –900 кв. километров.

3.Москва была основана Юрием Долгоруким и впервые упоминалась в летописях

в 1147 году.

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4.Из пограничного поселка Москва превратилась в процветающий город.

5.Москва – крупный промышленный город, город науки и образования.

Write a list of your favourite Moscow sights. Tell your groupmates about them.

Write a letter to your penpal describing one of the most Moscow sights(150-200 words).

Quiz*

Put a tick () next to the correct answer.

1.When was Moscow first mentioned in the records?

a) 1380 b) 980 c) 1147

2.Who headed the liberation movement in the 14-th century?*

a) Prince Dmitry Donskoy

b) citizen Minin and prince Pozharsky

c) Ivan III

3.When did Moscow become the capital of Russia?

a) in the 15^th century

b) in the 12^th century

c) in the 16^th century

4.What happened to Moscow in September of 1812?

a) rebuilt b)set ablaze c) a great festival was held

SUPPLEMENTARY READING.*

RUSSIAN RAILWAYS

First bricks in the foundation of Russia’s railway were laid in 1834, when Demidovs’ metallurgic works in Nizhny Tagil designed and built Russia’s first steam-engine and a 3.5-km railway. They were created by Cherepanovs, father and son, who were serfs, mechanics and inventors at the same time. After working at Moscow and Saint-Petersburg factories and a few European enterprises, they had a lot of experience. Using it, they built about 20 steam machines for production and transportation purposes. But creation of a steam-engine undoubtedly was to become their greatest triumph. It’s worth mentioning that first cast-iron tracks appeared in Russia as far back as in the 18^th century. But they were used only in mineral resource and metallurgical industries.

Top state officials quite often expressed their doubts about economic cost-effectiveness of building railways in the country. But advantages of transport of this kind, as well as considerable profits it was yielding in Europe’s developed countries (e.g., in England), made an impression on the Russian Emperor. On April 15,1836, Nikolai I issued a decree about building a railway from Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo. 18 months late, on October 30,1837, the siren by the steam-engine hailed the launch of Russia’s first public railway. A little later the line was extended to Pavlovsk. Its terminus was turned into a ‘voksal’-one of the country’s most famous pleasure houses. Wealthy people from Saint-Petersburg made special arrangements to come there. It was only much later that it turned into a railway station in its proper sense- station-wide premises for passengers. Thus began the history of Russia’s railways.

Render the text into Russian without a dictionary.

Check yourself.

Translate the following without a dictionary.

1.Россия – самая большая страна в мире с общей площадью около 17 миллионов кв.

километров, расположена в Восточной Европе и северной части Азии.

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2.Россия протянулась от Балтийского моря до Тихого океана и от Северного Ледовитого

океана до Черного моря.

3.Три четверти запасов полезных ископаемых страны сконцентрировано в Сибири, в том

числе нефть, природный газ, уголь, золото и цветные металлы.

4.Транссибирская магистраль включена в качестве приоритетного маршрута в сообщении

между Европой и Азией в проекты многих международных организаций.

5.Форма правления в России, одной из ведущих мировых держав,- федерация.