Text A: «THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION»

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about 1/6 of the Earth surface. The country is situated in Eastern Europe, Northern and Cen­tral Asia. Its total area is over 17 million square km.

Our land is washed by 12 seas, most of which are the seas of three oceans: the Arctic, the Atlantic and the Pacific. In the south and in the west the country bor­ders on fourteen countries. It also has a sea-border with the USA.

There is hardly a country in the world where such a great variety of flora and fauna can be found as in our land. Our country has numerous forests, plains and steppes, taiga and tundra, highlands and deserts. The highest mountains in our land are the Altai, the Urals and the Caucasus. There are over two thousand rivers in the Russian Federation. The longest of them are the Volga, the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena and the Amur. Our land is also rich in various lakes with the deepest lake in the world, the Baikal, included.

On the Russian territory there are 11 time zones. The climate conditions are rather different: from arctic and moderate to continental and subtropical. Our country is one of the richest in natural resources countries in the world: oil, natural gas, coal, different ores, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and other minerals.

The Russian Federation is a multinational state. It comprises many national districts, several autonomous republics and regions. The population of the country is about 140 million people.

Moscow is the capital of our Homeland. It is the larg­est political, scientific, cultural and industrial center of the country and one of the most beautiful cities on the globe. Russian is the official language of the state. The national symbols of the Russian Federation are a white-blue-red banner and a double-headed eagle.

The Russian Federation is a constitutional republic headed by the President. The country government con­sists of three branches: legislative, executive and judi­cial. The President controls only the executive branch — the government, but not the Supreme Court and Federal Assembly.

The legislative power belongs to the Federal Assem­bly comprising two chambers: the Council of Federa­tion (upper Chamber) and the State Duma (lower Cham­ber). Each chamber is headed by the Speaker. The ex­ecutive power belongs to the government (the Cabinet of Ministers) headed by the Prime Minister. The judi­cial power belongs to the system of Courts comprising the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and fed­eral courts.

Our country has a multiparty system. The largest and most influential political parties are the «Unity», the Communist party, the «Fatherland-All Russia», «The Union of the Right Forces», «The Apple», Liberal-Demo­cratic and some others.

The foreign policy of the Russian Federation is that of international cooperation, peace and friendship with all nations irrespective of their political and social sys­tems.

Vocabulary:

to occupy — занимать

surface — поверхность

total area — общая площадь

to border on — граничить с

numerous — многочисленные

steppes — степи

taiga — тайга

highlands — горные возвышенности

the Urals — Уральские горы

the Caucasus — Кавказ

climate conditions — клима­тические условия

moderate — умеренный

ore —руда

ferrous and non-ferrous metals — черные и цветные металлы

state — государство

to comprise — включать, охватывать

banner — знамя, флаг

legislative — законодательный

executive — исполнительная

judicial — судебная

Federal Assembly — Федеральное Собрание

the Council of Federation — Совет Федерации

State Duma — Государственная Дума

Supreme Court — Верховный суд

influential — влиятельный

foreign policy — международная политика

irrespective — независимо

General understanding:

1. Is Russia the largest country in the world?

2. What oceans wash the borders of the Russian Fed­eration?

3. How many countries have borders with Russia?

4. Are Russian flora and fauna various?

5. What are the highest mountains in Russia?

6. What is Baikal famous for?

7. What is the climate in Russia like?

8. What is the national symbol of Russia?

9. What does the Federal Assembly consist of?

10. Who is the head of each Chamber of the Federal Assembly?

Exercise 5.1. Translate into English:

1. Общая площадь Российской федерации состав­ляет более 17 миллионов километров.

2. В мире вряд ли есть еще одна страна с такой разнообразной флорой и фауной.

3. Озеро Байкал — самое глубокое озеро на земном шаре и служит предметом гордости россиян.

4. На территории Российской федерации существу­ет 11 часовых поясов.

5. Россия является конституционной республикой с президентской формой правления.

6. Законадательная власть принадлежит Федераль­ному Собранию, состоящему из двух палат.

7. В Российском парламенте представлены такие партии, как «Единство», КПРФ, «Отечество—Вся Россия», «Яблоко», СПС, ЛДПР.

8. Законодательная и судебная власти прямо не под­чиняются Президенту.

Exercise 5.2. How well do you know your Homeland?

What is (are):

• the biggest Russian lake?

• the longest Russian river (in European and Asian parts of the Russian Federation)?

• a city with subtropical climate?

• cities with arctic climate?

• agricultural regions?

• old historical cities?

• places of recreation and tourism?

Text B: «MOSCOW»

Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia. It is also the capital of Moscow Oblast, and it stands on the Moskva River. Moscow is the economic, political and cultural centre of Russia. Railways and numerous air­lines link the city with all parts of Russia. Navigable waterways, including the Moscow Canal, Moskva River, and Volga-Don Canal, make the port areas of the city di­rectly accessible to shipping from the Baltic, White, Black, and Caspian seas and the Sea of Azov.

Moscow covers an area of about 880 sq.km. Concen­tric boulevards divide the city into several sections. At the centre of the concentric circles (and semicircles) are the Kremlin, the former governmental seat of Russia, and adjacent Red Square, which form the centre of a ra­dial street pattern. Moscow has a modern underground system famous for its marble-walled stations.

Situated on the north bank of the Moskva River, the Kremlin is the dominant landmark of Moscow. A stone wall, up to 21 m in height and 19 towers, surrounds this triangular complex of former palaces, cathedrals, and other monuments of tsarist times, some of them dating from the Middle Ages. The Great Kremlin Palace, com­pleted in 1849, is the most imposing structure within the Kremlin. Other notable Kremlin palaces are the Granovitaya Palace (1491) and the Terem (1636).

Among many cathedrals, now used mainly as muse­ums, are the Cathedral of the Assumption (Успения) and the Archangel Cathedral, each with five gilded domes, and the Cathedral of the Annunciation (Благовещения) (13th-14th century), with nine gilded domes. Another landmark of the Kremlin is the Tower of Ivan the Great, a bell tower 98 m high. On a nearby pedestal is the Tsar's Bell (nearly 200 tons), one of the largest in the world. A recent addition to the Kremlin is the Palace of Con­gresses, completed in 1961. In this huge modern build­ing were held meetings of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and congresses of the Communist party of the Soviet Union; theatrical and other artistic perform­ances have been held here as well.

St Basil's Cathedral, famous for its unique architec­ture and coloured domes, stands at one end of Red Square.

One of the best-known sections of Moscow is the Kitaigorod (Chinese City), the ancient commercial quarter lying to the east of the Kremlin. This section is now the site of many government office buildings. Other points of interest in Moscow include the Central Lenin Stadium, comprising about 130 buildings for various sports and the tall Ostankino TV tower, which contains a revolving restaurant and an observation plat­form.

General understanding:

1. Where is Moscow located?

2. Is Moscow a port city?

3. How is Moscow divided into sections?

4. What is known about Moscow Underground system?

5. What are the places of interest in Moscow?

6. Why is the Kremlin the most important place of interest for tourists?

7. What Russian Orthodox cathedrals are situated inside the Kremlin?

8. What is Palace of Congresses used for at present time?

Exercise 5.3. Where are these places of interest situated?

* Granovitaya Palace

* Terem

* the Red Square

* the Kremlin

* the Great Kremlin Palace

* the Cathedral of the Assumption

* the Archangel Cathedral

* the Cathedral of the Annunciation

* the Tower of Ivan the Great

* the Tsar's Bell

* the Palace of Congresses

* St Basil's Cathedral

* the Central Lenin Stadium

 

Exercise 5.4. Please, write a short story about your visit to Moscow. The following questions will certainly help you:

1) Have you ever been to Moscow?

2) If yes, when was it?

3) Was it a business trip or a pleasure tour?

4) Did you fly, take a bus or a train to Moscow?

5) What railway station (airport) did you arrive at?

6) What was your first impression of Moscow?

7) What places of interest have you visited?

8) Where did you stay in Moscow?

9) How long did you stayed in Moscow?

10) Did you enjoy your visit to Moscow?

GRAMMAR

§1. Времена английского глагола.

Таблица временных форм глагола

TENSE ВРЕМЯ	Indefinite (Simple) Простое	Continuous Длительное	Perfect Завершенное
Present Настоящее	I write Я пишу (вообще, обычно)	I am writing Я пишу (сейчас)	I have written Я (уже) написал
Past Прошедшее	I wrote Я(на)писал (вчера)	I was writing Я писал (в тот момент)	I had written Я написал (уже к тому моменту)
Future Будущее	I shall/will write Я напишу, буду писать (завтра)	I shall/will be writing Я буду писать (в тот момент)	I shall/will have written Я напишу (уже к тому моменту)

Глаголы в формах Indefinite (Simple) описывают обычные, повторяющиеся действия как факт — безотносительно к их длительности или к результату действия:

I go to school every day . — Я хожу в школу каждый день. В этом высказывании интересует не время, по­траченное на дорогу, не процесс движения, не резуль­тат походов, а сам факт: я хожу в школу, а не на ра­боту.

То же самое относится к прошедшему времени и к будущему:

I went to school when I was a boy. — Я ходил в шко­лу, когда был мальчиком.

I shall go to school when I grow up. —Я буду хо­дить в школу, когда вырасту.

Отрицательная и вопросительная формы в Indefi­nite образуются при помощи вспомогательных глаго­лов do, does, did с частицей not, краткая форма: don't, doesn't, didn't. Порядок слов прямой. Вопросительные предложения образуются, как правило, простой пере­становкой подлежащего и вспомогательного глагола. Вопросительные местоимения при этом стоят всегда впереди.

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