Compose an essay on the topic “My University”. Be ready to speak on the topic “My University”.

Topic: The Russian Federation

Sport in Russia

Glossary

Geographical Outline: stretch over, a vast expanse of, cover twice the territory of, in the north/south/west/east, border on, wash, be washed by seas and oceans, conjoined, take up, rolling uplands, the relief is scattered with lakes and swamps, northern/southern/eastern/western, the river basins are cut by valleys and ravines, boundary, separate smth from smth, the highest peak, reach, range from…to…, merge, be bounded by smth, mountain chains, peninsula, island, flow in, become the cradle, extensive, lowland, highland, rank, be inhabited by, majority, be unequally distributed, the bulk of the people, be insufficiently populated, rapid, uninhabitable, climate, mild, harsh, limit smth, arable land, flora, fauna, latitudinal, tundra, moss, taiga, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, mixed forest, steppe, deposits of mineral resources, coal, oil, natural gas, iron ore, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, tin, develop rapidly, be determined by smth, heavy industry, light industry, chemical industry, highly-developed.

Political Structure: be set up, the Constitution, sovereign, the head, be headed by, be elected by, a four-year term, the President, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, make treaties, enforce laws, appoint, the prime minister, override, dissolve, the parliament, the government, branch of power, consist of, legislative, executive, judicial, be vested in the Federal Assembly, the Council of Federation, the State Duma, popular vote, chamber, chairman, a bill, approve smth, sign smth, belong to smb, be represented by smb/smth, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme court, regional courts, state symbol, symbolize smth, three-colored flag, hymn, the national coat of arms, a two-headed eagle.

II. Fill in the gaps using the essential vocabulary:

Russia … for some 17, 000 million square kilometers. Our country … of the USA. It … China, Korea …, Norway and Finland …. Russia … 3 oceans and numerous …. The distance between the most northern and most southern points … … 3, 500 … 4, 000 km. The country has about 3, 000, 000 …, the longest one is the Volga. The Baikal is not only the deepest … but also the world’s greatest freshwater reservoir. The Urals … the European part of Russia … the Asian part. There are several … such as the Caucasus and the Altai. The … are the … of Communism (7495 m), the … of Pobeda (7439 m) and Lenin … (7134 m). Mountains greatly influence … of Russia. Forests and plains … most of Russia’s territory. The country is rich in many …, especially in coal, natural gas, and ores. The current … of Russia is about 150 million people. Russia as a state is a … …. The … of the state is the President who controls all the three … ….

The Federal Assembly … the Council of … and the State... exercises … The executive power … to the government which …. by the prime minister. The … is represented by the …, … and regional courts. Today the state Russian … is three colored. The national coat of arms is … It is the most ancient … of our country.

III. Write O for oceans, S for seas, R for rivers, L for lakes, I for islands, P for peninsulas, Rg for regions:

1._the Ladoga 2._the Kara 3._the Far East 4._the Atlantic 5._the Bering 6._the Altai

7._the Azov 8._the Urals 9._the Chukchi 10._the Yenisey 11._the Pacific 12._the Don

13._the Central Siberian Plateau 14._the White 15._the Amur 16._the Baikal 17._the Ob

18._the Sakhalin 19._the Baltic 20._the Caspian 21._the Arctic 22._the Barents

23._the Volga 24._the Kuril 25._the Laptev 26._the Russian Plain 27._the Okhotsk

28._the Kamchatka 29._the Black 30._the East-Siberian 31._the West Siberian Plain

32._the Japanese 33._the Caucasus

IV. Read and translate the text.

Text A

Geographical outline

Russia stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. It is the world’s largest country. Russia covers almost twice the territory of either the United States or China. In the west Russia borders on Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland through Kaliningrad province. In the south our country borders on Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and North Korea.

Russia is washed by twelve seas and three oceans. It confronts the Baltic Sea in the west. The Black, Caspian, and Azov Seas wash Russia in the south. The Arctic Ocean and conjoined seas such as the White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, East-Siberian Seas are in the north. The Pacific Ocean and conjoined seas including the Bering, Okhotsk, and Japanese Seas wash Russia in the east.

Russia’s main regions are the Russian (or East European) Plain, the Ural Mountains, the West Siberian Plain, the Central Siberian Plateau, and the Far East.

The Russian Plain takes up the European part of Russia. There are low, rolling uplands and broad rivers there. In the north the relief of the plain is scattered with lakes and swamps. In the southern part of the plain the river basins are cut by valleys and ravines. In the south, the Russian Plain is edged by the Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian seas. The Urals form the eastern boundary of the Russian Plain. It is held that the Urals separate Europe from Asia. The Urals stretch for about 2, 100 km from north to south. The highest peak, Mount Narodnaya, reaches 1, 895 m, and other mountain tops range from 900 to 1, 500 m. The West Siberian Plain merges in the east with the Central Siberian Plateau. The easternmost part of Russia is bounded by various mountain chains. The Far East of Russia includes the Kamchatka and Chukchi peninsulas and the Kuril and Sakhalin Islands.

The most important rivers in the European part of Russia are the Don and the Volga. The Volga River, which flows in the Caspian Sea, is of great historic, economic, and cultural importance to Russia. It has become the cradle of such ancient Russian cities as Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod. In the West Siberia the greatest rivers are the Ob and Yenisey. They flow along the most extensive lowland in the world. The Yenisey flows into the Kara Sea.

In Russia there are about 3, 000, 000 beautiful lakes. The Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. Other important lakes are the Ladoga Lake and Onega Lake.

Russia rinks sixth in the world in the size of its population. The great majority of the population of Russia are Russians. Russia is inhabited by sixty other nationalities. The population of Russia is unequally distributed. The bulk of the people live in the European part of the country.

There are various types of climate on the territory of Russia. Continental climate, with cold winters and mild or warm summers prevails. The harshness of the Russian climate limits the amount of arable land to about one-seventh of the total area.

Different latitudinal climatic regimes are mirrored in Russia’s flora. A treeless tundra with mosses and grasses extends along the entire Arctic coast. In the south it gives way to taiga. This coniferous forest growing on swampy ground covers more than half of the country. In European Russia, towards the south the taiga is replaced by a zone of mixed coniferous and deciduous forest which in the south transfers into mixed forest-steppe and finally into the almost treeless, grass-covered steppe.

Russia has the richest deposits of mineral resources in the world. It is one of the world’s biggest producers of coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as of iron, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, and tin.

The development of the Russian economy is determined by its natural resources. Russia’s heavy industries are well-developed. They produce much of the nation’s steel and most of its heavy machinery, such as steam boilers, grain-harvesting combines, automobiles, locomotives, and machine tools. Russia’s chemical industry is also well-developed. Light industry is not so highly-developed and centers mainly on the production of textiles.

Task 1. Find answers to the following questions in the text:

1. Where is Russia situated?

2. What is Russia washed by?

3. What are Russia’s main regions?

4. What can you tell about each region?

5. What are the most important rivers in Russia?

6. What is the deepest lake in Russia?

7. What can you say about the population of Russia?

8. What types of climate are there on the territory of Russia?

9. Is Russia’s flora rich?

10. What can you say about Russia’s natural resources?

11. Is Russia’s industry well-developed?

Task 2.Try to define the key notes of the text after answering the questions and write a summary.

Task 3. Speak about Russia according to the following plan:

1. Russia’s physical features.

2. Climate.

3. Population.

4. Flora.

5. Industry.

Read and translate text B.

Text B

Political system of Russia

The Russian Federation was set up by the Constitution of 1993. After its destruction the Soviet Union was broken up into independent Russia and 14 other new, sovereign nations.

Under the Constitution of 1993 Russia is a Presidential Republic. It is headed by the President who is elected for a four-year term. The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties, and enforces laws, appoints the prime minister, cabinet members, and key judges. The President can override and in some cases dissolve the national parliament, the bicameral Federal Assembly.

The government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by the President. The legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly. It consists of the Council of Federation (upper house) and the State Duma (low house). The members of the State Duma are elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The Council of Federation is not elected. It is formed of the heads of the regions. Each Chamber is headed by the Chairman. Legislature is initiated in the State Duma. But to become a law a bill must be approved by the Lower and Upper Houses and signed by the President. The executive power belongs to the Government. The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and regional courts.

Today the state Russian flag is three colored. It has three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe symbolizes the earth, the blue one stand for the sky, and the red one signifies liberty. It was the first state symbol to replace the former symbols in 1991. The hymn of Russia is created by Alexandrov and Mikhalkov. Now the national coat of arms is a two-headed eagle. It is the most ancient symbol of Russia.

Russian is the official, but not the only language which people speak in the country. Members of more than 60 other ethnic groups who live in Russia speak their own languages. The people of the Altaic group speak mainly Turkic, and Mongolian languages. The members of the Uralic group speak Uralic languages. The representatives of the Caucasus group speak various languages of the North Caucasus region of Russia. The people of Paleosiberian groups speak variety of languages of far-eastern Siberia.

Task 1. Find answers to the following questions in the text:

1. When was the RF set up?

2. Who is the head of the RF?

3. What are the branches of the Russian government?

4. What are Russia’s state symbols?

5. What is the official language of the RF?

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