II. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates

1. Where do you study at?

2. What institute do you study at?

3. How many institutes are there at your university?

4. What subjects do you study during the first year?

5. How many exams do you have each term?

6. What is your future profession/specialty?

7. Do you take part in social life of your University?

Russia

The Russian Federation, or Russia is the largest country in the world. Its vast territory lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. The country is washed by three oceans (the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Pacific) and twelve seas. Russia borders on many countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania in the north, China, Mongolia, North Korea and others in the south-east, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine in the west, and others. The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range. The Caucasus contains Mount Elbrus, Russia’s and Europe’s highest point at 5,633 m. The more central Ural Mountains, a north-south range that forms the primary divide between Europe and Asia, are also notable. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes in the country.

The Russian Federation is extremely rich in natural and mineral re­sources. It has deposits of oil, gas, iron, gold, non-ferrous metals and many other minerals.

The economy of Russia is going through a transitional period from the centrally planned socialist economy to a market economy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the greater part of industries were privatized, agriculture and land underwent partial privatization later and are still under­going it. After the crisis of 1997 and the depreciation of the rouble followed by sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population, Rus­sia’s economy faced recession. The economy started recovering in 1999, partially because of high export prices on oil and gas which Russia is rich in.

Russia is still heavily dependent on export of oil, gas and timber, while its industrial and farming sectors are still weak as compared with those of the developed countries, but the rate of economic growth of the country is very high

The current population of Russia is about 143 million people. The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, with a population of about 11 million people.

Russia is a parliamentary republic. Head of State in the country is President, directly elected for a four-year term, which has considerable ex­ecutive power and is head of the executive branch of the government. The national flag of Russia is a white-blue-and-red banner. The national language of the Russian Federation is Russian.

The Orthodox Church is the dominant religion in Russia.

Russian culture abounds in names which are famous all over the world. Actually, there is no field in science or arts where Russia failed to contribute to the world’s intellectual and artistic treasure-houses.

Task 2