IV. My native town (novosibirsk)

TOPICAL VOCABULARY:

1. native town (home town) - родной город

2. to be situated — быть расположенным

 

1. to be founded - быть основанным

2. educational center — центр образования

3. a number of — несколько

4. to be proud of- гордиться

5. church - церковь

6. chapel - часовня

7. plant-завод

8. branch - (зд.) отделение

9. science - наука

10. research institute — научно-исследовательский институт

11. higher school - вуз

I live in Novosibirsk. It is my native town. I was born here and have lived all

my life in it.

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Novosibirsk is a great city, one of the largest in Russia. It is situated on the Siberian river Ob. But it is not old. Novosibirsk was founded in 1893 by N.Garin-Mikhailovsky, a well-known Russian writer and engineer. Now its population is about 1.5 million people.

Novosibirsk is a cultural and educational center. There are some universities and a number of higher schools and colleges. The city is proud of its Opera and Ballet Theatre, which is one of the biggest and most beautiful in the country. There are many monuments, museums, some churches, an Art Gallery and a chapel.

Novosibirsk is an important industrial center too. Its plants and factories produce different machinery and equipment.

Novosibirsk is famous for Academgorodok, the center of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of sciences. There are more than 20 research institutes.

Novosibirsk is a beautiful green city. There is a wonderful park in the center of the town where people like to walk. I like my home town and I'm happy to live in it.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

What is your native town?

Where is it situated?

What places of interest are there in your town?

When was your town founded?

Are there any higher schools in the town?

What is the town famous for?

What is your favourite place in the town?

What is its population?

Is your native town green and clean?

ГУ. RUSSIA (THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION)

TOPICAL VOCABULARY:

1. total area - общая площадь

2. square — квадратный

3. to cover - занимать (площадь)

4. to wash - омывать

5. to border - граничить с

6. river - река

7. lake-озеро.

8. mountain - гора

 

9. vast plain - обширная равнина

10. mineral resources - полезные ископаемые

11. various - различный

12. temperate climate — умеренный климат

13. legislative powers - законодательные полномочия

14. to exercise - осуществлять, выполнять

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. Russia borders on 14 countries.

The population of Russia is about 150 million people. The capital of Russia is Moscow, its political, administrative, cultural and scientific center.

Russia is a land of long rivers and deep lakes. The Europe's biggest river is the Volga. The world's deepest lake is Lake Baikal. There are high mountains (the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai) and vast plains, forests and steppes.

Russia is very rich in mineral resources: oil, coal, natural gas, iron ore and others. On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate. But most part of the country has temperate continental climate.

The Russian Federation is a parliamentary republic. The Head of State is the President. The legislative powers are exercised by the Duma.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Where is Russia situated?

2. What is the total area of the country?

3. What is the climate like in Russia?

4. What is the country washed by?

5. What mineral resources is the Russian Federation rich in?

6. What is the longest river in Europe?

7. How many countries does Russia border on?

8. Who is the head of the country?

9. Who is the President of Russia today?

10. What do you know about Lake Baikal?

 

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Часть 4. ТЕКСТЫ ДЛЯ ЧТЕНИЯ И ПЕРЕВОДА

Text I: «THE UNITED KINGDOM»

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is an island nation and constitutional monarchy in north-western Europe, member of the European Union (EU).

Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles. It comprises, together with numerous smaller islands, England and Scotland, and the principality of Wales. Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster, occupies the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland.

The United Kingdom is bordered to the south by the English Channel, which separates it from continental Europe, to the east by the North Sea, and to the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The only land border is between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The total area of the United Kingdom is 242 sq km. The capital and largest city is London.

The names «United Kingdom», «Great Britain», and «England» are often used interchangeably. The use of «Great Britain», often shortened to «Britain», to describe the whole kingdom is common and widely accepted, although strictly it does not include Northern Ireland.

However, the use of «England» to mean the «United Kingdom» is not acceptable to members of the other constituent countries, especially the Scots and the Welsh.

England and Wales were united administratively, politically, and legally by 1543. The crowns of England and Scotland were united in 1603, but the two countries remained separate political entities until the 1707 Act of Union, which formed the Kingdom of Great Britain with a single legislature. From 1801, when Great Britain and Ireland were united, until the formal establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the kingdom was officially named the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Hong Kong, which has 200,000 population, was returned to China in 1997.

The mainland of the island of Great Britain is 974 km at its longest and 531 km at its widest; however, the highly indented nature of the island's coastline means that nowhere is more than about 120 km from the sea.

The climate of the United Kingdom is mild relative to its latitude, which is the same as that of Labrador in Canada. The mildness is an effect of the warm Gulf Stream. This current brings the prevailing south-west winds that moderate winter temperatures and bring the depressions which have the main day-to-day influence on the weather. The western side of the United Kingdom tends to be warmer than

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the eastern; the south is warmer than the north. The mean annual temperature is 6 °C in the far north of Scotland; 11 °C in the south-west of England. Winter temperatures seldom are below -10 С and summer temperatures rarely higher than 32 °C. The sea winds also bring plenty of moisture; average annual precipitation is more than 1,000 mm.

Rain tends to fall throughout the year, frequently turning to snow in the winter, especially in Scotland, the mountains of Wales, and northern England. The western side of Britain is much wetter than the eastern: average rainfall varies is from 5,000 mm in the western Highlands of Scotland, to less than 500 mm in parts of East Anglia in England.

The population of United Kingdom is more than 56 mln people, but it is one of the world's leading commercial and industrialized nations. In terms of gross national product (GNP) it ranks fifth in the world, with Italy, after the United Japan, Germany, and France.