Текст 1. The Armoury Palace was built between the Great Kremlin Palace and the Krem­lin wall by Konstantin Thon in 1884 - 51

The Armoury Palace was built between the Great Kremlin Palace and the Krem­lin wall by Konstantin Thon in 1884 - 51. It houses the oldest and the richest mu­seum in Russia.

Л white marble staircase leads to the first floor. On the landing at the top hangs a painting by R. Sverichkov of the "White Stone Kremlin" of the time of Ivan IV.

Room I houses arms and armour of the 13C - 18C. Among them is the armour of Boris Godunov. Each piece of his armour is inscribed with the words "God is with us, no one is against us."

There are the sabres of Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, who led the Russian forces to final victory during the "Time of Troubles" of the early I7C.

The helmet of Tsar Mikhail, which by tradition originally belonged to Alexander Nevsky, was restored in 1621 and inlaid with gold filigree and adorned with dia­monds, emeralds and rubies.

Here is also a bas-relief of Peter the Great by Rastrelli and the golden keys of the Baltic City of Riga presented to Field-Marshal Count В.Р. Sheremetyev after he captured the town in 1710.

There are West European arms and armour of the 18C - 19С, but the central place is given to the work of Tula craftsmen.

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On display in Room 2 is Russian gold and silver of the 12C - I7C The central place is given to silver work from Ryazan which dates back to the 12C - 13C. It is remarkable tor abundance of precious stones Also of interest is the 12C silver chalice which was commissioned by Prince Yury Dolgoruky, the founder of Mos­cow. The round gold dish with a fine border given by Ivan IV as a wedding present to his second wife is in Room 2. The dish was used to carry the bride's head-dress.

Here is also the so called "measure icon" tor Tsarevich Ivan, son of Ivan IV When a Tsarevich was born a "measure icon" of the saint after whom he had been named was made to the same length as the infant, hence the name of the icon.

There are also in Room 2 gold and silver drinking vessels in the traditional Rus­sian style. The graceful lavishly decorated swan-shaped scoop traditionally used for mead, Such scoops were sometimes presented as rewards for loyal service to the Tsar. The other traditional Russian vessel is the "bratina", the English call it loving cup. It is passed at gatherings from one person to the next; several of these are on display.

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On display in Room 3 is late 19C work by leading jewellery firms, including those of Sazikov and Ovchinnikov and Faberge. Gustav Faberge (b 1814 - d.93) es­tablished the firm in St. Petersburg in 1842, and the family tradition was developed by his son Carl (1846 - 1920). Included in the collection are several of the cele­brated Faberge Easter eggs.

The Greek-style silver samovar (tea urn) was one of the first made in Russia.

The two small silver crowns are said to be those used at the wedding ceremony of the poet Alexander Pushkin and Natalya Goncharova in 1831.

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On display in Room 4 are vestments and fabrics of the I4C - 19C. The light blue and silver ceremonial robe (sakkos) made in 1322 for the first Metropolitan of Moscow, Peter.

Patriarch Nikon's ceremonial vestment was made in 1654 of Venetian velvet and lavishly adorned with gold embroidery and precious stones. It weighs 24 kg.

Among the treasures displayed in the other rooms are sets of superb silverware. all kinds of drinking vessels: tankards, wine jugs with elaborate spouts and handles. crystal and gold goblets, ivory inlaid thrones, state regalia, luxuriously embroidered clothing, elaborately decorated carriages and coaches, harnesses and saddles.

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The Armoury has a permanent exhibition known as the Diamond Fund. On display are such attributes of Tsarist power as the Crown. Sceptre and Orb.

There are also rare gems, antique jewellery, and the world's biggest gold nug­get, the so called Big Triangle, weighing 3.6 kg.

Упражнение II. Прочтите вслух слова и словосочетания и дайте их русские эквиваленты:

gold embroidery, arms and armour, abundance of preciousstones, vestments and fabrics, ceremonial robe, sabres, a round silver dish with fine border, wedding pre­sent, lavishly decorated scoop, head-dress, celebrated Easter eggs by Faberge, to be on display, to house, to trim with sable, monarchy, workshop, inlaid with ivory, nug­get, gems, to commission, crystal jug, tankard, loving cup, Crown, Sceptre and Orb, Monarch, Peter I, marble staircase, origin, elaborately decorated, embroider, dia­monds, emeralds, rubies, pearls, superb silverware, luxurious.

Упражнение III. Дайте английские эквиваленты:

в зале 1 находятся, белая мраморная лестница, инкрустировать слоновой ко­стью, отделывать мехом, по традиции, первоначально принадлежать, барельеф Петра I, ювелирные изделия, самородок золота, комплект превосходного столо­вого серебра, ожерелье, пивная кружка с ручкой тонкой работы, серебряное блюло с прекрасным ободком, хрустальный кувшин, большое количество дра­гоценных камней, серебряный кубок, ведущие ювелирные фирмы, вельвет, юве­лир, одежда с богатой вышивкой, весить 24 кг.

One should weigh the pros and cons of it.

Упражнение IV. Переведите по абзацам с листа с предварительным чтением абзаца вслух. Затем переведите эти абзацы под диктовку.