III . Переведите на английский язык.

1.    Я студент-заочник. Учусь на заочной отделении. В нашем институте 10 факультетов. В наш институт может поступить каждый, кто имеет среднее образование.

2.    Мой друг редко пропускает лекции. Он посещает их регулярно и всегда получает хорошие и отличные отметки на экзаменах. Он поступил в институт в прошлом году. Он окончит его через 5 лет.

3.    Его друг - студент заочного отделения. Он занимается днем и получает стипендию.

4.    Иногородние студенты получают весь учебный материал и контрольные задания по почте.

 

 

Unit 4

Conversational topic The Russian Federation

Text 1

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. The vast territory of Russia lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. Russia is washed by twelve seas and three oceans. The oceans are: the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Pacific, The seas are: the White sea, the Barents sea, the Okhotsk sea, the Black sea, the Baltic sea and others. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, the Ukraine. It has a sea-border with the USA.

The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys. The main mountain chains are the Urals, the Caucasus and the Altai. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia. There are two great plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are a lot of great rivers and deep Lakes on its territory. The longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena in Asia. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean. Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. Lake Baikal is the deepest in the world and its water is the purest on earth. It is smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. Russia has one-sixth of the world’s forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.

A country stretching from the subtropical zone to the Arctic Ocean naturally has an extremely varied climate. The duration and nature of winter and summer vary in different regions but the contrast between the seasons is distinct everywhere. When spring arrives in Moscow it is already summer in the South while in the North it is still winter. In the middle of the country the climate is moderate and continental. In the south-west the weather is usually mild and wet. Northern Asia is one of the coldest places on earth.

The current population of Russia is more than 150 million people. The European part of the country is densely peopled, and most population live in cities and towns and their outskirts.

Russia is very rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.

Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of the State is the President, the government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The President controls each of them. The legislative power is exercised by the Federal Assembly. It consists of two Chambers: the Council of Federation and the State Duma.

Each chamber is headed by the Speaker. A bill may be introduced in any chamber. A bill becomes a law if it is approved by both chambers and signed by the President. The President may veto the bill. He can make international treaties. The President may also appoint ministers; the Federal assembly approves them. The members of the Federal Assembly are elected by the people for four years. The executive power belongs to the Government, or the Cabinet of Ministers. The Government is headed by the Prime Minister. The judicial power belongs to the system of courts. It consists of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and other courts.

The national symbol of Russia is a white-blue-and-red banner. The hymn of Russia is «The Patriotic Song» by M. Glinka. A new national emblem is a two-headed eagle. It is the most ancient symbol of Russia. It is originated from the heraldic emblem of the Ruricovitches. All these symbols are official.

Vocabulary

total area - общая площадь

vast - обширный, огромный

to lie - лежать, находиться

to be washed by - омываться

to border on - граничить

desert - пустыня

valley - долина

mountain chain - горная цепь

pure - чистый

to vary - изменяться; разниться, расходится

duration - продолжительность

nature - характер; природа

distinct - отличный (от других)

moderate - умеренный

the current population - население в настоящий момент

to be densely peopled - быть густонаселенным

outskirts - пригороды

parliamentary republic - парламентская республика

Head of State - глава государства

branch - власть (как часть правительства)

legislative - законодательный

executive- исполнительный

judicial - судебный

to be exercised by - осуществляться (кем-либо)

the Federal Assembly - Федеральное собрание

chamber - палата

the Council of Federation - совет Федерации

the State Duma - Государственная дума

to be headed by smb. - возглавляться кем-либо

to introduce a bill - внести законопроект

to become a law - стать законом

to approve - одобрять

to sign - подписывать

to veto - наложить вето

to make an international treaty - заключить международный договор

to appoint - назначать

to elect - избирать

court - суд

the Supreme Court - Верховный суд

banner - знамя

national emblem - национальный герб

to originate (from) - происходить от чего-либо

the heraldic emblem of the Ruricovitches - родовой герб Рюриковичей

 

I. Answer the questions:

1.    Where is the Russian Federation situated?

2.    What is the total area of the country?

3.    What oceans and seas is Russia washed by?

4.    What countries does Russia border on?

5.    What are the main mountain chains and rivers in Russia?

6.    What mountain chain separates Europe from Asia?

7.    Which is the longest river in Europe?

8.    What do you know about Lake Baikal?

9.    Do you know what strait separates Russia from America?

10.  What are the national symbols of Russia?

II. Translate into English:

1.    Россия расположена в восточной части Европы и северной части Азии.

2.    Российская Федерация - одна из крупнейших стран мира.

3.    Если вы проедете страну с севера на юг и с востока на запад, то получите общее представление о ландшафте и климате различных географических зон.

4.    Россия располагает большим количеством месторождений полезных ископаемых.

5.    Форма правления в России - президентская республика.

6.    Президент - глава государства.

7.    Законопроект должен быть одобрен обеими палатами и подписан президентом.

8.    Исполнительную власть представляет кабинет министров, возглавляемый премьер-министром.

9.    Судебная власть осуществляется конституционным судом, Верховным судом и другими судами.

 

Text 2

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great as the “Window to the West”. Thousands of workmen were brought from all parts of Russia to build a new city on the swampy land at the mouth of the Neva River. Peter the Great was in a hurry. The work was fast and hard, and workmen dropped dead by the hundreds. But the work went on. And St. Petersburg became a city of great beauty, with palaces, cathedrals, churches. The city grew rapidly in wealth and beauty. Architects were brought from western Europe to lay out the city in harmonious squares. Buildings were constructed of grey and rose-colored granite.

The Hermitage Palace and the Winter Palace, the homes of the tsars were equal to any in Europe. During the Great Patriotic war the city suffered a great deal. The German armies laid siege to it in 1941, and for 900 days the city was cut off from the rest of the country. The people suffered from malnutrition, lack of water and disease. They ate leather belts, cat meat was considered a delicacy. No food could be brought in the city, and 600 000 people died from starvation.

In this period of incredible trials and tribulations, there was only one little narrow passage for escape and the transport of food to the population and supplies to the factories and troops. This passage, laid across ice-bound Lake Ladoga, was called the Road of Life. Despite all hardships and handicaps, work went on in the bleeding and starving city without a hitch. Women replaced their husbands, fathers and brothers at the machines. Their exploit will indeed never be forgotten.

Teams were set up in the city to pick up and help the feeble in the streets to get to their homes, fetch water, chop wood. In two winter months of 1942 they picked some 12 000 emaciated people, unable to make another step. In that bitterly cold winter the city opened 162 public heating centers with wardrobes, chairs and tables being chopped up and fed to the fire. But not a single tree was felled: the Leningraders love their city, their public gardens. Daily shelling and air raids destroyed parts of the city. Thousands of people were killed. The enemy dropped some 5.000 high explosive and 100.000 incendiary bombs on the city and showered it with 150.000 shells. World War II brought vast destruction and the death of millions of Russian people, but the losses sustained by Leningrad at the hands of the fascist invaders were particularly great. About 200.000 Leningraders volunteered for the Home Guard, including 40.000 women, young and old. Here we had display of heroism, the type of heroism the world had seldom seen. There is the mass grave of about 700.000 people who had fallen during the siege. It is at one and the same time, a monument of honor to heroes who defended to the last their Motherland.

Rebuilding took years. And now St. Petersburg is an important industrial, cultural and educational centre. St. Petersburg is a wonderful city: at every turn there is something to catch your eye. The Winter Palace, the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Peter-and-Paul Fortress, the Admiralty building attract thousands of tourists from every comer of the world.

Petersburg’s many museums house some of the world’s most famous art collections, The Hermitage, for example, contains the richest collection of pictures in the world. The city is called the Northern Venice because there are 65 rivers and canals there with artistically decorated bridges. The population of the city is over 5 million.

 

Vocabulary

swampy land - болотистая местность

at the mouth of the river - в устье реки

to drop dead - упасть замертво

to lay out - планировать harmonious - гармоничный

equal - равный, не уступающий

to suffer - страдать

to lay siege to - осадить

to be cut off from the rest of the country - быть отрезанным от остальной части страны

malnutrition - недоедание, плохое питание

starvation - голод

incredible trial - невероятное испытание

tribulation - горе, бедствие

to escape - избежать (опасности); вырываться

despite of - несмотря на, вопреки

hardship - лишение нужда

handicap - помеха

to bleed - кровоточить, истекать кровью

hitch - задержка;

without a hitch - гладко, без сучка без задоринки

exploit - подвиг

feeble - слабый, хилый

to pick up - подбирать; поднимать

to fetch - принести; сходить (за чем-либо)

to chop - рубить; to chop up - разрубать

to emaciate - истощать, изнурять

bitter - жестокий (о морозе)

wardrobe - одежда; гардероб

to feed - fed - fed - снабжать топливом; поддерживать

shelling - бомбежка

air raids - воздушный налет

to drop - бросать

explosive - взрывчатый

incendiary - зажигательный

shower - забрасывать; осыпать

shell - снаряд

destruction - разрушение

to sustain - выдержать

invader - захватчик

particularly - особенно

to volunteer - идти добровольцем

to guard - защищать

display - проявление

to defend - защищать

rebuilding - зд. восстановление

artistically - мастерски

 

III. Do the following tasks:

1.    Divide the text into logical parts.

2.    Give a name to each part.

3.    Give the contents of each part.

4.    Give the summary of the whole text.

 

IV. Give your opinion:

1.    Is there any new information for you in this text?

2.    What do you think about a display of heroism of Leningraders during the Great Patriotic War?

3.    What kind of city is St. Petersburg?

4.    Have you ever been to the Hermitage? (the Russian Museum?)

 

 

Unit 5