Find in the text English equivalents to the following words and word combinations:

 

Не должны выбрасывать мусор; наука о природе; отношения между всеми формами жизни; химические отходы; озоновый слой; уничтожение природных богатств; наш общий дом; алюминевые банки и пластиковые бутылки; дикие цветы; электростанция; сжигание угля; выделяет газы; выключайте свет.     

 

3. 3. Translate the following sentences:

 

1. Ecological problems are global problems of the twentieth century.

2. Forests control the world’s weather.

3. Plants produce much of the oxygen in the air, which people need for breathing.

 4. Wild plants can help to produce some medicines to cure dangerous diseases.

5. A lot of species of plants and animals are disappering fast and can           become extinct very soon.   

6. Energy is the power from electricity, wind, etc. that helps machines  work.

Read and act the following dialogue.

 

- We had an ecology class yesterday. We discussed different environmental problems.

- No wonder. They are the most important problems these days.

- I think many people understsnd they should protect the environment.

- Do they really understand that? I’m not quite sure, because factories dump waste into rivers, air pollution is getting worse too.

- That’s true. And yet more and more people fight against nuclear tests, nuclear weapons and other things.

- But will they win? And when will they win these battles?

- Don’t lose hope. Let’s hope for the best.

 

5. Answer the questions:

1. What does the word "ecology" mean?

2. What pollutes water basins, lakes, rivers, seas, oceans, many land territories and atmo­sphere?

3. What are the names of the environmental problems of today?

4. How long does the litter last?

5. What must we do to make our life happy, healthy and beneficial? How can we keep our Earth clean?

6. Do you ever throw litter on the ground? Is litter a problem in your city?

7. Is   it important to protect wild flowers? Why?

8. How can we save electricity?

9. Why the electric power stations are danger­ous?

10.Should we save water?

11.How can we make the most efficient use of paper?

12.Why should newspapers be reused?

 

6. Make up 4 types of questions to the following sentences:

1. We must throw garbage in the garbage can.

2. The electric power station burn coal to produce the energy.

3. The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere protects the world from the sun’s harmful rays.

 

Retell the text.

 

UNIT TWO

Texts for Additional Reading:

The Kremlin

 

The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow. It is the oldest historical and architectural centre of Moscow.

First it was a wooden fortress. Under Dmitry Donskoy the Kremlin was built of white stone. During the reign of Ivan III the walls of white stone were replaced by new red brick walls and towers. The Tsar invited Italian architects to construct the cathedrals. The Assumption Cathedral was built in 1475-1479 and all Russian Tsars and Emper­ors were crowned there. The Archangel Cathedral was the burial place of the Russian Princes and Tsars. The An­nunciation Cathedral was built in 1484. It is famous for the icons painted by Andrey Rublev and his apprentices.

Ivan the Great is the Bell Tower, one of the most re­markable structures of the 16-th century. It rises in the centre of the Kremlin. It unites all the Kremlin Cathe­drals into a majestic ensemble.

On the stone pedestal at the foot of the Bell Tower there is a Tsar-Bell — the largest bell in the world. Not far from it one can see a Tsar-Cannon.

Another fine example of Russian architecture is the Faceted Palace. It was built in 1487-91.

One of the well-known Kremlin museums is the Ar­moury Chamber. It was built in 1851. The famous gold­en cap of Monomach, the first Russian imperial crown of Catherine II, made of gilt silver and many other pre­cious historical items are exhibited there.

 

Words and word combinations:

 

heart – сердце;

reign – царствование;

brick – кирпич;

burial place – место погребения;

apprentice – ученик, подмастерье;

remarkable – замечательный;

majestic ensemble – величественный ансамбль;

Tsar – Cannon – Царь – Колокол;

Assumption Cathedral — Успенский собор;

Annunciation Cathedral – Благовещенский собор;

Faceted Palace – Грановитая палата;

Armoury Chamber – Оружейная палата;

Bell Tower – колокольня;

gilt silver – позолоченное серебро;

precious historical items – драгоценные исторические предметы;

to exhibit – выставлять, экспонировать (на выставке).

 

Questions:

1. When were the red walls constructed?

2. Where were the Russian Tsars and Emperors crowned?

3. Which Cathedral is connected with Andrey Rublev?

4. What is Annunciation Cathedral famous for?

5. What is exhibited in the Armoury Chamber?

 

Education in Russia

 

People in our country have the right for education. It is our Constitutional right. But it is not only a right, it is a duty, too. Every boy and every girl in Russia must go to school, that is, they must get a full secondary educa­tion. So, when they are 6 or 7 years old they begin to go to school. There are thousands of schools in Russia. There are schools of general education, where the pupils study Russian (or a native language), Literature, Mathemat­ics, History, Biology, Music, Arts, Foreign Languages. There is also a number of specialised schools, where the pupils get deep knowledge of foreign languages, or Maths, or Physics.

After finishing 9 classes of secondary school young people can continue their education at different kinds of vocational or technical schools or colleges. They not only learn general subjects, but receive a speciality there. Having finished a secondary school, a technical school or a college young people can start working, or they may enter an Institute or a University. Professional training makes it easier to get higher education. As for high schools, there are a lot of them in our country. Some of them train teachers, others — doctors, engineers, archi­tects, actors and so on. Many institutes have evening and extra-mural departments. That gives the students an opportunity to study at an institute without leaving their jobs.

 

Words and word combinations:

right – право;

duty – обязанность;

secondary – зд. среднее;

deep – глубокий;

vocational school – профтехучилище;

general – общий;

to receive – получать;

training – обучение;

higher – высшее;

extra-mural – заочный;

opportunity – возможность.

 

Questions:

1. Is education in our country free?

2. Is education in Russia right or duty?

3. What kind of schools are there in Russia?

4. What are the possible ways to continue education after the finishing of the secondary school?

5. What are the main types of educational institutions in our country?

6. What are the types of higher education institutions in Russia?

 

Twin cities.

There are some cities which we call twin cities. During the Great Patriotic War in 1942, the people of Stalingrad (Volgograd) received a telegram from England. The people of Coventry, one of the oldest cities in England, sent their greetings to the heroic defenders of Volgograd. The fact was that the centre of Coventry was much destroyed by fascist bombs. The city was bombed by German planes and more than 70,000 houses were ruined.Thousands of people were killed, among them there were a lot of women, children and old people. The inhabitants of Coventry proposed friendship to the people of our city. So Coventry is the twin city of Volgograd. This was the beginning of the Twin Towns Organization. Delegations from Coventry visited Volgograd many times and the citizens of our heroic city came to visit Coventry.

There is a Defence Museum in the centre of Volgograd and many visitors can see in it a lot of things sent from Coventry. One of them is a table-cloth with the names of many women of Coventry on it made in silk. The English people collected money in the war years to buy medicines for the heroic people of Stalingrad.

The delegation that came to Volgograd from Coventry in 1981, visited many interesting places in that city. They visited The Defence Museum and the chocolate factory, where they tried some very nice sweets.

The Coventry delegation went to the Mamayev Hill, which was the centre of fighting during the heroic defence of Stalingrad. The members of the delegation laid flowers at the foot of the monument to Victory.

Today, lots of cities have friendly relations with cities in other countries. Moscow has friendly relations with more than 50 other capitals. St.Petersburg is the twin city of Manchester. Such cities organize different exhibitions, visits, festivals, competitions and meetings in which young people take an active part. So friendship in between the people of twin cities helps world peace.

 

Words and word combinations:

twin cities – породненные города, города-побратимы;

to destroy – разрушать;

to propose – предлагать;

relation – отношения;

table-cloth – скатерть;

medicine – лекарство;

foot – подножие;

inhabitants – жители;

defence – оборона.

 

                   To the 60-th Anniversary of the Great Victory.

 

We will never forget…

 

The 9-th of May is celebrated in our country as Victory Day. It is a special holiday, different from all others.It is to war and labour veterants that Russia owes its Great Victoryin the bloodiest of all wars. It is a national holiday and a very personal one. Sixty years have passed since that victory, but it is still in the hearts and memory of people. Time cannot take the historic day away from people. There is hardly a family in our country where those who fell for our Motherland are not commemorated on the 9-th of May.

Every year veterans come together to celebrate Victory Day and to remember their brother-soldiers. They visit war memorials to honour the memory of the fallen. Veterans share their war stories with the young generation.

The famous writer Konstantin Simonov said, “we, living people, have many rights. We have the right to work in the name of our Motherland, and the right to defend it, the right to love, the right to be happy. But we have no right to forget what our comrades did in the name of Victory, in the name of Motherland, in the name of life on Earth.”

Sixty years have passed since those heroic and tragic days. We are living in a different country today. Everything has changed: economy and policy, money and food, standards and cost of living. Even its name. New heroes have come, new fashions and new ways of thought.

We live in a great country, which deserves a better future. The future belongs to the young. But there is no future without the past. We have no right to forget the people who perished in the prime of life. They also dreamt to live long and be happy. It is our privilege that many wartime veterans have lived to see the 21-st century and we are their contemporaries. They need care and moral support. It is not difficult to be tolerant and humane.

 

Words and word combinations:

  

to owe – быть в долгу(перед к/л), быть обязанным;

to commemorate – праздновать, отмечать;

young generation – молодое поколение;

war and labour veteran – ветеран войны и труда;

to honour – чтить, удостаивать;

standard living – жизненный уровень;

cost of living – прожиточный минимум;

to deserve – заслуживать, быть достойным;

to belong – принадлежать;

to perish – погибать;

in the prime of life – во цвете лет;

privilege – привилегия, преимущество;

contemporary – современник, сверстник;

tolerant – терпимый;                                          

humane – гуманный, человечный.

 

Buckingham Palace.

 

There are two addresses in London that the whole world knows. One is 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives. The other is Buckingham Palace. This famous palace, first built in 1703, is in the very centre of London.

It is two places, not one. It is a family house, where children play and grow up. It is also the place where presidents, kings, and politicians go to meet the Queen.

Buckingham Palace is like a small town, with a police station, two post offices, a hospital, a bar, two sports clubs, a disco, a cinema, and a swimming pool. There are 600 rooms and three miles of red carpet. Two men work full-time to look after the 300 clocks. About 700 people work in the Palace.

the queen's day

When the Queen gets up in the morning, seven people look after her. One starts her bath, one prepares her clothes, and one feeds the Royal dogs. She has eight or nine dogs, and they sleep in their own bedroom near the Queen's bedroom. Two people bring her breakfast. She has coffee from Harrods, toast, and eggs. Every day for fifteen minutes, a piper plays Scottish music outside her room and the Queen reads The Times.

Every Tuesday evening, she meets the Prime Minister. They talk about world news and have a drink, perhaps a gin and tonic or a whisky.

an invitation то the palace

When the Queen invites a lot of people for dinner, it takes three days to prepare the table and three days to do the washing-up. Everybody has five glasses: one for red wine, one for white wine, one for water, one for port, and one for liqueur. During the first and second courses, the Queen speaks to the person on her left and then she speaks to the person on her right for the rest of the meal. When the Queen finishes her food, everybody finishes, and it is time for the next course!

 

ASSIGNMENT