1. How old is Minsk? 2. What is the past of the capital of the Republic of Belarus? 3. Where is Minsk located? 4. The Belarusian capital suffered a lot during the Great Patriotic War, didn't it? 5. What goods are manufactured by the industrial enterprises of Minsk? 6. What countries does the city cooperate with? 7. What are the main sights of Minsk? 8. Do you like to go to the theatres of Minsk? 9. Which of them is the most popular with the public?
Text C
My Native Town
My native town is in Mogilyov region and it is a district centre. It is called Gorky. The town, true to its name, is located on five hills. I was born and have grown in this town, I went to school there, my parents live there. I have many friends in that place. I like my native town, because it is very beautiful and rather quiet. Gorky is a still town, life there is measured and slow.
For the first time Gorky was mentioned in the chronicles in the middle of the 16th century. This town was widely known as a craft centre, in which there were more than twenty different professions. In 1840 landowners' school was opened there which was transformed into an institute later.
During the Second World War the town suffered greatly, as well as other Belarusian towns. June 26, 1944 is considered to be a holiday for our citizens, when the town was liberated from the fascist invaders during the operation "Bagration". In memory of that event a monument was installed at the bus station.
The town is constantly growing and developing, there are new micro-districts, new buildings are erected. There is a machine-building plant, an integrated plant of building materials and other enterprises in our town. {Production made in Gorky is in demand all through our republic.
The Belarusian Agricultural Academy is certainly our town's pride. Thousands of students are taught there. The Academy represents an original campus in the town. Several educational buildings, hostels, a restaurant, a sports complex with a pool and a stadium, a huge library are situated there. "The Ritual Square" is located in the centre of the academic campus. Freshers have there the ceremony of ordaining to students.
Five schools of general education, art, sports and horse school also are there in our town.
Gorky is a town of parks and squares. A nature monument of republican significance is located there, this is a dendrology park. Its collection totals more than one hundred names of trees and shrubs. There is also a botanical garden with magnificent rosarium in our town, in which about two hundred varieties of roses are represented. But nobody will deny that the favourite place of rest is three small lakes surrounded by birch groves.
Ex. 12. Answer the following questions:
1. When was your native town founded?
2. Do you know the history of your native town?
3. Is your native town ancient?
4. Are there many industrial enterprises in your native town? What do they produce?
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5. What entertainments are there in your native town?
6. Is there a river or a lake near your native town?
7. What can you say about the ecological situation of your town?
8. Are there any monuments, museums in your town?
9. Are you proud of your town?
Ex. 13. Prepare a report about your native town (village). Tell about its history, monuments, main streets (who they are named after and why), schools and higher educational establishments, cultural life, population, plants and factories.
Ex. 14. Working in libraries or using the Internet database, prepare reports based on the life and activities of world famous Belarusians.
Ex. 15. Prepare a press release on the basis of the materials published in Belarusian newspapers this current month.
Unit 8
Agriculture of the Republic of Belarus
Topical Vocabulary
1) gross national product ;
2) enterprise ;
3) private farm ;
4) joint-stock company ;
5) limited company ;
6) annual precipitation ;
7) to plough ;
8) sward-podzolic -;
9) fertility ;
10) to expose to ;
11) erosion ;
12) to exclude ;
13) fiber flax - ;
14) winter rye ;
15) spring wheat - ;
16) oats ;
17) barley ;
18) demand for ;
19) foodstuffs ;
20) to process ;
21) t store ;
22) poultry ;
23) hennery ;
24) competitive ;
25) to be engaged in -;
26) to be employed .
Ex. 1. Read the text.
TEXT A
The economic and social development of our Republic is connected with the development of agriculture. Agriculture produces more than 11% of the gross national product of the republic. A large part of agricultural production is made by large agricultural enterprises: collective farms, state farms, private farms, joint-stock companies, limited companies.
The Republic of Belarus is situated in the northern temperate climatic zone; it has a temperate continental climate, but the prevalence of western and northern maritime air masses makes the climate transitional from maritime to continental. The average winter temperature is 15-20C, and the average summer temperature is +20 +25. Average annual precipitation is about 600 mm. About 3 million people or 22% live in villages and rural settlements. They are employed in agriculture. But the number of those engaged in agriculture declines.
The agricultural area of Belarus is 9.4 million hectares of which ploughed lands occupy 6.1 million hectares. Most of the ploughed lands are sward-podzolic, with low natural fertility. That is why farmers must apply organic and mineral fertilisers to get high yields of crops. More than a million hectares of ploughed lands are exposed to erosion. As a result of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, 20% of farmlands were subjected to radioactive pollution and were excluded from agricultural use.
The main agricultural products of Belarus are meat, milk, potatoes, poultry meat, eggs, grain, fiber flax, sugar beets, etc. The plant growing potential is characterised by high density of grain in the overall structure of crops (nearly 50% or approximately 3 m ha). The grain sector is mainly presented by rye, wheat, barley, oats.
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Winter rye, oats, winter and spring wheat, barley, sugar beet, vegetables are cultivated in Belarus too.
Today the structure of the cultivated area in the Republic of Belarus is changing in view of the developing market supply and demand for appropriate types of foodstuffs. Grain crops are developing in the first place; this concerns mainly wheat, which previously was imported by the republic from other countries.
Belarus is self-sufficient in potatoes, milk and meat. It supplies other Republics of the former USSR with potatoes. But one of the problems is that about one third of farm produce is lost during transporting, processing and storing.
Another important branch of agriculture is animal husbandry. The potential of cattle breeding, the main commodity branch of agriculture, is great enough and is based on industrial technologies. Cattle, pigs and poultry are bred in Belarus.
The territorial distribution of dairy-meat farms and cattle complexes is more or less uniform. There are many big cattle breeding, pig fattening and poultry complexes in every region of our Republic. The poultry industry, due to the introduction of industrial technologies, is not inferior to that of manufacturers in advanced countries. Large henneries function around the industrial centers.
The basic purpose of the national agrarian policy is increasing its agricultural efficiency, forming a competitive agrarian market, supporting foodstuffs manufacturers' profits, maintaining a steady supply to the population of high-quality foodstuffs, the maximum utilisation of the export potential of the agrarian sector, and also re-structuring of agriculture.
