HOME READING II
| PETER THE GREAT (1672–1725) | 
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Ex. 1. Answer the questions:
1. Who was Peter the Great?
2. When and where was he born?
3. Where did he live?
4. How do you think what kind of character he had?
5. What facts of his life do you know?
Ex. 2. Read and translate the text about Peter the Great:
- Peter the Great was one of the most famous tsars in Russian history. (Tsar is the word for a male ruler of Russia before 1917.) Although he was often cruel, no one can deny that he changed his country's future forever. When Peter was born in 1672, the tsar and the rich and powerful noblemen ruled Russia. They were cruel, uncivilized, and uneducated. At that time, Russia didn't have schools, hospitals, or factories. There were no courts of law or systems of government. Most people lived in poverty, misery, and fear.
- Peter's father, Tsar Alexis, died when Peter was four years old. There was a lot of fighting between his family and the noblemen. They didn't agree about who should be tsar. Many members of Peter's family were killed. Peter and his mother escaped and lived in a small village. Eventually Peter ruled with his half-brother Ivan and his half-sister Sophia. After Ivan's death in 1696, Peter ruled alone.
- Peter was unique in many ways. He was six feet eight inches tall and very handsome. He had a lot of energy and great physical strength. Peter was wild, and he sometimes had bad manners. But he was very bright and he wanted to learn about everything. Every day he added to his knowledge and improved his skills. He loved to play games of war and also liked ships and sailing. He enjoyed hard work and building things with his hands. Peter also liked ordinary things. He liked to dress in old, simple clothing. He had a huge appetite, but liked to eat simple foods such as bread, cabbage soup, and cold meat. Peter hated formal occasions and behavior. He refused to allow people to kneel to him just because he was the tsar.
- In those days, there were great changes in European culture, science, and education. However, the noblemen in Russia did not want change. They didn't travel outside Russia and they didn't want foreigners in their country. There was a group of Europeans in Russia who worked as government and military advisers. Peter knew many of them. Several of these Europeans were his closest friends.
- Peter wanted Russia to be as great as the European countries. He decided to go to Europe to learn everything he could. But, he did not want to travel as the leader of a country. He wanted to be free to study and learn. So he took a large group of men with him and disguised himself as a common soldier. It wasn't easy to hide the huge and powerful Tsar of Russia, and soon everyone in Europe knew about the traveling Russians. Their customs and clothing were very peculiar. However, many people were most upset by their bad manners. For example, they completely destroyed a beautiful English country house where they stayed. They used chairs to make fires, tore up sheets and beds, shot their guns at priceless paintings, and ruined the beautiful gardens.
- Peter was as bad as his men. Nevertheless, his travels were a great success. Peter's dream was to create a powerful Russian navy, so he had to learn shipbuilding. He worked for four months in a shipyard in Holland. Then he went to England and worked in a shipyard there. Everywhere he went, he asked questions and learned more. He learned watchmaking and studied the human body. In fact, when he returned to Russia, he even helped doctors perform surgery. Peter learned many other things in England. The Bishop of Salisbury taught him about religion and government. King William III ordered his ships to have a pretend sea battle so Peter could learn about military command. Peter sent many, many things to Russia—machinery, scientific equipment, and even an English coffin. He hired hundreds of specialists, such as engineers, doctors, shipbuilders, naval officers, and technicians to go back to Russia with him.
- When he returned to Russia, Peter wanted things to change quickly. As tsar, Peter had complete power over his people and he used this power to make them change. Often he was cruel and heartless. If people didn't do what he ordered, he cut off their hands, beat them, or killed them. He even ordered his own son. Alexis, to be killed because Alexis didn't agree with his ideas.
- Peter wanted everything to change— the government, the military, and religion. He built canals, factories, schools, hospitals, and museums. He changed the calendar and the alphabet. He developed a new system of government and started Russia's first newspaper. He even changed what people ate. Many Russians were starving, but they didn't eat potatoes. People called them the "devil's root." But Peter helped them change their minds. Many of Peter's changes cost a lot of money. So he taxed the Russian people until they had nothing left. They paid taxes on everything from boots to drinking water.
- He also wanted to make changes in people's personal lives. For example, at that time Russian men had beards; European men did not. So Peter passed a law that all men had to shave off their beards. If a man wanted to keep his beard, he had to pay a tax. Peter wanted the rules to be followed, so sometimes he took a razor and removed the men's beards himself. Peter did not like the noblemen's long robes either. First he cut off the sleeves of the robes. Then he made the noblemen kneel down and he cut the robe where it touched the floor. The noblemen were very upset to see their beautiful robes cut. Soon Peter passed a law that all men and women had to dress like Europeans.
- Peter greatly improved the lives of Russian women. At that time, men had complete power over women and often treated them badly. Women were not allowed to be out alone. They hid their bodies under a lot of clothing and painted their teeth black. In addition, fathers chose their daughters' husbands. Peter said women had to become part of the modern world. He made men and women eat meals together and go to parties together. Women were forced to wear European clothes and were no longer allowed to paint their teeth. And for the first time, women could choose their own husbands.
- In addition to changing and rebuilding, Russia, Peter wanted to get more land for his country. He went to war with Sweden, and took over a lot of land in the area. He built a new capital city, Saint Petersburg. It was a cold, wet, and empty place, but Russia needed a port city for its navy. Saint Petersburg was called "the city built on bones. Thousands of men worked for almost 10 years. Conditions were so bad that 200,000 men lost their lives. When it was completed, it was one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
- Peter continued to build and modernize Russia right up to his death at the age of 53. Peter the Great's force and energy made his country into a modern power and made him into a legend.
Ex. 3. Highlight the story (see p.)
Ex. 4. Choose the best answer:
1. Paragraph 1 is mainly about ___________.
a. the people who ruled Russia before Peter
b. the way Peter changed Russia
с. Russia before Peter came to power
2. The main topic of paragraph 6 is __________.
a. Peter learning shipbuilding because he wanted to create a powerful Russian
navy
b. all the new people Peter met in Europe
c. what Peter learned during his travels and how it helped Russia
3. Paragraph 9 is mostly about ___________.
a. why Peter didn't like the noblemen's beards and robes
b. how Peter forced changes on his people
с. when Peter decided to pass some new laws
4. Paragraph 11 is mostly about _________.
a. why and how Peter built Saint Petersburg
b. how Peter went to war with Sweden to capture land for a port city
c. what makes Saint Petersburg such a beautiful city
Ex. 5. Answer the questions:
1. Why did Peter decide to go to Europe?
2. Why did Peter disguise himself as a common soldier?
3. What did the Europeans say about the traveling Russians?
4. What did the Bishop of Salisbury teach Peter?
5. How did Peter change the lives of Russian women?
6. How long did it take to build Saint Petersburg?
Ex. 6. Put the sentences in the correct order:
· Peter the Great's son, Alexis, was killed.
· Tsar Alexis died.
· Peter the Great built Saint Petersburg.
· Peter the Great worked in a shipyard in Holland.
· Russia went to war with Sweden.
· Peter the Great traveled to Europe.
Ex. 7. Choose the main idea of the text:
1. The passage implies that _________.
a. Peter traveled to Europe because he feared for his life in Russia
b. Peter's foreign friends in Russia influenced his decision to travel
c. the Russian noblemen wanted Peter to travel abroad
2. The passage suggests that Peter __________.
a. understood why people wanted to keep their old ways
b. caused both great good and great suffering by his changes
c. was only interested in more power and didn't care about his country
3. The passage implies that the men who traveled with Peter ____________.
a. had no knowledge of European customs
b. didn't like the way the English treated them
с. tried to take over the English in their own country
Ex. 8. Match the words with their meanings:
| 1. uncivilized | a. box used to hold a dead body |
| 2. occasion | b. suffering or dying because there is no food |
| 3. priceless | с strange, unusual |
| 4. starving | d. great unhappiness |
| 5. coffin | e. part of a plant that grows underground |
| 6. root | f. very valuable |
| 7. peculiar | g. having bad manners; uncultured |
| 8. misery | h. special event or ceremony |
| 9. deny | i. to change the usual appearance of someone or something |
| 10. disguise | j. to say something is untrue |
Ex. 9. Answer the questions:
1. On what occasions do people usually get dressed up?
2. How can people disguise themselves?
3. Where are priceless objects often kept?
4. What can be done to help starving people?
5. What is a peculiar habit of yours?
Ex. 10. Translate the following words and phrases into Russian and learn them by heart:
| uncivilized, adj – uneducated, adj – occasion, n – priceless, adj – starving, adj – coffin, n – root, n – peculiar, adj – misery, n – deny, v – disguise, v – nobleman, n – government, n – powerful, adj – success, n – | equipment, n – military, n – improve, v – empty, adj – navy, n – death, n – allow, v – shipyard, n – behavior, n – custom, n – in addition to – to improve smb’s skills – to perform surgery – to pay taxes – to pass a law – |
