scientific [,saian'tffik]
complicated ['komplikeitid] ,
to decrease [di'kri:s] ,
constantly ['konstantli]
the rate of inflation [in'fleijn]
to go bankrupt ['baerjkrApt]
in spite of
the younger generation [,d3ena'reijn]
powerful ['pauaful]
Questions
1. Where is the Russian Federation situated?
2. What is the total area of the country?
3. What countries does Russia border on?
4. What mountain chain separates Europe from Asia?
5. How many rivers are there in Russia?
6. Which is the longest river in Europe?
7. What do you know about Lake Baikal?
8. Do you know what strait separates Russia from America?
9. What mineral resources is the Russian Federation rich in?
10. What is the climate like in Russia?
11. What can you say about the present economic situation in Russia?
12. What great Russians do you know?
MOSCOW
Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and cultural centre. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky.
Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of Moscow's history.
Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the 13th century Moscow was the centre of the straggle of Russian lands for the liberation from the tartar yoke. In the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That is why it became the main target of Napoleon's attack. Three-quarters of the city was destroyed by fire during Napoleon's occupation, but by the mid-19th century Moscow had been completely restored. After the October revolution Moscow became the capital again.
Now Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about nine hundred square kilometres (ancient Moscow occupied the territory of the present-day Kremlin). The population of the city is over 9 million.
Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. It has more historic associations than any other place in Moscow. The Kremlin and St Basil's Cathedral (Vasily Blazheny) are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture.
The main Kremlin tower, the Spasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country. On the territory of the Kremlin you can see old cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in the world. St Basil's Cathedral was built in the mid-16th century in memory of the victory over Kazan. There's a legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architects Barma and Postnik, because he didn't want them to create another masterpiece.
There are a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches and monuments in Moscow. Now Moscow is being reconstructed and we all hope that in a few years the city will become even more beautiful.
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There are more than 100 museums in Moscow. The largest museums are the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery. Other unique museums in Moscow include the All-Russia Museum of Folk Arts, the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art, Alexei Bakhrushin Theatre Museum, Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture and many others.
Moscow is famous for its theatres. The best-known of them is the Bolshoi Opera House. Drama theatres and studios are also very popular.
Moscow is a city of students. There are over 100 higher educational institutions in it.
Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) and the centre of political life of the country.
Names
Ivan the Terrible [,aivn da 'teribl]
Peter the Great [greit] ( I)
St Petersburg [sant 'pi:tazb3:g] -
Napoleon [na'paulian]
St Basil's Cathedral [sant,baezlz kaG'hdral]
the Bell Tower ['taua] of Ivan the Great
the Tzar-Cannon ['za:(tsa:) 'kaenan] -
the Tzar-Bell ['za:(tsa:) 'bel] -
Barma [':] and Postnik ['paustnik]
the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts
Kazan [ka'zaen]
the State Tretyakov ['tretjakof] Gallery ['gaeleri]
the All-Russia Museum of Folk [fauk] Arts
,
the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art
Alexei Bakhrushin Theatre Museum
Mikhail Glinka ['gliQka] Museum of Musical Culture
the Bolshoi [,bol'Joi] Opera House
Vocabulary
historian [his'to:rian]
to accept [ak'sept] ,
gradually ['graedjuali]
powerful ['pauaful] ,
liberation [Jiba'reijn]
tartar yoke ['ta:ta 'jauk]
united [jurnaitid] ,
to remain [ri'mein]
target f'ta:git] , ,
attack [a'tsek] ,
to destroy [dis'troi]
fire [faia]
occupation [pkju'peijn]
completely [kam'pli:tli] ,
to restore [ris'to:] ,
ancient f'einfant]
masterpiece (;ma:stapi:s]
architecture ['a:kitektja]
architect ['a:kitakt] ,
tower ['taua]
legend ['Ied3andj
to,blind [blaind]
palace ['paelis]
mansion ['maenjn]
to reconstruct [/hkan'sti-Akt] ,
unique [ju:'ni:k] ,
drama ['dra:maj theatre
studio ['stu:(stju:)diau] , -
higher educational institution
Questions
1. When was Moscow founded?
2. Is there a monument to Yuri Dolgoruky in Moscow? Where is it?
3. When did Moscow become the capital?
4. In 1712 the capital was moved to St Petersburg, wasn't it? When did Moscow become the capital again?
5. Was ancient Moscow a big city? What's the total area of modern Moscow?
6. What's the population of Moscow?
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7. What places of interest in the centre of Moscow do you know?
8. What do you know about St Basil's Cathedral?
9. What can you see on the territory of the Kremlin?
10. What are the most famous Moscow museums? (art galleries?)
11. What theatres in Moscow do you know?
12. What is your favorite place in Moscow?
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 on 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.
In 1917 St Petersburg, a city of great beauty, with palaces, cathedrals, churches, government buildings became the capital. Under later rulers the new capital of the Russian Empire 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-coloured granite. The Hermitage Palace and the Winter Palace, the homes of the tsars, were equal to any in Europe.
When the First World War began in 1914, the German-sounding name, St Petersburg, was changed to Petrograd. After the October Revolution the city was renamed after Lenin.
During the Great Patriotic War the city suffered a great deal. The German armies laid siege to it in 1941, and for the next year and a half it was cut off from the rest of the country. No food could be brought in, and people died of starvation. Daily shelling and air raids destroyed parts of the city. Thousands of people were killed. Rebuilding took years.
Now St Petersburg is an important industrial, cultural and educational centre. The population of the city is over 5 million.
St Petersburg is indeed a wonderful city: at every turn there's 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 corner 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, arms and canals there with artistically decorated bridges. It's also famous for its beautiful white nights.
Names
St Petersburg [sent 'p!:tezb3:g] - Peter the Great ( I)
the Neva ['neiva]
the Hermitage ['haimitidj] Palace
the Winter Palace
Petrograd ['petragraed]
the Russian Museum
St Isaac's Cathedral [sent,aizaks ka-eh
the Peter-and-Paul Fortress ['pi:taran'po:l 'fcxtris]
the Admiralty ['aedmiralti]
Vocabulary
swampy ['swompi]
mouth [] ()
to drop dead [ded]
by the hundreds
ruler ['ru:la]
empire ['empale]
rapidly ['raepidli]
to lay out
harmonious [ha:'meunjas]
granite ['graenrt]
equal [1:kwal] ,
to rename
to suffer ['sAfa]
to lay siege [si:d3] to
starvation [sta:'veijn]
shelling ['Jelirj]
air raid ['ea reid]
to destroy [di'stroi]
to catch smb's eye ,
to attract [a'traekt] ,
arm ()
canal [ka'nael]
artistically [a:'tistikali]
to decorate ['dekareit]
bridge [brid3]
Questions
1. Have you ever been to St Petersburg?
2. Is St Petersburg as old as Moscow?
3. Who was the city founded by and when did it become the capital of the Russian Empire?
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4. Peter I thought that Moscow looked provincial in comparison with the capitals he had visited and decided to build a magnificent city equal to any European capital. Did he succeed?
5. How many times has the city been renamed and why?
6. Did the city suffer a great deal during the Great Patriotic War?
7. What is St Petersburg famous for?
8. Have you ever been to the Russian Museum? (the Hermitage?)
9. What other places of interest in St Petersburg do you know?
10. Why is St Petersburg called the Northern Venice?
Literature and Arts
LIBRARIES
The word library comes from the Latin word liber, meaning "a book". This is a place where information in print (books, manuscripts, periodicals and musical scores) and in other forms is collected and arranged to serve people of all ages and interests.
Libraries appeared in ancient times in Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome.
Perhaps the most famous library of that early day was at Alexandria. It was found by Ptolomy I. Ptolomy ordered the librarians to collect all Greek texts as well as manuscripts in other languages from every part of the known world. By the middle of the 1st century BC there were about 700,000 papyrus rolls in the library.
The first libraries in Russia were established in medieval monasteries.
Public libraries were opened in the 19* century at the Academy of Sciences and Moscow University.
The library today is a centre for all kinds of communications: printed, pictured, recorded, and even electronically stored. People go to the library to read, look, listen, search, inquire, relax, discuss, learn, and think.
Libraries can be found in many places. There are libraries in small towns and large cities, and there are libraries in schools, universities, colleges.
The largest and best known libraries in the world are: the British National Library in London, the Library of Congress in Washington and the Russian State Library.
The national libraries of different countries keep in touch and exchange books and information.
Most libraries have a professionally educated staff whose first duty is to help you. Librarians also select and purchase books and other materials, organize materials so that you can easily use them, answer questions about facts, people, events, or advise you how to find the information you need.
Many people have books at home. These are the books of their favourite authors, dictionaries and reference books and the like. My family also has a home library. It was my grandfather who started to collect it at the beginning of this century. There are over two thousand books in it. The authors I like most of all are Chekhov, Bulgakov, Fitzgerald, Cortasar and others.
Names
Egypt [1:d3ipt] Assyria [a'siria] (
Alexandria [,aelig'za:ndri8] ( )
, Greece [gri:s]
) Rome [raum]
Ptolemy I ['tolami da 'f3:st] I (
, 305-30 .
..; )
the Library of Congress
the Academy of Sciences [a,kaedami av 'saiansizj
the British National t'naejnl] Library
the Russian State Library
Chekhov ['tjekof] ..
Bulgakov [bul'ga:kof] ..
Fitzgerald [,fits'd3erald] ..
( XX.)
Cortasar [ko:'ta:sa] X. (
)
Vocabulary
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information in print
manuscript ['maenjuskript]
periodical [piari'odikl]
musical score [sko:]
to arrange [a'reind3] ,
ancient ['einjnt] ,
to order ['o:ds]
librarian [lai'brearian]
BC [,bi."si:] (. Before Christ
[kraist])
papyrus rolls [pa'paiaras 'raulz]
to establish [is'taeblij] ,
medieval [,medi'i:val]
monastery ['monastri]
public library
communication [ka,mju:ni'keijn]
, ,
to record [ri'kord] ( ..)
to store [sto:]
to search [sa:tf]
to inquire [in'kwaia] ,
to relax [ri'laeks] ,
to keep in touch with
to exchange [iks'tjeind3] ()
staff [sta:f] ,
duty ['dju:ti]
to select [si'lekt]
to purchase [-p3:tjas] ,
event [i'vent]
reference ['refarans] book
and the like
Questions
1. What word does the word "library" come from?
2. What is a library?
3. Where did the first libraries appear?
4. What do you know about the famous library at Alexandria?
5. What is the library today?
6. Where can libraries be found?
7. Why do people go to libraries?
8. What are the famous libraries of the world?
9. What do we call the people who help us in libraries?
10. Have you got any books at home?
11. Who are your favourite authors?
12. Do you often borrow books from the library?
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
William Shakespeare, the greatest and most famous of English writers, and probably the greatest playwright who has ever lived, was bom on the 23d of April, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon.
In spite of his fame we know very little about his life. At the age of six he was sent to school, but had to leave it at the age of 13. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove-maker, and when he fell into debt, William had to help him in the trade.
Just what William did between his fourteenth and eighteenth year isn't known. At the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. Ann was eight years older than her husband and the marriage wasn't a happy one.
When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London. We don't know why he left Stratford-on-Avon.
There is a story that Shakespeare's first job in London was holding rich men's horses at the theatre door. But nobody can be sure that this story is true.
Later, Shakespeare became an actor and a member of a very successful acting company. It's highly probable that The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet and some other plays by Shakespeare were performed for the first time on this stage.
Very soon, however, the actors were told that they could no longer use the land that their theatre was built on and the company had nowhere else to perform. There is a story that in the dead of night the whole acting troop took down their theatre, timber by timber, brick by brick. They carried it across the river and rebuilt it. The new theatre was called the Globe.
Shakespeare's Globe was rather different from modern theatres. The plays were performed in the open air and the audience got wet if it rained. There was no scenery, very few props, and the only lighting was the daylight that came from the open roof above. Women in those days weren't allowed to act in public and all the parts (even Juliet!) were played by men. Much of the audience stood to watch the performance and moved around, talking with each other and throwing fruit at the stage if they didn't like something.
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays: 10 tragedies (such as Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth), 17 comedies (such as As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing), 10 historical plays (such as Henry IV, Richard III.). He also left 7 books of poems.
Most of Shakespeare's plays were not published in his lifetime. So some of them may have been lost in the fire when the Globe burnt down in 1613.
Shakespeare spent the last years of his life at Stratford, where he died, ironically, on the same date as his birthday, the 23d of April, 1616. He was buried in the church of Stratford. A monument was erected to the memory of the great playwright in the Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey. In 1997, Shakespeare's Globe was restored.
Names
William Shakespeare [,wiliam -feikspia]
Stratford-on-Avon [,straetfad on 'eivn]
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Anne Hathaway ['haeSawei]
The Comedy of Errors [da 'komadi av 'eraz]
Romeo and Juliet [/aumiau and 'd3ii:liat]
the Globe ['glaub]
Hamlet ['haemlit]
King Lear [,kit) lie]
Othello [a'Selau]
Macbeth [mak'beG]
As You Like It
Twelfth Night [,twelf0 'nait]
Much Ado [a'du:] About Nothing
Henry IV [,henri da 'fo:9] IV
Richard III [,ritfad 03:d] III
Westminster Abbey [,westminstar 'aebi]
Vocabulary
playwright ['pleirait]
fame ['feim]
glove-maker ['gl/wmeika]
to fall into debt ['del]
trade [treid]
marriage ['maeridj]
to hold [tiauld] (held)
member ['memba]
successful [sak'sesfal] ,
acting company ['tampani]
it's highly probable ['prababl]
to perform [pa'fo:m] ,
stage [steid3]
however [hau'eve] ,
could no longer use
had nowhere else to perform
in the dead [ded] of night
troop [tru:p]
to take down
timber by timber ['timba]
brick by brick [brik]
audience ['ordians]
to get wet
scenery ['shnari]
props [props]
lighting [laitirj]
daylight fdeilait]
in public ['pAblik] ,
to move around ['mu:v e'raund] ,
tragedy ['traed3idi]
comedy ['komidi]
may have been lost ,
to burn down [ten 'daun] (burnt)
( )
ironically [ai'ronikeli]
to be buried ['berid]
church ['tja:tf]
monument ['monjumant]
to erect [i'rekt]
to the memory ['memeri] of
to restore [ri'sto:]
Questions
1. The last half of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries are known as the age of Shakespeare. Can you explain why?
2. When was Shakespeare bom?
3. He lived in Stratford-on-Avon until he was twenty-one, didn't he? Why did he leave Stratford?
4. What was his first job in London?
5. Why did the acting company decide to build a new theatre?
6. In what way was Shakespeare's Globe different from modem theatres?
7. How many plays did Shakespeare write?
8. Have you read any of his plays?
9. What happened to the Globe?
10. When was the Globe restored?
11. When did Shakespeare die?
12. Is Shakespeare famous in Russia?
ANTON CHEKHOV
My favourite writer is Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. In my opinion, he is the greatest Russian dramatist and short-story writer. I'm never tired of reading and rereading his plays and humorous stories.
Chekhov was bom in 1860 in Taganrog. In 1879 he went to Moscow, where he studied medicine. Though he practised little as a doctor in his lifetime, he was prouder of his medical knowledge than of his writing talent.
While in college, Chekhov wrote humorous sketches for comic papers to support his family. He collected the best ones into a volume, Motley Stories, in 1886. The book attracted the attention of the publisher of the Novoje Vfemja, Russia's largest paper, and Chekhov was asked to contribute stories regularly.
Chekhov, as an established writer, was able to develop a style of his own.
Though he never gave up writing comic stories, he began working in a more serious vein. In 1887 Ivanov, his first play, established Chekhov as a dramatist.
From then on, he concentrated on writing plays, as well as short stories.
Chekhov was seriously ill. He had tuberculosis and knew what it meant.
By 1892 his health was so bad that he was afraid to spend another winter in Moscow. He bought a small estate near a village Melikhovo, 50 miles from Moscow. He spent 5 years there, and those were happy years in spite of the illness. He wrote some of his best stories there, including Ward No.6, several well-known one-act comedies and two of his serious dramatic masterpieces, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya.
The Seagull was first staged in the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Petersburg.
It was a complete failure because of the dull and clumsy production. It was a cruel blow to Chekhov. However, the play was successfully performed as the first production of the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898. From then on, Chekhov was closely connected with this theatre and with its founder, K.S. Stanislavsky. In 1901 he married an Art Theatre actress, Olga Knipper, who acted in his play The Three Sisters the same year.
Chekhov's health went from bad to worse and he had to spend the remaining years in the Crimea and other health spas.
The Cherry Orchard, his last play, was produced in 1904. Soon after the first night Chekhov died. He was 44.
Chekhov had an immense influence on the 20th century drama. Besides, several generations of writers both in Russia and abroad studied and imitated Chekhov to perfect their own literary style.
Names
Chekhov Anton Pavlovich ['tjekof,aentan 'paevlovitf]
Taganrog [']
Motley ['motli] Stories
Ivanov [i'va:nof]
Ward [wo:d] No.6 N 6
The Seagull ['si:,gAl]
Uncle Vanya ['AQkl 'va:nja]
the Alexandrinsky [ajegzan'drmski] Theatre
the Moscow Art Theatre
The Three Sisters
the Crimea [krai'mia]
The Cherry Orchard [Men 'o:tjad]
Vocabulary
in my opinion -
dramatist ['dramatist]
humorous ['hju:maras] stories
medicine f'medsin]
lifetime ()
to be proud [praud] of -
sketch [sketj] ,
comic ['komikj
to support [sa'po:t] ,
volume [volju:m]
to attract [a'traekt] attention
to contribute [kan'tribju:t] ( ,
), ( , )
regularly ['regjulali]
established [is'taeblijt] ,
to develop [di'velap]
a style of one's own
to give up , ( -)
vein [vein] ,
from then on , ,
to concentrate ['konsantreit] on ,
tuberculosis [tju:,b3:kju'lausis]
(. : [,ti:'bi:])
estate [is'teit]
one-act comedy ['komidi]
masterpiece ['ma:stapi:s]
it was a complete [kam'pli:t] failure ['feilja -
dull [!1] ,
clumsy ['klAmzi] , ,
production [pra'dAkfn]
It was a cruel ['kru:al] blow to Chekhov.
.
to perform [pa'fo:m] ,
to go from bad to worse ,
spa [spa:] ( )
to produce [pra'dju:s] ( )
first night
immense [i'mens]
influence [Influans]
drama ['dra:me]
generation [,d3ena'rei/n]
to imitate ['imiteit]
to perfect [pa'fekt]
literary [litrari]
Questions
1. Do you like Chekhov's humorous stories?
2. When and where was he born?
3. When did he begin writing his first humorous sketches?
4. Who helped Chekhov in his writing career?
5. What made Chekhov move to Melikhovo?
6. The Seagull was first staged in the Alexandrinsky Theatre. Why was it a complete failure?
