15. Speak on the following.

1. Speak about Kyiv's foundation.

2. What do you know about the past of the capital?

3. How does Kyiv look like nowadays?

4. Why do we say it is the biggest scientific and cultural centre of Ukraine?

5. Prove that Kyiv is the centre of political life of Ukraine.

16. Write an article about your native town or city where you live in. Describe its places of interest. Some Facts from the History of Ukraine

17. Read the new words and guess the meanings with the help of the following sentences.

Slavs — Polish, Slovaks, Horvats, Bulgarians, Rus­sians, Ukrainians and

slavic Byelorussians are Slavic people. But Russians, Ukrainians and

Byelorussians are Eastern Slavs.

to hunt — Lions and tigers like to hunt goats or deer. My uncle is fond of hunting:

he goes hunting every weekend.

to believe — "It's not true! I don't believe you!" - cried little Sam. Believe it or not,

but our Earth goes round the Sun.

an enemy — Soviet soldiers won a victory over their enemy - a fascist Germany.

Slavs always fought against their enemies and won victories. Danylo is a

peace-loving person he hasn't got any enemy.

to invade — Great Britain was invaded by the enemies many times. The Rome

an invasion invasion of Britain brought new things to its culture.

a tribe — Slavic tribes gathered into one state which they called Kyivan Rus.

to strengthen — Good relations and cooperation help to strengthen a friendship between

the countries. Ukraine needs to streng­then its position in the world.

to spread — The warm south wind is spreading over the eastern part of the country.

English has spread all over the world.

18. Read and translate the article. Consult the vocabulary if necessary. Who were our ancestors?

We are Ukrainians. Our ancestors were the Slavs. They lived in forests, hunted animals, fished. Later they began to go in for cattle-breeding and to grow corn. They started to do handicrafts.

The Slavs believed in many gods. The main of them were Perun, the god of thunder and lightning; Dazhbog, the god of sun and richness; Strybog, the god of winds and others.

The Slavs were divided into separate tribes. Poliany lived near Kyiv, further toward the West Drevliany lived. There were Siverjany, Horvaty, Ulichy, too. Each tribe had their own lands and their own prince. The Slavs traded with other people, they fought for their lands with the enemies.

The Slavic tribes gathered around Kyiv and founded their state, which was called Kyiv Rus. The first Kyivan Princes were Oleh, Ihor and Svyatoslav. After Svyatoslav's death his son Volodymyr took the throne. He strengthened the state borders. In 988 Volodymyr brought Christianity and spread it all over the Kyiv Rus. Since that time the Slavs believe in one God.

19. Choose the right answer to the following questions.

1. Where did our ancestors live?

1. in the fields;

2. in the forests;

3. in separate places.

2. Who were our ancestors?

1. horvaty;

2. barbaric tribes;

3. the slavs.

3. What were our ancestors busy with?

1. hunted animals and fished;

2. went in for cattle-breeding and grew corn;

3. traded with other people.

4. What did they fight for?

1. money;

2. gods;

3. their lands.

5. How did they call their first state?

1. Ukraine;

2. Kyiv Rus;

3. Slavic Rus.

6. Who took the throne after Svyatoslav's death?

1. Ihor;

2. Oleh;

3. Volodymyr.

7. Who brought Christianity in 988?

1. prince Volodymyr;

2. prince Svyatoslav;

3. prince Oleh.