Vocabulary

to border on – граничить с

highlands – горные возвышенности

desert – пустыня

the Urals – Уральские горы

the Caucasus – Кавказ

moderate – умеренный

ore – руда

ferrous and non-ferrous metals – чёрные и цветные металлы

banner – знамя, флаг

legislative – законодательный

executive – исполнительный

judicial – судебный

Federal Assembly – Федеральное Собрание

the Council of Federation – Совет Федерации

Supreme Court – Верховный суд

foreign policy – международная политика

irrespective of – независимо от

Exercise 2. Answer the following questions:

1. Is Russia the largest country in the world?

2. What oceans wash the borders of the Russian Federa­tion?

3. How many countries have borders with Russia?

4. Are Russian flora and fauna various?

5. What are the highest mountains in Russia?

6. What is Baikal famous for?

7. What is the climate in Russia like?

8. What is the national symbol of Russia?

9. What can you say about the Russian economy?

10. What does the Federal Assembly consist of?

11.Who is the head of each Chamber of the Federal Assembly?

Exercise 3. Insert the prepositions:

1. The country is washed … 12 seas.

2. … the south Russia borders … China and Mongolia.

3. It also has a sea – border … the USA.

4. The Urals separates Europe … Asia.

5. The Volga flows … the Caspian sea.

6. The Yenisei and the Lena flow … the south … the north.

7. Russia is rich … beautiful lakes.

8. If you look down you can count the stones … the bottom.

9. There are various types … climate: … arctic … subtropical.

10. The Russian Federation is headed … the President.

11. The country government consists … three branches.

12. The legislative power belongs … the Federal Assembly.

Exercise 4. Ask the questions to the underlined words:

1. Russia covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia.

2. The Russian Federation borders on Finland, China, Korea.

3. The largest mountain chain, the Urals separates Europe from Asia.

4. Russian forests are concentrated in the European north of the country.

5. The legislative power in Russia is exercised by the Duma.

6. The Russian Federation produces machines, airplanes, ships, TV sets, refrigerators and other things.

7. The depth of Lake Baikal is 1600 metres.

8. In the middle of the country the climate is continental.

9. The President controls only the executive branch.

10. The population of the country is over 140 million people.

Exercise 5. Put the verbs in brackets into the right form:

1. I (to be) a citizen of the Russian Federation.

2. The Russian Federation (to occupy) about one seventh of the Earth surface.

3. The Russian Federation (to border) on fourteen countries.

4. It (to have) a sea –border with the USA.

5. The highest mountains in our land (to be) the Altai, the Urals, the Caucasus.

6. Our country (to have) a multiparty system.

7. The Black sea (to be) a very popular place for people who (to prefer) to spend their holidays at the seaside.

8. As for me, I (to visit) a lot of places in my country.

Exercise 6. Translate into English:

1. Общая площадь Российской Федерации составляет более 17 миллионов километров.

2. В мире нет стран с такой разнообразной флорой и фауной.

3. Озеро Байкал — самое глубокое озеро на земном шаре.

4. На территории Российской Федерации 11 часовых поясов.

5. Россия является конституционной республикой, с президентом во главе.

6. Законодательная власть принадлежит Федерально­му Собранию, состоящему из двух палат.

7. Президент контролирует только исполнительную ветвь власти.

Exercise 7. Read and translate the text “Moscow”: Moscow

Moscow was founded in 1147 by the prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Moscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the capital of Moscow region. It stands on the banks of the Moskva River. More than nine million people live in the city. Moscow is the economic, political and cultural centre of Russia. Railways and numerous airlines link the city with all parts of Russia. Moscow Canal, the Moskva River, and Volga-Don Canal link Moscow with the Baltic Sea, the White Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Moscow covers the area of about 880 square kilometres.

The Kremlin has the shape of a triangle with one side along the north bank of the Moskva River. A stone wall, up to 21 metres in height with 19 towers, surrounds this triangular complex of former palaces, cathedrals, and other monuments. The Great Kremlin Palace, completed in 1849, is the most impressive structure inside the Kremlin. Other famous Kremlin palaces are the Grano-vitaya Palace (built in 1491) and the Terem (built in 1636).

Among many cathedrals, now used mainly as museums, are the Cathedral of the Assumption (Успения) and the Archangel Cathedral, each with five gilded domes, and the Cathedral of the Annunciation (Благовещения) (built in 13th-14th century), with nine gilded domes. The bell tower of Ivan the Great has the height of 98 metres. On a nearby pedestal is the Tsar Bell (nearly 200 tons), one of the largest in the world. A recent addition to the Kremlin is the Palace of Congresses, completed in 1961.

St. Basil's Cathedral, a masterpiece of Russian architecture with coloured domes, stands at one end of Red Square and at the other end there is Historical Museum.

Other points of interest in Moscow include the Central Lenin Stadium, comprising about 130 buildings for various sports and the tall Ostankino TV tower, which contains a revolving restaurant and an observation platform. Moscow has a modern railway underground system (Metro) famous for its marble-walled stations.

Moscow is a scientific and cultural center with a lot of institutes, universities, libraries and museums. The city leads a vast cultural life. It has a lot of cinemas, clubs, concert halls, more than 40 drama and musical theatres, including the Bolshoi Theatre, the Art Theatre, the Maly Theatre, the Vakhtangov Theatre.

Muscovites are proud of their museums: the Tretyakov Art Gallery, the A. S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Historical Museum. Crowds of people visit Tretyakov Gallery to see beautiful pictures of Russian painters.

There are a lot of big plants and factories in Moscow. Among the products are aircraft, high-quality steel, ball bearings, cars and other motor vehicles, machine tools, electrical equipment, precision instruments, radios, chemicals, textiles, shoes, paper, furniture. Food processing, printing, and the repair of rail equipment are important industries.