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A VISIT TO MOSCOW
Last summer Mr. Wilson, his wife and their daughter Mary – tourists from England – arrived in Moscow. It was their first visit to Russia and they wanted to see as much as possible.
Their guide showed them a lot of places of interest so that they could get a good idea of the Russian capital. Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe, its total area is about nine hundred square kilometers, and the population of the city is over eight million.
The heart of Moscow is Red Square. It has more historical associations than any other place in Moscow. The Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral 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 the Wilsons saw old cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Palace of Congresses, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and the bell in the world. St. Basil’s Cathedral was built in the mid-16th century in memory of the victory over Kazan. Ther’s a legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architects Barma and Postnik, because he didn’t want them to create another masterpiece.
The Wilsons saw a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches and monuments. They had a chance to visit any of more than 80 museums: the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the Tretyakov Gallery, the All-Russia Museum of Folk Arts and the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art, Alexei Bakhrushin Theatre Museum and Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture among them.
In the evening the Wilsons decided to go to the Bolshoi Opera House, though it was very difficult to choose between a large number of popular theaters.
The Wilsons liked Moscow’s straight and broad streets and avenues. They admired the centre of the city with its theatres, cinemas, museums, monuments, and wonderful many-storied buildings. They were greatly impressed by the Kremlin, Red Square, Novy Arbat, which is one of the busiest streets in Moscow.
One day the Wilsons decided to see Moscow State University and the guide suggested their going there by metro. They liked the idea and joined a stream of people going downstairs into the metro. It seemed to them that nearly everyone in Moscow was in a hurry. Very few were satisfied to stand still and let the magic staircase carry them down to the platforms below. Most people went hurrying down on the left side. On and on ran the train through the tunnel and at every station people came in and out. The trip gave the Wilsons a good impression of Moscow’s immense size.
When they came up into the daylight, they saw the magnificent building of the University that is situated on the Vorobyovy Hills and from there they enjoyed a most beautiful view of the whole city.
They went for a ride in the city. The size and the beauty of the capital made a great impression on the family. They saw endless streams of busses, trolley busses and cars in the streets, crowds of people walking along the pavements. They crossed the city in different directions but to their great surprise they saw the same thing everywhere: well-planned streets lined with trees, many-storied houses, big stores, hotels and beautiful squares. They saw no contrasts between the central part of the city and the suburbs.
The Wilsons went sightseeing every day of their stay in Moscow. And before their tour came to an end they had seen and learned a lot of interesting things about the capital and the country. They liked Moscow and Muscovites who are so hospitable and friendly.
I. Read the text ‘A visit to Moscow’. Give synonyms to the following word combinations:
1. journey out and home again during which several places are visited;
2. town or city where the government of the country is carried on;
3. wide street with buildings on one or both sides;
4. a building in which objects illustrating art, history, science, etc. are displayed;
5. building, column, statue, etc. serving to keep alive the memory of a person or event;
6. effect produced on the mind or feelings;
7. a person employed to point out interesting sights on a journey or visit;
8. large number of people together, but without order or organization;
9. a way at the side of a street for people on foot.
II. Give English equivalents to the following Russian word combinations:
приехать в Россию, приехать в аэропорт, осматривать достопримечательности, получить представление о чем-либо, величественные многоэтажные здания, оживленные улицы, поток людей, огромный размер, прекрасный вид, производить впечатление на кого-либо, идти по тротуару, в разных направлениях, гостеприимные и дружелюбные люди.
III. Match the parts of the sentences.
| 1. Last summer the Wilsons | a) the centre of the city. |
| 2. They visited many places of interest and | b) nearly everyone in Moscow was in a hurry. |
| 3. The tourists admired | c) visited Moscow for the first time. |
| 4. It seemed to the Wilsons that | d) are situated on the Vorobyovy Hills. |
| 5. Travelling by metro the Wilsons were | e) every day of their stay in Moscow. |
| 6. The magnificent buildings of Moscow State University | f) got a good idea of the Russian capital. |
| 7. The Wilsons went sightseeing | g) impressed by Moscow’s immense size. |
IV. Agree or disagree. Give your reasons.
1. It was the second time the Wilsons had visited Moscow.
2. They wanted to get a good idea of the Russian capital, so they visited as many places of interest as possible.
3. There’s nothing surprising in the centre of Moscow.
4. In metro everybody was standing still while the magical staircase was carrying them down.
5. The trip by tram demonstrated the Wilsons the immense size of Moscow.
6. The Wilsons were fond of Moscow and Muscovites.
V. Retell the text on the name of
a) Mr. Wilson;
b) Mrs. Wilson;
c) Mary Wilson;
d) the guide.
VI. Make sure you can translate the following text both ways: from Russian into English and vice versa.
| Москва – огромный город. В нем живет более восьми миллионов жителей. Деловая, научная, техническая, культурная деятельность города универсальна. Сотни заводов, фабрик, учреждений, научно-исследовательских организаций. Здесь производятся изящные легковые автомобили, тяжелые грузовики, электронное оборудование, холодильники, текстильные изделия и многое другое. Словом, Москва достойно представляет технические и производственные достижения нашего времени. Считается, что Москва – самый читающий город мира: она занимает первое место по количеству библиотек и числу читателей. Фонд московских библиотек составляет сотни миллионов томов. Заглянем в один из этих томов. В древности город назывался «Москов». По-старославянски «моск» означает кремень, камень, а «ков» - крепость, укрытие. Вполне вероятно, что для людей, основавших город, «Москов» означало прочное как кремень укрытие. Первое упоминание о Москве относится к 1147 году. Это было небольшое поселение, обнесенное деревянным частоколом. К концу XV века Москва становится столицей русского централизованного государства. Тогда она уже была окружена каменными крепостными стенами. Рядом примостились торговые ряды, улицы и рыночные площади. За ними поднялись валы Китай-города, Белого города. Крепло молодое государство, росла его столица. Так выглядело утро истории Москвы. | Moscow is a great city with the population of more than eight million people. Moscow is a centre of scientific, business and cultural activities with hundreds of plants, organizations and research centres. Compact automobiles, heavy trucks, electronic equipment, refrigerators, textiles and many other things are produced here. Moscow can honourably represent the technological progress of this century. Moscow is considered to take the first place among the world’s capitals in the number of public libraries and readers. Its libraries possess hundreds of millions of volumes. Let us open one of them. In ancient times our capital was known as Moskov (“Muscovy” according to the European spelling). In old Slavic “mosk” means “flint”, while “kov” (khov) means “fortress”, “enclosure”. Most probably the founders of the city named it Mockov to denote a strong, reliable fortress. Moscow was first mentioned in the Chronicles for 1147. At that time it was a small settlement enclosed by paling. By the end of the 15th century Moscow had become the capital of the Russian centralized state, surrounded by high stonewalls. Market squares, streets and trading stalls were located nearby, outside the walls. The fortifications of Kitai-gorod, and Byely gorod rose beyond. The young state flourished, its capital expended. Such was the dawning of Moscow. |
VII. Find any proverb or saying concerning travelling, give its Russian equivalent. Illustrate it.
VIII. You are a manager of a travelling company. Compose a short advertisement to be placed on the Internet, so that people all over the world will get interested and make up their minds to visit Moscow.
IX. You are a foreign student having decided to enter one of Moscow higher schools. So you want to know about Moscow as much as possible. Think over the questions you want to ask a Muscovite using the Internet chat room. Write your questions down.
DIALOGUES
1. Read the dialogues in pairs:
I
A. What is Moscow famous for?
B. First of all Moscow is the capital of Russia. It’s one of the world’s most important political, scientific and cultural centres.
A. What were you impressed by in Moscow?
B. I was particularly impressed by the magnificence of Red Square.
II
A. I am going on a sightseeing tour. Would you like to keep company with me?
B. Certainly, with pleasure.
A. I’m a stranger here, and I want to see as much as possible. What places of interest would you like to show me first?
B. I think we shall start with the Tretyakov Gallery.
A. Do you happen to know how we can get there?
B. If we walk, it’ll take us 10 minutes or a quarter of an hour.
III
A. We are so pressed for time. What do you think we should see in Moscow first?
B. It isn’t an easy question. Moscow is known for its numerous places of interest and memorials.
A. Well, what would you think of Moscow University?
B. Yes, that’s what I wanted to begin with. Moscow University on the Vorobyovy Hills is greatly admired by everybody.
2. Memorize dialogues I, II, III and reproduce them.
3. Complete dialogues IV and V:
IV
A. What is the capital of Russia famous for?
B. ….
A. In what part of the city are most of the places of interest?
B. ….
A. What were you impressed by while seeing the sights of Moscow?
B. ….
V
A. ….
B. I’ll do my best to show you Moscow.
A. ….
B. That’s right. There you’ll find old buildings, churches, clock-towers, small shops – all in old, narrow streets.
A. ….
B. I am particularly impressed by the old buildings. They are marvelous and beautiful from the architectural point of view.
4. Get ready to give the following situation in the form of a dialogue.
Молодой человек (юноша или девушка), с которым вы познакомились через Интернет, приезжает на несколько дней в Москву. Он(она) никогда раньше не был(а) в столице и просит вас посоветовать ему(ей), с чего начать осмотр города. Вы охотно соглашаетесь. В Москве много мест, которые стоит посмотреть. Для начала вы предлагаете побывать на Красной площади, на Воробьевых горах, осмотреть новое здание МГУ. Ваш(а) знакомый(ая) просит объяснить ему(ей), как добраться до центра.
5. Have a friendly talk with one or two other students on the following situation.
You are friends planning a trip to Moscow. There are a lot of things to be done. Each of you is full of imaginative ideas.
| JUST FOR FUN |
I. Read the jokes. Choose the one you like most and retell it to your friend.
Tiger Hunting
A man who had traveled in Bengal was asked if he liked tiger hunting. “Well!” said the man. “I certainly enjoyed hunting tigers, but I must confess I hated being hunted by a tiger.”
A Sense of Duty
A tourist dining at a hotel is annoyed at the waiter continually hovering around his table.
“I have no patience with you, young man,” he says at last. “I’d like to know what you want with me.”
“Excuse me, sir, for being about!” says the waiter blushing, “but I am responsible for the silver.”
Friendly Advice
Grandfather. Excuse my interfering, dear daughter, but something must be done with that favourite son of yours. Such a foolish and arrogant young man!
Mother. Don’t be so strict, dear father. Boys will be boys. But certainly something must be done. I insist on his going abroad to see the world.
Grandfather. In your place I wouldn’t do it.
Mother. Why so, I wonder?
Grandfather. I would be afraid of the world seeing him.
II. Learn the following proverbs and sayings. Mind the use of the gerund. Illustrate them in the situations.
It’s no use crying over spilt milk.
Seeing is believing.
If a thing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well.
III. QUIZ
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