Читай и говори пособие 1 курс

TOPIC 4: THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

I. Revise the words and expressions:

II.Give a word or an expression for the following:

1.a person living in Moscow;

2.very large in volume;

3.a place where some people live;

4.to have something in very large quantities;

5.a line between neighbour states;

6.a house of a parliament;

7.a part of a city where most buildings are constructed for residents to live in;

8.some construction built in ancient times to prevent from enemies.

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III. Match the English and Russian equivalents.

TEXT 4A. OUR COUNTRY, RUSSIA

Read the text and do the exercises.

Our country, the Russian Federation, is the largest state in the world. Its territory is over 17 million square kilometers, the population being more than 150 million. Russia is rich in mineral resources including vast areas of fertile lands and forests, deep lakes and wide rivers. It’s rich in mineral deposits, such as coal, oil, iron ore, tin, lead, copper, gold and others.

The Russian Federation is a free union of a number of regions, territories and autonomous republics, for example, Karelia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Mordovia and others.

The highest legislative body of the Russian Federation is Duma, the name of the Russian Parliament, which consists of two chambers. The executive power is held by the President and the Cabinet of Ministers. The candidate of the Prime Minister, put forward by the head of the state, is to be approved by Duma.

The capital of Russia is Moscow. It’s the most important political, industrial, scientific and cultural centre of the country.

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Within the historically short period the country has achieved a great success in all spheres of industry, technology, science, democracy and cultural life. The rights of man are guaranteed by the Constitution and by the public consciousness, a new way of thinking. All forms of property (of means of production) are regarded as equal. The country’s economy is being transformed into a free market model.

Nowadays Russia remains a powerful state enjoying a high reputation among other nations of the world. It plays an important part in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It’s a peace loving country and a member of the United Nations Security Council.

EXERCISES:

I. Fill in the blanks in the sentences using the appropriate words and word combinations from the following list:

deposit; the public consciousness; vast; legislative; chamber; fertile; commonwealth; to be rich in; executive; approve.

1.The highest ... body of the Russian Federation is Duma.

2.The rights of a man are guaranteed by the Constitution and by ... .

3.Russia ... natural resources including ... territories of ... lands and forests, deep lakes and wide rivers.

4.There are a lot of mineral ... in Russia.

5.The ... power is held by the President and the Cabinet of Ministers.

6.The Russian Parliament called Duma consists of two ... .

7.The candidate of the Prime-Minister, put forward by the head of the state, is to be ... by Duma.

8.The Russian Federation plays an important part in the ... of Independent States.

II.Correct the statements if they are not true.

1.The Russian Federation is a multinational state.

2.The highest legislative body of our country is the Cabinet of Ministers.

3.The executive power is held by the Russian Parliament.

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4.The candidate of the Prime-Minister is put forward by the head of the state but it is to be approved by Duma.

5.The power of the President is limited by the Russian Parliament (Duma).

6.The population of Russia is the largest in the world.

III.Say what you have learnt about:

1.the state system of the Russian Federation; 2. the supreme legislative and executive bodies of the country; 3. the up-to-date situation in the country; 4. the position of Russia among other nations of the world.

IV. Think and answer.

1.What kinds of economic reforms are under way in Russia?

2.Is Russia a unitary state or a free union of autonomous republics and regions?

3.How large is the territory of the Russian Federation?

4.What Russia is rich in?

V. Make a short summary of the text.

TEXT 4B. THE PRESIDENT AND FEDERAL GOVENMENT

Study the following text and do the tasks given below.

The President of Russia is elected to a four-year term. The constitution offers the President considerable power. The President’s main function consists of establishing and maintaining the political, legislative and economic stability of the country as a whole. The President and his staff are responsible for the overall functioning of the executive branch. The President also has the right under the constitution to issue edicts in the area of economic activity. The President also chairs the Security Council, which is responsible for preserving state security and political stability and defending the basic human rights and liberties of Russia’s citizens.

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The President’s administration consists of political, military and economic counselors and their staffs, advisory committees, and numerous functional departments. They are responsible for developing and implementing a general political and economic strategy.

The Federal government of the Russian Federation consists of the Federal Executive Government, the Ministers, State Committees, and other government agencies. The Government is appointed by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister, or the chairman of the Federal Executive Government, is nominated by the President. The nominee may take office only after approval by Parliament but before that happens he may carry out his duties as an acting Prime Minister for a certain period of time. If Parliament refuses to approve the nominee or demands the resignation of the cabinet, the President may dissolve the Parliament and call for new elections. The Prime Minister currently has three first deputy prime ministers and five deputy prime ministers appointed by him in agreement with Parliament and the President. The Prime Minister has a large staff - called the Executive administration of the Prime Minister - which is responsible for the development and implementation of economic reforms. Functional departments of the administration are responsible for different sectors of the economy and industries. These officials are in charge of creating and administrating programs for each industry.

From «Investment guide for the Russian Federation»

I.Give your impressions of:

1.the President’s administration; 2. the Security Council; 3. the federal government; 4. the prime minister’s staff.

II.Think and answer.

1.What’s the President responsible for?

2.What does the federal government consists of?

3.How is the prime minister appointed?

4.What are the main functions of the Executive Administration of the prime minister?

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TEXT 4C. GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Study the text and do the tasks given below.

The Russian Federation occupies the largest part of Eastern Europe and North Asia, covering 17 million square kilometers. The length from west to east is 9,000 km, and from north to south the country’s dimensions range from 2,500 to 4,000 thousand km. Russia borders 14 countries to the northwest, to the west, to the south and to the southeast. Russia’s longest coastlines run along the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Large plains constitute up nearly 70 per cent of Russia’s landmass. The East European Plain stretches to the Ural Mountains, traditionally considered the eastern edge of Europe. East of the Urals lies the West Siberian Plain. Between the Yenisei and Lena rivers is the high Middle Siberian Plateau, which meets the Central Yakutian Plain to the east.

Mountains are found in eastern and southern part of Russia. To the south in the European part is the North Slope of the Big Caucasus Range, which includes Elbrus, the country’s highest mountain peak at 5,642 m. A belt of mountains ranges stretches through southern Siberia. Along the Pacific coast are the mountains of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands, which feature active volcanoes.

Russia has about 120,000 rivers, whose total length exceeds 2.3 million km. The largest rivers are the Amur (4,400 km), the Volga (3,530 km), the Yenisei (4,102 km), the Ob (5,410 km) and the Lena (4,440 km). There are about two million lakes and seas, the largest of which are Baikal, Ladoga, Onega and the Caspian Sea.

The climate of Russia varies from the sea climate in the far northwest to the sharp continental climate of Siberia and the mosoon climate in the Far East Region. Most of the country, however, enjoys a moderate continental climate, with cold winters and rather warm summers. The average temperature in January ranges from zero to minus five degrees C in the west and around the Caucasus, to minus 40 or minus 50 degrees C in Yakutia. Snow covers the land for 60 to 80 days in the south and 260 to 280 days in the far north. The average temperature in July is 24 to 25 degrees C near the Caspian lowland and one degree C in northern Siberia. Precipitation in the west comes primarily from the Atlantic Ocean, and in the Far East from the Pacific Ocean, ranging between 100 mm a year in semidesert areas of the lowlands near the Caspian Sea to 2,000 mm in the Caucasus and Altai Mountains.

From «Investment Guide for the Russian Federation»

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I.Give your impressions of:

1.the largest plains of Russia; 2. mountain chains and the highest peaks; 3. Russia’s rivers and lakes.

II.Think and answer.

1.How large is the territory of the Russian Federation?

2.Why does the climate of Russia vary greatly in different parts of the country?

TEXT 4D. MOSCOW, THE CAPITAL OF RUSSIA

Study the following text and answer the questions.

In the early 19th century the prominent Russian historian Nikolay Karamzin said: «If you want to know Russia go to Moscow.» By the end of the 20th century we have every reason to repeat these words.

It is the city where every stone breathes history.

Moscow was founded in 1147 by the Prince of Suzdal, Jury Dolgoruky. Although there were settlements on the site of modern city long before 1147, this was the year when Moscow was first mentioned in the written records. Moscow has the priority right to be the capital of the Russian State. Its wise founder built it in the middle of a densely populated country. It is protected by rivers and a fortress. In the opinion of many scientists the city will never loose its significance and the leading role in the development of the country.

Moscow, like ancient Rome, stands on seven hills. The principle is the Borovitsky, the hill on which the Kremlin stands.

Moscow’s early architecture was simple but expressive. The larger part of the city was occupied by private houses made of wood. But such city’s structures as fortress walls, bridges, churches and cathedrals were made of brick and white stone decorated with ceramic. Eventually these buildings crested Moscow’s architectural image of a city of white stone.

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Large-scale stone construction was performed during the reign of Catherine the Great. Several firstclass foreign architects were invited to build a number of architectural monuments in Western style. Some of them have survived to our days and are carefully preserved by the city authorities.

In 1812 during Napoleon’s invasion a terrible fire raged in the city for several days. It was calculated that more then 7,000 buildings were destroyed and the city’s central area was completely gone. This disaster, however, prompted a real housing boom. Standard projects had to be used to facilitate rapid restoration of the city and preserve the city’s architectural uniformity. This task was successfully carried out. As a result a great number of stone houses with much better facilities appeared in the city. They were completely different from those of the previous years.

As the time passed, the city’s boundaries expanded considerably. New dwelling districts and industrial enterprises were built on the outskirts of the city.

A major feature of Moscow’s present development is the establishment of the industries requiring highly-skilled labour, and the branches producing high-quality apparatus, as well as the development of new technologies and know-how.

Alongside industrial development much attention is paid by the city administration to the construction of cultural, educational institutions and sports facilities.

In recent years the population of Moscow reached 10 million and it is still growing. This resulted in large-scale migration of people. Muscovites move from one district to another, when they get new flats and for other reasons. All that calls for further development and improvement of the city’s transport services. Transport is a serious problem for all large cities of the world. The capitals of major states are often unable to solve it. Moscow also has a transport problem. The most convenient means of transport in Moscow is, of course, the Metro. Besides it there are busses, trolley busses and trams. The total length of their routes is constantly increasing. But nevertheless there is permanent need for new and more comfortable means of transport.

Roads constitute another aspect of the transport problem. Having reconstructed many of the existing streets and roads the city authorities started to build new roads which are to link several city districts between the Moscow Circular Highway and the Sadovoye Ring Road.

So instead of the traditional monocentric system the city gets polycentric planning according to which Moscow complex zones are united by a system of general city centre. The territory within Sadovoye Ring Road will retain its significance as a historical, cultural, educational and administrative public centre, the seat of the

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Government and the Parliament. All the valuable architectural monuments as well as parks and old streets with their unique buildings will remain untouched.

Moscow today is an enormous city whose infrastructure is traditional for every megapolis with first-rate hotels, restaurants, theatres, exhibition halls, shops and gigantic transport arteries. But in spirit Moscow remains its old self, open, hospitable and festive, and, consequently, has the right, as ever, to be called the heart of Russia.

1.When was Moscow first mentioned in the written records?

2.Why has Moscow the priority right to be the capital of the Russian State?

3.Why is Moscow called a city of white stone?

4.What’s the reason of large-scale migration of Muscovites?

5.How is the transport problem solved by Moscow’s authorities?

6.What is a specific feature of Moscow’ planning?

7.Why do people call Moscow the heart of Russia?

Read the following text and get ready to render its contents in English.

Велика наша страна! Протянулась она с севера на юг - от холодного Северного Ледовитого океана до теплого Черного моря, с востока на запад - от Тихого океана до Украины, Белоруссии, Прибалтики. Откуда взялось такое название - Россия?

В стародавние времена нашу Родину называли Русью. Слово «Русь», как полагают некоторые ученые, произошло от слова «русло». Русло - это ложе реки, по которому она течет меж берегов. «Русалка» - сказочное существо, которое часто встречается в русских народных сказках, обитательница рек и озер, - тоже от слова «русло».

Русь населена была русскими, то есть людьми, жившими возле воды, по берегам рек и озер. Река поила и кормила. По ней можно было сплавлять лес, добираться на лодках до других селений. Посмотрев на карту, мы увидим, что и сейчас города и поселки строятся по берегам рек и озер.

У северян, живущих ближе к Северному Ледовитому океану, где солнце бывает реже и светит не так ярко, как на юге, «русью» называют то место в доме, где светло, где пригревает солнышко. Спелую рожь крестьяне называли «русой», человека со светлыми волосами - «русым».

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Русь - светлое место. Это страна света, солнца, добрых людей. Русских называли еще россами. Отсюда и слово «россияне», и название страны, где они живут, - Россия. Такое название в языке закрепилось с ХV века, когда русские стали объединяться в одно государство.

Think and do

I. Write notes of those parts of our country, which have the highest and the lowest densities of population. Explain the reasons.

II. You are planning a visit to Moscow for some foreign businessmen. Write an outline for a sightseeing tour of Moscow for them.

III. Set your imagination free and tell us what would you have told people about our life if you have found yourself in Moscow two centuries ago.

IV.List the differences and similarities between the UK parliamentary system and that of Russia.

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