Omsk

OMSK

Omsk is one of the largest and most beautiful cit­ies of Western Siberia. It was founded by Lieutenant - Colonel Ivan Buchgoltz in 1716 as a fortress to repel the attacks of Tatar tribes. Now Omsk is one of the leading centers of modern indus­try, science, education and culture. The population of the city is more than a million people.

Omsk is situated on the banks of the Irtysh and the Om rivers. Both of them are very picturesque.

Like any old town Omsk has an interesting and event­ful history. The famous Russian writer F. M. Dostoevsky spent here 4 years. That was the time when the writer was imprisoned in Omsk fortress for his political views.

Shortly after the 1917 revolution, anti-bolshevik "white" forces seized control of Omsk. The "Siberian Regional Government of Russia" was established here in 1918, headed by the famous polar explorer and honored war hero Admiral Alexander Kolchak. Omsk was proclaimed the capital of Russia.

The city became very important after the beginning of the World War II - because it was both far from the fighting and had a well-developed infrastructure, Omsk was a perfect location for much of the industry evacuated away from the front in 1941.

In its old times Omsk was a small provincial town with narrow dirty streets and wooden houses. Nowadays Omsk is the city of wide and straight streets lined with trees and bushes, nice squares, shadowy parks and multistorey apartment houses. Of course, there is a number of problems that are typical for all large cities, they are: the problem of overcrowded transport, the housing problem, unemployment, water and air pollution but they are the problems of the whole country today. In spite of that it is pretty good to live here. Omsk is a beautiful and green city. It is a common knowledge that it ranges very high among the cities of Siberia from this point of view.

Omsk is also an important industrial, cultural and educational centre. Products of Omsk manufacturers are in high demand in Russia and other countries. Omsk industry occupies the fourth place in Russia in terms of total output. The main branches of industry are power engineering, petro-chemical industry, machine–building and metallurgy industries, timber-processing industries.

It goes without saying that Omsk is a city of students. Omsk universities and colleges are well known for its high level education in different branches of knowledge: medicine, transport, agriculture, law, economics, business, pedagogy, natural sciences, philology, history, culture and arts. Students from other cities and countries study at Omsk institutions of higher education. Totally there are more than twenty higher educational institutions in our city.

The cultural attractions include a number of remarkable theatres (the Drama Theatre, the Music Theatre, the Puppet Theatre, the Theatre of Young Specta­tors), the Concert Hall, the Organ Hall, the circus, sev­eral magnificent museums, various exhibition halls, picture-galleries, recreation centres, modern cinema- halls. The pride of our city is the building of Pushkin library which is not only the centre of education in our city but also a unique architectural ensemble.

The city has rich sports traditions. There are 1988 sports constructions in operation in Omsk including 7 stadiums, 427 sports halls and 55 swimming pools. Every year such sports events as Siberian International Marathon, All-Russian Day of Running "Cross-country Race of Nations", "Velo-Omsk" sports festival, etc. take place. Omsk sportsmen win prizes in Olympics and Paralympics, European and world championships.

Our city is remarkable not only for its history and beauty but for its people too. Omsk townsfolk are proud of their famous fellow-citizens (M.Vrubel, K. Belov, A.Liberov, M.Ulyanov, L.Polischuk, I.Tchaschina, A.Tischenko and others). Some of our contemporary writers and poets, singers and dancers, artists and musicians, as well as athletes, have brought a world-wide fame to the city.

Day by day Omsk is growing and becoming more and more beautiful. We cannot help loving our native place and its people.

VOCABULARY

fortress	крепость
tribe	племя
bank	берег
picturesque	живописный
population	население
eventful	богатый событиями
to be imprisoned	быть заключенным
to seize	захватывать
decorated	зд. награжденный
to proclaim	провозглашать, объявлять
wooden	деревянный
narrow	узкий
multistorey	многоэтажный
straight	прямой
to be in demand	пользоваться спросом
in terms	с точки зрения
output	объем производства
power engineering	энергетика
timber-processing	деревообрабатывающий
cultural institution	культурное учреждение
remarkable	замечательный
magnificent	великолепный
exhibition hall	выставочный зал
recreation centre	развлекательный центр
in operation	действующий
townsfolk	горожане, городское население
fellow-citizen	земляк (житель того же города)
to bring fame to	прославить

Exercises

I. Give synonyms to the following words:

large, famous, painter, places of interest, several, dif­ferent, townspeople, splendid, boulevard, old, person, broad, modern.

II. Give antonyms to the following words:

new, famous, narrow, clean, ancient, big, short, curved.

III. Choose the appropriate form of the verb "to be" in brackets and translate the sentences:

1. There (are, is) several beautiful squares and parks in our city.

2. There (is, are) 6 modern cinemas here.

3. There (was, were) no night clubs in Omsk 20 years ago.

4. In Tarskaya Street there (is, was) a monu­ment to Dostoevsky.

5. There (are, is) the Uspensky Cathedral in the centre of the city.

6. There (are, were) not many banks in Omsk 10 years ago.

7. Now there (is, are) a lot of banks here.

9. There (are, is) lots of recreation centres in Omsk now.

10. There (was, were) no multistorey houses in the old Omsk.

11. In Omsk there (were, are) 5 districts now.

IV. Answer the following questions paying attention to the construction "there is/are ":

1. How many modern cinemas are there in the city now?

2. Are there any big banks in Omsk?

3. Is there a circus in the city?

4. What theatres are there on the right bank?

5. Are there any museums and picture-galleries in our city?

6. How many universities are there in Omsk?

7. What cultural and recreation institutions are there in the centre of the city?

8. Are there any sports facilities in Omsk?

9. Are there many sights in Omsk?

10. Are there many supermarkets in Omsk?

V. Translate the following sentences into Russian. Pay attention to the usage of the Present Perfect Tense:

1. Our city has become an important educational and sci­entific centre of Western Siberia.

2. Several modern cinemas have been built in Omsk recently.

3. Many foreign tourists have already visited Omsk.

4. I have often (always) spent my spare time in the sub­urbs of the city.

5. The gymnast E.O. Kanaeva, our fellow-citizen, has gained a world-wide fame.

6. The central streets of our city have become much cleaner lately.

7. I haven't been to the Puppet Theatre since childhood.

8. Have you ever visited the Organ Hall?

VI. Answer the following questions according to the model:

Model: - Have you ever been to Moscow?

- Yes, I have. I have been to Moscow several times.

- No, I haven't. I have never been to Moscow.

1. Have you ever been to the town of Tara?

2. Have you ever been to the zoo?

3. Have you ever been to the Organ Hall?

4. Have you ever visited the Vrubel Museum of Fine Arts?

5. Have you ever visited the Puppet Theatre?

6. Have you ever gone to the circus?

7. Have you ever gone out of town?

8. Have you ever seen any performance in the Drama Theater?

9. Have you ever listened to the Omsk Symphony Orchestra?

VII. Form the degrees of comparison of the following adjectives:

powerful, large, dirty, big, wide, great, early, picturesque, many, beautiful, magnificent, old, popular, interesting, fa­mous, original, good, favourite.

VIII. Put the adjectives in brackets into the required degree of comparison:

1. Omsk is (large) than Tobolsk.

2. Herzen Street is the (long) street in the city.

3. Omsk is one of the (old) cities in Siberia.

4. The Irtysh is (wide) than the Tobol.

5. The Amusement Green Island Entertainment is one of the (favourite) places of the citi­zens.

6. There are (many) industrial enterprises on the right bank of the city than on the left one.

7. The State Museum of Regional Studies is the (magnificent).

8. Near the Music Theatre you can see one of the (good) fountains of our city.

IX. Insert prepositions where necessary:

1. Omsk is one ... the largest cities ... West Siberia.

2. It is situated ... the Irtysh and the Om rivers.

3. Our city is famous ... its wonderful cathedrals.

4. We are proud ... our famed fellow-citizens.

5. Omsk is a city ... a new type ... wide straight avenues running ... it.

6. There are a lot ... monuments ... famous people ... our city.

7. ... Omsk higher schools we can mention the Teachers Training University, the Service Institute, the State University, the Medical Academy, the Polytechnic University and others.

8. Colourful public merry-makings (гулянья) take place ... the streets, parks and squares ... our city ... different holidays.

X. Complete the sentences from the text:

1. Omsk was founded as ... .

2. The population of the city is …

3. Omsk is situated on …

4. The favourite places of our citizens and tourists are ... .

5. A great Russian writer F.M. Dostoevsky spent....

6. The cultural and recreation centres include ....

7. One of the most famous places of interest in Omsk is ... .

XI. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Омск - крупный промышленный, культурный и образовательный центр Сибири.

2. Наш город расположен на берегах рек Иртыша и Оми.

3. Старый Омск - это маленький город с узки­ми грязными улицами и деревянными домами.

4. Многие известные люди жили в нашем городе и посещали его.

5. Сейчас в нашем городе много широких проспек­тов, красивых площадей, скверов и фонтанов.

6. Краеведческий музей - самый великолепный музей Омска.

7. Библиотека Пушкина – не только центр образования в нашем городе, но и уникальный архитектурный ансамбль.

8. За последние годы Омск стал крупным со­временным городом с красивыми многоэтажными зда­ниями, множеством супермаркетов, ресторанов, кафе, кинотеатров и ночных клубов.

9. Каждый год в Омске проходит Сибирский Международный Марафон.

10. Достопримечательности Омска включают в себя множество памятников и мемориалов, соборов и музеев.

11. Мы гордимся нашим городом.

XII. Answer the following questions:

1. Is Omsk your native city?

2. When was Omsk founded?

3. Who was its founder?

4. Where is it situated?

5. What is it famous for?

6. What was Omsk like in its old times?

7. What famous people visited our town and lived in it?

8. Can you mention some of our famed fellow-citizens?

9. What do you think the most serious problems of the city are?

10. What are the main branches of industry in Omsk?

11. What are your favourite places in Omsk?

12. Where can our citizens enjoy themselves?

13. What is your favourite theatre (cinema, museum, night club, cafe, fountain)?

14. Can you prove that Omsk is a big cultural and educational centre?

15. What sights would you show to the guests of our city?

16. What monument is the most original (interesting) one in your opinion?

17. Can we say that Omsk is a beautiful, clean and hospitable city?

XIII. Tell about Omsk.