Practise the pronunciation of the following words and phrases.

The Russian Federation

Warm-up

Answer the following questions:

1. Where in Russia do you come from?

2. Is it a good place to live?

3. What would you enjoy about living in Russia?

4. What would you miss if you lived abroad?

5. Do you know any foreigners living in your country? What do they like about it? What do they find different?

6. When do you have celebratory meals in our country?

I. Practise saying, translate and learn the vocabulary:

· in the eastern (western, southern, northern) part

· to be washed by

· to border on

· to vary, variety, various

· mountain chain

· to be rich in smth.

· natural and mineral resources

· to concentrate

· densely populated

· to cover

· to be famous for smth.

· specific craft

· wooden tableware; wood carving

· not long ago

· to perform

· however

· beverage

· cuisine

· arctic, subtropical climate; the temperate zone

· cold, windy, snowy, hot, dry, rainy, foggy

· the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere

· to be located

· the leading powers

· Head of Slate, government, Speaker, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court

· To consist of

· branches: legislative, executive and judicial

· to exercise

· the Federal Assembly

· chambers: the Council of Federation and the State Duma

· to be introduced to, to approve, to sign, to veto, to appoint, to elect, to be headed

· to make international treaties

· to belong to

· popular vote

· a white-blue-and-red banner

· the national anthem

· the coat-of-arms, a double-headed eagle

II. Read the text and translate the italicized word combinations.

RUSSIA

Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. The vast territory of Russia lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia.

Russia is washed by twelve seas and three oceans. The oceans are: the Arctic, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. The seas are the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and others.

Russia borders on many countries, such as Mongolia and China in the south-east, Finland and Norway in the north-west and soon.

The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys. The main mountain chains are the Urals, the Caucasus and the Altai. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes on its territory. The longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena in Asia. The largest lakes are Ladoga and Baikal. The Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and its water is the purest on the earth.

The Russian Federation is rich in natural and mineral resources. It has deposits of oil, gas, coal, iron, gold and many others. Three quarters (3/4) of the country's minerals and fuels, including oil, natural gas, coal, diamonds and gold are concentrated in Siberia and the Far East. There are also iron ores near Kursk and in the Urals, where half of the world’s variety of minerals can be found.

The European part of the country is densely populated, and the most part of the population lives in cities and towns and their suburbs. The Russia's territory covers 17,075 million square kilometers. The population of Russia is 146.5 million, of which 83 per cent are Russians. There are 1,030 towns and cities in the country. There are many villages in Russia famous for their specific crafts: painted boxes in Palekh, wooden tableware in Khokhloma, and toys in Dymkovo. Log houses usually decorated with wood carving are typical for Russian villages. Not long ago people in Russian villages performed traditional khorovods (a kind of round dance) and chastushki (folk chanted rhymes) and rode in troikas (carriages drawn by teams of three horses abreast). Now young people prefer modern dances, motorcycles and cars.

Traditional Russian cooking includes porridge, pancakes, various aspics, cabbage, chicken and fish soup, pies (turnovers), and kvass (a beverage made from fermented rye bread). Siberian cuisine has such dishes as stroganina (frozen fish) and pelmeni (meat-filled dumplings).

On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. But the temperate zone with four seasons prevails. Winters are cold, windy and snowy, and summers are hot and dry. Autumn brings rains and fogs. The coldest point of the northern hemisphere, where temperatures are minus 70" C, is located in Siberia.

There are 150 volcanoes in the Kamchatka Peninsula, 30 of which are active.

The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, with the population of about 10 million people.

Russia is a presidential republic. It is one of the leading powers in the world.

Head of Slate in Russia is the President. The government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The President controls each of them.

The legislative power is exercised by the Federal Assembly. It consists of two chambers: the Council of Federation and the State Duma. Each chamber is headed by the Speaker. A bill may be introduced to any chamber. A bill becomes a law if it is approved by both chambers and signed by the President. The President may veto the bill. He can make international treaties. The President may also appoint ministers; the Federal Assembly approves them. The members of the Federal Assembly are elected by popular vote for five years.

The executive power belongs to the Government, or the Cabinet of Ministers. The government is headed by the Prime Minister. The judicial power belongs to the system of courts. It consists of the Supreme Court and other courts.

The national symbol of Russia is a white-blue-and-red banner. The national anthem of Russia is composed by Alexandrov. The coat-of-arms is a double-headed eagle.

II. Language work

Practise the pronunciation of the following words and phrases.

Europe, Asia, world, the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Barents Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Baltic Sea, Mongolia, China, Finland, Norway, to vary, desert, valley, the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai, the Baikal, pure, the earth, the Russian Federation, natural and mineral resources, deposits, Siberia, iron ores, variety, the European part, kilometer, per cent, various, Siberian cuisine, temperatures, Peninsula, legislative, executive, judicial, the Federal Assembly, anthem.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 2027