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MARKAKOL ZAPOVEDNIK

Ø Pre-reading task:

1. Explain the meaning of the word “zapovednik”.

2. What zapovedniks of our country do you know?

 

In the serene* summertime, Lake Markakol resembles a precious* blue aquamarine set in a golden-green mountain chain* - a real treasure of rare beauty. The purity* of its water reminds Lake Baikal of long ago. Twenty-seven rivers flow* into Lake Markakol, and only one – the Kuldzhir river – flows out of it. Thirty-eight kilometers long, up to 19 kilometers wide, and 27 meters deep, the lake lies in a canyon framed* with the Kurchum mountain range in the north and the Azutau range in the south. Its water is fresh and soft, caressed* by wonderful taiga mountain air.

The Zapovednik – protected natural reserve* - was established in this unique area in 1976. The goals of the Zapovednik are to keep the picturesque landscape in its natural state as a standard of the Altai nature, to study its flora and fauna and increase the population of uskuch fish.

Deciduous* forests and conifers* at places cover the picturesque rocky ledges* of the mountains. Nineteen kinds of trees grow in the ravines*, close to the rivers, including rowan* trees, Siberian pine* trees, birches*, asps*, poplars*, and willows*. Shrubbery is also abundant: meadow-sweet*, bird-cherry tree*, honeysuckle*, sweetbrier*, buckthorn*, raspberry, black and red currants*.

Many species of flowers, medicinal plants such as the golden root, grow in the sub-Alpine grasslands* of the Zapovednik. Various fragrant grasses and mellifluous herbs* create favorable conditions for bee-keeping*.

The Zapovednik’s fauna is abundant* and varied. The lake’s main treasure is fish: lenok or uskuch of the salmon variety. Their weight reaches three and sometimes eight kilogrammes. Such a species of fish is a rarity elsewhere today. Feathered species in the Zapovednik include falcon*, silvery gull*, snipe*, partridge*, hazel-grouse*, black-grouse*, wood-grouse*, and ducks. Mammals include the brown bear, the fox, the Siberian stag, the hare, the lynx*, the squirrel, the wolverine*, the roe*, the sable, the marmot*, the ermine*, and others. The snow leopard, the red wolf, the marten*, and the black stork* are some of the Red book species living in the area. The Zapovednik creates conditions favorable to an increase* of many species.

 

Vocabulary:

 

 

Ø Make up questions (at least 5) to the text.

 

Ø Divide the following words into two columns:

 

PLANTS ANIMALS
willow  

Lynx, buckhorn, willow, wood-grouse, mellifluous herbs, roe, asp, falcon, ermine, sable, marten, sweetbrier, hazel-grouse, birch, partridge, bird-cherry tree, black stork, poplar, rowan, pine, marmot.


Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1069


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