Language and Grammar Repetition. Ex 40. If you were planning to visit St Petersburg, what other important facts you would be interested in

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Speaking Activity

Ex 40. If you were planning to visit St Petersburg, what other important facts you would be interested in. Make notes.

e.g. Art galleries

I am interested in arts. I would like to visit art galleries in St Petersburg.

Ex. 41. Make up short dialogues. Using the pair of adjectives and appropriate modifier.

e.g. A: That painting’s rather valuable, isn’t it?

B: Valuable? You are joking. It’s absolutely priceless.

1. cold – freezing 2. big – enormous 3. good – marvelous 4. wet – soaked

5. frightened – terrified 6. bad – revolving 7. difficult – impossible 8. hungry – starving

Ex. 42. Study the dialogues and act them out.

A: I’d like you to give me a piece of advice. You seem to be quite experienced in organizing Russian tours.

B: Any problems? In any case you are welcome!

A: I’m planning to visit Russia. But Russia is probably best known among foreigners for its well-traipsed [= зд. освоенный, затасканный] routes of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

B: Exactly. The introduction points for the average tourists and about as far as many are likely to venture.

A: And for those seeking something else?

B: May be the Golden Ring. Have you ever heard of it. It is a group of towns and cities once played an important political, spiritual and cultural role in ancient Russia with host of restored churches, monasteries, fortresses, rich mueums and preserved wooden villages.

A: Like ancient capitals of ancient Greece, Pella, Virginia. But I am not keen on artisan heritage and old ruins.

B: You don’t seem to be fond of natural beauty. But if it is really so, Altai may be your choice.

A: Sounds unfamiliar.

B: So-called golden mountains of Altai are noted for being among the most beautiful and primordial parts of Siberia.

A: Untouched and undiscovered by Western tourists, you mean… Golden Ring, Golden mountains. Too much gold for Russians.

B: Golden is really great for them. The Altain mountains is everything: diverse landscape of steppe, taiga, semi-desert, exceptionally clear water of their lakes, mysterious rock drawing, tombs beneath mounds. Scientists say all civilization originated from here.

A: Do they? Never heard. But is there any comfort, modern facilities?

B: According to Russian statistics 200000 tourists visited Altai in 1999. But to tell the truth, the local resorts are 5 hours away from the international airport at Barnaul and are not connected to one another.

A: You mean access to some areas is rather difficult.

B: Right. Sometimes only possible by helicopter, horseback or on foot. Look disappointed?

A: Not yet. But it strikes me. The way how to get people and and the country, may be to cross it by train – Trans Siberian express along the mystical Trans Siberian Railroad, the longest continentous rail line on Earth.

B: Golden ideas, as Russians would say. We should discuss it later.

A: My foreign pall-pen would like to visit our country. He asked me to clear up some official routines for him to go to Russia.

B: You are welcome. What would you like to know in particular?

A: To begin with how could my foreign friend get into Russia?

B: In accordance with the Act on the State Border of the Russian Federation you can go onto Russian territory by any convenient means of transport via specially equipped check-points at border crossings. In general, it is necessary for foreign visitors to obtain a visa before entering Russia.

A: I see, he needs a visa. What is the basis for obtaining?

B: Where does your friend live? Because there is a visa exclusion, made for certain categories of people of the former Soviet republics and a number of other countries.

A: He is from France. He lives in Lille. He has got French citizenship. I think France is a “visa” country.

B: Certainly, yes. So for the citizens of “visa” countries an officially executed invitation or a resolution of the Head of the Russian embassy or Consulate in his country constitutes grounds for obtaining the visa for visiting Russia. Depending on the purposes of his trip the invitation may be executed by a private individual or a Russian company.

A: Does it usually take a long period of time to get this visa?

B: My be, yes. But we do not recommend you to “buy” the invitations, even if you expect it to be less expensive and quicker. Otherwise the migration service may terminate your voyage before it has even started by virtue of the law.

A: May I send the invitation directly to him?

B: Of course. He can get the invitation directly from the person he intends to visit. But mind, there are private, tourist, business, work, transits, humanitarian, diplomatic and service visas. So try your best to make the real aim of your friend visit correspondent to the one specified in your visa.

A: And what about obtaining a year-period visa? Is it possible at all? As far as I know there are single, double and multiple entry Russian visas.

B: Sorry, no “accumulating” system of obtaining Russian visas has been introduced within the legislation (= законодательство) as it is in Schengen countries. This means that in case you manage to show good reason you might be granted a multiple entry visa. Such reasons should be presented by receiving Russian party.

Ex. 43. Read and translate the following word combinations.

1) well placed 2) enthusiastically made 3) closely related 4) highly developed 5) well served 6) rarely visited 7) strongly recommended 8) well done

9) scarcely populated 10) delicately fashioned 11) perfectly organized 12) financially supported 13) completely restored 14) dramatically changed 15) severely treated 16) deeply concerned

Ex. 44. Translate from English into Russian.

1. The Kremlin (translated from Greek, the word means “a steep hill”) and Red Square are definitely the main Moscow sights, the symbol of Russia.

2. Not far from the Tsar-Bell there is the 40-ton Tsar-Cannon – the masterpiece of the 16-th century foundry – which has never been used for its purpose.

3. The intricate towers and walls of the Moscow Kremlin were built to a design of the Italian architects in the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, because the first walls were made of wood, later replaced by thick oak logs (= бревна).

4. Around the Kremlin the entire Moscow’s territory was limited to the five rings, historically marking the city’s boundaries of the past centuries.

5. Kitai-gorod surrounded with wide and deep moat (= ров) appeared in the middle of the 16-th century and hid behind its walls and towers the entire settlement called “posad” of Moscow to protect it.

6. Later on, Beliy gorod (White Town) was raised, and then a new town – Zemlyanoy gorod (Ground Town) – appeared with High Ground rampart (Zemlyanoy val) and wooden walls on the top of it and deep moats around it.

7. In the old days it was possible to enter Moscow through the special gates some street names remind us of.

8. In the 18-th century Zemlyanoy val was replaced by the streets and boulevards called Boulevard Ring giving rise to the third ring – Sodovoye Koltso (Garden Ring) – running for nearly 16 km round the centre of the city.

9. At present the area of Moscow encircled by Circular Road is about 900 square kilometers with more than 9 million people.

10. Though the Circular Road of 109 km long is the boundary of the modern city, the fourth largest city in the world, there are many districts outside it.

Ex. 45. Read and explain the grammar rules of the underlined parts in the sentences.

1. In about 70 kilometers from Moscow Sergiev Posad used to be for along time the spiritual life center, sort of Russian Vatican, famous for its Troitse-Sergiev Lavra («a major monastery» in Greek), which was founded in the fourteenth century by Sergei of Radonezh, who was canonized during his life.

2. Suzdal', the most fabulous place of the Golden Ring that has hardlychanged for the past millenium will greet you with tolling of bells and more than 200 architecture monuments - the Kremlin, trading rows, several monasteries, lots of big and small churches where on every corner «medovukha» is sold, an ancient Russian drink, sort of honey beer.

3. Rostov Veliky (Rostov-the-Great), the oldest city of the north-east Rus' first actually mentioned in chronicles in 862 is situated by the lake whose name - Nero - means «muddy, silty» because on its bottom there is a thick layer of silt (= ил), up to 20 meters used for fertilizing fields, and the towers of the Rostov’s Kremlin impressing with their white-stone architectureare reflected in the lake's water.

4. Completing the circle route of the Golden Ring we’ll get to Vladimir, once the capital of the Russian state, a big industrial center now, but it is worth visiting at least to see the frescoes by the great Russian icon-painter Andrei Rublev in the Uspensky (Dormition) Cathedral, and majestic Golden Gate.

Ex. 46. Translate the text paying attention to Grammar and explain what grammatical and lexical features are typical for formal travel guide texts or geography books. Words in bold may help.

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