Text C. Looking at the map of Russia

TEXT B. THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE

— I know that there are many types of natural scenery in England. But what is there in the English landscape that strikes the eye of the stranger used to other countries?

— Its "park-like" appearance, I believe. England in truth looks like one great well-ordered park with its old trees, green meadows and hedges.[66]

— But as far as I know the hedges take up a consider­able part of soil suitable for ploughing.

— They do. But the Englishman loves the green of En­gland with its hedges, tender-green in spring, covered with leaf and flower in summer, a blaze of gold and red in autumn. In winter too they are still beautiful with a few scarlet berries almost burning in the frost.

— And yet, if England swept away her hedges and put in their place fences the saving of land would be enormous.

— But much of the park-like beauty of the countryside would be gone and with it the peculiar character of the En­glish landscape.

— I hear there are a lot of lovely gardens all along the English countryside. Are English people fond of gardening?

— They are. Almost every one in England tries to come in touch with a bit of plant life. In the East of London you may see workingman's "flats" with their window gardens. In the West End, land which is worth many thousands of pounds per acre is devoted to garden use. In the small suburban vil­las a very considerable tax of money and labour is paid in the effort to keep in good order a little pocket handkerchief of lawn and a few shrubs.

— Well, I think that this proves that the Englishman is at heart a great lover of nature, though he is supposed to be such a prosaic and practical person.

— I'd like you to tell me something about your country.

— I think the best way to get a general idea of a country is to study the map. It's lucky I've got one with me. Here it is.

— Perhaps we had better start with the physical outline of the country.

— Well, Russia can be divided roughly into two main re­gions — the highlands in the east and the lowlands covering the greater part of the country, with a long mountain range cutting it into two unequal parts.

— You mean the Urals. They form the natural border be­tween Europe and Asia. But the highest mountain chains, as far as I can see are situated in the south and the south-east of the country. What do you call them?

— The Caucasus, between the Caspian and the Black Sea and the Altai in Asia.

— I'd love to go there. My hobby is mountaineering. But our mountains are not so high as yours, as far as I know.

— I believe they are not We have peaks four and a half miles high. But we also have lowlands several hundred feet below sea level. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midlands, tundra and taiga in the north.

— What are the "steppes"?

— They are treeless plains covered with grass. The soil is fertile there.

— And is the tundra like our heather moors?

— Not in the least. It's a kind of frozen desert in the Arc­tic region.

— And what is the 'taiga', I wonder?

— It's a thick coniferous forest stretching to the south of the tundra. It's rich in animals, valued for their fur like sa­ble, fox, squirrel.

— I'd like to go hunting there, but I'm afraid I would never be able to stand toe cold.

— Our climate is also varied. In the south-west the weather is usually mild and wet; northern Asia is one of the coldest places on earth, and in the south the heat is unbear­able. But in the middle of the country the climate is moder­ate and continental.

— Well, it has been very interesting for me to hear all those things. Thank you very much for your information.

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