Learning foreign languages

The problem of learning foreign languages is very important today. Students should learn foreign languag­es. They became important especially at the present time. Foreign languages are needed as the main and most effi­cient means of information exchange between the peo­ple of our planet.

Today English is the language of the world. Over 350 (three hundred and fifty) million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, in the United States of America, Austral­ia and New Zealand. English is one of the official lan­guages in the Irish Republic, Canada and South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US colonies.

It is the major international language for communi­cation in such areas as science, technology, business and mass media. English ought to be used as one of the offi­cial languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organizations. It is the language of com­puter software, literature, education, modern music, international tourism.

Learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and pa­tience. But every educated person, every good specialist has to know English, because it is absolutely necessary nowadays.

It is well known that reading books in the original, talking with the English speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you are to learn the culture and history of the native speakers. You may learn any foreign language. They are all important.

Words

especially — особенно efficient — эффективный

major — главный means — средство exchange — обмен area — область

software — компьютерные программы

patience — терпение

necessary — необходимый

native speakers — носители языка (те, для кого язык родной)

СЕМИНАР 3

Russia

1. My home country is called the Russian Federation or Russia. It is one of the largest countries in the world. It occupies almost one-seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers.

2. Russia borders on many countries such as China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the South, it is bounded on the West by Norway, Finland, Belorussia, Estonia, Latvia and the Ukraine.

3. There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south; plains and forests in the midlands; tundra and taiga in the North; highlands and deserts in the East. The Russian Federation is located on two plains, the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Plain.

4. There are several mountain chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.

5. On the vast territory of Russia there are various types of climate. In the central part of Russia the climate is rather mild. The climate in the south is tropical with hot summers and warm winters. Northern Asia is the coldest place and in the middle of the country the climate is moderate and continental.

6. Russia is a land of long rivers and deep lakes. The longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena in Asia. The Volga river flows into the Caspian Sea which is in reality the largest lake in the world. Perhaps, the most notable lake is Lake Baikal. Located near the Mongolian border, it is the deepest freshwater lake (1,600 meters) in the world. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.

7. The population of Russia is about 150 million people. The European part of the country is densely populated and most people live in cities, towns and their outskirts.

8. Russia ranks first in the world for reserves of coal, iron ore, oil, natural gas, copper, gold, nickel, etc. It possesses the world's greatest hydropower resources and timber reserves.

9. Approximately 10 million people are engaged in agriculture and they produce grain, meat, milk and other dairy products.

10. The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow with the population of about 10 million people. It stands on the bank of the Moskva river. Moscow is famous for its historical and architectural monuments, museums, art galleries and theatres. It is a political, administrative, economic, educational and cultural centre of the country.

11. Under the Constitution adopted in 1993 Russia is a Presidential Republic. The federal government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by the President.

12. The legislative power in the country belongs to the Federal Assembly. It consists of two Chambers. The Lower Chamber of the Federal Assembly is the State Duma. It is made up of 450 deputies. The Duma introduces, considers and adopts new bills. But in order to become a law, the bill must be enforced by the Council of Federation and signed by the President. The President may veto the bill. The State Duma may override the veto. The Upper Chamber is the Council of Federation. It is made up of the representatives of all the subjects of the Federation (two representatives from each subject).The Council enforces federal laws adopted by the State Duma and all the decrees issued by the President. The deputies of the State Duma are elected by popular vote for a four-year term. Each Chamber is headed by the Speaker who is elected by the members of the Chambers.

13. The executive power belongs to the Government, which is headed by the Chairman of the Government. The first action of the Chairman on appointment is to form the Cabinet.

14. The President is head of the state and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He enforces Federal laws adopted by the Federal Assembly. The President also forms the Government and appoints the Chairman of the Government whose candidacy must be approved by the State Duma.

15. The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Arbitrary Court and the regional courts. The Constitutional Court may veto any federal law adopted by the Federal Assembly, or a decree issued by the President if the Court regards them contradictory to the Constitution.

16. Russia has always played an important role in the world and the younger generation must do very much to make Russia strong and powerful.

TYUMEN CITY

1. On the physical map of Russia right away beyond the Ural Mountains a large territory is painted green, this is West-Siberian Plain. On its western outlying districts there is Tyumen, the capital of oil and gas region, which is as large as France, Spain, Italy and Austria taken together. The name of Tyumen is well-known all over the world.

2. Tyumen, the first Russian town of Siberia - "the mother of Siberian towns", "the gate to Siberia"- was an ordinary town of vast Tobolsk province for four centuries and only in August 1944 it became the centre of the largest in the country Tyumen region.

3. The founders of the town chose a wonderful place for it. Its history goes back to 1586. Tyumen was established as a fortress on the Tura river on the place of the ancient Tatar town called Chingi-Tura. Chingi-Tura was founded in the 14th century and was unyoked by Yermak from Tatar-Mongol in 1581. In the early 17th century the first road was built and at the end of the 18th century Tyumen became a trans-shipping point from the Urals to Siberia. Tyumen was also the first station of trans-Siberian Railway, built in the late 19th century and the place where Siberian shipbuilding originated. At that time Tyumen was a little dirty town with wooden houses.

4. But it was born anew on June 21, 1960, the day on which oil was found near a little forest village called Shayom. Very soon further discoveries showed the northern part of Western Siberia possesses incredible quantities of oil and natural gas. Near to the oil town a new one has risen on the wastelands and marshes, a fine modern town with wide streets, high-rise blocks and lots of greenery.

5. Nowadays Tyumen is not only an oil town, it is a cultural, industrial and educational centre of Western Siberia with a highly developed and quite a diversified Industry. Its plants are well-known in Russia and abroad. Among them there are machine-building, electronics-engineering, medical equipment, motor-building plants. 

6. Tyumen is also a scientific and educational centre. It has two universities, different colleges, Agricultural, Medical, Military and Building academies, International institute of Economy and Law, Institute of Culture and Arts. There are a great number of secondary schools, liceums and gymnasia.

7. There are more than 40 research and design institutes mostly working on problems connected with the development of the gas and oil deposits. A lot of scientific workers provide the theoretical basis for prospecting work. Due to their work 192 deposits had been discovered of which Samatlor (oil) and Urengoy (gas) are the largest in the world. Some oil pipelines run from the Tyumen oilfields. They pump Siberian oil to refineries both in the east and west of our country and to the countries in Europe. Since the discovery of oil and gas deposits Tyumen has grown considerably. Now it covers the area more than 86 square kilometres and the multinational population of Tyumen is about 600000 people. Many beautiful parks, squares and historical memorials decorate the improving image of the ancient town.

8. There are many museums, libraries, five magnificent Houses of Culture, the Puppet and Drama theatres, the Concert Hall, named after Yuri Gulyaev in Tyumen. It has a unique collection of masterpieces in its Picture gallery. Many permanent exhibitions of Siberian national arts and skills attract tourists' attention. Tyumenians like sport very much. There are several stadiums, many gyms, swimming pools, the Sport Palace in Tyumen.

9. Tyumen is famous for its places of interest. They are: numerous monuments, architectural ensembles, historical places, medieval churches. Most of them are situated in the old part of the town. Znamenskaya Church, built in 1800, the Trinitry Monastery, the first stone building in the town, Peter and Paul's Church, Blagoveschenskaya Church, made by Fyodor Tchaika and Kirill Shadrin are very attractive. The marvellous building of the Museum of History and Etnography, founded in 1920, and a lot of wooden houses, bearing the Siberian architecture traditions, decorate our town. In the building of the Polish Roman Catholic Church the lovers of music may listen to the magnificent sounds of the organ.

10. Tyumenians like their town. They are proud of its history and its people. Tyumen region is a birthplace of Mendeleyev, a great Russian chemist, Alyabjev, a composer, and Ershov, a fairy-tale teller. Thousands of people work hard to make their region prosperous.

СЕМИНАР 4

GREAT BRITAIN

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situatedon the British Isles.It consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

England, Wales and Scotland occupythe territory of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated in the northern part of Ireland. The territory of the United Kingdom is about 244000 square kilometers. The popu­lationis over 56 million people. The capital of the Unit­ed Kingdom is London.

The surface of the United Kingdom variesgreatly. The northern and the western parts of the country are moun­tainous and are called the Highlands. All the rest is a vast plainwhich is called the Lowlands. The mountains are not very high.The rivers are not very long. The most im­portant of them are the Severn and the Thames. There are many beautiful lakesin the mountainouspart of the country.

The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm wa­ters of the Gulf Stream influence the climateof Great

Britain. It is mild the whole year round. Winters are not cold and summers are not hot.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial coun­try. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of iron and steel products, machinery and electronics, chemicals and textile. One of the industries is shipbuilding.

Great Britain is a country with old cultural traditions and customs. The most famous educational centers are Oxford and Cambridge universities. They are considered to be the intellectual centers of Europe. The education is not free, it is very expensive.

The United Kingdom is a monarchy and the Queen is the head of the state. But in practice it is ruled by the government with the Prime Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

There are three main political parties in Great Brit­ain: the Labour party, the Conservative party and the Liberal party.

Words

to be situated — быть расположенным

British Isles — Британские острова

to occupy — занимать

surface — поверхность

to vary — меняться

high— высокий

low— низкий

land — земля, страна

plain — равнина

vast — огромный

lake — озеро

mountainous — гористый

shipbuilding — кораблестроение

education — образование

free — бесплатный

expensive — дорогой

to influence — влиять

climate — климат

mild — мягкий

industry — промышленность

population — население

develop — развивать

to produce — производить

to export — экспортировать

chemicals — продукты химической промышлен­ности

textile — текстиль

government — правительство

chamber — палата

to rule — править

LONDON

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and commercial centre. It is one of the largest cities in the world and the largest city in Europe. Its pop­ulation is about 8 million.

London is situated on the river Thames. The city is very old. It has more than 20 centuries old history. Tra­ditionally it is divided into several parts, the City, West­minster, the West End and the East, End. They are very different from each other.

The City is the oldest part of London, its financial and business centre. Numerous banks, offices and firms are concentrated here. Few people live in the City but over a million come to work here. There are two places of inter­est in the City: St. Paul's Cathedraland the Tower of London. St. Paul's Cathedral was built in the 17th cen­tury by the architect Christopher Wren. The Tower of London was built in the 15th century. It was used as a fortress, a palace and a prison.Now it's a museum.

Westminster is the aristocratic official part of Lon­don. There are Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives and the Houses of Parliament along the north bank of the Thames.

The clock towerof the Houses of Parliament is famous for its big hour bell known as «Big Ben». Westminster Abbey is the place where the coronation of nearly all kings and queens has taken place. Many of them are buried here as well as some other famous people of the country.

The West End is the richest and most beautiful part of London. The best hotels,restaurants, shops, clubs, parks and houses are situated there. There are many tour­ists there from different countries of the world.

Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of Lon­don, it was named in the memoryof Admiral Nelson's victory in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The tall Nel­son's Column stands in the middle of the square.

The East End is an industrial district of London. There are many factories there. The region is densely populat­edby working class families.

Words

capital— столица

centre— центр

numerous— многочисленный

palace— дворец

fortress— крепость

cathedral— собор

hotel— гостиница

prison— тюрьма

clock tower — колокольня

monument — памятник

memory — память

museum— музей

residence — резиденция

official — официальный

densely — плотно

populated — населено