The Capital of the Russian Federation

1. Moscow is the capital of Russia. It was first mentioned in the records dated back to the year 1147 and was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky.

2. Nowadays Moscow is the largest city of Russia. It is also one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is a political, administrative, economic, educational and cultural centre of the country.

3. The population of the city is about nine million people. The total area of Moscow is about nine hundred square kilometres. We say that Moscow is a port of five seas; the Moscow-Volga Canal links Moscow with the Baltic, White, Caspian and Black seas and the Sea of Azov.

4. Moscow is an industrial centre. There are a lot of factories and plants in it. One of the best known plants is Likhachev Automobile Plant, which produces a lot of lorries. Engineering, electric, light and chemical industries are highly developed in Moscow.

5. Moscow is a scientific centre, too. It is the seat of the Russian Academy of Sciences and academies of special branches of science. It has hundreds of higher educational institutions and a lot of research institutes where scientific work in various branches of industry is conducted. At the Moscow University, which is one of the centres of Russian science, thousands of young people from Russia and other countries get their education. There are a lot of secondary and technical schools in Moscow.

6. There are a lot of places of interest in Moscow. The city is famous for its historical monuments, museums, art galleries and theatres. The Historical museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the Tretyakov State Picture Gallery are world famous. The ancient Kremlin, which stands on the hill overlooking the Moskva River, is one of the greatest monuments of Russian history and architecture. Its red brick towers, cathedrals and palaces are a magnificent sight. In front of the Kremlin wall lies the vast space of Red Square which was the witness of many major events in Russian history. Moscow is proud of the Bolshoi, Maly and Art theatres which are the leading centres of the Russian stage. Moscow theatres are also very popular in other countries.

7. The city transport system is modernized. The Moscow metro began its work on the 15th of May, 1935. There were 13 stations at that time. Now it has 151 stations. The metro is a beautiful and convenient one. Buses, trolley-buses, trams, cars and taxis carry thousands of passengers a day. There are nine railway stations in Moscow and some airports around the city.

8. There are a lot of stadiums in Moscow. The Central Stadium is in Luzhniki. A lot of competitions and football matches are held there. The Olympic village was built for the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. It is a big complex for sport games.

9. The people of Russia are proud of the capital. It has become one of the world's biggest international centres, where different festivals, scientific congresses, international exhibitions and world sport events take place every year.

Active vocabulary to remember

1. ancient [ 'einòэnt ]	- древний, старинный, старый
2. to conduct	- вести, проводить
to conduct scientific work	- вести научную работу
3. convenient [ kэn'vi:niэnt ]	- удобный
4. to be famous for smth. [ 'feimэs ]	- славиться чем-либо
5. to hold (held)	- проводить, устраивать
competitions are held	- соревнования проводятся
6. to link	- соединять, связывать, смыкать
7. to mention [ 'menòn ]	- упоминать, ссылаться на
8. a monument ['mоnjumэnt ]	- памятник, монумент
a cathedral [ kэ'оi:drэl ]	- собор
a palace [ 'pэlэs ]	- дворец
a tower ['tauэ ]	-1) крепость; 2) башня
9. to overlook	- 1) выходить на; 2) возвышаться
10. a place of interest	- достопримечательность
11. to produce [ prэ'dju:s ]	- производить, создавать
to produce lorries	- выпускать грузовики
12. to be proud of smth	- гордиться чем- либо
13. a record	- летопись, мемуары, запись
14. a sight	- вид, зрелище
sights	- достопримечательности
15. a witness	- очевидец, свидетель
to witness	- быть свидетелем, видеть

Exercises

1. Pronounce correctly.

architecture Baltic cultural engineering major modernize nowadays

['a:kitekòэ] ['bоltik] [ 'kΛltòrэl] [,endζi'niэriŋ] ['meidζэ] [ 'mоdэnaiz] ['nauэdeiz]

record research science scientific stadium technical university

['rekо:d] [ ri'sэ:tò] [ 'saiэns] [ ,saiэn'tifik] ['steidiэm] [ 'teknikl] [, ju:ni'vэ:sэti]

2. Express in one word the meaning of each of the following phrases. All the words required are in the Text. You are given the first letter of each word and the number of letters in it.

1. a town where the centre of the government is - (c _ _ _ _ _ _)

2. a written statement of facts, events, etc. - (r_ _ _ _ _)

3. at the present time - (n_ _ _ _ _ _ _)

4. the (number of) people living in an area, etc. - (p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _)

5. a factory - (p_ _ _ _)

6. a large motor vehicle for carrying heavy goods - (l_ _ _ _)

7. a place where something is carried on - (s_ _ _)

8. a subject of knowledge - (b_ _ _ _ _)

9. an advanced and detailed study of a subject, so as - (r_ _ _ _ _ _ _)

to learn new facts

10. different - (v_ _ _ _ _ _)

11. in or of times long ago - (a_ _ _ _ _ _)