Speak about Moscow and its places of interest

Exercise 6.

A Visit to Moscow

Last summer Mr. Wilson, his wife and their daughter Mary — tourists from England — arrived in Moscow. It was their first visit to Russia and they wanted to see as much as possible.

Their guide showed them a lot of places of interest so thatthey could get a good idea ofthe Russian capital.

The Wilsons liked Moscow’s straightand broadstreets and avenues.Theyadmired the centre of the city with its theatres, cinemas, museums, monuments, and wonderful multi-storeyed buildings. They were greatly impressed by the Moscow Kremlin, Red Square, Lenin Avenue, which is one of the longest and busiest streets in Moscow.

The Wilsons wanted to see Moscow University and the guide suggestedgoing there by metro. They liked the idea and joined a stream of people going downstairs into the metro. It seemed to them that nearly everyone in Moscow was in a hurry. Very few were satisfied to stand still and let the magical staircase carry them down to the platforms below. Most people went hurrying down on the left side. On and on ran the train through the tunnel and at every station people came in and out. The trip gave the Wilsons a good impression of Moscow’s immense size.

When they came up into the daylight, they saw the magnificent building of the University which is situated on the Vorobyev Hills and from there they enjoyed a most beautiful view of the whole city.

They went for a ride in the city. The size and the beauty of the capital made a great impression on the family. They saw endless streams of buses, trolley-buses and cars in the streets, crowds of people walking along the pavements. They crossed the city in different directionsbut to their great surprisethey saw the same thing everywhere: well planned streets lined with trees, multi-storeyed houses, big stores, hotels and beautiful squares. They saw no contrasts between the central part of the city and its suburbs so typical of big old towns.

The Wilsons went sightseeing every day of their stay in Moscow. And before their tour came to an end they had seen and learned a lot of interesting things about the capital and the country. They liked Moscow and the Muscovites who are so hospitable and friendly.

Assignments after the text:

The Wilsons, tourists from England, visited Moscow last year.

1. Say

b) what they were interested in and what they asked the Muscovites about;

c) what the Muscovites told them about;

2. What kind of conversation could have taken place between the Wilsons and the guide on their first day in Moscow? Evidently, they talked like Jan and Mr. Priestley.

3. Describe the Wilsons’ visit to Moscow. Keep in mind their interests and life experience.

4. What did they tell their friends about Moscow when they came back to London?

E.g. They said that Moscow is the capital of Russia.

They said that they had seen …

5. We know that you didn’t visit Moscow last summer. Say in what way you would have spent your last summer vacation if you had visited Moscow.

E.g. If I had visited Moscow last summer, I would have gone to Red Square.

Exercise 7.

Read the text about Syktyvkar.

Syktyvkar

Syktyvkar is the capital of the Komi Republic, its political, economic and cultural centre. The first name of the town was Ust-Sysolsk, which in 1930 became Syktyvkar. Syktyvkar is situated on the river Sysola. It became a town in 1780 and 1936 Syktyvkar became the capital of the Komi Republic. In 1980 Syktyvkar celebrated the 200-th anniversary.

In Syktyvkar there are two Institutes, a University, the scientific centre, more than 40 secondary schools and about 20 technical colleges and many gymnasiums, lyceums.

The National library is the largest in the republic. It was built in 1958, the architect is F. Tentyukova. The National library has about 2.5 million books in its funds. The centre of the town is Stefanovskaya Square with the monument to V.I. Lenin, the work of Kerbel, which was erected in 1967. There are two theatres in Syktyvkar – the Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Lomonosov Square with the monument to Kouratov, the work of Mamchenko, and the Drama Theatre, named after V. Savin. Besides there are cinema-houses, clubs, stadiums, swimming-pools.

Syktyvkar is an industrial centre as well. There are many plants and factories and the largest is the industrial timber complex in Ezhwa, producing paper and other goods. Syktyvkar is very beautiful in summer with green trees and flowerbeds. There are three parks in Syktyvkar: Kirov Park, Michurin Park and the Children’s Park at the Sysola river.

Syktyvkar is the native town of our Olympic champions in skiing: Raisa Smetanina, Vasiliy Rochev. Syktyvkar with its population of about 260 thousand people is connected with other towns by air-lines and rail-ways. The citizens of Syktyvkar honour the history of the town. There are several museums and a Memorial to heroes of the great Patriotic War. The memorial was designed by Borisov and Mamchenko and it was opened on the 21^st of August 1981. In the centre of the Memorial there are three female figures, symbolizing the mother, the wife and the sister. There is an eternal flame and behind the figures there are plates with the names of those who never returned from the front.

Syktyvkar is constantly growing and becoming more and more beautiful.

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