VI. Describe an exiting and unique way of experiencing the city and its countryside as you see it.VII. Make up dialogues about the history of Belgorod and its places of interest. Try to use the following expressions:
RUSSIA
Read the text with a dictionary – to make sure you understand it in detail.
Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. It stretches from the Arctic Ocean in the North to the Black Sea in the South, from the Baltic Sea in the West to the Pacific Ocean in the East. It covers the territory of 17 mln. square kilometers. Its population is above 150 million people. The Russian Federation borders on 12 countries. They are: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Byelorussia, the Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China and Korea. Russia is rich in natural resources. They have discovered vast deposits of natural gas, oil and coal on the territory of Russia. This country produces iron, steel, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, aluminum and many other key metals. It builds all sorts of machines from spaceships to the instruments more sensitive than human nerve. No other country in the world has such huge resources of wood and waterpower. We have built a lot of hydroelectric power stations in different regions of the country. The most powerful of them can be found in Siberia. We have also built nuclear power stations. The energy of the atom is not to hurt the ecological relevance. That is why our scientists continue to work hard on the problem of safety reactors cooperating with the West and the USA in spite of Chernobyl catastrophe. The Urals form the natural border between Europe and Asia. Besides mountainous regions we have steppes, plains and forests in the midlands, tundra and taiga in the North. Taiga is a thick coniferous forest. It’s rich in rare specimens of fur-bearing animals: sable, fox, squirrel. The climate of the country is also varied. In the Southwest the weather is usually mild and wet. Northern Asia is one of the coldest spots on Earth. But in the middle of the country the climate is moderate and continental. Russia is a federation of associated republics. The President is Head of state, Head of the executive, the commander-in-chief of all the Armed Forces of the country. The President’s duties include visiting a lot of parts of the country each year, making tours of the Independent States of the Common-wealth (CIS) and paying state visits to foreign countries. The Parliament consists of 2 Houses. They are: the Federal Council and the Duma. The Prime Minister creates the cabinet. The Prime Minister makes policy and economic decisions in agreement with his Cabinet. He holds frequent Cabinet meetings. The Power of the government is controlled by Parliament because no bill, which a minister proposes, сan become law until it is passed through Parliament. Nowadays the Russian Federation is going through profound reforms of historic significance. The Russian Federation has taken the course towards accelerated social and economic development, the all round renewal ofsociety and the elevation of the country to a qualitatively new level. For several years of economic reforms the government has been switching our planned economy over to the market. Most people in this country have learned to cope with the government’s “shock therapy” in the way that surprises even them not to mention the government and its opposition. Prices have gone up on everything from kindergartens to airplane tickets, from beet to bricks. It is still early to judge the success or failure of the economic reforms. But the people pin their hopes on the new government, on the district and town administration that promise that reforms will face the people, will meet their needs.
Reading comprehension
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