Learning Foreign Languages

 

Learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is a long and slow

process that takes a lot of time and effort. Nowadays it is especially important to

know foreign languages.

English is one of the most speaking languages in the world. Over 300

million people speak English as a mother tongue. It is the national language of

Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is

also one of the official languages in Canada, the Irish Republic and the Republic

of South Africa. As a second language it is spoken in India, Singapore, Pakistan

and many other former British and US colonies in Africa and Asia.

Millions of people speak English as a foreign language. It is the major

international language of communication in politics, science, business,

education, mass entertainment and international tourism. Half of the world’s

scientific literature is in English. It is also the language of computer technology.

English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization.

English is a wonderful language. It is the language of William

Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Walter Scott, Charles Dickens.

The great German poet Goethe said, “He, who knows no foreign

language, does not know his own one”. To know English today is absolutely

necessary for every educated man, for every good specialist.

 

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2.ENGLISH AROUND THE WORLD "Do you speak English?" - this question is most frequently heard whenpeople from different countries gather. Although there are almost three thousandlanguages, English is the most universal. It is the official language in over fortycountries and the most used language in international business, science andmedicine. Some people believe that English should be the international lan-guage, they think things would run more smoothly if everyone spoke the samelanguage. It is important to learn English to feel confident. English is everywhere. Itis in signs, clothing, soft drinks and household products around the world. Thenames of pop groups, computer software and magazines are often presented inEnglish. English words are also used as an element of magic to be included onT-shirts, sweat shirts, caps etc. Some think English is chic, English is stylish,even when the English on these designed items makes no sense. Sometimes weuse English words for effect rather than as a language, for example adding"O.K!" or "No problem" to the end of our talk. I don't think whether it is good ornot. It's our reality, and we live in it. Learning English is important for you if you want to know what is goingon in the world. With recent advances in technology, the world is changing rap-idly in many fields, such as business, arts and medicine. These changes will af-fect you soon and it is important for you to read and keep up with these changes.In fact, learning English is the answer to a lot of things that you need and want.

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3. About myself and my family My name is Oleg Ivanov. I was born in Alexin. It’s a nice old town, I likeit very much as it’s the place of my childhood. At the age of 7 I began to attendschool. I studied very well and usually received only top marks. I finishedschool at the age of 17. The same year I went to Tula and entered Tula StateUniversity. I want to become a good specialist in the field of electronics. I was born in the family of professional workers. My father is an engineer,he works at a big plant. Now he is 50. He graduated from Tula PolytechnicalInstitute. My mother is 45, she’s a doctor and works at a hospital. I’m proud ofmy parents. I have a brother and a sister. They live in Alexin. My brother is 22. He hasa family of his own, they are three in all - my brother, his wife and their littleson. My sister is not married, she is 17 and she is a student of PedagogicalCollege. She is going to be a teacher of English. She works hard and she is agood student. We have a granny, she is a pensioner. She is well past 60, but looks youngfor her age. She is very kind to all of us. We also have many close and distantrelatives and we are always glad to see each other.

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4. Education in the Russian Federation Russians have always shown a great concern for education. The right toeducation is stated in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It is ensured bycompulsory secondary schools, vocational schools, and higher educationestablishments. It is also ensured by the development of extramural and eveningcourses and the system of state scholarships and grants. Education in Russia is compulsory up to the 9th form inclusive. Thestages of compulsory schooling in Russia are: primary education for ages 6-7 to9-10 inclusive; secondary education including intermediate school for ages 10-11 to 12-13 inclusive, and senior school for ages 13-14 to 14-15 inclusive. If apupil of a secondary school wishes to go on in higher education, he or she muststay at school for two more years. Primary and secondary school togethercomprise 11 years of study. Every school has a “core curriculum” of academicsubjects, such as Russian, Literature, Mathematics, History, a foreign language,PT. Lycees and gymnasiums offer programs giving profound knowledge insome field of study. After finishing the 9th form one can go on to a vocational school whichoffers programmes of academic subjects and a programme of training in atechnical field, or a profession. After finishing the 11th form of a secondary school, a lycee or agymnasium one can go on in higher education. All applicants must takecompetitive entrance examinations. Higher education institutions, that is,institutes or universities, offer a 5-year programme of academic subjects forundergraduates in a variety of fields, as well as a post graduate course. If onefinishes a post graduate course and writes a thesis, he or she receives acandidate’s degree or a doctoral degree. Higher educational establishments are headed by Rectors. Prorectors arein charge of academic and scientific work. Each institute or university has anumber of faculties, specializing in a certain field of study. The faculties areheaded by the Deans. There are departments within the faculties. The system of secondary and higher education in Russia is going througha transitional period. The main objectives of the reform are: to decentralize the higher education system, to develop a new financial mechanism, to give moreacademic freedoms to faculties and students. All secondary schools, institutesand universities until recently have been funded by the state. Now there is quitea number of private fee-paying primary and secondary schools; someuniversities have fee-paying departments. In terms of the ratio of students to the total population Russia ranksamong the top ten countries in the world. The Russian educational policy is a combination of economic and socialobjectives. An educated person contributes more to the society, and educationon the other hand gives a person the prospect for professional advance.

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5. Tula State University Tula State University was founded in 1930. Since that time the number of faculties has increased from 4 to 13 and the enrolment of students from 240 to 2000. Now it is one of the largest education establishments in our country. Well - known scientists were on the staff at different times: mathematician V.I. Zhivago, chemist F.K. Yerke, Honoured Scientists of the RSFSR F.V. Sedikin and V.F. Bobrov, doctors of sciences D.I. Burtsev, L.N.Litvinov and others. The University has 13 faculties, including the faculty for those who workand study. The University is housed in 13 blocks, situated in Lenin Avenue, themain street of Tula. The student population is more than 12000: above 10 thousand studentsstudy at the day department and more than 2000 students - at the evening andcorrespondence departments. The University has a splendid scientific library for reference and research.It contains more than 1.000.000 books and has 8 reading-rooms and 5 sections. Graduates can get degrees in 34 specialities in machine-building,instrument-engineering, civil engineering, humanities, economics and medicineareas. Active research is being carried out at the University to find out andintroduce new efficient teaching methods. The University has a number of scientific schools which have gotrecognition both in our country and abroad. Professors, Associate Professors and lecturers deliver lectures on varioussubjects. At the University there are 10 specialized academic councils on awardingdoctor’s and candidate’s degrees. 15 doctor’s and 70 candidate’s theses areannually submitted. Today 120 postgraduates are taking postgraduate courses atthe University. International relations of the University are expanding. Students fromabroad have been trained at the University since 1962. They come from Poland,Bulgaria, Viet-Nam, China, India and other countries. University students and its staff have their own policlinic and sanatorium.A sports complex with play grounds and a gymnasium is available for studentsas well.

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6. American teenagers and their free time American teenagers spend their free time doing a lot of different things.They love to watch television or rent videos. Often young people meet at afriend’s house to watch videos together. They might call out for a pizza or makepopcorn at home and eat in front of the television. Young Americans also enjoy going to the movie theatre, both to watchmovies but also to “hang out” and flirt with people of the opposite sex. Beforegoing out teenagers usually spend a long time getting ready. They try to weartheir most fashionable clothes and they make sure their hair looks perfect. In America, it is against the law for people under 21 years of age to drinkalcohol, so often they can’t go to the local concerts at bars, but they do go to thelarge concerts wherever their favourite band or pop singer comes to town. Teenage girls like to read fashion magazines and magazines abouthandsome, famous actors and singers. They also like to go shopping. Theymight not buy anything but some girls might spend hours trying on clothes,jewelry and shoes. Teenage boys like to play sports, baseball, basketball, football or soccer.Many boys read magazines about rock groups or cars and trucks. It is often thedream of many teenage boys to own their own car. If they do, they spend mostof their free time and extra money making their cars look beautiful and runperfectly. Stereotypically young Americans don’t like to spend time alone. Theydon’t read books unless it is absolutely necessary. And when they do read, or dotheir homework, they do it in front of the television or with the stereo on. Like most Americans, young Americans like to work because they like tohave money. It’s difficult to find free entertainment in America. Young peoplespend a lot of money. In general, they spend a great portion of their free timebuying things to make themselves look better than their friends or to have bettermusic, clothes, etc. than their friends.

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7. My working day On week-days the alarm-clock wakes me up and my working day begins.It is six o’clock. If it is spring or summer I jump out of bed, run to the windowand open it wide to let the fresh morning air in. In winter I am not so quick toleave my bed, and I bury my head under the pillows pretending not to hear thealarm-clock. But all the same, it is time to get up and I start getting ready for mywork. I make my bed and go to the bathroom where I brush my teeth and have ashower. While I am having breakfast, I turn on my tape-recorder and listen topop-music. Breakfast, as my parents say, must be the most substantial meal ofthe day. But usually neither my mother nor me have any time to cook it, so I justhave a cup of tea or coffee and some sandwiches. I leave my house at tenminutes past 7, and, as I live quite near the bus stop, I am there in five minutes.It takes me about twenty minutes to get to the University. Our classes start at aquarter to eight. We usually have 3 or even 4 classes a day. They last six or eighthours. It is not easy to study at the University. My working day is not over even when the classes come to an end,because I have a lot of work to do at home. It usually takes me about three hoursto get ready for the next working day. But when at last my working day is over Ifeel both tired and satisfied. Sometimes in the evening my friends come to my place and we talk orplay; sometimes we go for a walk, but not very often. I go to bed at about eleveno’clock. - 8. My Day-off. Hobby The Weekend Most people in Britain work five days a week from Monday to Friday.Schools, colleges and universities are closed on Saturday and Sunday. Weekend starts on Friday evening when people leave work and wish eachother a nice weekend. Those who work away from home may go home. Some people go awayfor the weekend. They stay in a hotel or boarding house in the country or at thesea. People who stay at home at the weekend try to relax, enjoy themselves.On Friday night people like to go to a bar for the happy hour, or the theatre.Nowadays it is not "in" to go to all-night parties, they get up early on Saturdaymorning. Saturday morning is the time for cleaning the house, washing the car,doing the laundry. Women usually do housework, sewing and gardening. Saturday morning is a busy time for shopping. On weekdays shops closebetween 5.30 and 6 p.m. (They're closed on Sundays.) The shops in the centre ofbig cities usually close at one in the afternoon. At about one o'clock people go out for lunch. After lunch they go for awalk or do some sports. On Saturday afternoon sporting events take place -football, horse-racing, rugby, cricket and other sports. People either go andwatch or sit and watch the sports programmes on television. Saturday evening is the favourite time for going out: parties, dances ortheatre, maybe pictures. Some people like to go to watch a band. Church bells are a typical feature of an English Sunday morning. OnSunday morning most people stay in bed till 9 o'clock. Then they have a cup oftea or coffee. They look through the newspapers. Reading Sunday papers is oneof numerous traditions in Britain. There are quite a number of papers which arepublished weekly on Sundays. After breakfast most people go for a walk or to the local pub. Usually mengo to the pubs alone and their wives and children prepare for brunch. At one or 1.30 people have brunch. It is a good time for all the family,when grandparents, parents and children go out to some restaurant and spend anhour or two over brunch. Brunch is a huge meal. They have all sorts of salads,vegetables, chicken, cold meat, pies, fruit, coffee, pudding. Sunday evenings are rather quiet. Most people prefer to stay at home andwatch television or just get ready for Monday. So they usually have an earlynight. Hobbies A hobby is a favourite occupation of a person in his free time. There are more than 1000 personal interests and ways to spend one's freetime. The most popular hobbies are stamp-collecting, collecting view cards,match-box tops, badges, stones, flowers, shells, coins and books. Gardening and cultivation of flowers, especially roses, is the mostcommon hobby of all among Englishmen. Some people are interested in photography. They like taking off oldbuildings: palaces, castles, churches and old houses of historical interest. Andsome of people like to take photos of friends when they don't know they arebeing photographed. Others are interested in video films and they record familyevents there. Playing a musical instrument, watching TV, swimming, fishing andwatching birds are also popular leisure activity in Britain. A useful hobby is collecting tape recordings. You may have recordings ofoperas, light music, folk music and concerts. It's impossible to describe all these 1000 hobbies known in the world. Themain thing is that they increase your knowledge in some particular field andbroaden your outlook. - 9. Time off Working hours are shorter, holidays are longer, and people have moretime off now than ever before. What do they do with it? In both Britain and America, people watch TV for many hours everyweek. In America there is a very big choice. Many cities have twenty or morechannels, sometimes going for twenty-four hours a day. In Britain there are fourchannels. Many well-off Americans have a “camper” or “trailer” which they can usefor weekends away. Some have holiday houses in the country, and spend asmuch time as possible on outside activities like fishing and water skiing. Fewer British people have caravans or second homes, but many havegardens, where they spend a lot of their free time. Home owners often take timedoing jobs round the house. They paint, put up wallpaper, build cupboards andeven make furniture. There are a lot of DIY (Do It Yourself) shops all over thecountry selling everything they need. But for some, time off means music and dancing. In London and NewYork, one or two new discos open every week. Some close again after a night ortwo, but some, like Tramps in London, go on, and on, and on... Americans love to get out of town into the wild, and many go for holidaysor long weekends into the thirty-five fabulous national parks. These magnificentareas of countryside include tropical forests, high mountains, dry deserts, longsandy coasts, grassy prairies and wooded mountains full of wild animals. Theidea of these parks, which cover 1% of the whole area of the USA, is to make “agreat breathing place for the national lungs”, and to keep different parts of theland as they were before men arrived. There are camping places in the nationalparks as well as museums, boat trips and evening campfire meetings. Americans really enjoy new ways of travelling. In the winter, the woodsare full of “snowmobiles” (cars with skis in the front). In the summer they ridetheir “dune buggies” across the sands or take to the sky in hang gliders. But Americans do not only spend their free time having fun. They arevery interested in culture too. Millions take part-time courses in writing,painting and music, and at the weekends the museums, art galleries and concerthalls are full. -

 

9. Environmental Protection The twentieth century is known to be the century of the scientific andtechnological progress. The achievements of the mankind in mechanization andautomation of industrial processes, in chemical industry and conquering outerspace, in the creation of atomic power stations and ships are amazing. But at the same time this progress gave birth to a very serious problem –the poisoning of our planet, its land, its air and water. The ecological harmony isdisturbed. The seas are filled with industrial and nuclear waste, chemicals andfertilizers. The concentration of smoke in the air is so high in some industrialcenters that it is deadly dangerous just to breathe there. Many species of flora and fauna have disappeared. Some of them are onthe brink of extinction, many have been put down into the “Red Book ofNature”. Every hour some kinds of animals and plants die out for ever. Acid rains, the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion caused by harmfulsubstances emitted by industrial enterprises are much spoken about. Unfortunately some means of transport can be regarded as offenders inpoisoning the environment. Atomic power plants are worth mentioning as a grave threat to theenvironment nowadays. The pollution of the environment is hard to ignore. The problem of environmental protection has become an extremelyimportant part of political programmes in many countries nowadays. The Environmental Movement had gained a lot of supporters long beforeour country joined it. Many laws and vital decisions on the problem have beenadopted, many measures have been taken to protect our forests, rivers, lakes andseas. However, the Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea isfollowing. The Aral Sea is on the point of vanishing. The environmentalproblems have grown beyond the concern of a single country. Their solutionrequires the cooperation of all nations. It is obvious, that only our joint effort will help to avoid a globalcatastrophe.

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10. Science Science is important to world peace in many ways. On one hand,scientists have helped to develop many of the modern tools of war. On the otherhand, they have also helped to keep the peace through research which hasimproved life for people. Scientists have helped us understand the problem ofsupplying the world with enough energy; they have begun to develop a numberof solutions to the energy problem - for example, using energy from the sun andfrom the atom. Scientists have also analysed the world’s resources. We canbegin to learn to share the resources with the knowledge provided to us byscience. Science studies the Universe and how to use its possibilities for thebenefit of men. Science is also important to everyone who is affected by moderntechnology. Many of the things that make our lives easier and better are theresults of advances in technology and, if the present patterns continue,technology will affect us even more in the future than it does now. In somecases, such as technology for taking salt out of ocean water, technology may beessential for our lives on Earth. The study of science also provides people with an understanding ofnatural world. Scientists are learning to predict earthquakes, are continuing tostudy many other natural events such as storms. Scientists are also studyingvarious aspects of human biology and the origin and developments of the humanrace. The study of the natural world may help improve life for many people allover the world. A basic knowledge of science is essential for everyone. It helps peoplefind their way in the changing world. -

 

12.11. Great Scientists I. Learn to speak about great scientists. Make use of the following articles. Mikhail Lomonosov Mikhail Lomonosov was born in 1711 in the family of a fisherman in thenorthern coastal village of Denisovka not far from Archangelsk. When he was tenyears of age his father began to take him for sea fishing. The dangerous life of afisherman taught him to observe the natural phenomena more closely. During the longwinter nights young Lomonosov studied his letters, grammar and arithmetic diligently. Being the son of a peasant, he was refused admission to the local school. Aftersome years, through concealing his peasant origin, he gained admission to theSlavonic-Greek-Latin Academy and for five years lived a hand-to-mouth existence onthree kopecks a day. The noblemen's sons studying with him made fun of the twenty-year-old giant who, in spite of the years and his own poverty, made rapid progress. After five years came the chance of entering the Academy of Sciences, as therewere not enough noble-born students to fill the quota. His ability and diligenceattracted the attention of the professors and as one of three best students he was sentabroad. He spent all the time there studying the works of leading European scientistsin chemistry, metallurgy, mining and mathematics. On his return to Russia in 1745 hewas made a professor and was the first Russian scientist to become a member of theAcademy of Sciences. For versatility Lomonosov has no equal in Russian science. Many of his ideasand discoveries only won recognition in the nineteenth century. He was the first todiscover the vegetable origin of coal, for instance, and as a poet and scientist heplayed a great role in the formation of the Russian literary language, eliminating distortions and unnecessary foreign words. He died in 1765. His living memorial isMoscow University, which he founded in 1755. Roentgen In 1895 a German professor Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen discovered a new kindof invisible rays. These rays could pass through clothes, skin and flesh and cast theshadow of the bones themselves on a photographic plate. You can imagine theimpression this announcement produced at that time. Let us see how Roentgen came to discover these all-penetrating rays. One dayRoentgen was working in his laboratory with a Crookes tube. Crookes had discoveredthat if he put two electric wires in a glass tube, pumped air out of it and connected thewires to opposite electric poles, a stream of electric particles would emerge out of thecathode (that is, the negative electric pole). Roentgen was interested in the fact that these cathode rays made certainchemicals glow in the dark. On this particular day Roentgen was working in hisdarkened laboratory. He put his Crookes tube in a box made of thin black cardboardand switched on the current to the tube. The black box was lightproof, but Roentgennoticed a strange glow at the far corner of his laboratory bench. He drew back thecurtains of his laboratory window and found that the glow had come from a smallscreen which was lying at the far end of the bench. Roentgen knew that the cathode rays could make the screen glow. But he alsoknew that cathode rays could not penetrate the box. If the effect was not due to thecathode rays, what mysterious new rays were causing it? He did not know, so hecalled them X-rays. Roentgen placed all sorts of opaque materials between the source of his X-raysand the screen. He found that these rays passed through wood, thin sheets ofaluminium, the flesh of his own hand; but they were completely stopped by thin leadplates and partially stopped by the bones of his hand. Testing their effect onphotographic plates he found that they were darkened on exposure to X-rays. Roentgen was sure that this discovery would contribute much for the benefit ofscience. Indeed, medicine was quick to realise the importance of Roentgen'sdiscovery. The X-rays are increasingly used in industry as well. Tsiolkovsky - Founder of Austronautics Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, the founder of astronautics, was born in1857, in the village of Izhevskoye, in Ryazansky province. When he was ten he hadscarlet fever, and was left permanently deaf. This had a great influence on his life. Only when Tsiolkovsky reached the age of fifteen he began to studyelementary mathematics. At about this time he first thought of constructing a largeballoon with a metallic envelope. Realising that his knowledge was not enough, hebegan to study higher mathematics. The result was that he became a mathematics andphysics teacher and remained so for nearly forty years.Tsiolkovsky carried out experiments on steam engines for a time, but then hereturned to the theoretical study of the metallic dirigible. In 1887, his first publishedpaper on the dirigible appeared. Mendeleyev was interested in this work and helpedTsiolkovsky. The account of this aeronautical work was submitted to the Academy ofSciences who regarded it favourably and made Tsiolkovsky a grant of 470 roubles. He had not given up his idea about space travel. A popular report on thissubject was first published in 1895. Tsiolkovsky's idea of a spaceship was based onthe use of liquid fuels. During the next fifteen years Tsiolkovsky worked over other designs forspaceships. They were not meant to be working drawings for the construction of thesevessels but as a rough guide to the equipment. Some of them are now standardpractice in the guided missile field. He published several articles and books dealingwith the mathematical theory of rocket flights and space travel. His calculations wereused in modern theory of cosmonautics and practical space flights. They showed thatit would be possible to travel out into space in rockets and even to set up mannedspace stations around the Earth. Tsiolkovsky's contribution to science is so great that he is considered to be“Father of Cosmonautics”.

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13. US Economy The United States is rich in natural resources, the main being iron ore, coal andoil. The nation produces more than 100 million tons of iron a year. Four fifths of theore mined in the USA comes from the Great Lakes region. Though a great deal of theore has been used up, its resources have not been exhausted. Most of the coal mined inthe USA is used by power plants to produce electricity. Coal is also used in thechemical industries for the manufacture of plastics and other synthetics. Theproduction, processing and marketing of such oil products as petrol (called «gasoline»or «gas» in the USA) make up one of America's largest industries. The basic metals and minerals mined in the United States are zinc, copper andsilver. Some of the main crops grown in the USA are wheat, maize, cotton, tobaccoand fruit. Cattle breeding and pig raising make up an important branch of America'sagriculture. To make the farmer's work more productive scientific methods of farming areemployed and modern technique of freezing, canning and packaging farm products isused. The United States is a highly industrialized country with various branches ofheavy industry prevailing, namely, the mining, metallurgical, automobile andchemical industries as well as engineering. Many branches of light industry are alsodeveloped, among them are the textile, food and wood-working industries. A great deal of attention in American industry is devoted to research andemphasis is made on the use of labour-saving machines. In the past few years thenumber of workers has increased only a few per cent, while the number of scientistsand engineers in the plants has almost doubled. Mechanisation and automation do away with thousands of office jobs, intensifyproduction and increase labour productivity. But they also bring about a furthergrowth of unemployment. New industries are created as new discoveries are made in physics, chemistryand other sciences. Atomic energy, for example, has created a wide range of newindustries. Electronics has become a major industry. Throughout American industry great emphasis is being made on managementtraining. A great number of schools are training young people to become industrialleaders. American industry is distributed unevenly. Most of the industrial enterprises arelocated in the eastern part of the country. But industry is spreading out as there is atendency to build factories far removed from the home plant and closer to naturalresources and markets. Good transportation facilities and rapid communicationssystems make it possible for the main plants to keep in touch with branch factories. The leading US exports are industrial machinery, electronic equipment, textiles,grain, iron, coal, oil products and chemicals.

 

1. TULA Situated south of Moscow in the central part of the East European plain on the Middle Russian Hills, the Tula region covers an area of 25,700km 2 (1.5% of Russia’s territory). The region’s territory embraces 21 cities and towns and 50 urban settlements. Total population is 1,840,000, out of which urban population accounts for 81,4%. The center of the region is the city of Tula with the population over half a million. Tula, which is first mentioned in the chronicles in 1146, was founded on the banks of the Upa river. In the Middle Ages it was the central strategic point in the defense of Moscow. This had a decisive influence on the specifics of the re-gion’s industrial development. Tula has long been famous for its blacksmiths and gunsmiths. The trade of theblacksmiths began to develop in Tula in the 16th century. Tula blacksmiths special-ized in making rifles The whole families and even streets were engaged in makingthis or that part of the rifle. That is why many streets of Tula are still called after theparts of the rifle – Zamochnaya, Kurkovaya, Stvolnaya, etc. By the 16th –17th century, Tula had grown into a developed center of weapon-making crafts and metal treatment. In 1712 following a decree issued by Peter theGreat a state gun-making plant was founded in Tula. Tula was the first place in Russia to develop ferrous metallurgy and metal-processing industry. In metal-processing Tula craftsmen acquired great skill. Butmost of the enterprises were handicraft artels and small plants producing samovarsand different handmade goods. With the development of capitalism in Russia industrial enterprises in Tula in-creased in number. By the end of the 19th century Tula had about 200 enterprises with13 thousand workers. At present there are many plants and factories in Tula. Being part of the Central Economic Region, the Tula region has close economicties with other regions of the Russian Federation. The basic industries are machine-building, chemical, ferrous metallurgy, build-ing materials industry, coal mining, light and food industries, power engineering andelectronics. Machine-building and metal-working account for 21.9% of the total in-dustrial output, chemistry and petrochemistry 20.8%, metallurgy 17.1%, electricpower generation 11.9%, food industry 13%, and light industry 3.9%. The machine-building branch is represented by large enterprises manufacturingagricultural machinery, machine tools, equipment for the light and food industries,units and parts for gas pipelines, pumps, cranes, construction and transportation ma-chinery, domestic gas fittings, scooters etc. Chemical industry enterprises producefertilizers, synthetic rubber, plastics and plastic articles, detergents, synthetic vitaminsand other products. The old gun-making plant produces hunting rifles and sport gunswhich help our sportsmen to win victories at international competitions. The Tulachermet Concern, a leading metallurgical enterprise in Russia, hasmade a great contribution to the development of world metallurgy. The enterprise hasbeen the first in the world to master the method of continuous steel casting, the proc-ess of metal powder manufacture, plasma spraying, and production of alloys withspecific properties. The old traditions of making famous Tula rifles, samovars, bayans (accordions)and spice cakes live on. Primary attention in agriculture is given to the production of grain, potatoes,sugar beet, milk and meat. Today’s Tula is not only an industrial but also a cultural, scientific and educa-tional center of our country. Tula has many educational establishments such as TulaState University and Tula State Pedagogical University, many colleges and secondaryschools. Dozens of research institutes and design bureaus concentrate a considerable sci-entific potential. These institutions are engaged in long-term research in technologiesof machine-building, metallurgy, polymers, control systems, town planning etc. The city has four theatres, a regional philharmonic society, some clubs, palacesof culture, libraries, and publishing houses that issue about a hundred newspapers andmagazines. Tula has many places of interest, the Museum of Arms is well known not only inour town. It was established in 1724. In the museum we can see the products of skill-ful Tula gunsmiths. It has models of Russian weapons beginning with the KulikovoBattle in 1380 to the years of the Great Patriotic War. There are also tiny engravingswhich one can see only through a microscope. The museum of Regional Studies is ofgreat interest too. It presents to its visitors the heroic past of our town. The Art Gal-lery has a collection of rare pictures, sculptures and items of applied arts. Not far from Tula is Yasnaya Polyana. Here the great Russian writer Leo Tol-stoy lived and worked for almost all his life. Now it is a museum. Many people notonly from our country but also abroad visit Yasnaya Polyana every day. The Kremlin, the Victory Square with its eternal flame, the monument to the de-fenders of Tula, the vast central park belong to the sights of Tula. The picture will notbe complete if we forget our central stadium with its sports play grounds, the indoorstadium and the famous cycle-drome. The appearance of our city has greatly changed. From a dirty provincial townwith wooden houses and narrow streets it has turned into a modern city. The mainstreet of our city and many other tree-lined streets are always full of people and thetraffic is rather heavy (busy). In the streets we can see many cars, buses, trolleybuses,trams, taxis. Tula grows from day to day. Old houses and back-yards have almost completelydisappeared giving way to new high buildings. New modern-style districts have ap-peared in the former suburbs of Tula. The citizens of Tula are proud of their city which is becoming more beautifulfrom day to day. 2. THE TULA KREMLIN For a number of centuries the history of Tula was closely linked with the formation of the Russian state. In 1380 the famous Kulikovo Battle which led to the expulsion of the Tartar-Mongolian hordes from the Russian territory was fought to the South-East of Tula. After joining the Moscow state in 1503, Tula’s importance increased greatly. It became a strong fortress in the defence line of the Moscow state. A wooden fortress was built and by 1521 the Tula Kremlin had been completed. The Tula Kremlin differs from others in that its outline is almost rectangular.The square lay-out of the Tula Kremlin walls is explained by the fact that when theywere built the development of artillery made it more convenient to deliver direct firefrom symmetrically disposed towers. The walls are up to three metres thick and almost 11 metres high. Four towersout of nine have gates. The walls and towers have about 300 loop-holes. Usually theKremlin was not heavily garrisoned but due to its strength and reliability it couldstand up to long sieges. Within the Kremlin stands the Cathedral of the Assumption* built in 1762-64.Its five cupolas are typical of Russian cathedrals of the 17-th century. Its frescoes,painted by masters from Yaroslavl are the last copies of frescoes in ancient Russianchurches. In 1552 the Tula Kremlin withstood a severe onslaught by the Crimean KhanDevlet Girei, whose troops several times outnumbered the fortress defenders. Thetown’s inhabitants and a garrison of 200 men beat off all attacks of 30-thousand-strong troops. Moscow troops, which approached the town two days later, drove offthe enemy and defeated him near Tula. Fifty years later the Tula Kremlin became the stronghold of the troops of IvanBolotnikov, a peasant leader. For four months rebels against the princes and boyarsdefended themselves within the Kremlin walls against the tsar’s troops. When thelong siege did not wear down the defenders, the attackers flooded the town by dam-ming the river and forced them to surrender. Ivan Bolotnikov was kept prisoner andkilled. In the Kremlin one can see the monument to the peasant leader.

 

3. 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 that they could get a good idea of the Russian capital. Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe, its total area is about nine hundred square kilometers, and the population of the city is over eight million. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. It has more his- torical associations than any other place in Moscow. The Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral are masterpieces of an- cient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower, theSpasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country. On the territory of theKremlin the Wilsons saw old cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Palaceof Congresses, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and the bell inthe world. St. Basil’s Cathedral was built in the mid-16th century in memory of thevictory over Kazan. Ther’s a legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architectsBarma and Postnik, because he didn’t want them to create another masterpiece. The Wilsons saw a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churchesand monuments. They had a chance to visit any of more than 80 museums: the Push-kin Museum of Fine Arts and the Tretyakov Gallery, the All-Russia Museum of FolkArts and the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art, Alexei Bakhrushin Thea-tre Museum and Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture among them. In the evening the Wilsons decided to go to the Bolshoi Opera House, though itwas very difficult to choose between a large number of popular theaters. The Wilsons liked Moscow’s straight and broad streets and avenues. They ad-mired the centre of the city with its theatres, cinemas, museums, monuments, andwonderful many-storied buildings. They were greatly impressed by the Kremlin, RedSquare, Novy Arbat, which is one of the busiest streets in Moscow. One day the Wilsons decided to see Moscow State University and the guide sug-gested their going there by metro. They liked the idea and joined a stream of peoplegoing downstairs into the metro. It seemed to them that nearly everyone in Moscowwas in a hurry. Very few were satisfied to stand still and let the magic staircase carrythem 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 andout. 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 theUniversity that is situated on the Vorobyovy Hills and from there they enjoyed a mostbeautiful view of the whole city. They went for a ride in the city. The size and the beauty of the capital made agreat impression on the family. They saw endless streams of busses, trolley bussesand cars in the streets, crowds of people walking along the pavements. They crossedthe city in different directions but to their great surprise they saw the same thing eve-rywhere: well-planned streets lined with trees, many-storied houses, big stores, hotelsand beautiful squares. They saw no contrasts between the central part of the city andthe suburbs. The Wilsons went sightseeing every day of their stay in Moscow. And beforetheir tour came to an end they had seen and learned a lot of interesting things aboutthe capital and the country. They liked Moscow and Muscovites who are so hospita-ble and friendly.

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4. THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. Its total area is about17 million square kilometers. It occupies most of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. Russia is washed by twelve seas and three oceans. The oceans are: the Arctic,the Atlantic, the Pacific. The seas are: the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the OkhotskSea, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and others. Russia borders on many countries, such as Mongolia and China in the south-east, Finland and Norway in the north-west, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and the Ukrainein the West, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south-west, and so on. The federation comprises 21 republics. The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high moun-tains to deep valleys. The main mountain chains are the Urals, the Caucasus and theAltai. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes on its territory. The longest riversare the Volga in Europe and the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena in Asia. The largestlakes are Ladoga and Baikal. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and its water isthe purest on earth, its depth is of 1600 meters. The climate in Russia varies from arctic in the north to continental in the centralpart of the country and subtropical in the south. Russia is a highly-industrialized-agrarian republic. Its vast mineral resources in-clude oil and natural gas, coal, iron, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, gold and othernon-ferrous metals. Russia has the world’s largest oil and natural gas resources.Three-quarters of the republic’s mineral wealth is concentrated in Siberia and the FarEast. Approximately 10 million people are engaged in agriculture and they producehalf of the region’s grain, meat, milk and other dairy products. The current population of Russia is more than 150 million people. The Europeanpart of the country is densely peopled, and most population live in cities and townsand their outskirts. The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, with the population of about10 million people. Russia is a presidential republic. It is one of the leading powers in the world.

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5. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated off thenorthwestern coast of Europe. The UK lies on the British Isles. There are some 5500islands. The two main islands are: Great Britain and Ireland. They are separated fromthe continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The western coast ofthe country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, the eastern coast iswashed by the North Sea. The area of the UK is some 244100 square kilometres. Itspopulation is over 57 million people. English is the official language, but it is not theonly language which people speak in the country. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England is the southern part of Great Britain. Birmingham is the Britain’s “second city”. Rifles, pistols, various machinery, railway cars, motor cars, electrical equipment, scientific instruments and many other things are produced in Birmingham in great quantities. Sheffield is the city of steel. The main centers of the textile region are Liverpool and Manchester. Liverpool is the second after London port of Great Britain. Wales is one of the big mining districts in Britain. The capital of Wales is Cardiff. Scotland is the northern part of Great Britain. Scotland is an agricultural country. The old capital of Scotland is Edinburgh. Glas- gow is the third largest city in Great Britain. Itis known the world over for its shipbuilding yards. Northern Ireland occupies the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland. Its capi-tal is Belfast.Britain has been many centuries in the making. The Romans conquered mostpart of Britain, but were unable to subdue the independent tribes in the west and inthe north. Other invaders were Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings and Normans. Formany centuries this country was known simply as England. It had strong army andnavy. It waged numerous colonial wars. In the modern world England was the firstcountry, where capitalism was established. The surface of the British isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is moun-tainous and is called Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys andplains, is called Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but allthe rest – east, centre and south-east – is a vast plain. Mountains are not very high.Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1343 m). There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severnis the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of theworld’s largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft andnavigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding. The position of Great Britain gives it a temperate climate. Britain lies in theeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by the sea, which makes the cli-mate warmer in winter and cooler in summer. The Gulf Stream influences the English climate greatly. It makes the sea warm. The climate is not the same in all parts of England. The western part of Englandis warmer than the eastern one and it also has more rains. The western hills andmountains shut out some of the mild winds from the Atlantic. On the western coastgales are always strong. The south-western part winds are the most frequent. Theyusually bring mild weather. There is much humidity in the air of England. Britain is well known as a foggycountry. The annual temperature in London is about 8 degrees. British political system Britain is a constitutional monarchy. That means it is a country governed by a king or queen who accepts the advice of a parliament. It is also a parliamentary de- mocracy. That is, it is a country whose government is controlled by a parliament which has been elected by the people. In other words, the basic system is not so different from anywhere else in Europe. The highest positions in the government are filled by members of the directlyelected parliament. In Britain, as in many European countries, the official head ofstate, whether a monarch (as in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark) or a presi-dent (as in Germany, Greece and Italy) has little real power. However, there are features of the British system of government which make itdifferent from that in other countries and which are not 'modern' at all. The most no-table of these is the question of the constitution. Britain is almost alone among mod-ern states in that it does not have 'a constitution' at all. Of course, there are rules,regulations, principles and procedures for the running of the country - all the thingsthat political scientists and legal experts study and which are known collectively as'the constitution'. But there is no single written document which can be appealed to asthe highest law of the land and the final arbiter in any matter of dispute. Nobody canrefer to 'article 6' or 'the first amendment' or anything like that, because nothing likethat exists. The activities of Parliament in Britain are more or less the same as those of theParliament in any western democracy. It makes new laws, gives authority for thegovernment to raise and spend money, keeps a close eye on government activitiesand discusses those activities. The British Parliament works in a large building called the Palace of Westmin-ster (popularly known as 'the Houses of Parliament'). This contains offices, commit-tee rooms, restaurants, bars, libraries and even some places of residence. It also con-tains two larger rooms. One of these is where the House of Lords meets, the other iswhere the House of Commons meets. The British Parliament is divided into two'houses', and its members belong to one or other of them, although only members ofthe Commons are normally known as MPs (Members of Parliament). The Commonsis by far the more important of the two houses. A unique feature of the British parliamentary system is its hereditary element.Unlike MPs, members of the House of Lords (known as 'peers') are not elected. Theyare members as of right. In the case of two-thirds of them, this 'right' is the result oftheir being the holder of an inherited aristocratic title. The House of Lords is there-fore a relic of earlier, undemocratic times. The fact that it still exists is perhaps typi-cally British. It has been allowed to survive but it has had to change, losing most ofits power and altering its composition in the process. The House of Lords (like the monarchy) has little, if any, real power any more.All proposals must have the agreement of the Lords before they can become law. Butthe power of the Lords to refuse a proposal for a law which has been agreed by theCommons is now limited. After a period which can be as short as six months the pro-posal becomes law anyway, whether or not the Lords agree. The position of British Prime Minister (PM) is in direct contrast to that of themonarch. Although the Queen appears to have a great deal of power, in reality shehas very little. The PM, on the other hand, appears not to have much power but in re-ality has a very great deal indeed. The Queen is, in practice, obliged to give the job ofPrime Minister to the person who can command a majority in the House of Com-mons. This normally means the leader of the party with the largest number of MPs. There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the Labour, the Conserva-tive and the Liberal parties.

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6. LONDON London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and commercialcentre. It is one of the largest cities in the world and the largest city in Europe. Itspopulation is about 8 million. London is one of the oldest and most interesting cities in the world. Traditionally it is divided into several parts: the City, Westminster, the WestEnd and the East End. They are very different from each other and seem to belong todifferent towns and epochs. The heart of London is the City, its financial and business centre. Numerousbanks, offices and firms are situated there, including the Bank of England, the StockExchange and the Old Bailey. Few people live here, but over a million people cometo the City to work. There are some famous ancient buildings within the City. Per-haps the most striking of them is St. Paul's Cathedral, the greatest of English churches. It was built in the 17th century by Sir Christopher Wren. The Tower of London was founded by Julius Caesar and in 1066 rebuilt by William the Conqueror. It was used as a for- tress, a royal palace and a prison. Now it is a museum. Westminster is the historic, the governmental part of London. Westminster Abbey has more historic associations than any other building in Britain. Nearly all English kings and queens have been crowned here. Many outstanding statesmen, scientists, writers, poets and painters are buried here: Newton, Darwin, Chaucer, Dickens, Tennyson, Kipling, etc. Across the road from Westminster Abbey is Westminster Palace, or the Houses of Parliament, the seat of the British Par- liament. The Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament is fa- mous for its big hour bell, known as "Big Ben". Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the Queen. The West End is the richest and most beautiful part of London. It is the symbolof wealth and luxury. The best hotels, shops, restaurants, clubs, and theatres are situ-ated there. There are splendid houses and lovely gardens belonging to wealthy peo-ple. Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of London. It was named in memoryof Admiral Nelson's victory in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The tall Nelson's Col-umn stands in the middle of the square. On the north side of Trafalgar Square is the National Gallery and the NationalPortrait Gallery. Not far away is the British Museum — the biggest museum in Lon-don. It contains a priceless collection of ancient manuscripts, coins, sculptures, etc,and is famous for its library. The East End is the poorest district of London. There are a lot of factories,workshops and docks here. The streets are narrow, the buildings are unimpressive.The East End is densely populated by working class families.