Countries and cities
RUSSIAN FEDERATION (RUSSIA)
Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. It occupies about one-seventh part of dry land. It is situated in Europe and Asia. Its total area is over 17 million square kilometres. The country is washed by seas and oceans. There are different types of climate on the territory of the country. It is very cold in the North even in summer. The central part of the country has mild climate: winters are cold, springs and autumns are warm or cool, summers are hot and warm. In the South the temperature usually is above zero all year round, even in winter. Summer is really hot, the climate is very favourable. The climate of Siberia is continental: summers are hot and dry, winters are very cold.
Some parts of our country are covered with mountains and hills.
There are many rivers in Russia, the longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Yenisei and the Ob in Asia. The deepest lakes are the Baikal and the Ladoga. The water of the lake Baikal is the purest in the world.
The Russian Federation is very rich in mineral resources, such as oil, natural gas, coal, iron. gold and others.
Russia borders on many countries. Among them are Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Poland, China, Mongolia, Korea.
Moscow is the capital of our country. It was founded in 1147. It is a nice city. There are many places of interest in Moscow. You can see many museums, art galleries, theatres and monuments in our capital. People of our country are proud of the Moscow Kremlin. There are also many big beautiful cities in Russia.
The population of Russia is about 150 million people. 83 per cent of the population are Russians. 70 per cent of the population live in cities.
MOSCOW
(Tex-1)
Moscow is the capital of Russia. It is one of the biggest and most beautiful cities in the world. Moscow is a modem centre now. The population of the city is about 9 million people. Moscow is a political centre, where the government of our country works.
Moscow was founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky. The total area of Moscow is about nine hundred square kilometres.
We say that Moscow is a port of five seas, as the Moscow-Volga Canal links Moscow with the Baltic, White, Caspian and Black seas and the Sea of Azov.
Moscow is an industrial centre too. There are many factories and plants in it. One of the best known plants is Likhachev Automobile plant, which produces many lorries.
Moscow is a cultural centre. One can see the Kremlin and Red Square in the city. There are a lot of theatres, museums, libraries and cinemas in Moscow. The Bolshoi Theatre is one of the famous theatres all over the world.
If you are fond of painting you can go to the Tretyakov Art Gallery or to the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum and see a lot of interesting portraits and landscapes there. We say the Tretyakov Art Gallery is a treasure-house of Russian art.
Young people like to visit the Central Military Museum. There are many tanks, guns and war documents there.
There are many fine buildings, wide streets, green parks, large squares and monuments in Moscow.
It is necessary to mention such famous monuments as monuments to the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and to the first Russian printer Ivan Fedorov. Visiting the capital a lot of foreigners from all over the worid come to see these monuments.
One of the highest buildings in Moscow is the State Moscow University. It was founded in 1755 by the great scientist Mikhail Lomonosov.
Transport». Moscow is a very big city and its transport must be comfortable and fast.
One can see a lot of cars, buses, trolley-buses, trams in the streets of our city. The Moscow metro began its work on the 15th of May, 1935. There were 13 stations at that time. Now it has 151 stations. Our metro is a beautiful and convenient one.
There are nine railway stations in Moscow and some airports around the city.
There are many stadiums in Moscow. The Central Stadium is in Luzhniki. Many 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.
MOSCOW
(Text-2)
Moscow is the capital of our country. Moscow was founded in 1147 by Prince Yuri Dolgorukyi. Now Moscow has become the largest political, economic and administrative centre of the country. It is one of the world's cultural, scientific and art centres.
Moscow is situated on both sides of the Moskva river. The heart of Moscow is Red Square and the Kremlin. The highest towers of the Kremlin are crowned with ruby stars. The main and tallest of the Kremlin towers is the Spasskaya tower. People all over the country listen to the Kremlin Chimes on the Spasskaya Tower. The Bell Towers of Ivan the Great built in the 15th century have twenty-two large bells and over thirty small ones. Thousands of tourists admire the majestic beauty of the red-brick walls and towers of the Kremlin, the fantastic beauty of St.Basil's Cathedral, a masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture. In front of the Cathedral there's a monument to Minin and Pozharsky. The cathedrals, palaces and buildings of the Kremlin are remarkable museums containing unique collections of rare things.
In fact, Moscow is famous all over the world for its museums and galleries. Among them most well-known is the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts which houses a wonderful collection of world painting and sculpture and the Tretyakov Picture gallery with its mastespieces of Russian pictorial art. In Moscow there are a lot of exhibition halls, palaces of culture, libraries and theatres. Among the world famous Bolshoi Theatre, Taganka Theatre, The Kremlin Theatre and others are numerous studioes and amateur theatres which have gained popularity among the spectators. Many tourists enjoy the magnificent building of the University which is situated on the Lenin Hills. The Moscow Metro is not only a comfortable, rapid and economic means of travelling but also one of the tourists' attractions. It's rightly considered to be the most beautiful in the world.
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
(Text-1)
The United Kingdom is situated in the northwest coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north and north-west and the North Sea on the east.
The U.K. includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, contains England, Scotland and Wales.
The United Kingdom has an area of 94,249 square miles. The capital of the country is London. English is the official language.
The population of the U.K. is nearly 60 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns. Over 46 million people live in England. Over 3 million - in Wales. A little over 5 million - in Scotland. About 1,5 million in Northern Ireland. London's population is over 7 million people. The British nation consists of the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. There are many people of all colours and races in the United Kingdom.
The climate of Great Britain is mild. It is not too hot in summer or too cold in winter. It often rains in England. Rain falls in summer and in winter, in autumn and in spring. Snow falls only in the North and West of the country. The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but Scotland and Wales are mountainous. Many parts of the country have beautiful villages. There are many rivers in Great Britain. The main river is the Thames. Many ships and barges go up and down the river. The longest river is Severn. It is 350 kilometres long.
There are many universities, colleges, libraries, museums and theatres in the country. The most famous universities are Cambridge University, Oxford University, Glasgow University.
The U.K. is a parliamentary monarchy. The British Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. The main political parties of Great Britain are the Labour Party, the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party. The Communist Party of Great Britain was founded in 1920. It is a party of the working people.
The United Kingdom has few mineral resources. Coal and oil are the most important of them. The United Kingdom is one of the world's most industrialized countries. The main industrial centres are Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester. The largest cities of the country are London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester. Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin.
Agriculture takes an important sector in economy of the country. The British people grow wheat, fruit, vegetables, oats.
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
(Text-2)
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on two large islands and about 5 thousand small islands, called the British Isles, to the North-West of Europe.
The larger island is Great Britain which consists of three раrt.
England, Scotland, and Wales, and the smaller is Ireland. Southern Ireland now called Eire or the Irish Republic, is independent of the United Kingdom. The British Isles cover an area of about 95 000 square miles. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrower part of it is called the Strait of Dover.
The country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the Irish Sea. The shallow waters of the North and the Irish Seas provide good f ishing grounds. Fishing therefore is very important.
Mountains are an important featyre of the geography of the country. There are mountain chains in Scotland, Wales and North-West England, but they are not very high. North-West England is also famous for its beautiful lakes.
The rivers of Great Britain are not very long but usually deep and never freeze in winter. The longest and deepest rivers are the Severn and Mersey, the Thames on which stands the capital of Great Britain - London.
Lying in the middle latitudes and surrounded by waters Britain has a mild and temperate climate. The climate of the British Isles is generally classified as cool, temperate, though in the Highlands of Scotland it is severe. The best season for the English people is spring when everything is in full bloom, there is much sunshine and it is rather warm. Autumn and winter are famous for their fogs and rains. In big industrial cities fog turns into "smog" (smoke + fog). It is a very unpleasant time. The usual temperature in winter very seldom falls below 3-5 degrees Centigrade. The weather in Great Britain is very changeable, there may be all kinds of weather within orte day, that is why practically every talk the English people begin with comments on the weather.
Britain is a state with a highly developed industry. It is one of the most poweerful capitalist countries in Europe. Great Britain is also one of the largest exporters of manufactured goods. At the same time it imports metal, oil, grain, meat, fruit, tea and other raw materials and foodstuffs.
The largest cities and most important industrial centres of Great Britain are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Edinburgh.
London, the capital, is one of the most important industrial centres. Lots of things such as clothes, foodstuffs, cars, aircrafts, instruments, medical equipment are produced in and around London. It is also the biggest port.
Birmingham is the centre of the production of machines, lorries, TV sets, radios, computers, steel industry, heavy engineering.
Manchester in the North-West of England is the centre of the cotton textile industry, one of the Britain's most important producers of computers and electronic equipment, chemicals.
Ship-building is an important industry in the United Kingdom. The main ship-building centres are London, Glasgow in Scotland, Belfast in Northern Ireland and some others.
Oxford and Cambridge are not big industrial centres but they are famous all over the world as educational centres. The oldest and most famous universities of Great Britain are situated there. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge date from the 12th and 13th centuries and the Scottish Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh from 15th -16th centuries.
Oxford is international because people from all over the world come to study there. Physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, biology, geography, agriculture are studied there.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a par-liamentary monarchy. Legislative power belongs to the Queen (formally) and the Parliament, which consists of the House of Commons and House of Lords. Officially the Head of the State is the Queen (from 1952 -Elizabeth II). But the actual power belongs to the parliament and the ruling party. The powers of the Queen are limited by the constitution.
There are three main parties on the political scene of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party, founded in 1867 is the party supported traditionally by the rich: the monopolists and landowners. This party serves the interests of big business. The supporters of the Liberal Party are small traders and middle class people.
The Labour Party was founded in 1906. It mostly consists of workers, but its activity and political tactics show that it is a bourgeous party.
The Communist Party of Great Britain was founded in 1920 as a fusion of the British Socialist Party. The Party fully represents the interests of the working class.
LONDON
(Text-1)
London is the capital of Great Britain. It is a very old city. It is two thousand years old. London is not only the capital of the country, it is also a huge port.
London is situated upon both banks of the Thames. There are 17 bridges above the river.
The population of London is about 9 million people. London has three parts: the City of London, the West End, the East End.
The City of London is the oldest part of London. You can see narrow streets and pavements there. There are many offices, firms and banks in this part of London. The City of London is the financial centre of the United Kingdom.
The West End is the centre of London. There are many places of interest in the West End. They are: the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben. It is interesting that the clock "Big Ben" came into service in 1859. Big Ben is the biggest clock bell in Britain. It weighs 13,5 tons.
The other interesting place is Westminster Abbey, which was founded in 1050. It is situated in the centre of London. Many great Englishmen were buried in the Abbey: Newton, Darvin and others.
The official London residence of the Queen is Buckingham Palace. It was built in the 18th century.
There are many nice squares in London. Trafalgar Square is one of them and it is in the centre of the West End. One can see a statue of Lord Nelson in the middle of this square.
There are many museums, libraries and galleries in London. The Tate Gallery is one of the well-known galleries in London. Henry Tate was a sugar manufacturer. He was fond of paintings and collected many pictures.
The British Museum is a very interesting place in London. It was founded in 1753. The library of this museum has a lot of books.
The East End of London is the district for the working people. There are many factories, workshops, docks there.
There are many cars and buses in London. There is a tube (an underground) in London too. It is a nice one.
One can say that the City is the money of London, the West End is the goods of London, the East End is the hands of London.
LONDON
(Text-2)
London is the capital of Great Britain. The population of London is over 8 million people. It is one of the largest cities of the world and the largest city of the United Kingdom. London is situated on the river Thames about forty miles from the mouth and is divided into two parts by the river: north and south. Fourteen bridges over the river carry heavy traffic from one side to the other.
The history of London goes back to Roman times. Due to favourable geographical position a small town soon became an important trade centre. Actually, London can be divided into several parts. First there is the City of London. It is the financial and business centre of Great Britain. Only a few thousand people live there, but in the day-time it is full of people: as about half of million people come to work there. The biggest Banks and offices are concentrated in the City. The East End, lying eastwards from' the City is very large, poor and crowded. The working class of London is concentrated there. It is a district of docks, factories, poor little houses and narrow streets. This district of London suffered greatly during World War II but carried on its work.
The West End makes a great contrast to the working district of London. It is full of richest hotels, largest super-markets, best cinemas and concert-halls. There are a lot of beatifull houses and gardens. Only well-to-do people can live there.
Another important district of London is Westminster, where most of Government buildings are situated. Westminster Palace is the seat of the British Parliament. The Towers of the Houses of Parliament stand high; above the city. On the highest tower there is the largest clock in the country which is known to the whole world as Big Ben. One can hear Big Ben strike every quarter of an hour.
Not far away is Westminster Abbey with its Poet's Corner. Many English outstanding statesmen, painters, poets were buried there. Among them Geoffrey Chaucer, the first English national poet, world famous scientists I.Newton and Ch.Darwin, Tennison and others.
There in London one can find places with the names of W.Shakespeare, who lived and worked there for more than twenty years, Karl Marx, who was buried in Highgate cemetery.
Every year many tourists come to London to see the places of interest. They make sightseeing tours of the City, visit the Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, the National Gallery. They also visit the most ancient historic monument dating back to Roman times: the Tower of London, which had been a fortress, a prison and a royal palace. Now it is one of the most interesting museums.
NEW ZELAND
New Zealand is an independent state. It has a total area of 269,000 square kilometres. It is (situated to south-east of Australia. Nearly 3,5 million people live in the country. The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. (It has been the capital since 1865). The official language is English. The climate of New Zealand is moist. New Zealand is rich in minerals. There are some main industries in the country, for example, iron and steel industry. The country has gas and petroleum. There are many mountains in New Zealand. The highest is Mount Cook (12349 feet). There are many rivers in the country. The chief rivers are the Waikato and the Wairu. You can see many lakes in it. You have heard about the native animals in the country. One of them is the kiwi. This interesting bird lives in the wet parts of the thick bushes. In the day time the bird does not go out It comes out only at night to find food. Kiwis can not fly. Many years ago kiwis were hunted for food. Now the government does not permit the hunting of kiwis. The kiwi is now the symbol of the New Zealand people. Small children are often called kiwis.
New Zealand is a self-governing state. The Parliament consists of one House only, the House of Representatives. The Prime Minister is the head of the government
There are some political parties in New Zealand. They are: the Labour Party, the National Party, the Party of Socialist Unity and others.
New Zealand has heavy industry. There are many plants in the country. Paper and rubber industries are developed too. New Zealand exports apples and honey.
There are some big cities such as Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson. Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington are the main ports of the country.
The capital of the country is Wellington. It is a financial centre too. The city was founded in 1840.
There are some educational and cultural institutions in Wellington. They are the University of New Zealand, Victoria University College and others. Victoria University was established in 1897.
New Zealand is a very interesting and beautiful country.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The USA is one of the largest countries in the world. It is situated in the central part of the North American continent. The area of the USA is over nine million square kilometres. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean and by the Atlantic Ocean.
The population of the United States is nearly 250 million people, most of the people live in towns. People 'of different nationalities live in the USA.
There are a lot of rich people in the USA. But the life of most coloured people is very difficult Some Americans live in poverty, many people can't get work.
The official language of the country is English.
The capital of the country is Washington. It was named in honour of the first President,. George Washington. As the USA is a large country, the climate is different in different regions of the country, for example, the Pacific coast is a region of mild winters and warm, dry summers, but the eastern continental region is watered with rainfall The region around the Great Lakes has changeable weather. There are many mountains in the USA. For example, the highest peak of the Cordilliers in the USA is 4,418 metres.
The main river of the country is the Mississippi. But there are many other great rivers in the USA: the Colorado in the south and the Columbia in the north-west. There are five Great Lakes between the USA and Canada.
The USA produces more than 52% of the world's corn, wheat, cotton, tobacco.
There are many big cities in the country. They are Washington, (the capital of the country), New York (the city of social contrasts, financial and business centre of the capitalist world), Boston (there are three universities in it), Chicago (one of the biggest industrial cities in the USA), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit (one of the biggest centres of the automobile industry), Hollywood (the centre of the US film business).
The USA has an Academy of Sciences. There are many scientific institutions, museums, libraries, theatres and other interesting places in the country.
The USA is a highly developed industrial country. The USA is rich in mineral resources, such as aluminium, salt, zinc, copper, cement and others. The country is rich in coal, natural gas, gold and silver too. It holds the first place in the capitalist world for the production of coal, iron, oil, natural gas.
Such industries as machine-building, shipbuilding are highly developed in the country.
American agriculture produces a lot of food products: grain, fruit, vegetables. The USA is the greatest capitalist country in the world. The USA is a federal republic, consisting of fifty states.
Each of these states has its own government. Congress is the American parliament which consists of two Chambers.
The president is the head of the state and the government He is elected for four years. There are two main political parties in the USA. They are the Democratic Party (was organized in the 1820s) and the Republican Party (was organized in the 1850s). The Communist party of the USA was founded in Chicago in 1919. The youth movement is an important factor in the political life of the USA.
WASHINGTON
Washington is the capital of the United States of America. The city is on the left bank of the Potomac River. The city was named after the first President George Washington. The population of the city is nearly three million people. There are many beautiful parks and gardens in Washington. It is interesting to see the famous cherry trees. These trees are the gift from Japan in 1912. There are many libraries, museums, art galleries in the city, for example, you can see The National Gallery of Art. It was opened in 1941. It has a lot of art collections by the great masters from the 14th to the 19th centuries. It is one of the finest picture galleries in America. The NASA Museum is devoted to the US Achievements in the exploration of Space.
The Capitol is the centre of the city. The Capitol was built according to the ^lans of William Thomton. He was an amateur architect. It was made of stone and marble and contains 540 rooms. It is situated on Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill is the highest place in the city. Topping the dome is the 19th foot bronze statue of Freedom. There is a law that forbids to build houses higher than the Capitol. The Capitol is the seat of Congress.
Congress consists of two Chambers: The Senate and the House of Representatives. From the Capitol to the White House runs Pennsylvania Avenue used for all processions and parades. The White House is the place where the President of the USA lives and works. It is the official residence of the USA presidents.
This house was first occupied in 1800. George Washington (1732-1799) died in 1799 and he did not live in that House. John Adams was the first President who lived in that House.
The White House has 132 rooms.
The Metrorail system is an up-to-date one in Washington. If you want to go by metro, you have to find the letter "M". The fare in metro is connected with the time of a day and the distance of your travelling.
There are a lot of interesting places in Washington. It is difficult to find a park or a square without a monument or a memorial. The Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument are the most -famous and nice ones.
The Lincoln memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day - May 30, 1922. It was built in the style of a classic Greek temple. It has 36 columns. Each column represents the state in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. But the dominant feature of the building is the realistic figure of Lincoln.
The Washington Monument is one of the city's most impressive sights. It is situated in Potonic Park. It was erected to the memory of the first President of the USA in 1888. It is called "The Pencil", because it is one of the tallest stone constructions in the world and the tallest stone structure in the USA. This monument is over 555 feet high. There is The Pentagon in Washington. It is a building and it was built between 1941-1943. Now it is the US military centre. A lot of people work there.
Washington is a city almost without industry.
PHILADELPHIA
One of the main cities of the United States of America is Philadelphia. It is situated in the east of the USA.
Now Washington is the capital of the USA, but Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States of America from 1790 till 1800. Many people consider that Philadelphia is an important political centre of the USA, because the USA constitution was the first written constitution in the world adopted in this city in 1787 and the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in 1776.
Philadelphia is a seaport and a shipping centre of the country too. It is an important manufacturing centre. Some branches of industry are developed in the city.
There are many places of interest in Philadelphia, for example, the Independence National Historical Park. You can see many monuments in it. If you want to leam the history of America you have to leam something about the Liberty Bell. Now the Liberty Bell is a symbol of freedom. The sound of this Bell told the people about the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. It was in July, 1776.
Philadelphia is one of the cultural centres of the country. The Parkway is the cultural centre of Philadelphia. You can see the Philadelphia Museum of Art (great art museum of the world), College of Art, Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Fine Arts there.
There are many hotels, theatres, shops and museums in Philadelphia.
There is the Pennsylvania University in Philadelphia. This University has an interesting and big library.
Philadelphia is a beautiful city with many skyscrapers in it.