Speaking about Weekends

Paul: Sergei, I should thank you for your excursion around Khabarovsk. You are a real guide.

Sergei: Oh, you are right. I combined studying at the Academy of Economics and Law with my work as … It was so long ago, but sometimes I hold … for our partners from other cities and abroad. That saves my company’s money! I am kidding, of course!

Paul: But that’s true! And I see your love for Khabarovsk helps you … What do the Khabarovskovites do ...?

Sergei:Lots of things. Some stay at home cooking, eating, … Some work or study trying … Others are more active and like sport. They go skateboarding or roller skate, play sport games, ride motor bikes. There are a lot of stadiums, courts, playgrounds and … in Khabarovsk. How would you like to spend your weekends here?

Paul: In Portland I … going to theaters, baseball and I always … on Saturdays. We buy foods for the whole week. And yes, I like … with a lawn-mower.

Sergei: Then I suggest going to one of Khabarovsk theatres. They are the Drama Theatre, the Theatre of Musical Comedy, … , the Triad Pantomime and the Puppet Theatre.

Paul: The … Theatre sounds attractive. There won’t be a language barrier.

Sergei: And I have just booked tickets there! I also invite you to visit our museums and my favourite places of relaxation.

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doing home chores, cutting grass, a guide for foreign tourists, prefer, the Pantomime, make closer contact, not to loose time, the Young Spectator’s Theatre, tours of Khabarovsk, fitness clubs, do shopping, at weekends.

Ex. 15. Use the above dialogue to speak how you spend your weekends.

Ex. 16. Give the appropriate forms: Present Perfect or Past Simple?

1. Governor Grodekov (to propose) to set up this museum many years ago. 2. The delegations (to be) to many sights of the city. 3. This year guests of the Far Eastern International Economic Congress (to have) an opportunity to make contacts with the regional companies. 4. In 2004 they (to decide) to establish a new commercial enterprise. 5. Yesterday Volkov and Santocs (to have) dinner at the restaurant. Paul (to be) to a Russian restaurant for the first time. 6. They (to discuss) some business matters, (to get) opinions and (to make) decisions. 7. Paul (to try) the most exotic dish under the name of “solyanka”. 8. Sergei (to make) a reservation five days ago. 9. Before the partners (to start) to eat they (to drink) a little vodka. 10. (To cook) Russian traditional dishes? 11. They would (to eat) meat salad, soup, grilled chicken, (to drink) red wine and (to finish) with coffee and dessert. 12. Santocs (to find) the Russian cuisine to be too fat. 13. Volkov (to use) to enjoy spicy food when he (to be) in Korea.

Ex. 17. Read and translate the text.

Museums and Monuments in Khabarovsk

Khabarovsk attracts many tourists from various parts of the world, especially from China, Japan, Korea. Some of them go here on business, some visit the city for pleasure. Others want to see relatives. Though infrastructure for travel business is not much developed there are intentions to improve it.

None of the Khabarovsk guests escapes the charm of this beautiful city with its new modern housing developments, light-filled streets and spacious squares, its theatres, museums and recreation centres and parks.

Khabarovsk has many striking monuments and memorials. Thus, an armoured launch, which took part in many military operations during the Great Patriotic War of 1941 – 1945, stands on a granite postament in Krasnoflotsky district. A T-34 tank was set up in honour of the factory Energomash workers who repaired tanks and weapons for the Army in the field. In Garazhnaya Street a fighter plane immortalizes the feat of the Soviet pilots in the War. Before September 2005, by the 60^th anniversary of WWII ending, the monument had been renovated.

An impressive War Memorial Complex has been laid out on the Amur high bank commanding the surrounding country. In the centre of Glory Square stands an obelisk symbolizing the combat and labour exploits of the Khabarovsk Krai citizens. On the Granite wall there are more than 14 thousand names of the Far Easterners who fell in WWII. There is an Eternal flame, which is glowing to remember the heroes forever. We live at the time of local wars and terrorist acts. The last monument was erected in 2003 after those who fell in Afganistan, Chechnya, Lake Khasan, Damansk and other places.

Khabarovsk has a set of different sights to provide a lot of materials about history, nature, peoples of the Far East.

It was Governor N.I. Grodekov who suggested establishing the Khabarovsk Regional Lore Museum. It was opened in 1894 on the initiative of the Priamursky Department of the Imperial Russian Geographic Society. Now it has more than 320 thousand items. Among its exhibits there is a unique collection of the Far Eastern flora and fauna representatives, ethnography of indigenous peoples and Slavic settlers.

Vladimir K. Arseniev, the famous explorer of the Far East and the author of books about its nature and native people, had been heading the Museum for more than ten years (1910-1919, 1924-1925).

The Khabarovsk Fine Art Museum was opened in 1931. The Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin Art Museum, the State Hermitage, the Russian Museum had participated in collecting its exhibits. Now it holds over ten thousand works. They are Russian and Western paintings, a unique collection of indigenous peoples’ applied arts, icons and sculptures.

The Archeological Museum contains numerous documents pertaining to the Far Eastern history. Among its artifacts there are petrogliphs of Sikachi-Alyan and cultural heritage of the Golden Empire of the Jurchen People.

As our region is rich in mineral resources the Geological Museum exhibits demonstrate mineral specimens, fossils and precious stones. Highlights of the collection are the meteorite fragments found within the Khabarovsk Krai territory.

The growing flow of tourists to Khabarovsk enables to expect sphere of tourism to be developed. As the city is located on the point of rail, air and waterways intersection it is open for guests from other cities of Russia, countries of the Asian Pacific Rim and others.

Ex. 18. Translate the following impersonal sentences.

1. Археологический музей стоит посмотреть. 2. Важно развивать туристический бизнес в Хабаровске. 3. Сегодня тепло, мы можем погулять в парке. 4. Господину Сантоксу лучше остановиться в гостинице «Центральная». 5. Осенью в Хабаровске часто идет дождь, не так ли? 6. Самое время познакомить вас с коллегами. 7. Понадобится 20 минут, чтобы дойти до музея. 8. В сентябре было также тепло, как в августе. 9. Вам легче оставить сообщение, чем ждать их прихода. 10. Приятно познакомиться с вами.

Ex. 19. Pretend you are a guide. Tell the visitors about:

1. Khabarovsk downtown.

2. Your favourite places for weekends.

3. Khabarovsk museums.