1. Прочитайте и переведите текст.

THE BRYANSK REGION

The Bryansk region was formed on the 5th of July 1944. The official symbols of the Bryansk region, Flag, Emblem and Anthem were determined by the Regional Law «About the Symbols of the Bryansk Region», passed in 1998. Its Emblem symbolizes the unity of the three great Slavonic nations. It reflects the traditional spiritual values of Bryanskers; in particular, the battle glory, industrial mastery, arable farming. The Flag of the Bryansk region is a red banner with its Emblem in the centre. The song «The Bryansk Forest» by S.Katz and A.Sofronov is the Anthem of the Bryansk region.

The region consists of 27 districts and has 16 towns (5 of them are «sub-regional» ones), and 27 urban-type settlements. The largest cities are Bryansk, Klintzy, Novozybkov, Dyatkovo.

The Bryansk region stretches 270 km from west to east and 240 km from north to south. The total area is 34,900 square km. The population is 1,500,000 people (1 mln is urban). The Bryansk region borders on the Chernigov, Sumi regions of the Ukraine, the Gomel, Mogilev regions of Byelorussia, the Smolensk, Kaluga, Oryol and Kursk regions of the RF. There are many large and small rivers on the territory of the region. The longest among them are the Desna (1,187 km), the Iput and the Besed. There are 49 large natural lakes in the region. The largest ones are Besdonnoye, Krugloye, Svyatoye. The region has a temperate and continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. The Bryansk region is rich in forests which occupy one third of the total area. There are both needleleaf and broadleaf forests as well as mixed ones. A lot of different animals and birds live there.

The industrial development of the region began in the 16th century. Since then iron-producing, glass-producing, timber-processing factories appeared there. At the beginning of the 19th century textile industry began to develop near the town of Klintsy. Now the main industry is machine-building. Machine-building plants produce Diesel engines, diesel locomotives, refrigerator sections, irrigation and agricultural machines, tractors, instruments and equipment. Our plants also produce steel, timber, cement, brick, mineral fertilizer, different consumer goods and foodstuffs.

Agriculture also plays an important role in development of the region. The leading branch of agriculture is livestock-breeding. Our farms produce milk and beef, pork, mutton, chicken-meat and eggs. Livestock-breeding is closely connected with crop-growing. Farmers grow different grain-crops, potatoes, feed-crops and industrial crops. Grain crops are sown on large areas, but their yields are not high. The climate of the Bryansk region is favourable for growing such crops as winter-wheat and rye, spring barley, buckwheat, silage corn, potatoes. Potatoes are grown all over the region. Their yields are high. Industrial crops such as sugar-beets, flax, tobacco and others occupy an important place in crop-growing. Sugar beets are grown in the Brasovo, Komarichy and Sevsk districts. Flax is grown in the Kletnya, Rognedino arid Zhukovka districts.

The Bryansk region has a lot of environmental problems. They are air, water and land pollution, soil erosion, extinction of wildlife. The ecological situation, in many parts of the region is critical especially in the south-western districts that suffered from the Chernobyl disaster and to such towns as Fokino and Bryansk. The main sources of air pollution are industrial enterprises and transport. Water pollution and depletion of ground waters is another problem. Our lakes and rivers are being filled with oil, mineral fertilizers, chemicals, organic substances. One of the most important problems in the region is soil erosion. More than 150 thousand hectares of soil suffer from water erosion and about 2 thousand hectares from wind erosion. Radioactive contamination of the environment is a very serious problem. 22 districts of the region suffered from it as a result of the Chernobyl catastrophe. The total contaminated area is 11,868 square km where 500 thousand people live. The main task of our time is nature protection, that is rational use, reproduction and conservation of natural resources, protection of the natural environment from pollution and destruction.