Oral Speech Practice Exercises
Ex.5. Practise reading the following flashes of conversation:
Dialogue
Mike: Hello, Nick!
Nick: How do you do, Mike? Have you been back long from your holidays?
M: No, I only came yesterday.
N: You look splendid. Where have you been?
M: I went on a journey from lake Baikal to the Far East.
N: Now long did it take you to get there? Was it a wonderful trip?
M: It took me some days to get to lake Baikal by train. You know it’s the world’s deepest lake - 1.600 metres.
N: Is it beautiful?
M: Our country is rich in beautiful lakes. I think it is one of the most beautiful lakes. It’s much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.
N: I see you were impressed with the beauty of nature. How did you find the Far East?
M: I went on a tour around different cities of Siberia and the Far East
N: Great! I think you enjoyed the trip. What are you going to do during the summer vacation?
M: I am going on a tourist trip around the northern Russian towns. I don’t like when it is hot, and besides, there are too many people there. I enjoy sightseeing about ancient Russian towns in the North.
N: Good luck to you. Good-bye!
M: Good-bye.
Ex.6. Comprise the similar flashes of conversation using words and word combinations from the text “The Russian Federation”
Ex.7. Prove that:
a) our country is one of the largest countries in the world;
b) Russia is a parliamentary republic;
c) the political and economic situation in our country is rather complicated.
Ex.8. Read the text and be ready: a)to answer questions below;
b)to give a short summary of the text B.
Text b moscow
Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and cultural centre.
I
t
was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Historians have
accepted the year of 1147 as the start of Moscow’s history.
Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the 13-th
century Moscow was the centre of the struggle of Russian lands for
the liberation from the tartar yoke [ta:t jouk]. In the 16-th
century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new
united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to
St.Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That is
why it became the main target of Napoleon’s attack. After the
October revolution Moscow became the capital again.
Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The population of the city is over 9 million. The heart of Moscow is Kremlin. It was built on the elevated left bank of the Moskva River at the decree of Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy.
The Kremlin didn’t always look the way it does today. The first Kremlin was small, only one-twentieth of the territory it occupies now. After two centuries the wooden walls were replaced by a fortification made of thick oak logs in the reign of Ivan Kalita. Intensive construction in the Kremlin took place under Ivan III, when Moscow had become the capital of the united Russian State.
Each century has left its imprint on the Kremlin. After the Patriotic War of 1812 the Kremlin had to be rehabilitated up to the middle of the 19th century.
After the Soviet capital was transferred from Petrograd to Moscow in March 1918, the Kremlin became the residence of the Soviet government. Now it is the residence of the President.
Moscow is famous for its theatres, museums, beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches, and monuments. Moscow is a city of students. There are over 80 higher educational institutions in it, including several universities.
Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament and the centre of political life of the country.