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 historical associations than any other place in Moscow. The Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower, the Spasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country. On the territory of the Kremlin the Wilsons saw old cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Palace of Congresses, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and the bell in the world. St. Basil’s Cathedral was built in the mid-16^th century in memory of the victory over Kazan. Ther’s a legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architects Barma and Postnik, because he didn’t want them to create another masterpiece.

The Wilsons saw a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches and monuments. They had a chance to visit any of more than 80 museums: the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the Tretyakov Gallery, the All-Russia Museum of Folk Arts and the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art, Alexei Bakhrushin Theatre Museum and Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture among them.

In the evening the Wilsons decided to go to the Bolshoi Opera House, though it was very difficult to choose between a large number of popular theaters.

The Wilsons liked Moscow’s straight and broad streets and avenues. They admired the centre of the city with its theatres, cinemas, museums, monuments, and wonderful many-storied buildings. They were greatly impressed by the Kremlin, Red Square, Novy Arbat, which is one of the busiest streets in Moscow.

One day the Wilsons decided to see Moscow State University and the guide suggested their going there by metro. They liked the idea and joined a stream of people going downstairs into the metro. It seemed to them that nearly everyone in Moscow was in a hurry. Very few were satisfied to stand still and let the magic staircase carry them 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 and out. 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 the University that is situated on the Vorobyovy Hills and from there they enjoyed a most beautiful view of the whole city.

They went for a ride in the city. The size and the beauty of the capital made a great impression on the family. They saw endless streams of busses, trolley busses and cars in the streets, crowds of people walking along the pavements. They crossed the city in different directions but to their great surprise they saw the same thing everywhere: well-planned streets lined with trees, many-storied houses, big stores, hotels and beautiful squares. They saw no contrasts between the central part of the city and the suburbs.

The Wilsons went sightseeing every day of their stay in Moscow. And before their tour came to an end they had seen and learned a lot of interesting things about the capital and the country. They liked Moscow and Muscovites who are so hospitable and friendly.

I. Read the text ‘A visit to Moscow’. Give synonyms to the following word combinations:

1. journey out and home again during which several places are visited;

2. town or city where the government of the country is carried on;

3. wide street with buildings on one or both sides;

4. a building in which objects illustrating art, history, science, etc. are displayed;

5. building, column, statue, etc. serving to keep alive the memory of a person or event;

6. effect produced on the mind or feelings;

7. a person employed to point out interesting sights on a journey or visit;

8. large number of people together, but without order or organization;

9. a way at the side of a street for people on foot.

II. Give English equivalents to the following Russian word combinations:

приехать в Россию, приехать в аэропорт, осматривать достопримечательности, получить представление о чем-либо, величественные многоэтажные здания, оживленные улицы, поток людей, огромный размер, прекрасный вид, производить впечатление на кого-либо, идти по тротуару, в разных направлениях, гостеприимные и дружелюбные люди.

III. Match the parts of the sentences.

IV. Agree or disagree. Give your reasons.

1. It was the second time the Wilsons had visited Moscow.

2. They wanted to get a good idea of the Russian capital, so they visited as many places of interest as possible.

3. There’s nothing surprising in the centre of Moscow.

4. In metro everybody was standing still while the magical staircase was carrying them down.

5. The trip by tram demonstrated the Wilsons the immense size of Moscow.

6. The Wilsons were fond of Moscow and Muscovites.

V. Retell the text on the name of

a) Mr. Wilson;

b) Mrs. Wilson;

c) Mary Wilson;

d) the guide.

VI. Make sure you can translate the following text both ways: from Russian into English and vice versa.

VII. Find any proverb or saying concerning travelling, give its Russian equivalent. Illustrate it.

VIII. You are a manager of a travelling company. Compose a short advertisement to be placed on the Internet, so that people all over the world will get interested and make up their minds to visit Moscow.

IX. You are a foreign student having decided to enter one of Moscow higher schools. So you want to know about Moscow as much as possible. Think over the questions you want to ask a Muscovite using the Internet chat room. Write your questions down.