The first thing I am going to tell my foreign visitor about is the geography and climate of Russia, as the geographical position and climate of a country influence the country’s economy; the second reason is that they influence lifestyles and the health of its people, as well as the national character. The Russian Federation, or Russia is the largest country in the world. Its vast territory lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. The country is washed by three oceans (the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Pacific) and twelve seas (the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Azov Sea and others).
Russia borders on many countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania in the north, China, Mongolia, North Korea and others in the south-east, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine in the west, and others. The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range.
The Caucasus contain Mount Elbrus, Russia’s and Europe’s highest point at 5,633 m. The more central Ural Mountains, a north-south range that forms the primary divide between Europe and Asia, are also notable. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes in the country. Notable rivers of Russia in Europe are the Volga, Don, Kama, Oka and the Northern Dvina, while several other rivers originate in Russia but flow into other countries, such as the Dnieper and the Western Dvina.
In Asia, important rivers are the Ob, Yrtysh, Yenisei, Angara, Lena, Amur and Kolyma. The largest lakes are Baikal, Ladoga and Onega. Baikal is the deepest fresh-water lake in the world and its water is the purest on Earth. The climate of Russia is varied, from arctic and subarctic in the north, continental in the centre, to subtropical in the south.
The
Russian Federation is extremely rich in natural and mineral resources. It has deposits of oil, gas, iron, gold, non-ferrous metals and many other minerals. The second thing I am going to speak about is Russia’s economy as I believe economy is a foundation of any country’s life.
The economy of Russia is going through a transitional period from the centrally planned socialist economy to a market economy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the greater part of industries were privatized, agriculture and land underwent partial privatization later and are still undergoing it. After the crisis of 1997 and the depreciation of the rouble followed by sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population, Russia’s economy faced recession. The economy started recovering in 1999, partially because of high export prices on oil and gas which Russia is rich in. Russia is still heavily dependent on export of oil, gas and timber, while its industrial and farming sectors are still weak as compared with those of the developed countries, but the rate of economic growth of the country is very high.
If the rate is the same within a period of several years, Russia will be the second largest European economy after Germany. The third point I am going to touch upon is Russia’s political system. The current population of Russia is about 143 million people. The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, with a population of about 11 million people. Russia is a parliamentary republic.
Head of State in the country is President, directly elected for a four-year term, who has considerable executive power and is head of the executive branch of the government. The government consists of three branches: legislative (the Federal Assembly, consisting of the Federation Council and the State Duma), executive (the government, or the Cabinet of Ministers) and judicial (the system of courts, including the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and other courts). The national flag of Russia is a white-blue-and-red banner. The national language of the Russian Federation is Russian.
The Orthodox Church is the dominant religion in Russia. And finally, I am going to speak about Russian culture. Russian culture abounds in names which are famous all over the world. Actually, there is no field in science or arts where Russia failed to contribute to the world’s intellectual and artistic treasure-houses, (see ‘Outstanding People’)
Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Считается, что географическое положение и климат оказывают влияние на экономику, стиль жизни страны и национальный характер. 2. Обширная территория России омывается тремя океанами и двенадцатью морями и граничит со многими странами. 3. Ландшафты (land) разнообразны, от лесов до пустынь, от высоких гор до глубоких долин и включают большое количество горных цепей, в том числе Кавказ с самой высокой точкой Европы – горой Эльбрус, Уральские горы, Алтай и т. д. 4. В России много больших рек и озер, в том числе Байкал, самое глубокое и чистое пресноводное озеро в Европе.
5. После распада Советского Союза Россия проходит через переходный период – от социалистической экономики, основанной на централизованном планировании, к рыночной экономике. 6. Большая часть отраслей промышленности России уже приватизирована, а сельское хозяйство все еще проходит приватизацию. 7. Кризис и обесценивание рубля привели к резкому падению уровня жизни большей части населения, Россия переживала экономический спад.
8. Хотя Россия до сих пор сильно зависит от экспорта нефти, газа и леса, а ее промышленный и сельскохозяйственный сектора слабы, темп экономического роста очень высок. 9. Россия – парламентская республика, в которой главой государства и исполнительной власти является президент, избираемый прямым голосованием на четырехлетний срок. 10. Законодательная власть представлена Федеральным Собранием, состоящим из Совета Федерации и Государственной Думы, исполнительная власть представлена президентом и советом министров, судебная власть состоит из Конституционного суда, Верховного суда и других судов. 11.
В культуре России очень много известных имен, поскольку Россия внесла большой вклад в мировую интеллектуальную и художественную сокровищницу.
1. The geographical position and climate are believed to influence the country’s economy, lifestyles and the national character. 2. Russia’s vast territory is washed by three oceans and twelve seas and borders on many countries. 3. The land varies greatly from forest to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys and has a lot of mountain ranges including the Caucasus with Europe’s highest point Mount Elbrus, the Ural Mountains, the Altai and so on. 4. Russia has a lot of great rivers and lakes including Baikal, the deepest and the purest fresh-water lake in the world, 5. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Russia has been going through a transitional period from the centrally planned socialist economy to a market economy.
6. The greater part of Russia’s industries have already been privatized, and agriculture is still undergoing privatization. 7. The crisis and depreciation of the rouble resulted in sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population, Russia was facing recession. 8. Though Russia is still dependent on export of oil, gas and timber and its industrial and farming sectors are still weak, the rate of economic growth is very high.
9. Russia is a parliamentary republic with President, directly elected for a four-year term, as Head of State and head of the executive branch of the government. 10. The legislative branch of the government is represented by the Federal Assembly consisting of the Federation Council and the State Duma; the executive branch is represented by President and the Cabinet of Ministers, the judicial branch consists of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and other courts. 11.
Russian culture abounds in famous names, as Russia has contributed greatly to the world’s intellectual and artistic treasure-houses.
Из пособия “ЕГЭ. Английский язык. Устные темы” Занина Е. Л. (2010, 272с.) – Part one. English examination topics.
Forms 9/11.
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