THE TOWN OF TVER

The town of Tver stands on the great Russian river Volga. Tver is one of the oldest Russian towns and it is an administrative, indu-strial and cultural centre of the Tver province.

Tver was founded in the 12^th century by the people of Novgorod and played an important part in the early history of our country. In 1755 Tver became the principle town of the Tver province.

Many famous Russian writers came to Tver, some of them lived there. The great fable-writer Krylov passed his childhood and youth in Tver. A.S.Pushkin visited Tver several times and even wrote one of the chapters of his "Onegin" here. The great Russian writer M.E. Saltykov-Shedrin was the vice-governor of our town during three years.

In the second part of the 19^th century Tver became a large indu-strial town. Here appeared large textile mills and a railway carriage building plant.

Among the enterprises built after the Great Patriotic War are: a printing and publishing combine which turns out millions of copies of textbooks and magazines and a combine of children' books; an artificial fibre combine; an artificial leather combine; an excavator plant and many others.

Tver has become a big cultural centre. There are many libraries, about ten cinemas, more than twenty clubs and palaces of culture. We can visit several museums, an Art Picture Gallery, many exhibi-tions, Drama Theatre, Children Theatre, Puppet Theatre, Philhar-monic Society, Circus.

Tver is the town of students. There are many higher educational establishments both state and private in Tver. Thousands of stu-dents from all over the country and from abroad study at the Tver State University, the Tver State Polytechnical University, the Tver State Military University, the Tver State Medical Academy, the Tver State Agricultural Academy.

Answer the following questions:

1. Where is Tver situated? When was the town of Tver founded?

2. When did Tver become the principal town of the Tver province?

3. Who were the famous visitors of our town?

4. What industries appeared here in 19^th century?

5. Enumerate the main industrial enterprises of the town?

6. What can you say about cultural life in Tver?

GREAT BRITAIN.

Great Britain lies on the Atlantic coast of Western Europe, sepa-rated from France by only 34 km (21 miles) of water. It is made up of three countries: England, Scotland and Wales. Great Britain with Northern Ireland forms the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The capital of the whole United Kingdom is Lon-don, in England. The capital of Wales is Cardiff, and Scottish capi-tal is at Edinburgh.

Great Britain's largest island neighbour is Ireland. This is mainly occupied by the independent Republic of Ireland. The re-mainder is Northern Ireland which is a part of the UK. Many small islands are also linked with the United Kingdom.

Although a small island, Great Britain has a remarkable variety of landscapes. To the north and west are highlands - the mountains of Scotland, Cambria and Wales, and the Pennine Chain. To the east are flat plains, and in the south are lowlands broken by low ranges of hills. To the southwest are the bleak moors of Devon and Cornwall.

The continent of Europe extends out below the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, in the form of a continental shelf. Great Britain is perched on this shelf, surrounded by the shallow waters of the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the English Channel.

A warm ocean current, the Gulf Stream, washes Britain's we-stern shores. This water hits up and cools down very slowly. Britain therefore enjoys warmer winters and cooler summers than other co-untries at the same latitude. The west of the island has a higher rainfall and slightly milder climate than the east.

Britain has been many centuries in the making. The Romans conquered most part of Britain, but were unable to subdue the independent tribes in the West and the North. Other invaders were Angles, Saxons, Vikings and Normans. England waged numerous colonial wars and was the empire for many centuries. England was the first country where capitalism was established.

The UK is a constitutional monarchy. The powers of the British Queen are limited by the Parliament. The British Parliament con-sists of the sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding.

The agricultural area of England is toward the English Channel and the Continent of Europe. The Cheviot Hills, the Pennines influ-ence the climate of the country thus it often rains in the western part where mountains lie near the west coast. So the soil in many parts of Highland Britain is thin and poor. Lowland Britain is a rich area with fertile soil.

The types of farms in Great Britain are different in different soil and climatic areas. The eastern part of the island that is on the other side of the mountains and farther from the Ocean is the driest and most farms are arable there. The farmers grow different crops. In the western part of the country most farms are dairy. Small farms in Britain are usually mixed farms on which farmers both grow crops and keep farm animals.

Britain has a mild climate. The temperature seldom exceeds 32⁰C or falls below zero. Thus farmers work all the year round.

The main agricultural products of Britain are wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, milk and different kinds of meat. Britain usually imports meat, butter, wheat, tea, fruit, tobacco.

Answer the following questions:

1. Where are the British Isles situated?

2. How many parts is Great Britain divided into?

3. What proves that Great Britain has a variety of landscapes?

4. How does the Gulf Stream influence Britain's climate?

5. What is Britain's history?

6. What is Britain's political system?

7. What are Britain's chief industries?

8. What can you say about climatic conditions and agricultural

areas in Highland Britain and Lowland Britain?

9. Why do farmers work fields all the year round?

10. What are the main agricultural products in Britain?

11. What products does Britain import?

LONDON

London is the capital of Great Britain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is one of the largest and most beautiful cities in the world.

London today stretches for nearly 30 miles from north to south and for nearly 30 miles from east to west. This is the area known as "Greater London" with a population of 9 million.

If you fly low over London in a helicopter you'll see below you the river Thames. It divides London into two parts.

The heart of the business and financial life of the country is the City. It is a very small part of London, only one square mile in area but it's one of the busiest parts of the capital. High office buildings stand on either side of the narrow streets, all business firms are concentrated here. The most striking building in the City today is St. Paul's Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren a famous English architect of the 17^th century.

About two miles westward is another part of London that is called the West End now. It is a fashionable quarter of London with the best shops, theatres, clubs and hotels, palaces and parks. Picadilly Circus is situated also in the West End. It is a square from which some of London's best-known streets - Picadilly St., Regent St. and the Haymarket radiate. Picadilly Street ends at Hyde Park famous for its vast territory, its lake and the "Speaker's Corner".

The Haymarket leads to Trafalgar Square which was laid out in 1821-41. In the centre of the square you can see fountains and the Nelson's Column, a monument to Lord Nelson, the famous English admiral. To the north of this square is the National Gallery. The broad thoroughfare to Parliament Square is Whitehall, the political centre of Great Britain. The most of the government offices are situated in this street. Downing Street №10 is the official residence of the Prime Minister. In the Parliament Square there we can see the House of Parliament with the clock Big Ben on the Clock Tower. In the same square there is another historic place - Westminster Abbey at which all kings and queens are crowned. It dates back to 1049. Many famous people are buried in the Abbey among them Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, etc.

To the East of the City there is the Port of London. Here are a lot of docks; it's an industrial area that depends on shipping. This is the East End of London, unattractive in appearance but very im-portant to the country's commerce.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the capital of the United Kingdom? What river divides it

into two parts?

2. What is the heart of the financial life of the country?

3. What is the most striking building of the City?

4. What is the West End like?

5. What streets and squares do you know in the West End? What

are they known for?

6. What is Hyde Park and Westminster Abbey famous for?

7. Where is the House of Parliament situated?

8. What is the East End like?