Учебное пособие по профессионально-ориентированному чтению для студентов I-II курсов по специальности «Социально-культурный сервис и туризм»

II Make general, alternative, disjunctive and special questions to the given sentence

Kostroma is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma rivers.

III Answer the questions:

1 Where is Kostroma situated?

2 When was the city first recorded?

3 Is it true that Kostroma was sacked by Mongols?

4 When was it?

5 Who was Vasily the Drunkard?

6 Did Kostroma serve as a place of retreat for the grand dukes?

7 What has happened in 1357?

8 What can you say about the trade connections of Kostroma with Dutch and English merchants?

9 Who rebuilt the Ipatievsky and Epiphany monasteries in stone?

10 Who was the symbol of the Russia resistance to the Poles?
IV Find the English equivalents to the given words:

Слияние, век, составлять, княжество, наследники, был ограблен, торговые связи, купцы, быть свидетелем, крестьянин, сопротивление, иноземные завоеватели, посольство, нетронутый, следы.

V Find Russian equivalents to the words below:

Confluence, to besiege, to be looted, to ravage, to expel, to retain, arcaded, five-domed, edifice, to perish, Minster house, vestiges, unearned, conventional, to resolve, Hypatian Codex, intact, demolished.

VI Finish the sentences:

1. 
   Kostroma is a historic city … .
   
2. 
   As one of the northernmost … .
   
3. 
   Kostroma was twice … .
   
4. 
   The heroic peasant … .
   
5. 
   It is understandable why … .
   
6. 
   The monastery had been founded … .
   
7. 
   The Romanov Tsars had the magnificent … .
   
8. 
   In 1773, Kostroma … .
   
9. 
   The minster house … .
   
10. 
    Apart from … .
    

VII Summarise the text in 10 sentences
Yaroslavl
I Read the text and make the plan

Yaroslavl is a city in the Russian federation, on the upper Volga River, about 150 miles (250 km) northeast of Moscow. The city, capital of Yaroslavl oblast, forms part of the central industrial region, of which Moscow is the core. Yaroslavl is situated at the Moscow-Archanport, the city stretches about 15 miles (25km) along the right bank of the Volga where the latter is joined by the small Kotorosl River. Yaroslavl is noted for its manufacture of synthetic rubber, rubber tired, resin-asbestos materials, chemicals, and trucks. It also produced machinery, petroleum products, cotton and lines textiles, and foodstuffs. The city is powered by coal-burning electric plants and hydroelectric plants, which lie upstream on the Volga River.

A Kremlin was built at the mouth of the Kotorosl sometime between 1010 and 1025 to strengthen the defenses of the Kievan Russian state against the raids of the Pechenegers, and the town was named after Yaroslav (the Wise), grand prince of Kiev. Despite its river location, Yaroslavl’s development was slow during the 11^th and 12^th centuries, but it became an important center of religious culture. In one of Yaroslavl’s monasteries, the manuscript of the 12^th-century tale “The Word of the Campaign of Igor” was found. In 1238 Yaroslavl was sacked by the Mongol-Tatars on their sweep over much of Kievan Russia. Two centuries later, in 1463, Yaroslavl accepted the overlordship of the rising Muscovite principality.

When the Mongol-tatar yoke was finally lifted, Yaroslavl’s fortune began to improve. The city’s position on the upper Volga afforded it great commercial advantages, particularly when, in the latter 16^th and 17^th centuries, the Volga River became a major trade artery with Central Asia and the East. The development of trade between west European counties and Muscovy by way of the White Sea also benefited Yaroslavl, which lay on the card road connecting Archangel with Moscow. One of the famous churches built during this period was the Church of St. John Chrysostom in Korovniki (1649–1654), which shows a blending of Eastern and Western styles; its use of colored tiles suggests a Dutch influence.

The opening of the Gulf of Finland and the subsequent building of St. Petersburg by Peter I (the Great) at the beginning of the 18^th century siphoned off the trade that had hitherto passed through Yaroslavl. In the mid-19^th century the population was only about 27,000. During the period of Soviet rule, however, the city once more enjoyed rapid growth. It possesses a philharmonic orchestra and a fine dramatic theater, founded in 1750. Population: 636,000(1990 etc).

Yaroslavl lies at the intersection of several major highways, railways, and waterways. Preceded by Viking sites such as Timerevo from the 8^th or 9^th centuries, the city is said to have been founded in 1010 as an outpost of the Principality of Rostov Veliky, and was first mentioned in 1071. Capital of an independent principality from 1218, it was incorporated into Muscovy in 1463. In the 17^th century it was Russia’s second largest city, and for a time (during the Polish occupation of Moscow in 1612), the country’s de facto capital. Today, Yaroslavl is an important industrial center (petrochemical plant, tire manufacturing plant, diesel engines plant and many others).

The city has many Russian Orthodox churches, one Russian Old Believers church, one Baptist church, one Lutheran church, one mosque and one synagogue.

Yaroslavl has many institutions of higher education including: Demidov University, Polytechnical University, Ushinskiy Pedagogical University, Medical Academy, International University for Business and New Technologies (MUBINT). Military institutions include the High Military Financial School and the High Anti-aircraft Missile School.

II Answer the questions:

1 Describe the location of Yaroslavl.

2 Speak on the history and the formation of the city.

3 What do you know about the Yaroslavl Kremlin?

4 What do you know about the development of Yaroslavl in 11 – 12^th centuries?

5 What famous manuscript was found in one of the Yaroslavl monasteries?

6 When was the city sacked by the Mongol-Tatars?

7 When did Yaroslavl accept the overlordship of the rising Moscovite principality?

8 When did the Volga become a major trade artery with the central Asia? And the East?

9 What do you know about the Church of St. John Chrysostom?

10 Describe the period of 18 – 19^th centuries in Yaroslav?
III Make up general, special, alternative, disjunctive questions to the given below sentences:

1 The Mongol-Tatar yoke was finally lifted in 15^th century.

2 In the mid-19^th century the population was only 27,000.
IV Finish the sentences:

1 The opening of the … .

2 The development of the trade between … .

3 Despite its river location … .

4 The city, capital of Yaroslavl oblast … .

5 A kremlin … .

6 Yaroslavl is noted … .

7 In the mid-19^th century … .

8 Yaroslavl has many … .

9 Yaroslavl lies … .

10 In one of Yaroslavl’s monasteries … .
V Reproduce the text in 10–15 sentences
Uglich, Better than Its Name
I Read and translate the text. Use dictionary if necessary

Collective English wisdom has it that any person has three characters: the one that he exhibits, the one that he pretends to have, and the one he actually has. That’s also true about provincial Russian towns. Uglich is no exception.

Your first impression of this town totally depends on how you enter it. If you have chosen a river cruise vessel, the first thing you see is the magnificent Stalin era triumphal arch, huge enough for ships to pass under it. This is the flood-gate of Uglich Hydropower plant, built in 1937. The ensemble of the power plant is really outstanding from the engineering point of view and actually stylish.

By the end of the 1920s, Russia was in a great need of electricity, while the Volga River had become too shallow for ship traffic. Hence, two problems were solved at once: the water level was lifted by 18 meters and two power turbines were installed in Uglich. At the time, dozens of villages and churches were permanently flooded. As sanitary norms of the time required demolishing houses before flooding, some buildings that could be actually saved were destroyed, for water had not lifted as high as it was expected to. Among the buildings destroyed for nothing was the Pokrovsky monastery of St. Paisius, a very important pilgrimage destination, famous for its unique interior decoration.

If you approach Uglich by car or by bus, the impression is much different. That is actually the best way to be introduced to Uglich, for all old roads leading to Uglich from Yaroslavl’, Rostov and Moscow are surrounded by old houses and churches. Two–storied wooden houses on the town’s outskirts, built in the 1920s and 1930s, are just a prelude to the buildings of the late 19^th century. Among them are houses of ordinary citizens and manors of rich merchants and noblemen. Classic-styled houses with white columns and porticos were usually built by aristocratic families, while merchants preferred Russian traditional wooden style; constructions of the latter category were decorated by wooden carving that is now carefully restored. This carving will be surely noticed by any visitor of the town – though is not as old as it seems to be, it’s a perfect piece of artwork. Churches of Uglich, mostly built in the end of the 17^th century, serve as an ideal accomplishment to the simple, but beautiful ensemble of a Russian provincial town of the past. The inhabitants of Uglich do their best to support this image of old provincial Russia. The private museum of old town life, standing on the main square of the town, exhibits numerous items that help visitors understand what life in an old town was like a hundred years ago.

Uglich is also accessible from Moscow to Rybinsk and some other towns that lie between Yroslavl’ and Saint-Petersburg – that is, to quite distant and unpopulated places. When one exits the train in Uglich the station represents well what most provincial Russian railway station look like. The surroundings, which are mostly plants and factories, traditional for Soviet towns. Today, most industry in Uglich is a thing of the past: for instance, Chaika, the famous clock factory, is now for sale. To cut a long story short, railway travel can help you get general feeling about life in the Russian countryside; but it’s obviously not the best way to see the town at its best.

Despite all this, people of Uglich are truly beautiful. Believe it or not, no drunken people were seen during the holiday evening. What’s more, dogs of the town look well-fed and satisfied, which means that the inhabitants of the town are kind enough. Some Uglich dogs don’t even dark – they just stroll through yards and streets like Indian holy cows. What else does one need to call the town a pleasant place to visit?
Vocabulary

demolish – разрушать

manor – поместье

porticos – галерея

caving – впадина

stroll – прогуливаться

allegedly – будто бы

legate – посол, представитель

homage – уважение, дань
II Answer the questions:

1 What characters does any person have?

2 In what way were the problems of the end of the 1920s solved?

3 Aristocratic families usually built houses in Russian traditional ‘wooden’ style, didn’t they?

4 When were the churches of Uglich built?

5 Where is the private museum situated?

6 How do Uglich surroundings look like?

7 What can you say about people of Uglich?

III True or false

1 If you have chosen a river cruise vessel, the first thing you see is Uglich Hydropower plant.

2 The Pokrovsky monastery of St.Paisius is famous for its history.

3 Houses built in 1920s and 1930s are the main architectural monuments in Uglich.

4 You can get to Uglich only by train.

5 Today industry in Uglich is highly developed.

6 Uglich is an interesting destination and not only for the onion-like domes of its churches.

7 The inhabitants of Uglich do the best to support the image of old provincial Russia.

Rostov the Great. Lives up to the Claim
I Read the text and make the plan

There are actually two towns named “Rostov” in Russia. One is named “Rostov the Great” and has a population of 37,000; the other is called “Rostov-upon-Don” and is more than 10 times larger than its brother. Nevertheless, the smaller Rostov acquired the ‘Great’ in its name over 900 years ago, when Moscow was a small wooden fortress. Such things frequently occurred to Russian towns: Great historical points gradually lost there importance relative to newer location.

To understand the special aura of Rostov the Great, one most appreciate the location of the town. Rostov stands upon Lake Nero, right at the northern edge of the Opolye district. Opolye, a narrow strip of fertile black soil among the poor grey lands of Central Russia, was a key area for agriculture. Therefore, Rostov and Suzdal (also in Opolye) became natural capitals of the surrounding regions. Rostov influenced the rise of Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Belozersk and other towns of the North-Eastern part of Russia. It was one of two towns that fostered the expansion of the Russian frontier, along with Novgorod. Never center of military strengths or other kinds of raw power Rostov was instead of spiritual point of utmost importance. Even when the town lost all its power, the cathedral of the Metropolitan remained in Rostov and developed into the Orthodox center, for all North-Eastern Russia. This strong spiritual center, combined generous donation from tsars, boyars and profit from real estate belonging to the Church, enabled the Rostov Metropolitan Jonah to erect the prefect ensemble that still impressed visitors to this day.

The sights of Rostov that make the town a top tourist destination are the kremlin (the fortress) and the surrounding monasteries. They form the typical structure of the core fortress and the surrounding bastions, characteristic of Russian towns of 15^th and 17^th centuries. Spaso-Yakovlevsky, Avraamiev and other monasteries served as bastions, and the residence of the Metropolitan was the central dungeon of the entire defensive complex. Strangely no enemy threatened to town at the end of the 17^th century when these defenses were built. And here we touch on a matter tightly connected to Russia’s medieval world-view.

According to the writings of Russian clerics in the 17^th century, sacred objects like churches and monasteries symbolically represented the structure of the real, as well as the supernatural, world. Therefore, the residence of the Metropolitan, who spiritually fights the powers of evil, is similar to an important fortress, and the monasteries resemble bastions. The walls and towers at the kremlin are about 10 meters high and 2,5 kilometers long, with elevations arranged so that one can walk around the whole fortress without descending to ground level. Aesthetic and sacred considerations are visible in the kremlin defenses. For example, all the gates contain images of majestic churches.

Rostov has not been a traffic hub since time immemorial – a rare case for a Russian town. But around the kremlin the market was always active, for a local peasants developed high skills of agriculture – thanks to their Opolye once again. Rostov onions, for example, have become, somehow the best in Russia – though inhabitants of neighboring Suzdal doubt this claim and insist their onions are best.

New changes came with the industrial era and Rostov was rather late with reforms. Still, some textile factories were established here by the end of the 1950s, this status was not an obstacle for Rostov, but later the trend of ‘industry or poverty’ dominated the Russian province. Rostov was forced to accept poverty.

In the 1960s, when the Golden Ring travel route was established in Russia, Rostov was a premier feature. Among with Suzdal, Rostov was given the status of museum reserve, and this status was incompatible with development. Tourism and state funding became the main sources of income for Rostov, together with a declining agriculture tradition.

Today, Rostov remains a poor town, and this is rather obvious around the kremlin grounds. Some old stone houses (Classic-Art Noveau-Empire-style) are in terrible condition and deteriorating. Rostov inhabitants do not seem prosperous, and they walk down the streets, as tourists depart, to drink their usual vodka. Those who are engaged in the travel industry have jobs and some money; but those who are not, have the choice to migrate to Yaroslavl or Moscow – or suffer. A difficult choice, but an inevitable one today. The transformation to the post-industrial stage will take decades. Will Rostov, one of Russia’s fairy-tale towns, survive the wait?
II How many new words from this text have you learnt?

Write them down and make up sentences of your own
Read and translate the text. Use dictionary if necessary

Rostov the Great is an ancient town, first mentioned in "The Chronicle of Past Times" in 862 A.D.

Rostov did not aspire to political authority, always conducted a trade policy, and collected cultural wealth on huge spaces of Northeast Russia. In Rostov the first Episcopal faculty, the first Uspenski cathedral (991) were based. Rostov was the constant participant of all political events connected with the activity of Grand dukes, Tsar Ivan Grozny, Romanov House.

Rostov repeatedly was exposed to invasions, destructions and fires. Last destruction has fallen at the beginning of 17th century when the city practically has been destroyed.

Since 17th century Rostov began intensive construction of the temples, monasteries, public and residential buildings which are kept up to now.

Nowadays there are 323 monuments of architecture in Rostov among which about 100 have federal value, and the ensemble of Rostov Kremlin which is of the world value.

Marking a significant amount of historical, cultural monuments on the territory of Yaroslavl region (more than 3600), including more than 2700 monuments of architecture, it is necessary to underline that the potential of Rostov and the Rostov area in a historical and cultural heritage of area makes 17 %. 117 rural settlements of the area (from 879 of the region) are historical (13 %). And our district (from 17 areas of the region) is one of the richest in Russia by quantity of historical and cultural monuments.

In turn, the historical center of Rostov has 12 % of 43 % of historical and cultural potential; it has rather favorable micro relief and has kept a unique historical complex of fortifications of XVII century and territory of an esplanade. Also it has a convenient (historically developed) configuration and an output on water area of Lake Nero (about 1200 meters of quay).

Across Rostov there is a set of proceedings, nevertheless it is impossible to say, that its heritage and the richest history is fully investigated. One of such objects which demanding special attention is the cultural layer of the town, ХI–XIII the centuries, which can be compared only with Novgorod.

The important elements of the culture of Rostov the Great were the crafts. The main of them are: the well-known enamel – the Rostov enamel and black-polished ceramics.

The museum of church antiquities was opened on the territory of Rostov Kremlin in 1883 by the public of the town, is also the heritage of Rostov reflecting a life and spiritual predilections of its inhabitants.

During the times presence of powerful cultural potential and affinity to capital, attracted a plenty of pilgrims to Rostov. Among them there were members of Romanov family, the well-known art workers of Russia (N. Rerin, F. Shaljapin, K. Korovin and many others).

Having visited the State museum (Rostov Kremlin is an especially valuable monument of Russian people) is possible to know a lot about culture and history of Rostov.

Rostov the Great is one of few towns of Russia, kept as complete town-planning formation with its picturesque architectural and natural landscape. It has served as the reason of that the town was included in a number of Federal programs: “Revival and development of small cities of Russia”, “the Golden Ring of Russia”, in the target program “Development and preservation of culture and art of the Russian Federation”, “Preservation and development of architecture of historical cities”. Since 1997 together with the Council of Europe the project of development of the program of complex revival of small historical town – “the Strategic plan of development of Rostov the Great” is conducted.

Rostov the Great is the applicant for inclusion in the List of the World Heritage of UNESCO, and in 1999 (New York) has come in the program of 100 monuments requiring rescue, carried out by “Fund of world monuments”. Rostov is included in the project of the Council of Europe “the European territories of crafts – the Rostov enamel – Limoges enamel (France)”.
II What is the difference between this provincial town and our native city? Make up a dialogue on this topic. Discuss the history, places of interest and current situation in these areas
Pereslavl: Where Ingenuity Rules
I Read the text

Like other small towns, Pereslavl walks the razorblade between being abandoned and becoming a generic tourist town.

Some forty years ago, the Soviet authorities made a serious attempt to set up a travel industry in the USSR. As a result, the Golden Ring route was established and opened for trav­elers from abroad. Even today this is the most visited route in Russia. Urbanized and industrialized cities like Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl did not suffer any difficulties as a result of the influx of countless crowds of travelers, but minor pla­ces like Rostov and Suzdal became totally dependent on tourists. Are these towns now anything more than the embalmed corpses of what were once living places, each one with its own distinctive personality? The answer is, that at least some of them are.

Pereslavl is small, but it is still a liv­ing town on the road from Moscow to Yaroslavl (M8). As one of the old­est Russian towns, in which many architectural relics are preserved, Pereslavl is obviously a must-see town on the Golden Ring route. The federal historical and architectural museum-reserve has its premises in the ancient Goritsky Monastery. It is responsible for almost every historical or cultural relic in the town. The “Peter's Boat” museum, which contains a collec­tion devoted to Peter the Great, is located nearby (Veskovo village). This Russian reformer tsar lived in Pereslavl during his boyhood, and it is there that he established his “toy fleet” on the large and beautiful Pleshcheevo lake (the town stands on its bank). Despite its «reserve» status, some industrial concerns con­tinued to work in Pereslavl – the monopoly manufacturer of photo­graphic paper (“Slavich”) was located here, among others. Despite this, by the end of the Soviet era the town was in danger of losing its economic independence and looked to be fac­ing hard days.

During the early 1990s, Pereslavl suffered the same problems as all other Russian towns – except, maybe, for Moscow. There was sim­ply no money to maintain the everyday life of the town. In 1992 and 1993, getting fuel for heat­ing was quite a problem – luckily, it was not too hard to establish business links between Pereslavl and the authorities of the nearby peat mines. Later, the nor­mal rhythms of the town's life was gradually resumed. “Slavich”, the town's largest company, managed to change its activity and started producing pack­aging material – today, packaging is “Slavich's” main trade. Other compa­nies were gradually driven out of cri­sis or peacefully closed. However, as the 21st century came in, another threat emerged for Pereslavl – that is, the threat of losing the town's vivid­ness and becoming purely a tourist destination like the neighboring town of Rostov, where life stops when the coaches leave.

This was when some people here said, “Why don't we have something unusual to make sightseeing more amusing?” That was in 2002 when a private museum of irons was launched by the enthusiast collector Andrei Vorobiev. Much like an antique shop, not to say a flee mar­ket, this museum is not a profession­al institution – still, it is far more amusing to visit than serious state-owned museums. The house where the irons museum is located is paint­ed a jolly green, and there is a nice little souvenir shop on the ground floor. Although the museum can be entered for free, visitors are advised to make donations – and, last but not least, there is a successful trade in souvenirs and antiques. That's how this distinctive place has man­aged to become one of the town's most famous peculiarities and to make money at the same time. In 2003, the museum of teapots was established near the Peter's Boat house – also by Vorobiev. The muse­um is much like the museum of irons – except for the fact that the exhibits differ slightly.

The third private museum – and the oldest of them – is 11 kilometers from Pereslavl. Some years ago, a narrow-gauge railway existed near Pereslavl; today, because the peat pits are nearly closed, the railroad has come out of usage. Thanks to some railroad enthusiasts the Re­mains of the road, including the sta­tion Talitsa with its depot facilities, locomotives and cars, were turned into the Pereslavl Railroad Museum. It is undoubtedly worth a visit. Unlike in many other places, restora­tion works are being carried out here to make the museum a really brilliant destination one day.

Today, Pereslavl has several prob­lems to solve – but the overall condi­tion of the town remains far from disastrous. There is no danger of Pereslavl turning into a typical tourist town after all – and perhaps, this is mostly due to the town's inhabitants – who are both industri­ous and truly ingenious.