Exercise 2. Complete the sentences from the text.
1. Staying in the indoors, one might prefer … .
2. Rest is … .
3. Leisure means … .
4. Sometimes leisure implies recreation … .
5. At our leisure time … .
Exercise 3. Fill in the gap.
1) My friend likes playing … chess. Не spends a lot …time … it.
2) We spent Sunday … the country. We went … there early … the morning and got back … town late … the evening.
3) We decided to ask our friends … dinner tomorrow. … dinner we are going … Central Park.
4) What are we having … dinner today?
5) I don’t want to go … the cinema tonight. My wife and I are going … a walk.
Exercise 4. Open the brackets using the necessary tense.
1) Yesterday (to be) my day off. I usually (to wake up) early on my day off, but sometimes I (not to get up) at once. I (to get up) at tight o’clock yesterday.
2) “When you (to have) breakfast yesterday?” “I (to have) breakfast at nine in the morning.”
3) We usually (to stay) in the country over the week-end, but the weather (to be) bad and we (not to go) to the country tomorrow.
4) “When you last (to go) to the theatre?” “Two weeks ago.”
5) I usually (to go) to bed at eleven o’clock. Yesterday my friends (to come) to see me, and I (to go) to bed at one in the morning.
Exercise 5. Tell your group mates about your leasure.
Тема 3: Мой родной город
Text A
ULYANOVSK
Ulyanovsk, former Simbirsk, is situated on the mid-Volga, the largest river in Europe. The other river, the Sviyaga, a tributary of the Volga, also runs through the city.
Simbirsk was founded in 1648 as a fortress which defended the eastern boundaries of the Moscow state. In 1924 Simbirsk was renamed Ulyanovsk after V.I. Lenin.
Since its foundation the city has played an important role in Russia as it occupied a favorable strategic position on the Volga. By the beginning of the 18th century Simbirsk had become famous throughout Russia as one of the richest grain markets on the Volga and as a supplier of fish, caviar, wool and hides. By the end of the 18th century the city had lost its defensive military importance, its population had become over ten thousand. Sixteen churches and monasteries had been built by that time. The greater part of its buildings was wooden.
Before the revolution there was no industry, no large factories and plants in Simbirsk. But today Ulyanovsk is a great industrial, cultural and educational centre of the Volga area. It has many plants and factories which produce automobiles, motors, machine-tools, footwear and other goods.
The city has many higher educational institutions, special secondary educational institutions and secondary schools. There are two theatres, a philharmonic society, several museums, palaces of culture, stadium in the city.
The best monuments of the past are carefully preserved. Among them are the house where Lenin was born, the houses where the Ulyanovs lived, the Goncharov Memorial house, the monuments to Karamzin and Goncharov and many others.
Vocabulary
To be founded - быть основанным
To defend - защищать
To be preserved - сохраняться
A tributary - приток
A fortress - крепость
A grain market - зерновой рынок
A supplier - поставщик
A church - церковь
A philharmonic society - филармония
Boundaries - границы
Caviar - икра
Wool - шерсть
Hides - шкуры
Favourable - благоприятный
Wooden - деревянный
Exercise 1. Answer the questions:
1. Where is Ulyanovsk situated?
2. When was the city founded?
3. What was Simbirsk famous for?
4. What places of interest in Ulyanovsk do you know?
5. What rivers run through the city?
6. Were there any churches and monasteries before the revolution?
7. Simbirsk defended the western boundaries of the Moscow state, didn`t it?
8. What outstanding people lived and worked in Ulyanovsk?
Exercise 2. Are these statements true or false?
1. Simbirsk was founded in 1647
2. Since its foundation Simbirsk has played an important role in the world.
3. By the end of 18th century the city had lost its defensive military importance.
4. The greater part of its buildings was wooden.
5. In 1924 Simbirsk was renamed Ulyanovssk after I.N.Ulyanov.
6. The best monuments of the past are care fully preserved.
7. There are four theatres in Ulyanovsk.