English for 1st Year Students: Geography and Russia

1. Stereotypes about Russia

We have asked some foreigners what ideas of Russia they have (the answers are from a real Internet forum). Say which of them you agree/ disagree/ find common / surprising/shocking. Make your comments.

• ‘People there are very good-looking, all of them are blond. Have a look at Putin, for example!’ (China)
• ‘Russians love dRinking vodka! P.s. don’t woRRy about steReotyPes, most people think that in Brazil there is only samba. I HATE samba!’ (Brazil)
• ‘My teacher once said that in Russia it is not a crime if husband would kill his wife. I don’t believe it, though.’ (Great Britain)
• ‘Cold — yeah that would be the first thing that comes to mind.’ (Trinidad and Tobago)
• ‘The streets are not safe from gangs and armed men.’ (Egypt)
• ‘hmm Stalin? 🙂 sorry joke…I think you are good at teams sports like volleyball or basketball… football of course too.’ (Poland)
• ‘Russians always eat rye bread with herring.’ (Netherlands)
• ‘I hate Russian fashion, because there is lots of fur! Haven’t you heard of Green Peace, guys??’ (United States)
• ‘Russian children dream of leaving the country as soon as they are 18.’ (Germany)
• ‘People from Russia are very hospitable. If they invite you, you can be sure of a big welcome!’ (Italy)

1 a) Geographic features

Match the following geographic features with their Russian equivalents.

1. continent	a) океан
2. country	b) река
3. city	c) континент
4. ocean	d) озеро
5. sea	e) страна
6. river	f) пустыня
7. lake	g) город
8. steppe [step]	h) гора
9. plain	i) море
10. forest	j) равнина
11. desert [‘dezƏt]	k) лес
12. mountain	l) степь
13. island [‘aılƏnd]	m) канал
14. peninsula [pƏ’nınsjƏlƏ]	n) остров
15. canal [kƏ’næl]	o) полуостров
16. tundra [‘t˄ndrƏ]	p) тундра
17. taiga [‘taıgƏ]	q) тайга

b) Name the geographical features you can see on the map below.

2. Vocabulary practice

Practise reading the following words and geographic names.

• the Russian Federation [ðƏ r˄ʃn feder’eıʃn]
• Europe [‘juƏrƏp]
• Asia [eıʒƏ]
• the Pacific [ðƏ pƏ’sıfik]
• the Arctic [ðı a:ktık]
• the Atlantic [ðı Ət’læntik]
• China [tʃaınƏ]
• Mongolia [mɒŋ’gƏulıƏ]
• Korea [kƏ’ri:Ə]
• Kazakhstan [.kæzæk’sta:n]
• Georgia [‘ʤɔ:ʤƏ]
• Azerbaijan [.æzƏbaı’ʤa:n]
• Norway [‘nɔ:weı]
• Finland [‘fınlƏnd]
• the Baltic States [ðƏ bɔ:ltık steıts]
• Belorussia [.belƏu’r˄ʃƏ]
• Ukraine [ju:’kreın]
• Siberia [saı’bıƏrıƏ]
• the Urals [ðı juƏrƏlz]
• the Caucasus [ðƏ ‘kɔ:kƏsƏs]
• the Altai [ðı a:l’taı]
• the Volga [ðƏ ‘vɒlgƏ]
• the Caspian Sea [ðƏ kæspıƏn si:]
• the Ob [ðı ɒb]
• the Yenisey [ðƏ jini’seı]
• the Lena [ðƏ ‘leınƏ]
• the Amur [ðı Ə’muƏ]
• the Far East [ðƏ .fa:r’i:st]
• Lake Baikal [leık ‘baıka:l]
• Moscow [‘mɒskƏu]

Vocabulary and Grammar Notes

Words:

• occupy [‘ɒkjƏpaı]
• surface [‘sɜ:fıs]
• scenery [‘si:nƏrı]
• climate [‘klaımət]
• temperate [‘tempƏrət]
• legislative [‘leʤıslƏtıv]
• executive [ig’zekjƏtıv]
• judicial [ʤu:’dıʃl]

NB! The with geographical names

The is used before	The is omitted before
Oceans, Seas, Rivers, Canals, groups of islands/states, mountain ranges, deserts, names with ‘of’	Continents, Names of countries (but: the Netherlands, (the) Sudan, the Vatican City), Cities (but the Hague), Individual mountains, Islands, Lakes

3. Text: The Russian Federation

Complete the table:

Location
Total area
Lowland/Highland
Water Resources
Natural Resources
Population
Political System
Capital
Colours of the flag

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth’s surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. The current population of Russia is 142 million of people.

The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia and Ukraine. It also has a sea-border with the USA.

There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.

Text continued

There are two Great Plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountain chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.

There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe’s biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers — the Ob, the Yenisey and the Lena — flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into Pacific Ocean. Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world’s deepest lake (1600 meters) is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it. Russia has one-sixth of the world’s forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.

On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.

Russia is very rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.

Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of the State is the President. The legislative powers are exercised by the Duma. The executive power belongs to the Government and the judicial – to the System of Courts.

The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre. It is one of the oldest Russian cities.

At present, the political and economic situation in the country is rather complicated. There are a lot of problems in the national economy of the Russian Federation. But in spite of the problems Russia is facing now, there are a lot of opportunities for this country to become one of the leading countries in the world.

4. Definitions

Match the following words with their definitions. Define the part of speech.

1. surface	a) beautiful natural environment
2. to occupy	b) to divide into parts
3. scenery	c) top part of something
4. vegetation	d) liquid used as a fuel
5. to separate	e) to use a place or period of time
6. lowland	f) plants
7. oil	g) black substance, burnt to get heat
8. coal	h) flat land, same level as sea

5. Collocations

a) Match adjectives with nouns to make meaningful collocations.

1. total	a) resources
2. vast	b) economy
3. natural	c) area
4. mineral	d) climate
5. parliamentary	e) territory
6. executive	f) country
7. complicated	g) gas
8. national	h) power
9. leading	i) republic
10. temperate	j) population
11. current	k) situation

b) Fill in the gaps with the collocations above.

Canada occupies most North America. It is the world’s second largest country by (1)_______________after Russia. The (2)_______________ of Canada provides a wide variety of climates throughout the country. For example, Coastal British Columbia enjoys a (3)_______________, while Prairie provinces experience a continental one. Canada is a (4)_______________. Its strong democratic traditions have made it one of the (5)_______________ in the world though it had a (6)_______________ with the British Monarchy during World War II. The (7)_______________ is directed by the Cabinet of ministers. The (8)_______________ is 32 million people, including English (21%), French (15.8%), Scottish (15.2%), Irish (13.9%), German (10.2%), Italian (5%), Chinese (3.9%), Ukrainian (3.6%),etc. Canada’s two official languages are English and French. Canada is one of the world’s wealthiest nations. Agricultural products play an important part in the (9)_______________. Canada is also a global source of many (10)_______________, such as gold, nickel, aluminium, and (11)_______________.

6. Prepositions and Questions

a) Fill in the gaps with the following prepositions: in, into, by, on, into, to.

a) Japan is a country of over three thousand islands washed (1)_____ the Pacific Ocean.

b) Japan doesn’t border (2)_____ any countries because it is an island.

c) Japan is rich (3)_____ gold, magnesium, and silver, though it is dependent on foreign sources for many of the minerals.

d) The Shinano River is the longest river in Japan flowing (4)_____ the Sea of Japan at Niigata City.

e) Most of the population is concentrated (5)_____ Tokyo because of education and job opportunities.

f) Japan is an island, but it belongs (6)_____ the continent of Asia.

g) The legislative power is exercised (7)_____ the Diet of Japan.

b) Put all possible questions to the sentences above.

Vocabulary Summary

You should remember the following words and phrases!

• to occupy — занимать
• to cover — покрывать
• a surface — поверхность
• scenery — пейзаж
• vegetation — растительность
• highland — высокогорье
• lowland — низменность
• temperate — умеренный
• oil — нефть
• coal — уголь
• iron ore — железная руда
• natural gas — природный газ
• copper — медь
• mineral resources — природные ископаемые
• legislative — законодательный
• executive — исполнительный
• judicial — судебный
• to border — граничить
• to flow into — впадать (о реке)
• to exercise — исполнять, осуществлять