Тема / Топик по английскому языку:
Moscow’s Places of Interest

Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation. It attracts tourists from ail over the world.

Moscow is known for its beautiful old cathedrals, churches and monasteries. Some of them date from the 15th to the 17th centuries. Before the revolution of 1917 Moscow had 350 churches, but many of them were destroyed after the revolution.

Moscow is also noted for its art museums. The most popular of them are the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. The Tretyakov Gallery houses a unique collection of Russian painters. Almost all famous Russian painters are represented there.

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts contains a vast collection of antiquities and a well-known collection of modern foreign painters including Impressionists.

The oldest part of Moscow is the Kremlin. This is the main tourist attraction in Moscow. The Kremlin stands at the heart of the city. The word «Kremlin» means «fortress», and the Moscow Kremlin used to be a fortress. In 1156 a small settlement of Moscow was surrounded by a wooden wall, and became a Kremlin. The town and the Kremlin were burnt in 1237 and 1293 during the Tatar invasion, but they were rebuilt. In 1367 Prince Dmitry Donskoy built a white-stone wall around the Kremlin. In the 15th century, by order of Tsar Ivan III the Kremlin was surrounded by a new red-brick wall.

Twenty towers of the Kremlin wall were constructed in the end of the 17th century. By that time Moscow had already ceased to be a fortress. The towers were built for decoration and had no military significance. Five of the towers were gates. The Tainitskaya Tower had a secret passage to the Moskva river. The Spasskaya Tower is the symbol of Russia and Moscow. It has a famous clock; one can hear its chimes on the radio. The clock which we can see today was installed in the middle of the 19th century.

The buildings inside the Kremlin wall were built between the 15th and the 17th centuries. There are the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great (16c), and a famous group of churches. The Uspensky Cathedral is the largest one. It was built in 1479; Russian tsars and emperors were crowned there. In the Archangel Cathedral one can see tombs of Moscow princes and tsars. Among them are the tombs of Ivan the Terrible, his sons Ivan and Tsar Fyodor. Blagoveshensky Cathedral was built in 1484. It is noted for its frescoes by Andrei Rublyov and his pupils.

Granovitaya Palata is another masterpiece inside the Kremlin wall. Moscow tsars held magnificent receptions in honour of foreign ambassadors there. The Tsar Cannon (16 century) and the Tsar Bell attract crowds of tourists, too.

Outside the Kremlin Wall there is the famous Red Square. Tourists can look at the magnificent Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, the Lenin Mausoleum and the monument to K. Minin and D. Pozharsky.

Topical Vocabulary

Answer the questions:

1. What is Moscow known for?
   
2. What are the most popular art museums in Moscow?
   
3. What is the main tourist attraction in Moscow?
   
4. What is the history of the Kremlin towers?
   
5. What are the Kremlin cathedrals famous for?
   
6. What are other masterpieces inside the Kremlin wall?
   
7. What buildings and monuments attract tourists outside the Kremlin?
   

Translate into English:

1. Старинные церкви, соборы и монастыри привлекают тысячи туристов со всего света.
   
2. Москва знаменита своими художественными музеями, в которых размещаются уникальные коллекции произведений русских и зарубежных художников.
   
3. Кремль привлекает огромное количество туристов.
   
4. Когда небольшой поселок обнесли стеной, он стал крепостью.
   
5. Во время татарского нашествия Кремль несколько раз разрушали, но быстро отстраивали.
   
6. Башни Кремля были построены для украшения, когда Москва перестала быть крепостью.
   
7. Колокольня Ивана Великого и соборы были построены между 15 и 17 веками.
   
8. В соборах Кремля короновали и хоронили (bury) царей и императоров.
   
9. Великолепные соборы Кремля известны также своими фресками.