Prepare to deliver the text in front of the class as if you are a guide and your classmates are your tourists. Remember that the first minutes of your tour are very important.

· Greet the ‘tourists’ and introduce yourself. Use some of the techniques to make the beginning of the presentation interesting:

      - ask a question to think about;

      - tell an amazing fact;

      - tell a story or a personal anecdote.

· Look around while speaking. Don’t look into your notes or a window.

· Reading is inappropriate! Make eye contact with the people you speak to.

· Mind your body language! Don’t irritate your listeners with your jesters.

· Don’t let your voice drop at the end of the sentences. Vary the intonation, your voice will be more interesting to listen to.

· Use visual aids.

· If asked any questions, be polite and diplomatic as it is a good disarming tactic to deal with the audience. Remember:

- to thank ‘tourists’ for asking good questions;

- if you are asked a difficult question, say you don’t know for sure, ask the questioner what s/he thinks about it, be diplomatic, avoid saying “No”;

- if you are asked unnecessary questions, point out that you have already given this information and answer briefly again;

- if you are asked irrelevant questions, don’t be rude, be polite.

Project Work

Make a poster with the Golden Rules for a tour guide. Present your poster in front of the class.

For example:

Do              Don’t

Prepare strong beginning and ending talk with your back to the tourists

 

13. Imagine that you are a tour guide and your classmates are tourists. Make  a presentation of your native city. Use the following useful phrases:

· That’s a good/difficult/complex question.

· Thank you for asking that question.

· I’m glad someone asked that question.

· It allows me to say…

· As I’ve said/explained earlier,

· I’ve already made it clear that…

· As I’ve mentioned before….

· That’s not really my area, I’m afraid.

· I don’t have figures with me.

· I’m afraid this question goes beyond the subject of our today’s tour

· I’d be glad to discuss that with you personally after our excursion.

· I accept that

· That’s a fair point.

· I agree with what you are saying.

· Up to the point I agree.

· Are you saying that…

· What did you mean when you said…

· Could you say a little bit more about…

· Could you go over that again, please? It wasn’t very clear for me.

 

 

MODULE 2 HISTORY OF MOSCOW

Study the vocabulary.

1. tribes	- племена
2. the oldest evidence of humans	- первое появление людей
3. feudal	- феодальный
4. situated at the mouth of the Neglinnaya River	- расположенный в устье реки Неглинки
5. when the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants…	- когда воины Монгольского ханства Золотой орды сожгли город до основания и убили множество жителей…
6. Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo.	- Московский князь Дмитрий Донской возглавил объединенную русскую армию для великой победы над монголами в битве на Куликовом поле.
7. Tatars from the Crimean Khanate seized and burned Moscow.	- Татарские воины из Крымского ханства                 захватили и сожгли Москву
8. Moscow suffered a great fire.	- Москва пережила великий пожар.
9. conducted by	- под руководством
10. elected Michael Romanov tsar	- избрал Михаила Романова царем
11. establishing the Romanov dynasty	- установление династии Романовых
12. During the Great Patriotic War the Soviet State Committee of Defense and the General Staff of the Red Army were located in Moscow.	- Во время Великой Отечественной войны Советский Государственный комитет обороны и Генеральный штаб Красной армии находились в Москве.
13. engineering regiments	- инженерные полки
14. medal “For the defense of Moscow”	- медаль “За оборону Москвы”
15. coup attempt	- государственный переворот

 

Read the text and be ready to discuss it.

A Bit of History

The oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Stone Age (Schukinskaya Neolithic site on the Moscow River). Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered (the burial ground of the Fatyanovskaya culture, the site of the early-Stone Age settlement of Dyakovskaya culture, on the territory of Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, the Setun River, Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc.

In the end of 1st millennium AD the territory of Moscow and the Moscow Oblast was inhabited by the Slavic tribes of Vyatichi and Krivichi. In the end of 11th century Moscow was a small town with the feudal center and trade suburb situated at the mouth of the Neglinnaya River.

Moscow was firstly mentioned in the chronicles in 1147 when it was an obscure town in a small province inhabited mostly by Merya, speakers of a now extinct Finnic language. In 1156, Knjaz Yury Dolgoruky built a wooden wall and a moat around the city. After the sacking of 1237-1238, when the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants.

In 1300 Moscow was ruled by Daniil Aleksandrovich, the son of Alexander Nevsky and a member of the Rurik Dynasty. Its favorable position on the headwaters of the Volga River contributed to steady expansion. Moscow was also stable and prosperous for many years and attracted a large numbers of refugees from across Russia. By 1304, Yury of Moscow contested with Mikhail of Tver for the throne of the principality of Vladimir. Ivan I eventually defeated Tver to become the capital of Vladimir-Suzdal, and the sole collector of taxes for the Mongol rulers. By paying high tribute, Ivan won an important concession from the Khan. Unlike other principalities, Moscow was not divided among his sons but was passed intact to his eldest.

While Khan of the Golden Horde initially attempted to limit Moscow's influence, when the growth of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to threaten all of Russia, the Khan strengthened Moscow to counterbalance Lithuania, allowing it to become one of the most powerful cities in Russia. In 1380, prince Dmitry the Don (Donskoy) of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo. After that, Moscow took the leading role in liberating Russia from Mongol domination. In 1480, Ivan III had finally broken the Russians free from Tatar control and Moscow became the capital of an empire that would eventually encompass all of Russia and Siberia, and parts of many other lands.

In 1571 the Tatars from the Crimean Khanate seized and burned Moscow. From 1610 through 1612, troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied Moscow, as its ruler Sigismund III tried to take the Russian throne. In 1611 Moscow suffered a great fire. In 1612, the people of Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities conducted by prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin rose against the Polish occupants, besieged the Kremlin and expelled them. In 1613, the Zemsky sobor elected Michael Romanov as a tsar, establishing the Romanov dynasty.

Moscow ceased to be Russia's capital when in 1703 Peter the Great constructed St. Petersburg on the Baltic coast. However coronation ceremonies were still held in Moscow and Moscow remained the very heart of Russia. That’s why it became the main target of Napoleon’s attack. When Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, the Moscovites burned the city and evacuated, as Napoleon's forces were approaching on September 14. The Napoleon's army, plagued by hunger, cold, and poor supply lines, was forced to retreat.

In January of 1905, the institution of the City Governor, or Mayor, was officially introduced in Moscow, and Alexander Adrianov became Moscow's first official mayor (the current mayor is Yuriy Luzhkov). Following the success of the Russian Revolution of 1917, Lenin, fearing possible foreign invasion, moved the capital from St. Petersburg back to Moscow on March 5, 1918.

In the beginning of 20th Century, several strikes and armed risings in Moscow paved the way to the October Revolution. In 1918 the Bolsheviks moved the seat of government from Saint Petersburg back to Moscow. During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet State Committee of Defense and the General Staff of the Red Army were located in Moscow. In 1941 16 divisions of the national volunteers (more than 160,000 people), 25 battalions (18,000 people) and 4 engineering regiments were formed among the Muscovites. In November 1941, Nazi Army Group Centre was stopped at the outskirts of the city and then driven off in the course of the Battle of Moscow. Many factories were evacuated, together with much of the government, and from October 20 the city was declared to be in a state of siege. Its remaining inhabitants built and manned antitank defenses, while the city was bombarded from the air. On May 1, 1944 a medal "For the defense of Moscow" and in 1947 another medal "In the memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow" were instituted. On May 8, 1965 due to the actual 20th anniversary of the victory in World War II Moscow was awarded the title of the Hero City.

In 1980 Moscow hosted the Summer Olympic Games and greeted sportsmen from all over the world.

In 1991 Moscow was the scene of a coup attempt by conservatives opposed to the liberal reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev. When the USSR was dissolved in the same year, Moscow became a capital of Russia. Since then, the emergence of a market economy in Moscow has produced an explosion of Western-style retailing, services, architecture and lifestyles. Now Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world with great plans for the future.

3. Answer the following questions:

1. When was the oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow?

2. What tribes lived there?

3. When Moscow was first mentioned in the chronicles?

4. Who inhabited ancient Moscow?

5. What can you say about population and total area of Moscow?

6. What is the official date of foundation of Moscow?

7. Why the 15^th century is very important period in the history of Moscow?

8. Was Moscow the capital of Russia from the 15^th century to the year 1712?

9. Why was the capital transferred to St. Petersburg?

10. What ceremonies took place in Moscow?

11. Why the city was the main target of the Napoleon’s attack?

12. Who and when was the first Mayor of Moscow?

13. When the capital was returned back?

14. What can you say about the role of Muscovites in the World War II?

15. What medals and orders were given to the Muscovites after the World War II?

16. What title was given to the city in 1965?

17. What political events could people see in Moscow in 1991?

18. What can you say about modern Moscow?

4. Translate the following word combinations:

Один из старейших городов, впервые упомянут в летописях, ров и деревянная стена, феодальный, Монгольское ханство, Золотая орда, сожгли город до основания, под руководством, установление династии Романовых,

Петр Великий построил Санкт-Петербург на балтийском побережье, коронации, вторжение армии Наполеона, в начале ХХ века, большевики перенесли столицу в Москву, инженерные полки, штаб Красной армии, медаль “За оборону Москвы”, государственный переворот, Москва принимала Олимпийские игры, государственный переворот, современный город с большими планами на будущее.