Read and translate the words and word expressions below:

 

 

southwest Siberia, beyond the Urals, the Russian Empire, the seat of, the Governor General of Western Siberia.

Classify the words into subject groups.

 

imperia, distance, capital, center, kilometres, southwest, imam, bishop.

 

 

Remember the words and word combinations given below.

proclaim – провозглашать

see of the bishop – епархия митрополита (епископа)

gold reserves – золотой запас

Read this text quickly and define the main idea of this text.

 

Omsk is a city in southwest Siberia in Russia, the administrative center of Omsk Oblast. It is the second-largest city in Russia beyond the Urals. The distance from Omsk to Moscow is 2,700 kilometres.

In the Russian Empire, it was the seat of the Governor General of Western Siberia. For a brief period during the Russian Civil War in 1918–1920, it was proclaimed the Capital of Russia, and held the imperial gold reserves.

Omsk is the administrative centre of Siberian Cossacks, the see of the bishop (metropolitan) of Omsk and Tara, and the imam of Siberia.

Using the information from the text above, complete these sentences.

 

1.Omsk is the second-largest ….

2. In the Russian Empire ….

3. … it was proclaimed the Capital of Russia ….

4. Omsk is the administrative centre ….

Work with your partner. Compose 4 or 5 questions to the text.

Read and remember the following words and word combinations:

 

confluence – слияние

altitude – высота

freight – фрахт, груз

lumber-rich – богатый пиломатериалами

scheduled – по расписанию

destination – место назначения

 

8. Read and translate the words and expressions:

North-flowing, Trans-Siberian railway, mineral-mining towns, important air gateway, the Far East.

Reading

Read and translate the text about location of Omsk city.

Location

Omsk is situated on the banks of the north-flowing Irtysh, at its confluence with the Om River, at an altitude of 87 metres, and on both branches of the Trans-Siberian railway. It is 2,700 kilometres east of Moscow. The Irtysh and the Ob Rivers connect Omsk with coal and mineral-mining towns in Kazakhstan, as well as oil, natural gas and lumber-rich northern Siberia. Scheduled and charter flights link Omsk Tsentralny Airport with multiple domestic and international (primarily, German) destinations, making it an important air gateway to Siberia and the Far East.

Answer the questions to the text.

Where is Omsk situated?

What altitude is Omsk situated at?

How distant is Omsk from the capital of RF?

What makes Omsk an important air gateway to Siberia and the Far East?

Does Omsk have links with many domestic and international destinations?

Complete the following sentences using the contents of the text

1. Omsk is situated on....

2. …. on both branches of the Trans-Siberian railway.

3. The Irtysh and the Ob Rivers connect....

4.... makes Omsk an important air gateway to Siberia and the Far East.

Vocabulary Training