St. Petersburg

1. St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Today St. Petersburg is one of the most important industrial, cultural, scientific and educational centres of the country, second only to Moscow. It is a large river and sea port in the delta of the river Neva that flows into the Gulf of Finland.

2. St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great in 1703. In 1712 the new city became the capital of Russia, and the whole country began to take part in its development. The city grew at unprecedented rate for those times and some 20 – 30 years after its foundation it was already one of the biggest cities of Europe.

3. From 1712 to 1918 St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia. During the First World War the city changed its name to Petrograd and in 1924 it became Leningrad. In 1991 the city returned its original name and in 2003 St. Petersburg celebrated its 300-th anniversary.

4. We shall always remember the most heroic and tragic pages of Leningrad history – the Leningrad blockade. The blockade continued from September 1941 to the last week of January 1944 – nearly 900 days. “The battle against the enemy was fought not only by every soldier but by every Leningrad citizen, by every child, woman and old person, ” wrote Olga Berggolts, the well-known poetess. Nearly half а million nameless heroes are buried only in the Piskarevskoye Cemetery.

5. St. Petersburg is a magnificent city with hundreds of historic monuments. There are over 80 museums, more than 20 theatres, a lot of exhibition halls, clubs, parks and gardens. Thousands of people visit its museums and art galleries every day. The famous Hermitage has the richest collection of pictures in the world. It numbers more than 2 million exhibits.

6. The city is famous for its architectural ensembles of the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The oldest part of the town is the Peter and Paul Fortress, which is situated on an island. You cannot imagine St. Petersburg without its numerous islands, rivers and canals that gave the city the name of the Northern Venice. Its beautiful palaces and churches, streets and squares, bridges and embankments are simply unforgettable.

VI. Прочтите 2 абзац и вопрос к нему. Из приведенных вариантов ответа укажите номер предложения, содержащего правильный ответ на поставленный вопрос.

When did St. Petersburg become one of the biggest cities of Europe?

1. At the beginning of the 19^th century.

2. In the first half of the 18^th century.

3. At the end of the 18^th century.

VII. Прочтите 6 абзац. Закончите данное предложение, выбрав соответствующий вариант.

The city was given the name of the Northern Venice because…

1. …it is a large river and sea port in the delta of the Neva River.

2. …there are numerous rivers and canals there.

3. …its beautiful palaces and churches, streets and squares are simply unforgettable.

Вариант 3

I. Перепишите следующие предложения. Определите по грамматическим признакам, какой частью речи являются слова, оформленные окончанием -s и какую функцию это окончание выполняет, т.е. служит ли оно: