The Town of Tver

The town of Tver stands on the great Russian river Volga. Tver is one of the oldest Russian towns. It is 12 years older than Moscow. Tver was founded in 1135. It played a great role in the early history of our country. In 1755 Tver became the principle town of the Tver province.

In the XVIIIth century Catherine the Great sent a group of architects headed by P.R. Nikitin to restore the town after two great fires. The best architects of Russia А.V. Kvasov and М.F. Kasakov worked up the town development plan. The town planning was considered to be a height of three-rayed architectural composition. It has been preserved to our days. Many beautiful buildings designed by them are examples of Russian architecture. These buildings are: the Travel Palace, a number of buildings in Octagonal Square and on the bank of the Volga River.

Many famous Russian poets and writers came to Tver many times.. Some of them lived or stayed here for a long time: A.S. Pushkin, I.A. Krylov, M.Y. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L.N. Tolstoy, I.I. Lazhechnikov. Monuments to all these people were erected in our town. On the left bank of the Volga River we can also see the monument to the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin who was the first to visit India.

In the second part of the 19th century Tver became a large industrial town. Here appeared large textile mills, a steam mill, a timber mill and a railway carriage building plant. Now Tver is a big industrial centre. Its population is about 500 000. There are many large enterprises of engineering, metal working, textile, chemical, polygraphical and other industries: a printing combine which publishes text-books and magazines, a larger combine of children books, an excavator works, an artificial fibre combine and an artificial leather combine.

Many new modern houses were built in the former «outskirts».

Now it is also a big cultural centre of our country. Its Drama Theatre, Philarmonic Society, Children's Theatre were built after the war. Tver has many cinemas, clubs, palaces of culture, a television centre and many libraries. The Gorky Regional Library founded one hundred years ago is housed in a new building now. It has over 600, 000 books.

There are many educational establishments in our town. Among them are State University, Technical University, State Medical Academy and Agricultural Academy.

The country around Tver is very picturesque. The town of Tver grows and becomes more beautiful from year to year. Its old history, advantageous geographical location between the two Russian capitals, rich nature, developed industry, intellectual, scientific and cultural potential are sure to attract tourists to the Tver Region.

I. Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1) Where does the town of Tver stand?

2) When was Tver founded?

3) Is Tver older than Moscow?

4) When did Tver become the principle town of the Tver Province?

5) By whom was the centre of the city designed?

6) What buildings were built by these architects?

7) What famous people lived and worked in Tver?

8) In what way were they immortalized?

9) Is Tver a large industrial centre now?

10) What large Tver enterprises do you know?

11) What is the largest library in Tver?

12) How many higher schools are there in Tver?

13) Why is our town so attractive for tourists?

II. Образуйте от следующих глаголов существительные с суффиксом -er, переведите:

to design, to found, to play, to build, to reconstruct, to visit, to research, to print.

III. Прочитайте следующие слова, обращая внимание на ударение:

Tver Province, architect, architecture, Octagonal Square, Embankment, monument, large textile mills, railway carriage building plant, enterprise, printing and publishing combine, artificial fibre and leather combine, Drama Theatre, Philharmonic Society, many stadiums, picturesque, to surround, tourist.

IV. Переведите на английский язык следующие предложения:

1) Тверь - один из старейших русских городов.

2) Он расположен на Волге.

3) Город Тверь на 12 лет старше Москвы.

4) В Твери много современных предприятий.

5) В городе живет около 500 тысяч человек.

6) Тверь растет и становится краше с каждым годом.

7) Полиграфический комбинат выпускает сотни учебников и журналов.

8) Памятник Афанасию Никитину находится на берегу Волги.

9) Библиотека имени Горького – одна из старейших в городе.

V. Прочитайте следующие предложения, вставив вместо точек глаголы, дан­ные под чертой, в соответствующей форме.

1) Tver... in the 12th century.

2) The centre of the town... by Kasakov and Nikitin.

3) This centre... to our days.

4) A monument to Krylov... in our town.

5) Many new buildings... in the former «outskirts».

6) The Gorky Library... in a big building.

7) The town... by forests.

to design, to surround, to found, to preserve, to house, to build, to erect.

UNIT 6