KHANTY-MANSIYSK AUTONOMOUS OKRUG – UGRA

Ugra, my sister is Ugra

My land is Ugra

Forever together, you and me

from the KhMAO-Ugra anthem

Exercise 1. Find the transcription and translation of these words in the dictionary and write them down:

autonomous                                         north

south                                           west

east                                             plain

rename                                        establish

protection                                   facilitation

growth                                        indigenous

stretch                                         tributary

foodstuffs                                   Census

exploitation                                          annual

unique                                         foreigner

amazing

Exercise 2. Match the pictures to the words / phrases: a) sledge-hockey; b) cross- chess; c) country skiing; d) forest; e) swamp; f) lake). Translate them into Russian.

1.                                                          2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Exercise 3. Look through the vocabulary again and insert the following missing words in sentences: was established; growth; exploiting; was renamed; protection; indigenous; south; unique; stretched; amazing.

1). This coat doesn't provide any _____ against the rain. 2) We are not fully ______ all the resources that we have. 3) Birds fly _____ in winter. 4) The fields ______ away into the distance. 6) Siam _____Thailand in 1939. 7) Everyone's fingerprints are _____. 7) The town _____ in 1822. 8) My sister has an ____ talent for languages. 9) The government is trying to limit population _____. 10) Protecting the rights of ____ people in education is important to maintain their cultural identity.

Exercise 4. Read and translate the text, give it a title.

Text I

The Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra is a federal subject of the Russian Federation situated in the central part of the Western Siberian Plain and the Ob-Irtysh river basin. Its administrative centre is the city of Khanty-Mansiysk. The Governor of the Okrug is Natalya Komarova.

Sometimes the official name of the okrug is shortened into Ugra (Yugra). From the historical point of view Ugra was a name for lands and peoples between the Pechora River and the Urals in the Russian annals of the 12th–17th centuries.

Ugra is an amazing unique natural territory with thousands of rivers and lakes, snow-covered mountain tops of the Pre-Polar Urals, and taiga forests which are represented in the official flag of the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug.

It's not hard to guess that «blue» in the flag symbolizes the water resources of the autonomous okrug. There are about 30 thousand rivers and 290 thousand lakes. «Green» symbolizes the boundless Siberian taiga. «White» reminds of the harsh winter, northern snows covering the territory of the autonomous okrug during seven months of the year, from October till April. The Siberian Crown is in the form of a deer antler which is a traditional element of the national ornament of the Khanty and Mansi, the indigenous peoples of Ugra.

Many people consider Ugra as a faraway and deserted land famous for it oil production. However, this land can impress visitors by developed infrastructure, the great number of hotels, entertainment, sports and cultural centers, ultramodern architecture, the network of roads in a good condition, 10 airports including international ones, railways and river transport.