1. Its overall length is 2,235 metres (2,444 yards), but the height ranges from 5 to 19 metres, depending on the terrain.
2. Originally there were seventeen Kremlin towers, but their number increased to twenty in the 17th century.
3. The massive limestone facade, capped with its five wooden cupolas was the design of Aristotele Fioravanti.
4. Its 21 bells would sound the alarm if any enemy was approaching.
5. The Tsar Bell, the smallest bell in the world, stands on a pedestal next to the tower.
6. The next oldest is the last home of the royal family, the Terem Palace.
7. The Terem Palace was commissioned by Nicholas I in 1838.
8. The northeastern section of the Kremlin holds the Armoury building.
IV. Match the words and their definitions.
1) tile; 2) staircase; 3) secular; 4) façade; 5) domestic.
a) something that doesn't have any connection with religion;
b) the front of a building, especially a large or attractive building;
c) a set of stairs inside a building, usually with a bar fixed on the wall or onto vertical poles at the side for you to hold on to;
d) relating to a person's own country;
e) a thin, usually square or rectangular piece of baked clay, plastic used for covering roofs, floors, walls.
V . Translate into English:
· квадратный в плане
· известняковый фасад
· верхняя часть строения
· светское сооружение
· юго-западная часть
· цветные изразцы
· личные покои царей
· Оружейная палата
VI. Translate into Russian:
· exorbitant sum
· secular structure
· domestic churche
· Pskov artisans
· the Palace of Facets
· superb icons and frescoes
· to be forbidden
· the Resurrection of Lazarus church
· over the years
· capped with cupolas
· extant structure
· Napoleonic Invasion
· strips of colored tiles
· reception halls
· sound the alarm
VII. What happened in these years?
1485, 1495, 1479, 1489, 1627, 1644, 1491, 1851.
VIII. Name the most important structures of the Moscow Kremlin.
IX. Work in pairs. Ask 10 questions to the text.
X. Retell the text.
St. Basil's Cathedral
Although it's known to everyone as St. Basil's, this legendary building is officially called "The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat". The popular alternative refers to Basil the Blessed, a Muscovite 'holy fool' who was buried on the site (in the Trinity Cathedral that once stood here) a few years before the present building was erected.
The Cathedral was ordered by Ivan the Terrible to mark the 1552 capture of Kazan from Mongol forces. It was completed in 1560. That's pretty much all the genuine history that's known about this celebrated landmark. There, however, scores of legends. Nothing is known about the builders, Barma and Postnik Yakovlev, except their names and the dubious legend that Ivan had them blinded so that they could not create anything to compare. Historians unanimously state that this is nothing but urban folklore.
Architectural specialists are to this day unable to agree about the governing idea behind the structure. Either the creators were paying homage to the churches of Jerusalem, or, by building eight churches around a central ninth, they were representing the medieval symbol of the eight-pointed star. The original concept of the Cathedral of the Intercession has been hidden from us beneath layers of stylistic additions and new churches added to the main building. In fact, when built, the Cathedral was all white to match the white-stone Kremlin, and the onion domes were gold rather than multi-colored and patterned as they are today.
In the 17th century a hip-roofed bell tower was added, the gallery and staircases were covered with vaulted roofing, and the helmeted domes were replaced with decorated ones. In 1860 during rebuilding, the Cathedral was painted with a more complex and integrated design, and has remained unchanged since.
For a time in the Soviet Union, there was talk of demolishing St. Basil's - mainly because it hindered Stalin's plans for massed parades on Red Square. It was only saved thanks to the courage of the architect Pyotr Baranovsky. When ordered to prepare the building for demolition, he refused categorically, and sent the Kremlin an extremely blunt telegram. The Cathedral remained standing, and Baranovsky's conservation efforts earned him five years in prison.
The Cathedral is now a museum. During restoration work in the seventies a wooden spiral staircase was discovered within one of the walls. Visitors now take this route into the central church, with its extraordinary, soaring tented roof and a fine 16th Century iconostasis. You can also walk along the narrow, winding gallery, covered in beautiful patterned paintwork.
Active vocabulary :
to blind - ослепить
dubious - сомнительный
homage - дань
to match - соответствовать
demolishing - снос
blunt - резкий, грубый
route - маршрут
EXERCISES
I. Fill the gaps in the following sentences:
1. Although it's … to everyone as St. Basil's, this legendary building is officially called "The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat".
2. Nothing is known about the builders, Barma and Postnik Yakovlev, except their names and the dubious legend that Ivan had them … so that they could not create anything to compare.
3. In fact, when built, the Cathedral was all white to match the white-stone Kremlin, and the onion domes were gold rather than multi-colored and … as they are today.
4. In the 17th century a … bell tower was added, the gallery and staircases were covered with vaulted roofing, and the helmeted domes were replaced with decorated ones.
5. For a time in the Soviet Union, there was talk of … St. Basil's - mainly because it hindered Stalin's plans for massed parades on Red Square.
6. Visitors now take this route into the central church, with its extraordinary, soaring tented roof and a fine 16th Century …
II. Find in the text the synonyms for the following words:
to build, to require, doubtful, complement, polychromatic, unaltered, breakdown, renovation.
Дата: 2019-03-05, просмотров: 292.
