Text 13. BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA.

Many many years ago there were a lot of forests in Europe. Many wild animals lived in the forests: bison, bears and large boars, foxes, elks and wolves. Beavers and big pikes lived in the rivers. The people who lived there began to turn forests into fields. But some of the forests were too big. People couldn’t turn them into fields. Belovezhskaya Pushcha was one of them. The greater part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha is in Belarus. The smaller part is in Poland. Its territory is about 79 hectares. There is a tower there near the town of Kamenets. The Russian prince Vladimir ordered his men to build it. They built it of white stone. They called the tower “vezha”.

The Pushcha is a reserve today. A lot of different animals and birds live in it. People look after them, give them food and protect them. The most famous animals of the Pushcha are bison. The animals there walk free. People can’t kill animals in the Pushcha.

Scientists work in the Pushcha all the time. They study the life of wild animals, birds and plants. They even give animals medicine. The Pushcha is a kind of a museum of natural history and a zoo. Many people visit the Pushcha and look at the animals. They also walk and rest in this beautiful forest.

Let’s have a look at the Pushcha.

Deep silence! Suddenly a beautiful deer runs out of the forest. He is not afraid of anybody. He knows that people protect him. We shall protect you, deer!

turn - превращать

hectare - гектар

reserve - заповедник

I. Answer the questions.

1. When were there many forests in Europe?

2. What animals lived in the forests then?

3. Why didn’t people turn Belovezhskaya Pushcha into a field?

4. What did prince Vladimir order to do?

5. What animals live in the Pushcha now?

6. What is the Pushcha today?

II. Find and translate the sentences that say:

1. What animals live in Belovezhskaya Pushcha today;
2. What scientists do in the Pushcha;
3. What people do in the Pushcha when they come there;
4. What the animals know there.

III. Complete the sentences according to the text.

1. ____________________________ lived in the rivers.
2. The territory of the Pushcha is_____________________.
3. They built the tower of___________________________.

4. The animals in the Pushcha_____________________.

5. Suddenly a deer_________________________________.

6. He is not_________________.

IV. Find the equivalents of the following words in the text.

1. много лет назад
2. некоторые леса
3. один из них
4. большая часть
5. город Каменец
6. назвали ее
7. самый знаменитый
8. все время
9. жизнь диких животных
10. даже

V. Describe Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Say:

1. what its territory is;
2. what tower is there;
3. who and when built the tower;
4. what it is today.