Question

Travelling huge distances is no longer the miracle it once was. Millions of people travel around the globe to see other countries and continents, modern cities and ruined ancient towns. They travel to enjoy picturesque places, to explore the world or just for a change of scene. They can cross half the globe only to hear the same song in the clubs that they hear back home, watch the same film in the cinemas, have the same hamburger in the fast-food restaurants and the same " free smile". Travelling has become easier, but there seems to be no less reason to travel.

Those who live in the country go to big cities and spend their time visiting museums and art galleries, or just going window shopping and dining at exotic restaurants. Those who live in the cities like holidays by the sea or in the mountains, with nothing to do but walk and bathe and laze in the sun.

Most travelers and holiday-makers have a camera with them and take pic¬tures of everything that interests them - the sights of a city, old churches and castles, views of mountains, lakes, valleys, plains, waterfalls, forests and what not. Each journey brings cups, T-shirts and enough photographs to decorate a huge palace: you in New York, you in Trafalgar Square, in Scotland, etc. When they return from journeys they stick a drawing pin into the places they've visited on the map of the world in the bedroom. The best way to study geography is to travel, and the best way to get to know and understand the people is to meet them in their own homes.

When it comes to exciting journeys, there is a country that attracts lots of tourists. Yes, it's Russia! The great thing about Russia is that not many people want to go there, at least not beyond the Hermitage and the Golden Ring. It's too cold they say. But they are wrong! There are quite a lot of beautiful places around Russia. Some tourists like to travel further, to other famous Russian cities such as Kazan, Samara, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk and others. They can enjoy the endless tundra and taiga, fish in crystal-clear lakes, breathe clean air, and warm themselves by a fire in the evening. Then they can live and not just visit museums and churches. There they discover the real nature of the Russians.

Every Russian believes that there is no place like home.

2. Find the words and the word combinations in the text which have a similar meaning to the following:

1 a person on holiday -

2 unusual -

3 looking at the goods in shop windows -

4 an event that can not be explained by the laws of nature - …………

5 food that is quickly and easily prepared - ………………………..

3. Find the words with opposite meaning.

Safe noisy exciting prosperous ancient dirty dangerous quiet boring poor modern clean



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