Ex. IX, p. 257
There is no other country in the world whose nature is more varied than that of Russia. The western half of the country consists mainly of low plains. The country is divided into two parts by the Ural mountains. The greater part of the eastern half is covered with vast plateaus and mountain chains. Here, on the Kamchatka Peninsula the biggest active volcanoes of the Old World are located.
In the south the plains of the western half of the country are bounded by huge mountain ranges. Here are the countrys highest peaks.
Many of the rivers of Russia are among the worlds greatest. The most important rivers of the western plain are the Volga, the Western Dvina, the Don and the Northern Dvina.
In the Far East the Amur flows into the Pacific.
In lakes, too, our country is extremely rich. Among them are the worlds greatest lake, the Caspian Sea, and the deepest — Lake Baikal.
Ex. XI, p. 257
Our motherland is immense. Its by far the largest and richest country both in Asia and Europe. Its frontier line is the longest in the world.
Natural conditions in Russia vary greatly. If you cross Russia, from the extreme North to the South, you will get a good idea of the climate contrasts, to say nothing of the difference in scenery and vegetation, characteristic of various geographical zones. Siberia is unlike the Urals, the face of Tatary differs from that of the Caucasus. One region is rich in one thing, another is rich in another.
88 Essential Course
Perhaps no countrys geographic location has played such an important part in its history as Russias. Half Europe and half Asia, its history has revolved round/around/about this basic fact.
Ex. XV c), p. 259
The British Character
The national character dies hard wherever you go. And to no; other nation does that apply to a greater degree/extent than to the, English whose nature seems to have a sort of patent for constancy. Its stability and permanence is their most obvious/noticeable feature. They are less liable to bow to newfangled trends and transient fashions than other nations. However, one must emphasize /However, it is noteworthy that for all its stability the English national character is made up/composed of contradictory and even paradoxical traits, some of which strike the eye/leap to the eye whereas others are hardly discernible. So any generalizations concerning the English can be disputed.
A materialistic nation — who ever will question that? — the English have nevertheless given the world generously of mystics, poets and idealists. A nation of colonists, they display an ardent devotion to their own country and home.
