№1: a) прочитайте и письменно переведите текст: the taimyr peninsula is the most northerly piece of land in the world that is still attached to a continent. it is located in north-central siberia in krasnoyarsk region, in russia. the northernmost point of the peninsula is cape chelyuskin. vilkitsky strait and severnaya zemlya lie to the north of it. the kara sea and the gulf of yenisei river are stretched to the west of the peninsula; the laptev sea and the gulf of khatanga are stretched to the east of taimyr. the taimyr peninsula occupies approximately 400 000 km2. in the centre of the peninsula, there are the byranga mountains, reaching a height of 500-1125 meters, and the huge lake taimyr. the southern border of the peninsula is the northern part of the putarana plateau. the most part of taimyr is covered by low-lying arctic tundra with permafrost just beneath the surface. the climate is very severe there with long cold winters and short cool summers. the temperature in winter may fall to - 60°c. winters bring strong ice-blast wind that may become the cause of severe snowstorm. the polar night lasts for 45 days without sun while the polar day lasts for 68 days without dark. the taimyr is a breeding ground for huge numbers of geese and waders. the red-crop goose is one of the rare birds that live on the territory of taimyr. musk ox is another representative of the taimyr fauna. there are also millions of wild reindeer, large population of artic fox, ermine and snowy owl. walruses have historically always come ashore on the taimyr, but as the sea-ice retreats further north each summer, they appear in even larger numbers. moreover, there are clearly substantial numbers of polar bears, wolverines and brown bears but very little is known about them. in fact, very little scientific research has been done in taimyr at all, so there are huge holes in biologists’ knowledge. b) ответьте на вопросы по тексту: 1. where is the taimyr peninsula situated? 2. what is the area of the taimyr peninsula? 3. what is the climate there? 4. name all the representatives of the taimyr fauna noted in the text.
