A) Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the questions. 1. Why does Khreshchatyk attract the visitors?
2. What kind of place was it many years ago?
3. Did anybody live there then?
4. What did Kyivan princes do in the swampy place?
5. Where does the word 'Khreshchatyk' come from?
6. What does the street look like today?
7. When doesn't traffic run in Khreshchatyk?
8. What can children enjoy doing on Sundays in the centre of Kyiv?
1:
We can say that modern space exploration exists because of the two countries who competed to reach space: the USA and the former USSR.
After the World War II both countries worked hard to produce new space equipment, launch rockets into space and explore the universe.
The Soviet Union won the first round of that competition when they put Sputnik 1 into orbit on the 4th of October, 1957. On the 12th of April, 1961, they launched the spaceship Vostok 1. This spaceship carried Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who made the first flight into space. He flew around the Earth in 1 hour 29 minutes. Yuri Gagarin became a pioneer of spaceflight, putting his life on the line not just for his country, but for the human exploration of outer space. He belonged to the first generation of Soviet cosmonauts who were carefully selected from hundreds of air force pilots.
Gagarin's flight was a really memorable event and the Soviet government was satisfied with the results of the experiment.