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MUSEUMS AND
ART GALLERIES
Every country has museums and art galleries. Some of them are
world famous. A museum is a place where various collections of
works of art are displayed. There are different kinds of
museums: history museums, museums of art, archaeological
museums, science museums and others. I would like to tell you
about some of the most famous museums in the world.
I live in Moscow, the capital of Russia and there are a lot of
large museums in the city. One of the biggest museums is the
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts which houses one of the world's
largest collections of the ancient, oriental and classical art.
You can see sculptures, paintings and other works of art by
world-famous artists. The museum holds one of the biggest
collections of Ancient Egyptian Art.
The Tretyakov Gallery is one of the biggest art galleries in the
world. It was founded by a Russian merchant, Tretyakov, who gave
his private collection of paintings to Moscow. The Gallery has a
great collection of works by Russian famous painters. It
consists of seven departments. You can see portraits, seascapes,
landscapes and other genres of painting there.
St. Petersburg, which once was the capital of Russia, is famous
for its museums, too. The Hermitage is one of the biggest
museums in the world. A lot of permanent and temporary
exhibitions are displayed there. The museum consists of six
buildings. The most famous are: Winter Palace and the Hermitage.
You can see portraits of Russian tsars, Roman statues, works of
Western European Art, Egyptian Art and Oriental Art there.
If you go to Great Britain you should definitely visit the
British Museum in London. The museum is very big and you can see
works of art in glass, stone, gold and also a few collections on
natural history there.
The Tower of London is another big museum in London. It used to
be a treasury, a prison, an observatory and even a zoo. The
Tower of London hosts a big collection of arms and jewels.
The United States of America is famous for its museums and
galleries, too. There is the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington, D.C. It consists of several museums and art
galleries that are free and open to the public. The National
Portrait Gallery has a big collection of those who played an
important role in the history and culture of the USA. The
National Museum of Natural History is popular with children. The
museum contains one of the world's largest scientific
collection: exhibits on human culture, evolution, dinosaurs,
birds, animals, sea life, meteorites, plants, rocks and
minerals.
Another famous museum is the National Air and Space Museum. It
houses the world's most expensive collection of aircrafts and
spacecrafts. Visitors can see exhibits on the history of air
crafting and watch documentaries in the IMAX movie theatre that
is situated inside the building. The National Museum of American
History explores America's scientific, cultural and political
history. It also houses the first American flag.
All museums are very interesting to visit. Museums and art
galleries give us an opportunity to learn facts about art,
history and culture of different peoples and countries.
Vocabulary:
aircraft ['еэкга:й] самолет
ancient ['einf(3)nt] древний
arms [a:mz] оружие
consist of [kan'sist] состоять из
definitely ['defimtli] точно, определенно
dinosaur ['damauso:] динозавр
display [dis'plei] выставка, показ
documentary [dttkju'ment^n] документальный фильм
evolution [Д:уэ'1и:Дэ)п] эволюция
exhibit [ig'zibit] экспонат
explore [iks'plo:] исследовать
found (founded, founded) [faund] основывать, учреждать
hold [hauld] содержать, хранить
house [haus] содержать, вмещать
merchant ['m3:tjbnt] купец
meteorite ['miitjarait] метеорит
observatory [ab'z3:v3tn] обсерватория
opportunity [ttpa'tjumti] возможность
oriental [,o:ri'entl] восточный
peoples ['pi:plz] народы
permanent ['рз:тэпэп1] постоянный
rock [rok] горная порода
seascape ['si:skeip] морской пейзаж
spacecraft ['speiskra:ft] космический корабль
temporary ['temp(3)ran] временный
treasury ['ггез(э)п] сокровищница
various [Veanas] разнообразный
work of art ['w3:k3v'a:t] произведение искусства
Questions:
1. What kinds of museums are there in the world?
2. What can you say about Moscow museums and art galleries?
Which is one of the biggest galleries in the world?
3. What museums are there in St. Petersburg? Have you ever been
to any of them?
4. Are there any interesting museums and galleries in London?
What are they?
5. What museums are there in Washington, D.C.?
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