Английский язык. Александрова Г.А. - 54 стр.

                                   Text 2
                                   The Kremlin.
           The Kremlin is now both a piece of living history and an ensem-
ble of masterpieces of Russian architecture. It is surrounded by the high
red-brick walls, reinforced by 20 tower, five of which are also gates. The
total length of the walls equals 2,25 kilometres.
        Like the Tower of London the Kremlin was used as a fortress and a
sovereign“s residence. Now it houses the President“s office and a number
of museums including the Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund.
        Among the ancient buildings in the Kremlin are the churches and a
tall tower over 80 metres high. It is the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great built
in the 15 th century. There are twenty-two large bells and over thirty small
ones in it. The main and the tallest tower of the Kremlin is the Spasskaya
tower. It has become one of the symbols of Moscow. People all over Rus-
sia listen to the Kremlin clock on the Spasskaya tower striking midnight
and it seems to them that they are listening to the beating of the heart of
our capital.
        The largest cathedral, the Uspenski (Assumption), was built in the
15 th century. The Archangel Cathedral was built in 1505 by the Italian
architect. The Tombs of the Moscow tsars are here, among them the graves
of Ivan the Terrible, of his son Ivan, and of his second son, Tsar Fyodor.
The Blagoveshchensky (Annunciation) Cathedral was built in 1484, by
architects from Pskov. It is noted for the unusual oil paintings done in the
15 th and 16 th centuries by Andrei Rublev and his pupils, the greatest
artists of the time.
        Granovitaya Palata (Palace), was built in the end of the 15 th centu-
ry by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Solari. In this palace the Moscow tsars held
magnificent receptions in honour of foreign ambassadors. The Granovi-
taya Palace is connected with the enormous Grand Kremlin Palace.
        Among other historical monuments of the Kremlin are The Tsar
Cannon (16 th century) and the Tsar Bell (18 th century), both of enor-
mous size and made by Russian masters.

      Notes:
      red-brick - из красного кирпича
      reinforced - укрепленный

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