B2 · News report
Городски́е велосипе́ды
City bikes Key vocabulary
Grammar spotlight. Sentence 6 uses a “they” verb with no subject, В мэ́рии обеща́ют, “the mayor’s office promises”: the standard news way to attribute a statement to an institution. See the passive voice guide.
Did you understand?
How many new bikes appeared this year?
How do you take a bike?
What do residents complain about?
B2–C1 · Opinion essay
Ну́жно ли учи́ть языки́ в век маши́нного перево́да?
Should we learn languages in the age of machine translation? Key vocabulary
Grammar spotlight. Sentence 5: after a negated verb, the object can go into the genitive, живо́го разгово́ра, rather than the accusative. It sounds more general and more formal. See the genitive case guide.
Did you understand?
What two qualities does the author give machine translation?
What does a language include besides words?
What is the author’s conclusion?
C1 · Cultural feature
Да́ча
The dacha Key vocabulary
Grammar spotlight. Sentence 4 shifts the stress onto the preposition: за́ город, “out of town”. Sentence 5 uses three “they” verbs with no subject to describe what people in general do. See stress patterns and the passive voice.
Did you understand?
What was a dacha plot for in Soviet times?
Why do people keep a vegetable garden today?
What happens to cities in summer?
Related guides
Graded reading Fifteen shorter texts climbing from A1 to C1. Russian literature Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chekhov and how to start reading them. Reading Russian literature Tolstoy, Chekhov and Pushkin openings, glossed. Ideas and argument The essay vocabulary: с одно́й стороны́, таки́м о́бразом. Listening practice Train your ear with the same kinds of texts. Writing practice Write your own news item, essay or feature.