St. Petersburg, the very name brings to mind some of Russia's greatest poets, writers and composers: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky.

St. petersburg is the second largest city of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. It is built on what originally were more than 100 islands created by a maze of rivers, creeks, canals, gulfs, lakes and ponds and other bodies of water that flow into the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Neva River.

The majestic appearance of St. Petersburg is achieved through a variety of architectural details including long, straight boulevards, vast spaces, gardens and parks, decorative wrought-ion fences, monuments and sculptures. The Neva River itself, together with its many canals and their granite embankments and bridges gives the city a unique and striking ambience.

Because Peter I built this city in order to learn from the West and Europe, most of its large-scale architecture is in the style of Western Europe, and the city is called "the most European city in Russia"

Today, there are 342 bridges over canals and rivers of various sizes, styles and constructions, built at different periods. Over 800 smaller bridges over smaller ponds and streams are gracing public parks and gardens, the popular places for entertainment and leisure.

Thanks to the intricate web of canals, St. Petersburg is often called the "Venice of the North", which is a popular poetic name of the northern capital.

St. Petersburg is also known as the city of palaces. One of the earliest of these is the Summer Palace, a temporary dwelling place of the summer resort for Peter I in the Summer Garden, built in 1710 to 1714. Probably the most illustrious of imperial palaces is the baroque Winter Palace, a vast stately building with over 600 rooms and dazzlingly luxurious interiors, now housing the Hermitage Museum.

只要提到圣彼得堡就让人想起俄国最伟大的诗人普希金，作家陀思妥耶夫斯基以及作曲家柴可夫斯基。

圣彼得堡是俄国第二大城市，坐落于波罗的海芬兰湾东端涅瓦河河畔。最初它是在由蜿蜒迂回的河流、小溪、运河、海湾、湖泊、池塘和其他水域所形成的100多个岛屿的基础上建立起来的，这些江河湖泊都经由涅瓦河的入海口进入波罗的海。

各种各样的建筑细节呈现出圣彼得堡宏伟的面貌，这些建筑包括长长的、笔直的街道、宽阔的广场、花园和公园、精心修饰的铁栅栏、纪念碑和雕像。涅瓦河本身连同它的许多运河，还有花岗岩堤坝和桥梁，都赋予了这座城市独一无二的、令人惊叹的气息。

由于彼得大帝建立这座城市的目的是学习西方国家和欧洲国家，因此许多大型建筑都具有西欧风格，它也被称为“俄罗斯最欧化的城市”。

现在的圣彼得堡共有324座不同规模、风格和建筑模式的桥梁坐落在运河和河流上，它们建于不同的时期。800多座跨越稍小的池塘和溪流上的小桥让公园和花园——这些娱乐和休闲胜地更添一份美丽。

由于河流纵横，作为北部首都的圣彼得堡经常被称为“北方威尼斯”——一个流行且富有诗意的名字。

圣彼得堡还被称为“宫殿之城”。年代最早的宫殿之一是夏宫，它是彼得大帝的避暑行宫，建于1710至1714年间。最著名的皇家宫殿大概是巴洛克风格的冬宫了，这是一座巨大庄严的建筑，有600多个房间，内部装饰极其奢华，现在被改成了艾尔米塔什博物馆。

composer n. 作曲家

sculpture n. 雕像

illustrious adj. 著名的

decorative adj. 装饰性的

ambience n. 气氛

luxurious adj. 豪华的

Jenny 在圣彼得堡旅游时碰到了同学Susan. 两人很久没见了，于是高兴地聊了起来，叙叙旧，顺便聊一下这个城市。

J = Jenny 珍 = 珍妮 S = Susan 苏 = 苏珊

J: How happy to meet you here! What are you doing here?

S: I am having a meeting. What about you?

J: I'm traveling. I have stayed here for three days.

S: Where did you visit during these days?

J: There are many famous attractions worth Visiting, such as two of the most impressive cathedrals in St. Petersburg, the St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan.

S: I have ever heard of them. And what else?

J: The Palace Square, which is the site of the Bronze Horseman (Peter the Great Statue), the General Staff Building, and the Admiralty.

S: Did you go to the Winter Palace? It's said that it's the place you couldn't miss in St. Petersburg.

J: Yes. The Winter Palace is probably the most famous structure of imperial St. Petersburg.

S: I hope I have time to visit it.

珍：在这儿遇到你真高兴！你在这儿做什么？

苏：我来开会。你呢？

珍：我来这里旅行。我都已经在这儿待了3天了。

苏：这些天你游览了哪些地方呢？

珍：这里有很多有名的景点值得一看啊，比如圣艾萨克大教堂和喀山大教堂，这两个教堂 让人印象最为深刻。

苏：我曾经听说过。还有别的地方吗？

珍：皇宫广场，它是“青铜骑士”（彼得大帝雕像）所在地，还有帝国政府大厦和海军部。

苏：你去了冬宫吗？据说那是圣彼得堡后不可错过的地方。

珍：是的。在壮丽的圣彼得堡，东宫或许是最有名的建筑了。

苏：我希望我也有时间能去游览一下。

worth adj. 值得......的

bronze n. 青铜

imperial adj. 帝国的

cathedral n. 大教堂

admiralty n. 海军部

假设你刚从圣彼得堡留学回来，有一位外国朋友在网上聊天室和你聊天，想要你介绍一下圣彼得堡。试着完成下面的对话。

1. 外国朋友： Which is the most impressive cathedral in St. Petersburg?

你：______________________________________________________

2. 外国朋友: Where else did you go?

你：______________________________________________________

3. 外国朋友: Did you go to the Winter Palace?

你：______________________________________________________

1. There may be two : St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan.

2. The Palace Square.

3. Of course. It is the place you couldn't miss in St. Petersburg.

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