Read some facts about the National Library and group them according to the plan in ex. 2b. 1. It is one of the most famous sights in Minsk. 2. It has a rich collection of books. 3. It combines high technologies, modem design and unusual architecture. 4. It looks like a gigantic diamond, which symbolises the value of knowledge. 5. In 1989 two architects (Viktor Kramarenko and Mikhail Vinogradov) with the idea of a diamond design won the design competition. 6. The construction began in 2002. 7. The library was opened in 2006. 8. It’s located in the green area and surrounded by a park. 9. Now it is an information, cultural and social centre. 10. It is a 23-storey building. 11. It’s worth visiting for at least two reasons: it has a museum of rare books, e.g. original books of Francysk Skaryna, and the observation deck where you can get a great view of Minsk. 12. You can go on a guided tour of the library if you want to get more information. 13. A lot of political, cultural and educational events are held here. 14. The old library was too small to hold everything. Вот план: b. Read the advice below. Think how you write letters. Are any of your ideas mentioned there? When we write a letter about a famous sight, we can divide it into four parts (in addition to the opening and closing The first part includes the name of the place, where it is located and what it looks like. In the second part, we write about the history of this place. In the third part, we describe what visitors can see and do there. In the last part, we recommend a visit to this place. Present tenses are usually used to describe this sight and past tenses are used to write about historical facts. The passive voice is also often used in this type of descriptions.