Экзаменационный (типовой) материал ЕГЭ / Английский / 10 задание / 53

A. Every third Saturday in May, museums in many countries around the world remain open until midnight or even later, some of them until the early morning hours. This international cultural event is known as the Long Night of Museums or the Night of Museums and has already become a tradition. The main reason for the event is to attract more people to museums, especially young people, and to show what museums have to offer. This policy has proved effective: in 2021, almost 2 million people visited museums that night.
 

B. The first Long Night of Museums took place in Berlin in 1997. One of the inspirations for its creation was the annual White Nights Festival of classical music that is held every year in St. Petersburg, Russia, from June 12 to July 2  — the time when the northern skies of Russia’s "second capital" never reach complete darkness. The second place that took up the idea of the Long Night of Museums was Paris, where this cultural event first took place in 2002 and included performing arts.
 

C. The first Night of Museums in Russia was held in 2002 in Krasnoyarsk. St. Petersburg and Saratov joined the new tradition in 2006, while Moscow and Ekaterinburg joined it in 2007. Later, the event became very popular in Russia, and in addition to museums, some of the embassies in Moscow opened their doors for the visitors. Embassies in Moscow often occupy beautiful 19th century mansions that are famous for both their architecture and interior design. This was the first time they were open to the public.
 

D. In 2021, in addition to the Night of Museums, and perhaps, to make up for the year 2020, when only online tours were possible because of COVID, the City of Moscow held Days of Historic and Cultural Heritage from April 18 to May 31, when as many as 18 embassies welcomed tourists. Among these were the British and American Ambassador’s residences, the embassies of France, Italy, Norway and other countries. To be able to see these legendary buildings people had to sign up well in advance.
 

E. The British Ambassador’s residence is located across the Moskva River from the Kremlin, in Sofiyskaya Embankment. The building was built in the early 1890-s by Russia’s biggest sugar manufacturer Pavel Kharitonenko. The gothic interior design by architect Schechtel makes it one of the most beautiful buildings in Moscow. The building was given to the British Embassy in 1929. During their official visits to Moscow Queen Elizabeth II in 1994, Princess Diana in 1995 and Princess Royal Anne in 2014 stayed in this building.
 

F. Spaso House, the residence of the American Ambassador in Moscow, is located in Spasopeskovskaya Square near Arbat street, close to the location depicted in Vasily Polenov’s famous painting "Moscow Courtyard". The building was built in 1913 and until 1917 belonged to the textile industrialist Nikolay Vtorov. It has been the residence of the US Ambassador since 1933. Concerts and art exhibitions are often held at Spaso House, but none of them can compare with the Spring Festival of 1935.
 

G. In April, 1935, the US Ambassador Bullitt decided to throw an extraordinary party at his residence. Trees and flowers were ordered for the decorations, birds and animals were borrowed from the Moscow Zoo, including parakeets, pheasants, goats and even a baby bear! Soviet ministers and generals were among the 400 guests, as well as the writer Mikhail Bulgakov. The Spring Festival lasted all night, and later Bulgakov used this setting for the Spring Ball of the Full Moon, aka Satan’s Ball, in his novel The Master and Margarita.