8 Текст для чтения. 9-11 классы

Reading and Writing

1.   Scan the text "The USA" to get the full idea of it. Find the para- graphs about:

–    geographical location of the USA;

–    the US political structure;

–    the US landscape and climate;

–    its industry.

2.  Find in the text the English equivalents to:

–   общая площадь страны;

–   состоять из трёх ветвей власти;

–   едва ли существует разница между их политическими курсами;

–   высокоразвитая индустриальная страна;

–   среди наиболее важных отраслей обрабатывающей промышленности.

3.  Read and translate the text for getting the detailed content.

THE USA

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, and China). It occupies the southern part of the North American Continent and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the country is about nine and a half million square kilometers. The USA bor- ders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. It also has a sea- boarder with Russia.

The USA is made up of 50 states, each of which has its own government, and the District of Columbia, a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The population of the country is more than 270 million.

The USA is a federal republic. According to the US Constitution the powers of the government are divided into 3 branches: the executive, headed by the President, the legislative, exercised by the Congress, and the judicial. The Con- gress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and the Democratic, though there's hardly any difference between their political lines.

If we look at the map of the USA, we can see lowlands and mountains. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, the Cordillera, and the Sierra Nevada. The highest peak is Mount McKinley which is located in Alaska.

America's largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande, and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the largest and deepest in the USA.

The climate of the country varies greatly. The coldest regions are in the north. The climate of Alaska is arctic. The climate of the central part is conti- nental. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often bring typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast.

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It's the world's leading producer of copper and oil, and the world's second producer of iron ore and coal. Among the most important manufacturing industries are machine- building, shipbuilding, automobile and armaments industry and others.

Though mainly European and African in origin, Americans are made up of nearly all races and nations, including Chinese and Native Americans.

The largest cities are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San-Francisco, Washington, etc.

Names:

Alaska [ə`læskə] – Аляска

the United [ju'naitid] States [steits] of America – Соединённые Штаты Америки

Canada ['kænədə] – Канада China ['t∫ainə] – Китай Chicago [t∫i`ka:gəu] – Чикаго Detroit [di'troit] – Детройт

District of Columbia [`distrikt əv kə'lΛmbiə] – округ Колумбия

Florida ['florida] – Флорида

Hawaii [ha'waii:] – Гавайи

Los Angeles [los'ænd3ili:z] – Лос-Анджелес

Mexico ['meksikəu] – Мексика

Mount McKinley [maunt mə'kinli] – гора Мак-Кинли North America [no:θə`merikə] – Северная Америка Philadelphia [filə'delfiə] – Филадельфия

San-Francisco [,sænfrən'siskəu] – Сан-Франциско

the Atlantic [ə`tlæntik] Ocean – Атлантический океан

the Columbia [kə'lΛmbiə] – река Колумбия

the Congress ['koŋgres] – Конгресс

the Cordillera [,ko:di'ljeə] – горная система Кордильеры

the Great Lakes [`greit `leiks] – Великие озёра (5 озёр: Мичиган, Онтарио, Гурон, Верхнее озеро и Эри)

the Gulf of Mexico [gΛlf əv `meksikəu] – Мексиканский залив

the House of Representatives [,repri'zentativz] – Палата представителей

the Mississippi [,misi'sipi] – река Миссисипи

the Missouri [mi'zuəri] – река Миссури

the Pacific Ocean [pə`sifik 'əu∫n] – Тихий океан

the Republican [ri'pΛblikan] and the Democratic [`demə'krætik] parties –

Республиканская и Демократическая партии

the Rio Grande [,гiəu `grænd] – река Рио-Гранде

the Rocky Mountains [`roki `mauntinz] – Скалистые горы

the Senate ['senit] – Сенат

the Sierra Nevada [si`era ni`væda] – Сьерра-Невада

Washington ['wo∫iŋtən] – Вашингтон

Vocabulary:

according [a'ko:diŋ] to – в соответствии с, согласно

arctic ['a:ktik] – арктический

armaments [`a:məment `indəstri] industry – военная промышленность

automobile [`o:təməbail] industry – автомобильная промышленность

branch [bra:nt∫] – ветвь (власти) coast [kəust] – побережье

coal [kəul] – каменный уголь

continental [,konti`nentl] – континентальный

copper [`kopə] – медь

highly developed [`haili di`veləpt] – высокоразвитый

iron ore ['aiən ,o:] – железная руда

lowlands [`ləuləndz] – низменность, долина, низина manufacturing [,mænju'fækt∫əriŋ] – промышленный mashine-building [mə`∫i:n ,bildiŋ] – машиностроение oil [oil] – нефть

powers ['pauəz] – полномочия

sea-border [`si: ,bo:də] – морская граница shipbuilding [`∫ip,bildiŋ] – кораблестроение southern ['sauðən] – южный

subtropical [,sΛb'tropikəl] – субтропический

the executive [ði ig'zekjutiv] – исполнительная власть the legislative [ðə `led3islætiv] – законодательная власть the judicial [d3u'di∫iəl] – судебная власть

to exercise [`eksisaiz] – зд.: использовать, осуществлять, to be exer- cised by smth. – осуществляться кем-л.

to occupy ['okjupai] – занимать

to stretch [stret∫] – тянуться, простираться

to border [`bo:də] on – граничить с

to be located [ləu'keitid] – находиться, быть расположенным

to vary [`veəri] – меняться, варьировать

typhoon [tai'fu:n] – тайфун

For self-examination

Answer the questions:

1.  Where is the USA situated?

2.  What's the total area of the country?

3.  What countries does the USA border on?

4.  How many states does the USA consist of?

5.  What is the capital of the country?

6.  What is the population of the United States?

7.  What mountains in the USA do you know?

8.  What are the largest rivers of the USA?

9.  What can you say about the climate of the country?

10.  What does the USA produce?

11.  How many chambers does the Congress of the USA consist?

12.  What are the main political parties in the USA?

13.  Who is the US President now?

Fill in the blanks:

1.   The USA occupies the               part of the North American Continent.

2.   The USA is made up of 50 states and the               of              .

3.   The USA is a               reрublic.

4.   The Congress consists of the Senate and the House of                 .

5.   There are two main political parties in the USA: the                and the Democratic.

6.   The highest mountains in the USA are the Rocky Mountains, the Cor- dillera, and the .

7.   Its largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the                and the

             .

8.   It's the world's leading producer of               and              .

Put the words in the correct order to make a sentence:

1)     the, is, United States of Americа, the fourth, the, world, largest country, in;

2)     the, is, USA, made up, 50 states, of;

3)     two, there are, political parties, in, the USA, main;

4)     varies, climate, the, of the country, greatly;

5)     the, climate, is, the central part, continental, of;

6)     all, Americans, made up of, nearly, races, nations, are, and.

4.   Make up a plan (logical scheme) and then summarize the content of the text "The USA" in writing.