Geographical position and political system Russia
США
Прочитайте текст и выберите из следующих заголовков наиболее подходящий для каждого абзаца:
1) The National Symbols 2) The USA Territory 3) The Natural Resources 4) The Population 5) The Surface of the Country 6) 50 States with the President at the Head
The United States of America
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The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world in area. It covers a large territory of about 9,400,000 square kilometers in the central and southern part of North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It also includes Alaska in the northwestern part of North America and Hawaii far out in the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America borders Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. The United States is often called the US, the USA, or America.
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One can’t describe the country without mentioning its surface. The USA can be divided into three main regions: the Appalachians in the east, the plain in the central part, the Cordilleras including the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and the dry Californian Valley between them in the west. Many rivers are flowing through the country, such as the swiftest Columbia and Colorado, the longest Mississippi with its main tributaries the Missouri and the Ohio. The northeastern part of the USA comprises the region of the five Great Lakes (Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario) connected bnatural channels which are cut by rapids (the greatest one — the Niagara Falls).
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The USA is rich in natural resources. It has vast areas of fertile soil, an abundant water supply, and large areas of forests. There are also large deposits of minerals, such as coal, iron ore, natural gas, etc.
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The United States is the third largest country in the world in population (about 250 million people). About 94 per cent of the people were born in the United States. The largest foreign-born groups are Mexicans, Germans, Canadians, Italians, British, and Cubans. The US has never had an official language, but English has always been the main language spoken in the country. Emigrants from the British Isles, including the nation’s founders, spoke English. Spanish is the second most common language in the USA.
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The US consists of 50 states and the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia is a piece of land set aside by the federal government for the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. The United States has a federal system of government with the President at the head.
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The national symbols of the USA include the American flag and the Great Seal. There are 50 stars on the American flag symbolizing 50 states of the USA, and 13 stripes representing 13 original states. On the one side of the Great Seal, there is an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, which are symbolizing a desire for peace and the ability to wage a war. On the reverse side, there is the Eye of Providence, representing God, and a pyramid dated 1776.
Washington, D.C.
The first President of the USA George Washington, in whose honour the city was named, chose the place for the capital between the states of Virginia and Maryland, on the Potomac River not far from the Atlantic Ocean. The City itself forms the District of Columbia abbreviated into D.C. Thname of the capital is always used with this abbreviation not to be mixed up with another Washington, a state on the Pacific Coast.
Washington, D.C. is like no other city of the USA. New York is a centre of finance, shopping, fun; New Orlean deals with cotton; Chicago will sell you wheat and cattle. But W&sh- ington’s only industry is government. The White House where the US President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of the US Congress and the Supreme Court are all in Washington, D.C. About three-quarters of the population in Washington, D.C. are wholly or indirectly involved in the administrative machine and the general process of government.
If you go sightseeing in Washington, D.C. your attention will be attracted not only by such famous buildings, as the Capitol, the White House, but also by the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Smithsonian Institute, etc.
Washington, D.C. is not the largest city in the United States, but it is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in the country, the first carefully planned capital in the world.
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Упражнение 1. Найдите предложения, где встречаются следующие слова словосочетания:
in area, far out, though, the country, is rich in, foreign- born, set aside, on the reverse side, abbreviated into D.C., not to be mixed up, like no other city, deals with, go sightseeing.
Упражнение 2. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты следующих слов и словосочетаний:
четвертая по занимаемой площади страна в мире ________________________________, охватывает - _______________________, простираясь - _________________, далеко в ______________, не упоминая - _________________, может быть разделена - __________________________, между ними - ________________, ее главные притоки –
_________________________, естественные каналы - ___________________________, пороги - __________________, природные ресурсы - ______________________________, плодородная почва - _________________________, огромные залежи - ___________________, железная руда - ____________________, основатели нации - ________________________, отведенный - _______________________, с президентом во главе - _______________________, звезды - __________, полосы - _______________, оливковая ветвь - ________________, стрелы - ________________, огромное желание - ____________________________,способность вести войну - _______________________________________, на обратной стороне - _____________________, недалеко от - ____________________, чтобы не перепутать - ____________________________, не похож ни на какой другой город - __________________________________, пшеница - __________________, крупный рогатый скот - ________________, Верховный Суд - ________________________________, Капитолий - ____________________, три четверти населения - ____________________, процесс управления- _______________________ , посещение достопримечательностей - ________________________________, внимание будет привлечено - _____________________________, необычные города - __________________________, тщательно планируемый - _________________________________.
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Упражнение 3
Заполните пропуски словами, первая буква слова уже дана:
1. The USA e____________ from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. 2. The USA c___________ the fourth largest territory in the world. 3. The USA b________ Mexico in the south. 4. We should mention the s__________ of the country. 5. Many rivers are f________ through the country. 6. The natural channels are cut by r____________. 7. There is vast area of f__________ soil in the USA. 8. He speaks Spanish, the second most c____________ language in the USA. 9. The piece of land, set a________ by the federal government for the nation’scapital, is between the states of Virginia and Maryland. 10. There are thirteen s____________ on the American flag.
New York
New York, one of the largest cities in the world, was founded three hundred years ago in the mouth of the Hudson River.
The centre of New York is Manhattan Island. In 1626 it was bought from the Indians for a sum of twenty-four dollars. Today Manhattan is the centre of business and commercial life of the country. There are many skyscrapers, banks and offices of American businessmen in Manhattan. Broadway begins here; the Stock Exchange is located here. Very few people live in Manhattan, although the majority works here. Numerous bridges link Manhattan Island with the other parts of New York.
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New York is inhabited by people of almost all nationalities. It is even called «Modern Babylon». At the turn of the 20-th century a lot of people came to the USA from different countries of the world. They entered the USA through New York — the Gateway of America
New York is one of the leading manufacturing cities in the world. The most important branches of industry are those, producing paper products, vehicles, glass, chemicals, machinery. The city traffic is very busy.
Словапотеме:
Mouth — устье
Stock Exchange— Нью-Йоркскаяфондоваябиржа
majority— большинство
numerous— многочисленный
tolink— соединять
toinhabit— населять
Babylon— Вавилон
vehicles— средства передвижения (автомобили и т. п.)
gateway— ворота
skyscrapers— небоскребы
branchesofindustry— отрасли промышленности
citytraffic— городскойтранспорт
The stars and stripes
The history of Old Glory goes back to early colonial days. The first banner used in the colonies was, of course, the standard English flag, consisting of a red cross on a white field. The flags of the separate colonies followed the same lines except that occasionally a pine tree, or a hemisphere, was figured in the upper left quarter of the cross.
The beginning of the Revolution brought a flood of suggestions as to the design for a new standard. But it was not until June 14, 1777, that official action was taken, when the Continental Congress passed a resolution fixing the design as thirteen alternate red and white stripes, and thirteen white stars on a blue field.
Each star and each stripe represented a state. As each new state was admitted to the Union, a star and a stripe were added, but it was soon realized that the addition of many more stripes would make the flag too bulky. Consequently, after having been increased to fifteen, the number of bars was reduced to the original number. But the number of stars steadily increased, until the present number of 50 equals the same number of states. The story goes that Betty Ross sewed the first flag, and it was at her suggestion that five-pointed, instead of six- pointed, stars were used.
Россия
Geographical position and political system Russia
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometres. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia, and the Ukraine. It also has sea-borders with the USA.
There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.
There are two Great Plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountains chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.
There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe's biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers- the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena- flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Russia is reach in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.
Russia has one-sixth of the world's forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.
On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.
Russia is very reach in oil, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.
Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of State is the President. The legislative powers are exercised by the Duma.
The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre. It's one of the oldest Russian cities.
In spite of the problems Russia is facing at present, there are a lot of opportunities for this country to become one of the leading countries in the world.
Упражнение 1
Найдите в тексте следующие слова и словосочетания на английском языке:
Занимать - __________, поверхность земли - ___________, общая площадь - __________, омывать (ся) - ______________, граничить с - _____________, морская граница - _________, равнины - ______________, пустыня - _______________, горные цепи - __________________, возвышенности - ______________, отделять (ся) - ____________, река - __________, озеро - _________, гора- ___________, столица - _________, несмотря на - ________________.
Упражнение 2
Найдите перевод следующих слов и словосочетаний в тексте, выучите их наизусть:
country - ____________________________________________________________________
to occupy - __________________________________________________________________
surface - ____________________________________________________________________
north - _____________________________________________________________________
south - _____________________________________________________________________
west - ______________________________________________________________________
east - _______________________________________________________________________
total area - __________________________________________________________________
to be washed - _______________________________________________________________
to border on - ________________________________________________________________
river - _____________________________________________________________________
lake - ______________________________________________________________________
mountains - _________________________________________________________________
to flow - ____________________________________________________________________
to separate - _________________________________________________________________
forest - _____________________________________________________________________
to be rich in - _______________________________________________________________
oil - _______________________________________________________________________
iron ore - ___________________________________________________________________
natural gas - _________________________________________________________________
copper - _____________________________________________________________________
nickel - ______________________________________________________________________
the parliamentary republic - _____________________________________________________
the Head of the State - _________________________________________________________
the legislative power - ___________________________________________________________
capital - ______________________________________________________________________
The Kremlin
The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow. It is the oldest historical and architectural centre of Moscow.
First it was a wooden fortress. Under Dmitry Donskoy the Kremlin was built of white stone. During the reign of Ivan III the walls of white stone were replaced by new red brick walls and towers. The Tsar invited Italian architects to construct the cathedrals. The Assumption Cathedral was built in 1475-1479 and all Russian Tsars and Emperors were crowned there. The Archangel Cathedral was the burial place of the Russian Princes and Tsars. The Annunciation Cathedral was built in 1484. It is famous for the icons painted by AndreyRublev and his apprentices.
Ivan the Great is the Bell Tower, one of the most remarkable structures of the 16-th century. It rises in the centre of the Kremlin. It unites all the Kremlin Cathedrals into a majestic ensemble.
On the stone pedestal at the foot of the Bell Tower there is a Tsar-Bell — the largest bell in the world. Not far from it one can see a Tsar-Cannon.
Another fine example of Russian architecture is the Faceted Palace. It was built in 1487-91.
One of the well-known Kremlin museums is the Armoury Chamber. It was built in 1851. The famous golden cap of Monomach, the first Russian imperial crown of Catherine II, made of gilt silver and many other precious historical items are exhibited there.
Слова по теме:
AssumptionCathedral — Успенскийсобор
AnnunciationCathedral — Благовещенскийсобор
FacetedPalace — Грановитаяпалата
ArmouryChamber — Оружейнаяпалата
BellTower — колокольня
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