The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada and China). It occupies the southern part of North America 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 kilometres. The USA borders 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 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. 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 continental. 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 aircraft, cars, textiles, radio and television sets, armaments, furniture and paper. Though mainly European and African in origin, Americans are made up from nearly all races and nations, including Chinese and native Americans. The largest cities are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San-Francisco, Washington and others. The United States is a federal union of 50 states, each of which has its own government. The seat of the central (federal) government is Washington, DC. 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 Congress 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.
Names the United [ju:'naitid] States of America Соединенные Штаты Америки Russia [tAja] Россия Canada ['kaenade] Канада China ['tjaina] Китай North America Северная Америка the Pacific Ocean [pa,sifik 'aujn] Тихий океан the Atlantic Ocean [a,tlaentik 'aufn] Атлантический океан Alaska [a'laeska] Аляска Hawaii [ha'wai-i] Гавайи Mexico ['meksikau] Мексика District of Columbia [.distrikt av ka'lAmbia] округ Колумбия Washington ['wofirjtan] Вашингтон the Rocky Mountains Скалистые горы the Cordillera [,ko:di'jeera] Кордильеры the Sierra Nevada [si,era nivaeda] Сьерра-Невада Mount McKinley [,maunt ma'kinli] гора Мак-Кинли the Mississippi [,misi'sipi] Миссисипи the Missouri [mi'zuari] Миссури the Rio Grande [,г\:э(и)'дгхпй] Рио-Гранде the Columbia [ka'lAmbia] Колумбия the Great Lakes Великие озера (5 озер: Мичиган, Онтарио, Гурон, Верхнее озеро и Эри) the Gulf of Mexico [,дл№ av 'meksikau] Мексиканский залив Florida ['florida] Флорида Los Angeles [bs 'aend3ali:z] Лос-Анджелес Chicago [fitegau] Чикаго Philadelphia [,fila'delfia] Филадельфия Detroit [di'troit] Детройт San-Francisco [.saenfran'siskau] Сан-Франциско the Congress ['koggres] Конгресс the Senate ['senit] Сенат the House of Representatives [,repri'zentativz | Палата представителей the Republican [ri'pAblikan] and the Democratic Ldema'kraetik] parties Республиканская и Демократическая партии
Vocabulary to occupy ['okjupai] занимать southern ['злдап] южный to stretch тянуться, простираться to include [in'klu:d] включать total area [ .tautl 'earia] общая площадь to border [ bo:da] on фаничить с sea-border морская граница federal ['federal] федеральный lowlands [laulandz] низменность, долина, низина to be located [lau'keitid] находиться, быть расположенным to vary [veari] меняться, варьировать arctic ['a:ktik] арктический continental [,kont'rnentl] континентальный subtropical [,sAb'tropikl] субтропический typhoon [tai'ftrn] тайфун coast ['kaust] побережье highly developed [divelapt] высокоразвитый copper медь oil ['oil] нефть iron ore ['aian ,o:] железная руда coal ['kaul] каменный уголь manufacturing [,msenju'fsektjarir)] промышленный aircraft ['eakra:ft] самолеты, самолетостроение textile ['tekstail] текстиль armament ['a:mamant] вооружение origin ['orid3in] происхождение Chinese [tfai'nhz] китайский; китаец according [a'kotdirj] to в соответствии с, согласно, по powers f'pauaz] полномочия branch [bra:ntj] ветвь the executive [ig'zekjutiv] исполнительная власть the legislative [,led3is'leitiv] законодательная власть the judicial [d3u:'dijal] судебная власть
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. Can you name any other cities in the USA? 7. What is the population of the United States? 8. What mountains in the USA do you know? 9. What are the largest rivers? 10. What can you say about the climate of the country? 11. What does the USA produce? 12. According to the US Constitution the powers of the government are divided into 3 branches. What are they? 13. How many chambers does the Congress of the USA consist? 14. What are the main political parties in the USA? 15. Who is the US President now?
