III. Прочтите, соблюдая правильную интонацию:

1. We study English at the  seminary. 2. They speak English very well. 3. He comes home in the evening. 4. Do you study German at the academy? 5. Do they speak German very  well? 6. Does he come home in the evening? 7. Is he a good student?

Прослушайте текст. Прочтите и переведите его на русский язык:

TEXT

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (the U S A)

Geographical position and physical features.

The United States of America (the USA) occupies a large territory between 49 and 25 degrees N.L. and is situated in the central and southern part of North America. The USA coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and by the Pacific Ocean in the west. In the north the USA borders on Canada and in the south – Mexico. Its area is 9,364,000 sq. km, which is much larger than the territory of Europe.

Being crossed by mountain ranges from the north to the south the country is unprotected from blasts of cold air which blow from the north and of warm air from the south. On the whole the climatic conditions of the country depend on the mountains, oceans and winds. With every variation of surface the USA possesses every variety of climate from the climate of the tropics to the climate of the Arctic regions. The coldest regions are in the north. The climate in the central part is continental, and in the south it is subtropical. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often bring typhoons.

The USA is divided into three areas: the Eastern area – highland, the Central area – a plain, and the Western area, which is mountainous. It includes the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. The northern part of the USA stretches in the region of five Great Lakes (Lake Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario) which are connected by natural channels.

The central plain constitutes the basin of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi, together with the Missouri, forms the longest river in the world (7,300km). The rivers in the west are unsuitable for navigation. The largest among them, Columbia and Colorado Rivers, run through deep canyons. These rivers serve as a source of electric power. Large reserves of coal, oil, iron and other minerals form a solid base for the development of American industry.

The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco and others. At present the population of the country is over 260 million people.

Political system.

By its Constitution the USA is a federation. It consists of fifty states and the District of Columbia with Washington, the capital of the country.

The supreme state power in the USA is in the hands of the president, a two-chamber Congress (Parliament) and the Supreme Court. The president is not only the head of the state, but also the head of the administration (government). He is elected every four years.

The Congress consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The main political parties of the USA are the Democrats and the Republicans. They do not differ essentially. Their struggle is a struggle of different groups of monopoly capital for power in the administration.