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America today

1. Read and memorize the words.

desert

to equal

golden poppy

to scrape

strip

valley quail

wonder

harvest

пустеля

дорівнювати

золотий мак

шкребти

смуга

перепела

диво

урожай

2. Read and translate the text.

At present the USA is highly developed industrial and agricultural country. It is rich in coal, oil, iron and natural gas. It exports a lot of raw materials, industrial and agricultural products.

People enjoy the wonders of nature practically in every state. The Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains, forests, plains, prairies and even deserts, wonderful lakes, waterfalls and rivers cover the American territory that equals about 9.4 millions square kilometers. Among the most famous sites of interest are the Great Lakes, Niagara Falls, the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco and others. There are many beautiful National parks and protected areas of wilderness in America.

The population of the USA is about 250 million people of many nationalities. Some of the biggest cities are New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and others. There are many very tall buildings in them that really scrape the sky, that’s why they are called skyscrapers.

The capital of the country is Washington D.C. (the District of Columbia). The USA is a federal republic. The American Parliament (called Congress) has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The flag of the United States has 13 red and white stripes representing the original 13 states and 50 stars - for each of the 50 states of the country. Each state has its national motto, bird and flower as its symbol. For instance, California’s motto is “I’ve found it! (Eureka).” Its state bird is Valley Quail and flower - Golden Poppy.

America as any other country has its own customs, traditions and holidays. For instance, on the 4 of July they celebrate Independence Day that gave birth to the American nation. At the end of November has Thanksgiving Day which was celebrated for the first time in 1621 when the first colonists from England got their first good harvest. Young people enjoy two other holidays - Halloween (on October 31) and St. Valentine’s Day (on February 14).

3. Name each paragraph of the text.

4. What are the following numbers and dates connected with?

1. 4th of July

2. 50

3. 1st of October

4. 13

5. 9 400 000

6. 14th of February

7. 250 000 000

8. November 1621

5. Put questions to get these sentences as answers.

1. a lot of raw materials, industrial and agricultural products.

2. about 9.4 millions square kilometres

3. the Great Lakes, Niagara Falls, the Golden Gate bridge

4. about 250 million people

5. New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and others

6. skyscrapers

7. Washington D.C.

8. Congress

6. Read more about the USA.

If you want to go from San Francisco to New York in a car, you must ride more than three thousand miles. It takes over three days and nights.

In California, where you begin your trip, the climate is usually mild all year. “California” is a Spanish word meaning “heat of the ovens”. Slightly south of the route that your car follows is the famous fruitful area. Californian oranges, grapefruit and lemons, as well as many other fruits and vegetables are shipped all over the USA and to the other parts of the world.

Soon, however, you leave these fertile plains and go up into the Sierra Nevada mountains, with their snow­capped peaks and clear mountain lakes.

As your car goes further east, you cross the Salt Lake desert. For miles and miles you will see nothing but salt and salt. Your car crosses the flat plains of Wyoming, which stretch out for miles and miles, covered with short grass and sagebrush. This is mainly sheep and cattle country, the land of the cowboys. As you cross it, you may wonder where the people of America are. From time to time you may see a few cattle scattered over the plain, or the wagon of a sheep herder, but most of the country is empty.

As your car crosses Nebraska, you gradually leave this empty country and enter the rich farming region of America. The land becomes fertile and well watered, and more trees appear. Nebraska has many golden wheat fields. In Iowa and Illinois, wheat and com are important products, and much livestock is raised.

After two days, your streamlined, air-conditioned car arrives in Chicago. Chicago, with population of more than three and a half million, is the second largest city in the USA. It is a centre of industry for the middle part of the country.

In Pennsylvania and New Jersey you can find factories of nearly every type - textile and pottery, steel and chemical. This is the richest industrial region of the country, with more city dwellers and a larger foreign-born population than anywhere else in the United States. Finally you arrive in the City of New York, which is one of the largest in the world.