Самостійна робота № 3

Тема для самостійного опрацювання: «Країна, мова якої вивчається». США. Географічне положення. Державний устрій. (4год.)

Література: Н.В.Тучина, Т.К.Меркулова, В.С.Кузьміна “Speak English”, Т.М. Гужва Reason to speak. Сучасні розмовні теми, О.М.Павліченко «Граматичний практикум», двомовний англо-український, українсько-англійський словник

Хід роботи:

1.Прочитати, перекласти текст «Geographical position of the USA»

2.Прочитати, перекласти текст «Political system of the USA»

3.Скласти опорний словник за темою « Geographical position and political

system of the USA »

4.Приступити до виконання завдань, що подані у вигляді лексико –

граматичних вправ

Вправи:

Exercise 1. Read and translate the texts:

Text 1.Geographical position of the United States of America

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, China and Canada. 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 kilometers. Alaska is the largest of America’s 50 states and it is 400 times the size of Rhode Island which is the smallest. The country is so large that a coast-to-coast trip by plane will take five and a half hours, by train three days and by car from five to six days. The USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. The south-eastern coast of the country is washed by the Gulf of Mexico and the US also has coasts on the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The USA has a sea border with Russia.

The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The population of the country is about 250 million people. Some states are more densely populated than the others, for example, Alaska has half of the Rhode Island’s population. More citizens of the USA live in rural areas. It is not surprising that most of the people of the United States live in the eastern half of the country although California on the West Coast is the most populous state. It is to the East Coast the first settlers from Europe came when they crossed the Atlantic. They were attracted by the fertile lands of the Atlantic coast in the southeast and inland beyond the eastern Appalachian mountains. This part of the country gets enough rainfall for crops, has valuable forests and most of the country’s riches in iron and coal deposits. As America expanded westward, so did its farmers and ranchers, cultivating the grasslands of the Great Plains and finally the fertile valleys of the Pacific Coast. Today American farmers plant spring wheat on the cold western plains, raise corn, wheat and fine beef cattle in the Midwest and rice in the damp heat of Louisiana. Florida and California are famous for their vegetable and fruit production, and the cool, rainy northwest states are known for apples, berries and vegetables.

The land varies from heavy forests covering 2,104 mln hectares, to barren deserts, from high-peaked mountains (the highest peak is Mount McKinley in Alaska) to deep canyons (Death Valley in California is 1,064 meters below sea level). The highest mountains in the USA are the Cordilleras that run the length of the west coast and Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.

Americas larges rivers are the Mississippi, with its tributary Missouri, the Rio Grande, the Ohio and, the Columbia. The broad Mississippi River after the Nile and the Amazon. The USA is famous for its Mexico and is the world’s third longest river after the Nile and the Amazon. The USA is famous for its five Great Lakes: Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and deepest in the Michigan. The first four lakes are on the border with Canada and are the largest and deepest in the USA. There are also a lot of small lakes and the northern state of Minnesota, for example, is known as the of 10,000 lakes.

The USA is rich in mineral resources; their wealth provides a solid base for American industry. It has major deposits of oil and gas in Texas and Alaska, coal in Virginia and Ohio, gold in Alaska and California, silver in Nevada, non-ferrous metals in Arkansas and Colorado.

The largest cities of the USA are New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago Philadelphia, Detroit and some others.

Text 2.The Political system of the United States of America

The United States is a democracy. But what do Americans mean when they use this word?

Abraham Lincoln one of the best-loved and most respected American presidents, said that the United States had a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”. No one has formulated a better way of describing the principles of the American political system as Americans understand it. The Constitution, laws and traditions of the United States give the people the right to determine who will be leader of their nation, who will make the laws, and what laws will be. The Constitution guarantees individual freedom to all.

The Constitution sets the basic form of government: it has three branches – legislative, executive and judiciary. Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and House of Representatives. Congress makes all laws, and each house of Congress has the power to support or reject a bill offered by the other. When they bots pass a bill on which they agree, it is sent to the president for his signature. Only after that a bill becomes a law.

The members of the House Representatives are elected for two years, and one-third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year term of office. Each state, regardless of the populated states.

The president of the USA is elected every four years to four-year term of office with no more than two full terms allowed. The President is the chief executive of the United States and also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. At present USA is headed by the 43d president of the USA. George Bush, the leader of the Republican Party. The next presidential election will be held in 2004.

The judiciary branch is represented by the Supreme Court and federal courts at the national level. Today the United States has two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican party. Both these parties have supporters among a wide variety of Americans. There are other smaller parties in the US, but none of them has enough popular support to win a presidential election.

For most Americans, for most of the time, life is peaceful. They do their jobs and enjoy their homes and families, though most of them remain interested in politics. They keep up with the news of what the president or Congress is doing. Some may at times write letters to congressmen or to newspapers expressing their views. Others may be very involved in politics at the local, state of national level. But on the average however, unless something unusual is taking place, Americans quietly let their political system work.

Exercise 2. Decide whether the following statements are true or false:

1.The territory of the USA is larger than those of Ukraine and great Britain taken together._________________________________________________________

2.The whole country is situated on the continent of North America.

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3.The USA borders on three countries.

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4.More people in the USA live in the country than in the city.

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5.The western part of the country is more populated than the eastern.

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6.The Great Lakes are in the north of the country.

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7.The natural resources of the country enrich the economy of the USA.

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Exercise 3. Translate the following words into Ukrainian and remember them:

The largest country_________________________________________________

The southern part__________________________________________________

The northern part__________________________________________________

Trip_____________________________________________________________

Coast____________________________________________________________

To be washed by___________________________________________________

The population_____________________________________________________

Citizen___________________________________________________________

Half_____________________________________________________________

Rural area_________________________________________________________

Fertile land________________________________________________________

Rainfall___________________________________________________________

Crops____________________________________________________________

Wheat____________________________________________________________

Beef cattle________________________________________________________

Valuable forests____________________________________________________

Mineral recourses___________________________________________________

Coal deposits______________________________________________________

Deep canyons______________________________________________________

Exercise 4. Make up sentences using right words in the blanks:

1.The USA is rich in mineral ………………………..(deposits, forests, recourses)

2.USA has major deposits of ………………………..(oil, wheat, cities)

3.The USA is made up of 50 …………………………(states, countries, coasts )

4.The highest mountains in the USA are the…………………………………….. (Cordilleras, Mississippi, Ontario )

5. The USA is famous for its five Great …………………………………………. (Lakes, States, Forests )

Exercise 5. Translate the following word-combinations into English and remember them:

Демократія______________________________________________________

Уряд___________________________________________________________

Політична система_______________________________________________

Закони_________________________________________________________

Свобода________________________________________________________

Гарантувати_____________________________________________________

Законодавча влада________________________________________________

Виконавча влада_________________________________________________

Вибирати, обирати______________________________________________

Exercise 6. Decide whether the following statements are true or false:

1.Abraham Lincoln was the first president of the USA.

____________________________________________________________

2.The law-making body of the American government is called the Congress.

____________________________________________________________

3.The Congress consists of two chambers.

____________________________________________________________

4.The USA President is the head of its military forces.

____________________________________________________________

5.Presidential elections in the USA are held every five years.

____________________________________________________________

6.The elected President can serve as long as he wins elections.

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7.The USA nowadays has a two-party political system.

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Exercise 7. Find right item:

1.I ………….not like strong tea. (do, does)

2.My brother ………….not clean his room every day. (do, does)

3.These boys ………….not play football after classes. (do, does)

4.We ……………not go to the circus on Sunday.(do, does)

5.Rita …………….not quarrel with her sister. (do, does)

6.I know you ……………..not like loud music. (do, does)

7.She ……………….not work at weekends. (do, does)

Exercise 10. Analyze the text “Geographical position of the USA” and write

about USA states, main sources, rivers, forests. (10-12 sentences)

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Exercise 11. PROJECT WORK: “Political system of the USA” ( write about USA political party, government, Presidential elections, President)

Оцінка_________________ Викладач________________________