(Слайд 1) LECTURE 1

THE U.S.A.

Plan to the lecture

1. General Information

2. Location

3. Geography

4. The face of the land

5. Climate and weather

6. The population

7. Similarities and specific features of America

8. The American people

(Слайд 3) 1. GENERAL INFORMATION

The USA is the most powerful and the most advanced capitalist country. It leads the world in industrial and agricultural production. Labour is the father of the production, and land is the mother of it, the latter being highly favourable.

The total area of the USA is over nine million square kilometres (9,364,000 sq. km). The population of the country is over 321 million people. The capital is Washington, D.C. The country’s motto is “In God We Trust”.

The United States of America is a federation of states (now there are 50 states) which was established by the Constitution in 1787. Each state has its own government and its own capital city.

The flag of the U.S.A., popularly called “the Stars and Stripes and Old Glory”, was adopted in 1777. It consists of 13 horizontal stripes, alternately red and white, equal to the number of the original states with a blue union marked with white stars equal in number to 50 states today. The red stripes proclaim liberty, the field of blue stands for loyalty.

The coat-of-arms of the U.S. represents an eagle with wings outspread, holding a bundle of rods – the symbol of administering – in the left claw and an olive twig – the emblem of love – in the right claw.

The motto on the coat-of-arms is “E Pluribus Unum” (“One out of many” in Latin).

It was in 1812 that the nickname of the U.S. “Uncle Sam” appeared. Uncle Sam Wilson of New York supplied beef to the U.S. Army during the war of 1812 stamping his barrels with the letters “U.S.”. This beef became known to the army as Uncle Sam’s and later this familiar name became associated with the U.S. Government.

(Слайд 2) Словарь

established by the Constitution	- образована на основании Конституции
“the Stars and Stripes and Old Glory”	- «звезды, полоски и древняя слава» (описание флага США)
stripe	- полоска
alternately	- чередуясь, через одну
proclaim	- провозглашать
courage	- храбрость
liberty	- свобода
loyalty	- верность, преданность
coat-of-arms	- герб
eagle	- орел
wings outspread	- распростертые крылья
bundle of rods	- пучок розог
administering	- управление
claw	- клюв
olive twig	- оливковая ветвь
motto	- надпись (на гербе)

(Слайд 4) 2. Location

The United States proper (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) is situated in the central part of the North American continent. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, from Canada in the North to Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of California in the south. The USA is an extremely large country in North America. In size, the United States ranks fourth among the nations after Russia, Canada, and China. It possesses many islands in the Pacific Ocean and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the Atlantic. It has military bases scattered all over the world.

The continental part of the USA consists of four physical geographical parts: two highland and two lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian Mountains in the east, and the Cordillera and the Rocky Mountains in the west. The highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains is 2,037 metres high.

(Слайд 5) 3. A panoramic view of american geography

Americans’ encounter with their land has been abrupt and often violent, consuming much of the nation’s energies. Americans had to confront and come to terms with a huge, wild country. It has been said that America is a nation with an abundance of geography but a shortage of history. It took less than 400 years to subdue more than 3 million square miles of territory. Even today much of the U.S. remains relatively unpopulated.

Settlement of the American land was often a painful process. Territory was usually settled before it was well known, and people learned geography from hard experience by trial and error.

Today the United States is the fourth largest country in the world, in both size and population. It covers an area of 3,618,465 square miles. The U.S. is divided into 50 states. Those which border one another on the continent are grouped into seven regions: New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont), Middle Atlantic States (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania), Southern States (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia), Midwestern States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin), Rocky Mountain States (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming), Southwestern States (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) and Pacific Coast States (California, Oregon, Washington). In addition, Hawaii and Alaska are grouped separately.