Text 1. Location. Climate.

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

The total area of the USA is over 9 million square kilometers (9,364,000 sq. km). The population of the country is over 265,6 million people. The capital is Washington, D.C.

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, the Cordillera and the Rocky Mountains in the west. The highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains is 2,037 meters high. The highest peak of the Cordillera in the USA and the whole of America is Mount McKinley in Alaska (6,193 meters high). The Appalachian Mountains are very old. The valleys between them are rich in coal. The Rocky Mountains are considered to be young, high, rough, and irregular in shape.

Between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains there are the Central Lowlands, called the prairie, and the eastern lowlands, called the Mississippi valley.

The five Great Lakes between the USA and Canada, include Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Eire, and Lake Ontario (one of them – Lake Michigan – lies entirely inside the USA). The Great Lakes make up the largest group of lakes in the country, as well as the greatest collection of fresh-water lakes in the world. They are all joined together by short rivers or canals, and the St. Lawrence River joins them to the Atlantic Ocean. The Niagara Falls situated on the short Niagara River joining Lakes Eire and Ontario, are famous all over the world and attract lots of tourists. In the west of the USA there is another lake called Great Salt Lake.

The main rivers of the USA are the Mississippi, flowing south to the Gulf of Mexico (it is the second largest river in the world after the Nile); the Missouri, flowing into the Mississippi; the Rio Grande, flowing along the boundary between Texas and Mexico into the Gulf of Mexico; the Yukon, flowing north-west and then south-west from Canada through Alaska to the Bering Sea; the Colorado, flowing into the Gulf of California; the Columbia, flowing into the Pacific Ocean, and the St. Lawrence and the Hudson River, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

The USA is a very large country, so it has several different climate zones. The coldest regions are in the north and north-east, where much snow falls in winter. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often brings typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast. The region around Great Lakes is known for its changeable weather. In general, the climate in North America is much colder than in Europe and the average annual temperature of New York, for example, is 11º C.

Washington, D.C. [΄wo∫iŋtən΄di΄si] – Вашингтон, Округ Колумбия (столица США)

Alaska [ə΄læskə] - Аляска

Hawaii [ha:΄waii:] - Гавайи

Pacific Ocean [pə΄sifik΄ou∫n] – Тихий океан

Canada [΄kænədə] - Канада

Mexico [΄meksikou] - Мексика

the Gulf of Mexico [΄gΛlfəv΄meksikou] – Мексиканский залив

the Gulf of California [΄gΛlfəv kəli΄foniə] – Калифорнийский залив

China [΄t∫ainə] - Китай

Puerto Rico [΄pwə:tou΄ri:kou] – о-в Пуэрто Рико

the Virgin Islands [΄və:dзin΄ailəndz] – Виргинские о-ва

the Appalachian Mountains [΄æpə΄leit∫jen΄mauntinz] – горы Аппалачи

the Cordillera [΄kodi΄ljεərə] – горы Кордильеры

the Rocky Mountains[΄roki ΄mauntinz] – Скалистые горы

Central Lowlands [΄sentrəl΄louləndz] – Центральные низменности

the prairie [΄prεəri] - прерия

the Mississippi valley [΄misi΄sipi΄væli] – долина реки Миссиссиппи

Great Lakes [΄greit΄leiks] – Великие Озера

Lake Superior [΄leik sju΄piəriə] –озеро Верхнее

Lake Michigan [΄leik ΄mi∫igən] – озеро Мичиган

Lake Huron [΄leik ΄hjuərən] – озеро Гурон

Lake Eire [΄leik ΄iəri] – озеро Эйри

Lake Ontario [΄leik on΄tεəriou] – озеро Онтарио

the St. Lawrence River [snt΄lorəns΄rivə] – река Святого Лаврентия

The Niagara Falls [nai΄ægərə΄fo:lz] – Ниагарский водопад

Great Salt Lake [΄greit΄solt΄leik] – Великое Соленое Озеро

the Mississippi [΄misi΄sipi] – река Миссиссиппи

the Nile [nail] – река Нил

the Missouri [mi΄zuəri] – река Миссури

the Rio Grande [΄rio΄grandə] – река Рио Гранде

Texas [΄teksəs] – штат Техас

the Yukon [΄jukən] – река Юкон

the Bering Sea [΄beriŋ΄si:] – Берингово море

the Colorado [kələ΄ra:dou] – река Колорадо

the Columbia [kə΄lΛmbiə] – река Колумбия

the Hudson River [΄hΛdsən΄rivə] – река Гудзон