Text 2

Pre - reading task

1. Scan the text in 5 minutes and find information about the following:

a) the climates of the US;

b) the original inhabitants;

c) the American Revolution;

d) the reason for the US Civil War;

e) the US participation in the two World wars.

The USA

Land and Climate

The United States covers the central portion of North America and includes Alaska and Hawaii. It is the fourth largest country in the world. Because of its size and location, it has many different climates and a variety of geographical features. Large mountains, vast deserts, wide canyons, rolling hills, prairies, frozen tundra, extensive coasts, forests, tropical islands, wetlands, swamps, and other features can be found. The West Coast rises to the Rocky Mountains, which give way to a vast central plain that merges with the rolling hills and low mountains of the east.

Climates are as varied as the terrain. Humidity is often high in the east and southeast, while the west is drier. Most of the nation experiences all four seasons, with cold and snowy winters and warm summers. The southwest and southeast experience fewer variations in climate and rarely receive snow in winter.

History

North America’s history before Europeans arrived is incomplete, but the original inhabitants had large empires and advanced civilizations. From the seventeenth century on, the Native Americans were displaced by Eorupean settlers who had come for riches, territory, and new world. British colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) were established on the east coast of North America. Spanish and French explorers also claimed large territories.

By the mid-eighteenth century, the colonists desired independence from Great Britain. The American Revolution of 1776 led to independence and a loose confederation of states. The Constitution of 1787 established the basic form of government as it exists today. Explorers and pioneers moved west and settled large areas of land. The United States acquired territory from France, Mexico, and Spain throughout the nineteenth century, expanding its borders from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

In 1861, civil war broke out between Union states in the north and Confederate states in the south over issues of slavery, secession, and economic differences. Union forces, under President Abraham Lincoln, defeated the Confederacy in 1865 and reunited the country.

Although American troops were only involved in the last year of World War I, the United States was a major combatant in World War II and emerged as the strongest economic and military power in the world. Through its assistance to developing countries, the United States spread American values and influence throughout the world, which some nations welcomed and others did not.

American prominence declined in the 1970s because of the US defeat in the Vietnam War. This trend continued in the 1980s as other nations became more powerful, especially economically, but the United States remains an important member of the world community. In 1991, it led a coalition of nations in a war against Iraq to liberate Kuwait from occupation. It then participated in refugee relief operations and peace talks for the settlement of regional disputes.

The United States is an active member of the United Nations and is a key donor of international aid. It has never been ruled by a dictator and has always had free elections to determine its leadership. It considers itself the world guardian of freedom and democracy.