The use of articles with other proper names

TASK 24. Fill in the gaps with articles wherever necessary.

In ___ heart of ___ England, about 112 miles north-west of ___ London, is ___ Birmingham, ___ big industrial city with over ___ million inhabitants.

One of ___ English counties, ___Yorkshire, is famous for some delicious foods, including ___ Yorkshire pudding and ___ roast beef. ___ Country town of ___ Yorkshire is ___ York, ___ beautiful old city on ___ River Ouse.

In ___ Netherlands and ___ Belgium, ___ St. Nickolas’ Day, December 6, is ___ children’s festival on ___ eve of which ___ saint is supposed to come riding from ___ Spain with presents for all good children.

Michael looked quizzically at his parents. Did they quite understand ___ England of today?

New York, ___ largest city in ___ USA, is situated at ___ mouth of ___ Hudson River, sometimes called ___ North River.

___ Persian Gulf, which is also called ___ Arabian Gulf or just ___ Gulf, is ___ part of ___ Indian Ocean between Iran and ___ Arabian Peninsula.

___ main part of ___ USA presents four physical divisions: two elevated and two lowland regions. ___ elevated are ___ Appalachian Mountains in ___ east and ___ Rocky Mountains and ___ Cordilleran system in ___ west.

Most schoolchildren know that ___ Arctic Circle is ___ imaginary line around ___ world at ___ particular distance from ___ most northern point, which is ___ North Pole. But do you know what it’s like when there’s sixty degrees of frost in ___ Arctic and it still doesn’t freeze?

___ White Nile River originates in ___ Lake Victoria, which is ___ largest lake in ___ Africa, surrounded by ___ Uganda, ___ Tanzania, and ___ Kenya.

___ Central Africa is ___ narrow piece of ___ land joining ___ North and ___ South America, and consisting of ___ Belize, ___ Guatemala, ___ Honduras, ___ El Salvador, ___ Nicaragua, ___ Costa Rica, and ___ Panama.

Over ___ door there hung ___ long photo­graph of ___ city with waterways, which ___ young Agnes, who had never been to ___ Venice, took to be ___ Venice, but which people who had been to ___ Stockholm knew to be ___ Stockholm.

___ Antarctica is ___ continent which is ___ most southern area of ___ land on ___ Earth and is mostly covered with ___ ice.

Crantock is ___ pretty coastal village on ___ North Cornish Coast, which was once ___ centre of religious activity before ___ Norman Conquest. ___ Norman church, which was built there during ___ reign of ___ William ___ Conqueror, still survives and has ___ impressive wood carvings and stained glass windows

___ Mount McKinley is ___ highest peak in ___ Alaska, which is now ___ largest state in ___ US, northwest of ___ Canada, but used to belong to ___ Russia before it was sold to ___ United States.

___ Cape Canaveral, which was formerly called ___ Cape Kennedy, is ___ cape in ___ Florida which is famous for ___ Kennedy Space Center, where ___ US spacecraft are sent into ___ space.

___ Gobi Desert, also called ___ Gobi, is one of ___ largest deserts in ___ world, situated partly in ___ northern China and partly in ___ Mongolia.

___ Mall is ___ straight road in ___ central London that connects ___ Buckingham Palace and ___ Trafalgar Square. Whenever there is ___ royal wedding, funeral, or similar occasion, ___ royal family travels slowly along it, and many people come to watch.

In his famous historical novel ‘Ivanhoe’ ___ outstanding English writer Walter Scott described ___ England of ___ Middle Ages.

___ speaker went on to say, ‘There will be ___ different Argentina after we finish the reconstruction that we have already begun.’

___ English Channel, which is also called ___ Channel, is ___ narrow piece of ___ water between ___ southern England and ___ northern France, which ___ French people call ___ 'La Manche'. ___ Channel Tunnel is ___ railway tunnel, built under ___ English Channel to connect ___ England and ___ France.

TASK 24. Read through the set of notes describing a range of geographical features of 8 different countries and territories. Match them to the names of these countries and territories from the box.

______ - a peninsula bounded by a large mountain range in the North – a wide plateau extending to the ocean in the South – unpredictable monsoon climate – population concentrated in the northern plains;

______ - enormous forest areas in the interior – coastal mountains in the West – numerous islands off the north coast – lowlands in the North – continental climate, severe inland, more moderate by the sea – total area: 3, 851, 809 square miles;

______ - a wide variety of land and climate – a huge river basin in the North – thickly forested – a vast plateau in the South – densely populated in coastal belt to the East – relatively underdeveloped in central areas beyond the highlands in the South-East – lies on the Equator;

______ - consists of four main islands – mountainous and hilly – many active volcanoes – subject to earthquakes, typhoons and tidal waves – extends through many degrees of latitude – the climate, therefore, is very diverse;

______ - located round the mouth of the Rhine estuary – a long coastline – most of the country flat and low-lying – large areas in the West and North below sea level – subject to floods – complex network of canals;

______ - mountainous with numerous lakes – varied climate according to altitude, ranging from tropical to temperate to cold – highest point over 18,000 feet – desert in the west – half of the country lies inside the Tropic of Cancer;

______ - to the North the southern slopes of a gigantic mountain chain – tropical forests and jungle – highest peak 8,845 metres – fertile valleys for agriculture in central zone;

______ - most highly developed country in its continent – rich in mineral deposits and other natural resources – large industrialised urban areas round coasts – rural in the interior – rich vegetation, good irrigation

TASK 25. Do the general knowledge quiz below. In case of doubt, find out the information you need in the Internet.

How many continents are there in the world? What are they?

Which is the largest continent? –

How many oceans are there in the world? What are they?

What is the highest mountain in the world? 

In which mountain range is Everest?

What is Kilimanjaro famous for? 

What is the longest river in the world?

What is the longest river in Europe? 

What is the longest river in Ukraine?

Where is the highest waterfall in the world?  

Name three countries which have geysers and hot springs.

What is delta and which great river has one?

Where are the Straits of Gibraltar? 

Where is the Cape of Good Hope?

What oceans does the Panama Canal join? 

What river flows through London?

What desert occupies much of northern Africa?

Which country has the largest population in the world?

What joins the Red Sea and the Mediterranean?

What separates Spain and Morocco?