15.3 Translate into English

восточная граница Полярный круг

территория Европы менее двух процентов

одна-пятнадцатая часть возвышенности и плато

горные хребты разнообразный ландшафт

сильные ветры полуостров

15.3 Read and translate the text Europe

Europe, second smallest of the world’s continents (after Australia), composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia, occupies nearly one-fifteenth of the world’s total area. The territory of Europe – 10,400,000 sq km, population – 718,500,000 people. Europe is bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the North Sea, Baltic Sea, and English Channel, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea.

The continent’s eastern boundary runs along the eastern Ural Mountains and the Emba River. Europe’s islands and archipelagoes include Novaya Zemlya, Iceland, the British Isles, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, Malta. Its major peninsulas include the Scandinavian, Iberian, Italian, Balkan, Jutland.

Europe can be divided into two major parts –western peninsular Europe, and eastern continental Europe. And it can be divided into several distinct physiographic regions - the central uplands and plateaus, the south-central mountains and the southern fringe. The varied landscape includes the majestic beauty of the Alps, the frightening silence of the sparsely populated British uplands, the almost desolate stretches of the northern tundra, and the flat plains that have been reclaimed from the sea. The mountain ranges include (from west to east) the Sierra Nevada, Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines, Carpathians, and the Balkan Mountains.

Europe is well-watered continent with many rivers but relatively few sizable lakes. The river systems may be divided into three groups: the members of the first drain west and north directly into the Atlantic and its marginal seas (the North and Baltic seas); those of the second drain south into the Mediterranean; and those of the third drain east and south-east into the Black and Caspian seas. The Volga River is the longest river (3,529 km). Other major rivers are the Danube, Dnieper, Don, Rhine, Vistula, Elbe and Oder. Lakes covering less then 2 percent of Europe’s surface, are mostly of glacial origin (f. ex. Lake Ladoga).

Lying south of the Arctic Circle and north of the tropics, Europe exhibits a wide range of climates: the maritime climate of the west (abundant rainfall, mild temperatures, both in winter and summer); the transitional climate of Central Europe (500 to 1,000 mm of annual rainfall, cold winters, and warm summers); the continental climate of the north-east (250 to 500 mm of annual rainfall, long and cold winters, and hot summers); the Mediterranean climate of southern coastal Europe (moderate rainfall, mild and wet winters, hot and dry summers). Strong winds occasionally blow over the area of Southern Europe. In winter the mistral – a cold dry wind often damage sensitive crops. In summer hot winds called siroccos bring hot, dry, and dusty air from North Africa’s deserts.

The continent can be divided into five major vegetation belts; tundra zone, coniferous taiga or boreal zone, deciduous mixed forest zone, the steppe zone, the Mediterranean zone.