Практичне заняття № 3 "Дослідження американського континенту. Політична система та економічний розвиток сша"

"The Geographical Position and The Political System of the USA"

TASK 1. Read, translate and retell the following text.

The United States is a parliamentary republic. It is a democracy. The people rule the country through the representatives they elect. The United States has a federal system. There are fifty states in the USA. Each state has its own government and there is a federal or national government. Each state has its own constitution and can collect taxes. But only the national government can print money. The Constitution which was written in 1787 sets the basic form of national government: it has three branches ― legislative, executive and judiciary.

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, China and Canada. It occupies the southern part of North America and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the country is about nine and a half million square kilometres. The USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. The south-eastern coast of the country is washed by the Gulf of Mexico and the US also has coasts on the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The USA has a seaborder with Russia.

The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The population of the country is about 250 million people. Some states are more densely populated than the others, for example, Alaska has half of the Rhode Island's population. More citizens of the USA live in rural areas. Today American farmers plant spring wheat on the cold western plains, raise corn, wheat and fine beef cattle in the Midwest, and rice in the damp heat of Louisiana. Florida and California are famous for their vegetable and fruit production, and the cool, rainy northwest states are known for apples, berries and vegetables.

The land varies from heavy forests covering 2,104 mln hectares, to barren deserts, from high-peaked mountains (the highest peak is Mount McKinley in Alaska) to deep canyons (Death Valley in California is 1,064 metres below sea level). The highest mountains in the USA are the Cordilleras that run the length of the west coast and include the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. America's largest rivers are the Mississippi with its tributary Missouri, the Rio Grande, the Ohio and the Columbia. The broad Mississippi River system runs 5,969 kilometres from Canada into the Gulf of Mexico and is the world's third longest river after the Nile and the Amazon. The USA is famous for its five Great Lakes: Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and the Michigan. The first four lakes are on the border with Canada and are the largest and deepest in the USA. There are also a lot of small lakes and the northern state of Minnesota, for example, is known as the land of 10,000 lakes.

The USA is rich in mineral resources; their wealth provides a solid base for American industry. It has major deposits of oil and gas in Texas and Alaska, coal in Virginia and Ohio, gold in Alaska and California, silver in Nevada, non-ferrous metals in Arkansas and Colorado. The largest cities of the USA are New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and some others.

The Political System of the USA.

The United States is a parliamentary republic. It is a democracy. The people rule the country through the representatives they elect. The United States has a federal system. There are fifty states in the USA. Each state has its own government and there is a federal or national government. Each state has its own constitution and can collect taxes. But only the national government can print money. The Constitution which was written in 1787 sets the basic form of national government: it has three branches ― legislative, executive and judiciary.

Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress makes all laws, and each house of Congress has the power to support or reject a bill offered by the other. When they both pass a bill on which they agree, it is sent to the president for his signature. Only after that a bill becomes a law. The members of the House of Representatives are elected for two years, and one-third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year terms of office. Each state, regardless of the population, has two senators, while the House of Representatives has more members from more populated states. There 100 senators and 435 representatives. The number of the representatives from each state depends on the size of the state's population.

The president of the USA is elected every four years to a four-year term of office, with no more than two full terms allowed. The President (and his administration) is the chief of the executive branch and also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The executive branch administers the laws. This branch consists of departaments and agencies. The US President is elected for 4-year term. The US President commands the armed forces, conducts foreign affairs, and recommends laws to the Congress. The first president of the USA was George Washington. At present the USA is headed by the 44^th president of the USA, Barack Obama, the leader of the Democratic Party. The next presidential election will be held in 2012.

The judiciary branch is represented by the Supreme Court and federal courts at the national level. The US Supreme Court has nine members. They are Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices. The judiciary branch interests the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution.

There is one more very important part of the American political scene ― the political parties. Today the United States has two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Both these parties have supporters among a wide variety of Americans. There are other smaller parties in the US, but none of them has enough popular support to win a presidential election.

Grammar: Past Simple.

PAST INDEFINITE/SIMPLE ACTIVE
РОЗПОВІДНЕ СТВЕРДЖУВАЛЬНЕ РЕЧЕННЯ
1. Усі правильні дієслова: закінчення -ED.
Ос. \ Числ.		Однина	Множина
I		I planted	WE planted
II		YOU planted	YOU planted
III		S/HE, IT planted	THEY planted
→ -пригол. + Y + -ED → -IED: try – tried.
→ -голосн. + Y + -ED → -YD: played, prayed.
→ Кінцева -Е опускається + -ED: live – lived, continue – continued…
→ Кінцева приголосна після короткої наголошеної голосної подвоюється: stop – stopped, mop – mopped, grab – grabbed…
→ Подвоєння кінцевої -L після короткої голосної: travel – travelled, control – controlled… NB! Appeal – appealed, trouble – troubled, giggle – giggled, nail – nailed, jail – jailed, oil - oiled…
2. Усі неправильні дієслова: ІІ форма неправ. дієслів.
Ос. \ Числ.	Однина			Множина
I	I saw, bought…			WE saw, bought…
II	YOU (ти/ви) saw, bought…			YOU (ви) saw, bought…
III	S/HE, IT saw, bought…			THEY saw, bought…
3. Дієслово TO BE (бути): WAS/WERE.
Ос. \ Числ.	Однина			Множина
I	I WAS (був) a boy			WE WERE (були) boys
II	YOU WERE (був) a boy			YOU WERE (були) boys
III	S/HE (IT) WAS (був/-ла/-о) a boy			THEY WERE (були) boys
4. Дієслово TO HAVE (мати): HAD.
I (you, s/he/it, we, they) — HAD a ball.
5. Модальні дієслова + дієсловo з нульовим закінченням (без -ED):
I could sing/he could sing/she might come in/you had to go...
РОЗПОВІДНЕ ЗАПЕРЕЧНЕ РЕЧЕННЯ
1. Усі дієслова і TO HAVE: DID + NOT + присудок (без -ED / I ф. дієсл.).
I did not/didn't swim/buy, we didn't swim/buy, you didn't swim/buy, you didn't swim/buy, s/he didn't swim/buy, they didn't swim/buy.				I didn't have it, she didn't have it.
2. Дієслово TO BE (бути): WAS/WERE + NOT.
I WAS NOT/WASN'T a friend, we WEREN'T friends, you WERE NOT/WEREN'T a friend, you WEREN'T friends, s/he WAS NOT/WASN'T a friend, they WEREN'T friends.
3. Модальні дієслова: COULD, MIGHT… + NOT; DID NOT HAVE TO…
I could not/couldn't swim, he couldn't go, she might not come in, you did not have to/didn't have to do that.
ПИТАЛЬНЕ РЕЧЕННЯ
1. Усі дієслова і TO HAVE: DID + підмет + присудок (без -ED / I ф. дієсл.).
Did you/s/he/it/we/they swim?					Did you have it?
2. Дієслово TO BE (бути): вихід на перше місце.
WAS I/s/he/it a friend? WERE we/we/they friends?
3. Модальні дієслова: вихід на перше місце.
Could you swim? Might she come in? NB! Did I have to go?
NB! Заперечне питальне речення: Did you not swim?/Didn't you swim? Was he not your friend?/Wasn't he your friend? Had she not a ball?/Hadn't she a ball?/Did she not have a ball?/Didn't she have a ball? Must we not talk to him?/Mustn't we talk to him?
TIME EXPRESSIONS (обставини часу) ― В КІНЦІ/НА ПОЧАТКУ РЕЧ: yesterday, the other day  (на днях), on Sunday, in 1980, last year, last winter, last time, an hour ago, two days ago, a month ago, long ago (давно), regularly/frequently in the past.