Ukraine
We live in Ukraine. It is one of the largest European countries with the area of over 600 000 km2. It is bounded by Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Ukraine is washed by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It occupies a very favorable geographic position that enables it to maintain all-round relations with other countries.
Ukraine has a lot rivers. The most important water way is the Dnieper which divides the country into Right-bank and Left-bank territories.
Ukraine has favourable climatic conditions which facilitate the growth of agriculture in the country. Ukraine is an important producer of grain, sugar beet, sunflower, fruit and vegetables.
The country is rich in minerals such as coal, iron ore, manganese ore, nickel, graphite etc. Ukraine is a developed industrial country. The most important industries are coal and ore mining, machine building, textile, chemical, food, power engineering.
The largest cities are Kharkiv, an important machine-building center, Donetsk, a coal mining center, Odesa, a big sea port, Lviv, a center of metal working, electronic and radio-electronic industries, Zaporizhya, a metallurgical center, Dnipropetrovsk, a large machine-building and metallurgical center, Kherson, a center of ship-building and textile industries, Kyiv, a leading center of machine-building and aircraft engineering.
At present the country makes every effort to become a full member of the European Economic Community.
The United States of America
The United States of America is one of the largest countries of the world. It is a federal republic of 50 states and the District of Columbia. The total area of the USA is over 9 million km2. The population is about 240 mln people. The capital of the country is Washington.
The USA occupies a favorable geographical position: it is washed by the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans and has various climatic zones.
The United States is rich in natural resources such as iron ore, coal and oil. The basic metals and minerals mined in the United States are zinc, copper and silver. The United States is a highly industrialized country and one of the most technologically developed countries in the world.
Economically the territory of the USA may be divided into five large areas: the North-East with metallurgical, consumer and oil refining industries; the Middle West with highly developed agriculture and cattle breeding; the subtropical South where sugar, cane, tobacco and cotton are cultivated; the Prairies with silver, copper and lead mining and metallurgical industries and cattle breeding.
The West Coast Districts give wood, California valley is the garden and fruit zone. Large oil fields play an important part in the industry.
In spite of the growing competition on the world market and the world crisis The USA is still the world’s greatest economic power.
Great Britain
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The total area of the country is over 315 000 km2. Its population is over 58 million. Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. The capital of the country is London.
The UK is a highly developed industrial country. Most of the country’s industries are concerned with the production of iron and steel goods, motor vehicles, textiles and chemicals. It is known as one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding. For centuries Britain has been the leading shipbuilder in the world. Britain’s chemical industry is the third largest in Europe and the fifth largest in the western world. Nearly half of its production id exported.