Unit 1. The political world. North America

TASK 1. Read the text paying attention to the words in bold type. Look up their meaning in the Glossary:

1. In addition to being divided into physical land masses, the world is also split into countries. These countries are separated from one another by language, government, and culture, and this creates the political world. As recently as 1950, there were only 82 countries. Today there are more than twice that many – some vast, others tiny. New countries are created when people want freedom from their past colonial rulers or when separate peoples living within one country seek independence. The breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, for example, created seven new countries.

2. The line that separates one country from another is called a border. Sometimes these follow a natural feature, such as a mountain range or a river. On other occasions they follow a straight line, ignoring physical features. When countries are on friendly terms, borders can be little more than lines on a map, easily crossed. If there is conflict, however, borders may be heavily defended, and it is often difficult to move from one country to another.

3. North America includes the countries of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, as well as the world’s largest island, Greenland. During the last Ice Age, a great sheet of ice flowed across the continent scouring the landscape, deepening the depressions that now hold the Great Lakes, and dumping fertile soil onto the central plains. The Rocky Mountains form the backbone of the continent, running from Alaska to New Mexico. In the east are the Appalachian Mountains, flanked by coastal lowlands to the east and south. In eastern Canada lies the Canadian Shield, a huge basin of ancient eroded rocks now covered with thin soils. Deserts stretch from the southwestern United States down into northern Mexico.

4. The main mountain ranges of North America, the snowcapped Rockies and the forested Appalachians, vary greatly in appearance. The difference can be explained by their age. The Rockies are relatively young mountains that have not yet been worn down. The Appalachians, however, are among the world’s oldest mountains and have been gradually eroded by the scouring action of wind, water, and the movement of glaciers.

5. The Grand Canyon was formed over millions of years as the waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries carved their way through the solid rock. At some points the canyon is 1 mile (1.6 km) deep, and cuts through rocks that are 2,000 million years old. Different types of fossils found in the canyon walls reveal the dates of its changing history.

6. Estimated to contain one-fifth of the world’s freshwater, the five Great Lakes straddle the border between Canada and the US. Only Lake Michigan lies entirely within the US. The lakes are linked by waterways and drained by the St. Lawrence River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The Niagara River, which joins lakes Erie and Ontario, passes over the famous Niagara Falls.

7. Across the center of Canada and the US lie the Great Plains, also called the prairies. This huge area has hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Trees are rare except along rivers and lakeshores, but the region was once covered with grasses grazed by millions of buffalo. Today, little natural prairie survives, and in its place farmers cultivate vast fields of corn and wheat.

 

TASK 2. Read the text and choose an appropriate title for each part of it:

a) The political map

b) The Great Plains

c) Country borders

d) The Great Lakes

e) The Grand Canyon

f) North America

g) Mountain ranges

TASK 3. Answer the questions in writing:

10. What is the world also split into?

11. What are these countries separated from one another by?

12. When are new countries created?

13. What is a border?

14. What do the borders follow?

15. What countries does North America include?

16. What forms the backbone of the continent?

17. Where do deserts stretch?

18. What are the main mountain ranges of North America?

19. What can the difference between them be explained by?

20. How was the Grand Canyon formed?

21. How much of the world’s freshwater do the five Great Lakes contain?

TASK 4. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following words and word combinations and write them down:

1. В добавление к …

2. Искать независимость

3. Горная цепь

4. Прибрежные низменности

5. Притоки

6. Открывать

7. Прорезать

8. Полностью

9. Осушать

10. Пасти скот

TASK 5. Match the columns:

1. In addition to 2. Seek independence 3. a mountain range 4. coastal lowlands 5. relativelyyoung 6. straddle the border 7. vast fields of wheat

a) Искать независимость b) В добавление к c) Прибрежные низменности d) Горная цепь e) Перекинулись через границу f) Огромные поля пшеницы g) Относительно молодой

 

TASK 6. Match the questions and the answers to make up a dialogue:

1. What are the main mountain ranges of North America vary in? 2. What have the Appalachians, the world’s oldest mountains, been gradually eroded by? 3. How was the Grand Canyon formed? 4. What revealsthe dates of its changing history? 5. What are the lakes linked by? 6. Where do the Great Plains lie? 7. What was the region once covered with?

a) It was formed over millions of years as the waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries carved their way through the solid rock. b) The fact that different types of fossils are found in the canyon walls. c) They have been gradually eroded by the scouring action of wind, water, and the movement of glaciers. d) The region was once covered with grasses grazed by millions of buffalo. e) They are linked by waterways and drained by the St. Lawrence River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. f) The snowcapped Rockies and the forested Appalachians vary greatly in appearance. g) Across the center of Canada and the US lie the Great Plains, also called the prairies.

 

Unit 2. CANADA. THE USA.

TASK 1. Read the text paying attention to the words in bold type. Look up their meaning in the Glossary:

Text A

CANADA. The second largest country in the world, Canada occupies two-fifths of the North American continent, stretches across five time zones, and is divided into 10 provinces and three territories. It was once inhabited only by native peoples including the Inuit. The French were the first Europeans to settle in Canada, but after years of fighting the British gained control in 1763. Gradually they took over the rest of the country, as pioneers and settlers moved west and north. Today, Canada is an important industrial nation and one of the world’s richest countries.

Most of its manufacturing is based on the natural resources of wood, metals, and mineral fuels.

Until quite recently, most Canadians were descendants of British or French settlers. Most of the French live in Québec province. Germans and Italians are also large ethnic groups but, recently, increased numbers of people have come from eastern Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia. Native peoples make up less than 3 percent of the population.

Text B

THE USA. In less than 400 years, the United States of America (USA) has grown from wild countryside inhabited by native peoples to the world’s most powerful industrial nation. The country is made up of 50 states, including Alaska in the far north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. There are two major mountain ranges, the Appalachians to the east and the Rockies to the west, while much of its center is covered by the gently sloping Great Plains. Vast supplies of coal, oil, and minerals, together with mass immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries, helped business and industry grow fast. Today, American products and culture are recognized throughout the world.

Almost 80 percent of Americans live in cities or the surrounding suburbs. Most people who live in the suburbs own their own homes and travel to work by car. New York is the biggest city, with more than 22 million inhabitants, followed by Los Angeles, and then Chicago. People from different backgrounds mingle in most cities. Often they have their own neighborhoods, with names such as Little Italy or Chinatown.

 

TASK 2. Match the columns to complete the sentences: