Unit 3. Mexico. The southern America.

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

1. The colorful land of Mexico was once home to the golden civilizations of the Maya and Aztecs. These ancient empires were destroyed by the Spanish, who invaded in the 1500s and ruled the country until its independence in 1821. Descendants of the native peoples still live in Mexico, but most people are mestizo, of mixed Spanish and native Indian descent. Almost half of all Mexicans are under 19 years old, and the population is growing rapidly, leading to overcrowding in the cities. Mexico has limited farmland and cannot produce enough food for the growing population.

2. With a population of more than 22 million, Mexico City is one of the world’s largest cities. But its size and location create many problems. It lies at a high altitude and is ringed by mountains, so pollution from cars and factories cannot escape and poisons the air. Children often wait to leave for school until after rush hour to avoid car fumes. Mexico City is very overcrowded, and the area is prone to earthquakes; the most recent one devastated the city center in 1985. These buildings at Teotihuacán, near Mexico City, are the remains of an ancient religious center.

3. Festivals, or fiestas, are a common part of Mexican village life. Each village has its own patron saint and on the saint’s day there is a colorful celebration. There are 115 separate saints’ days in Mexico. The people of a small town near Oaxaca celebrate their fiesta with a street procession. Although most people in Mexico are Roman Catholic, native Indian beliefs are also important, and many festivals are a mixture of Christian and Indian traditions.

4. Mexicans eat a variety of spicy foods flavored with chilies. Most of the food is based on home-grown produce, such as avocados, beans, tomatoes, and corn. Pancakes, called tortillas, are made from corn flour and filled with meat or vegetables, and cheese. Cooks also mix chilies and chocolate to make a spicy sauce called mole, which is served on chicken. Tortillas are eaten like bread or made into a snack called a taco.

5. Mexico’s landscape ranges from vast deserts in the north, through snowcapped mountains and a central plateau in the center, to tropical rain forests in the south. The Sonoran Desert stretches across the border into the US. This desert is home to the giant saguaro cactus and to poisonous animals such as rattlesnakes and scorpions.

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

a) Mexico City

b) Village Festivals

c) A Land Of Contrasts

d) Mexico

e) Mexican Food

 

TASK 3. Answer the questions in writing:

1. When were these ancient empires destroyed by the Spanish?

2. Where do descendants of the native peoples still live?

3. How are the people of mixed Spanish and native Indian descent called?

4. Why cannot Mexico produce enough food for the growing population?

5. What is the population of Mexico City?

6. Why cannot pollution from cars and factories escape?

7. What is a common part of Mexican village life?

8. How many separate saints’ days are there in Mexico?

9. Why are many festivals a mixture of Christian and Indian traditions?

10. What is called tortillas?

TASK 4. Match the columns to complete the sentences:

1. Almost half of all Mexicans 2. Descendants of the native peoples 3. But its size and location 4. The colorful land of Mexico was once home 5. Mexicans eat a variety of spicy foods 6. Festivals, or fiestas, are a common part 7. These ancient empires

a) create many problems. b) to the golden civilizations of the Maya and Aztecs. c) flavored with chilies. d) were destroyed by the Spanish. e) still live in Mexico. f) of Mexican village life. g) are under 19 years old.

TASK 5: Fill in the gaps in Text B using the words from the box:

Continent, discharges, blanket, islands, mountains, mouth, plains, snowcapped, sandwiched, mighty, bank, bridge.

Text B

The Amazon River

The world’s largest rain forest grows in the vast basin of the … Amazon, the longest river in South America. The Amazon rises high in the … Andes in Peru, then flows 4,001 miles (6,439 km) across Peru and Brazil to its … in the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon carries more water than any other river. At its mouth the Amazon is so wide that you cannot see from one … to the other. The river … so much water into the ocean that the water is still brackish 112 miles (180 km) out to sea.

Central America is a narrow … of land linking Mexico in the north to South America in the south. A string of … runs down its length, capped by volcanoes. The beautiful, palm-fringed … of the Caribbean Sea lie off its east coast. South America, the fourth largest …, contains a range of very different landscapes. About 60 percent of the continent is covered in vast, grassy …. The towering Andes Mountains along the west coast, with the long, thin Atacama Desert … between the mountains and the sea. Tropical rain forests spread in a lush green … across huge areas of the northeast.

 

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

Text C

The Andes

1. Are the Andes the world’s longest mountain range? 2. What is the height of many peaks? 3. How were the mountains formed? 4. Why are there still numerous earthquakes and volcanoes along the range? 5. What is the highest Andean peak? 6. Where is the world’s highest navigable lake?

a) An extinct volcano, Aconcagua, is the highest Andean peak and the highest mountain in South America at 22,835 ft (6,960 m). b) The Andes stretch for 4,505 miles (7,250 km) along the entire length of South America. c) The plates are still moving, causing numerous earthquakes and volcanoes along the range. d) Many peaks rise above 19,685 ft (6,000 m). e) The mountains were formed when two plates of the Earth’s crust collided. f) The world’s highest navigable lake, Titicaca, lies in the Andes between Peru and Bolivia.

 

Unit 4. CENTRAL AMERICA.

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

1. The seven small countries of Central America lie within a neck of land that joins North and South America. To the east, hundreds of Caribbean islands stretch from the US almost to Venezuela. When Christopher Columbus and his Spanish crew dropped anchor in the Caribbean in 1492, they thought it was Asia, and the islands became known as the West Indies. From that time on, Europeans competed for control of the region, bringing slaves from Africa to work on the land. Central America’s greatest influence is still Spanish, while the Caribbean retains its African culture. The entire area is affected by natural hazards, with volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes.

2. Powerful tropical storms known as hurricanes affect the Caribbean between May and October. A hurricane starts off as a normal storm over the ocean, but grows in force if the waters are particularly warm. Winds then blow the swirling mass of cloud, wind, and rain westward, toward the islands, where it can cause massive destruction when it hits land. The word hurricane comes from Huracan, the local name for the god of storms.

3. In the centuries after Columbus, Spanish influence remained strong on the mainland, although Spain, France, Britain, the Netherlands, and later the US laid claim to many of the islands. St. Lucia, for example, changed hands between Britain and France 14 times. Most of the larger islands are now independent countries, while others are still dependencies. The island of Martinique, with its replica of the Sacré Coeur church in Paris, remains French, while the Netherlands Antilles are controlled by the Dutch.

4. From the ruined cities of the ancient Mayan civilization to the Catholic churches of the Spanish, Guatemala represents a blend of cultures. Today, more than half the people are direct descendants of the Mayan Indians and live mainly in highland villages; the remainder of the population is part Indian and part Spanish. Many Mayans work for rich landowners who grow the coffee, sugar, and bananas that are the country’s main cash crops. Guatemala also exports fresh-cut flowers, mostly roses, which are grown in the valleys around Antigua.

5. Belize is both an old and a new country. Ancient ruins dot the landscape, reminding of its Mayan history, but the country itself only achieved full independence in 1981. For many years, Belize was a British colony, the only one in Central America. English is the official language, but Belizeans are descended from several ethnic groups – Caribs, Africans, Mayans, Asians, and Europeans – and many people speak a Creole or African dialect. Caribbean foods and music are popular, and the country is famous for its wildlife.

6. Dense tropical rain forest covers half of Belize’s land area. Rosewood, and other products from the forest, such as chicle, used to make chewing gum, and kapok, a silky cotton from the giant Ceiba tree, are important to the economy. So, too, are the increasing number of citrus groves. But cultivation is limited. Much of the rain forest is protected and provides a rich habitat for plants and animals.

7. The forests are filled with an amazing variety of wildlife. Jaguars, tapirs, howler monkeys, and coatimundi are just a few of the world’s endangered species still thriving in the forests of Belize. Butterflies and tropical birds fly through the trees. And there are 250 different types of orchid, including the black orchid, Belize’s national flower.

8. A chain of coral reefs, dotted with small sandy islands called cayes, runs 180 miles (290 km) along the coastline of Belize. It is the world’s second largest barrier reef, after Australia’s, and is home to turtles, sea anemones, and spiny lobsters, as well as a wonderful array of tropical fish. The clear, warm water attracts divers from around the world. Toucans live in the treetops so they can fly around the open areas. The howler monkey defends its part of the rain forest with a noisy howl.

TASK 2. Read the text of Task1 and choose an appropriate title for each part of it:

a) Islands Large And Small

b) Deep In The Forest

c) Coral Reef

d) Forest Wildlife

e) Hurricane Strength

f) Guatemala

g) Belize

h) The West Indies

TASK 3. Match the columns to complete the sentences: