TEXT 8. Read and translate. Give a summary of the text.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States. The Los Angeles area, which includes the city itself and its suburbs, has a population of 13,6 million.

Los Angeles’s nicknames are LA and the City of Angels. Some people also call it «La-La-Land» because they think the city is full of strange and crazy people.

The inhabitants of Los Angeles are called Angelenos.

Los Angeles is often called «the entertainment capital of the world». The largest and the most famous entertainment industries in LA are television and film production, so the city is full of celebrities and wannabe actors who come here hoping to attract attention of some Hollywood big shot.

The city was born as a Spanish pueblo in 1781 and it’s still very Spanish in character. You hear people speaking the language wherever you go. Many signs are in English and Spanish and there are many Spanish street names.

Los Angeles is a multicultural city. About 100 languages can be heard on its streets. There are some areas in LA where it seems that you are not in an English-speaking country at all.

Venice Beach is the best place to see many Angelenos at once. You won’t see any stars here – it’s too crowded – but you’ll see lots of bronzed bodybuilders, rollerskaters, street performers, belly dancers, and people just walking up and down in their swim suits waiting for you to notice their beautiful bodies. Angelenos like to be looked at.

It seems that nobody walks in Los Angeles; there are a lot of beautiful cars driven by beautiful people. But with so many cars, LA has the dirtiest air in the US. And too often the sunshine is hidden by the smog.

Hollywood is still the centre of American film industry, though many studios have moved out of it. The famous Hollywood sign is known all over the world. Each letter in the sign is 15,2 meters tall. In 1932, during the Great Depression, one young actress, Peg Entwistle, even jumped to her death from the sign’s giant letter «H».

Universal Studios in Hollywood is one of the most amazing places on earth. Not only does it have a theme park, but it’s also a working studio. A tram tour takes you past film sets where movies are being filmed and you can also see a lot of Hollywood history. You can even bump into Steven Spielberg or Johnny Depp on their way to work … or to lunch (the stars are human, they have to eat).

Many famous movie stars live in or near Hollywood, especially in Beverly Hills and Malibu.

LA is an exciting city, but it’s also a dangerous place to live in. There are over 1 300 street gangs in LA with over 160 000 members. Gangs are responsible for such crimes as theft, vandalism, drug smuggling and even murder. The biggest gang in LA and the whole US is the 18^th Street Gang.

TEXT 9. Read and translate the text. Make reports on other American cities (Detroit, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Boston) and states.

Welcome to Chicago

· Chicago is the third largest American city. It is in the state of Illinois on Lake Michigan. It was founded in the 1830s and quickly became the transportation, financial and industrial centre of the American Middle West.

· The world’s first skyscrapers appeared in Chicago. They were built after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The fire lasted 27 hours and destroyed 17 450 buildings.

· During Prohibition Chicago was known for its gangsters. The most notorious of them was Al Capone. He had seven rival criminals murdered in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, but the police couldn’t find enough evidence on which to arrest him. He was finally sent to prison in 1931 for not paying enough income tax.

· Chicago is sometimes called the «Windy City» or the «City of Broad Shoulders».

· Chicago’s tallest building is the Sears Tower. It is 443 meters high, with 110 floors. It’s the tallest building in the USA.

· The Art Institute of Chicago has the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside the Louvre in Paris.

· Chicago’s Western Avenue is probably the longest street in the world. It’s 38.09 km long!

· There are 29 public beaches in Chicago.

· When St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the city the Chicago River is dyed green.

· The world’s largest ice-cream cone factory is situated in Chicago.

· The first car race ever seen in the US was held in Chicago in 1895.

· Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the world’s last free zoos.

· The Chicago Bears (American football) and the Chicago Bulls (basketball) are two of the toughest teams in the US.

· Chicago is home to the world’s largest food festival – The Taste of Chicago. The festival is held for 10 days and attracts millions of Americans and tourists from around the world. Here, you can enjoy lots of tasty dishes prepared by Chicago’s most popular restaurants and listen to live music.

· Chicago is often called the most typical American city.

TEXT 10. Read and translate the text. Name 10 reasons to visit Alaska.

Alaska: the Great Land

Alaska is the largest state in the United States. It has a territory of 1 717 854 square kilometers and is about two times the size of Texas, the next largest American state. Its name comes from the Aleut for «great land».

Alaska has 3 million lakes, more than 300 rivers, and over half of the world’s glaciers. Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other US states combined. It is also the only state to have coastlines on different seas: the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Seventeen of the tallest mountains in the United States are in Alaska. They include the tallest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley. Alaska also has 29 volcanoes and some of them erupt from time to time.

One-third of Alaska is above the Arctic Circle. So there are areas in Alaska that get 24 hours of daylight and 24 hours of night. Some people think that Alaskans live in snow all the year round. Actually, in some places in Alaska it gets surprisingly warm in summer.

Many wild animals live in Alaska including wolves, bears, foxes and moose. Alaska is often called a «bear country» because it’s home to polar, brown and black bears. They are not only found in the wild. Sometimes they visit big cities.

There are 8 national parks in Alaska. No wonder many people go to Alaska on holiday. Probably the best known is Denali National Park where you can find Mount McKinley and other mountains, large glaciers, beautiful rivers and lakes. There are hotels in the park, but some visitors like to set up tents and sleep outdoors.

Native people – the Aleuts, Indians and Eskimos – have lived in Alaska for thousands of years. They lived by hunting seals, whales, caribou, bears, and by fishing. They used sleds pulled by dogs (dog mushing is the official state sport in Alaska nowadays) to travel over the snow-covered land, and lived in igloos.

In the 18^th century Russia took control of the territory. Russian whalers and fur traders founded the first settlement in Alaska in 1784. In 1867, the territory was sold to the US for 7 million dollars – about 2 cents an acre. In fact, it was one of the best deals the United States ever made.

In 1896 gold was discovered in Alaska. More than 30 000 people went to Alaska hoping to get rich. Most of them didn’t. But some of them decided to stay there. Mainly they earned money as miners, fishermen and shop owners.

Although Alaska is the largest state, it has the fewest people. Most Alaskans live in central and southern Alaska. The climate is milder there and there is more daylight during winter. Alaska’s largest city is Anchorage, with about 280 000 people. Fairbanks and Juneau, the capital, have about 35 000 each.

In the 1960s oil was discovered in northern Alaska. It is now the state’s main industry. 25% of all oil produced in the US is from Alaska. Oil brings money but also risks. In 1989, the tanker ship Exxon Valdez hit a group of underwater rocks. The ship had 5 holes in its side and 50 million liters of oil flew out of the ship into the sea. It was the worst oil spill in American history. Today, Alaskans try to protect their beautiful land, clean water and wildlife.

TEXT 11. Read and translate the text. Ask 10 questions on the contents.