Cross out the letters in the words which are not pronounced. Listen to the teacher and check your answers.

Island, ocean, farm, untouched, weather, ore, resource, descen­dant.

3. Word Study

A. Find international words in the text and write them out. Learn
their correct pronunciation.

B. Write out the proper names used in the text (mind the articles)
and transcribe them.

C. Give Russian equivalents to the following word combinations:

in the mid Pacific Ocean; fertile, densely populated West coast; to be twice as large as all the countries of Europe combined; to be washed by; the USA has fought many a war; to remain untouched; the world's third longest river after the Nile and Amazon; to be made up of immigrants or their descendants; to constitute the largest single ethnic minority in the country; a parliamentary republic.

D. Give English equivalents to the word combinations:

федеральный союз; на протяжении последнего столетия; стра­на богата запасами угля; практически со всех стран мира; насчи­тывать свыше тридцати миллионов; конституция, составленная в соответствии с федеральной конституцией; надежная охрана; поправка к конституции; "Билль о правах".

 

E. Match the words from A with their opposites from B.

 

A	В
fertile, vast, connect, contrast, war, immigrant, plain, rich, reliable	disconnect, sameness, peace, native, mountain, unreliable, poor, infertile, tiny

F Match the words from A with their synonyms from B.

 

A	В
majestic, constitute, soil, reliable, descendant, safeguard, virtually, amendment, across	practically, correction, offspring, make up, through, trustworthy, land, protection, grand

G. Group the words according to the part of speech they belong to. What formal signs helped you to decide on the part of speech?

Amendment, reliable, executive, various, federal, descendant, natural, immigrant, minority, legislative, independent, central, densely, historic, importance, majestic, virtually.

Grammar Focus

A. Study the following speech patterns.

adverb + adjective/adverb/past participle

The country stretches from the industrial Atlantic Ocean to the densely populated West coast. English is widely spoken.

half I twice/three times, etc. + as + adjective/adverb + as

The USA is twice as large as all the countries of Europe combined. A house in London costs twice as much as a similar house in Liverpool.

to be of great! crucial I paramount I little, etc. importance

The Mississippi River is of great historic and economic importance to the USA. Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to us.

to be rich in

The country is rich in coal, iron, ore, oil, natural gas, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, aluminium, uranium and other natural resources.

B. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning
to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word
given.

1. It'll cost you double what you paid last time. twice It'll cost you....

2. This law is very important for sole proprietors. importance This law....

3. From a commercial point of view the decision was clever. commercially It was a....

4. He now earns double the amount he used to. twice He now earns....

5. Their prices are three times bigger than ours. as Their prices are....

6. The report is very detailed.

rich The report is....

7. It is incredible how quickly he became a top manager.
incredibly He became....

8. The United States has a lot of mineral resources and fertile
farm soil.

rich The United States is....

9. Extensive waterways are very important for the country's
economic growth.

importance Extensive waterways are....

C. Find the sentences with the verbals in the text "The United
States of America" and translate them.

Diving Deeper

A. Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. All the states of the USA are situated on the North American continent. 2. The US territory is double the territory of all the countries of Europe combined. 3. Over the last century there were no wars fought on the territory of the USA. 4. American nature is very varied. 5. Most of American population is made up of American Indians' descendants. 6. The US Constitution of 1787 has been completely changed. 7. Apart from the Federal Constitution there are also State Constitutions.