Text 3. Northern South America

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Arching around the rain forests of the great Amazon River, the countries in northern South America are dominated by the Andes Mountains. Running north to south from Venezuela to Ecuador, and then through Chile, the mountains were once home to the Inca Empire. In search of gold, the Spanish arrived in the 16th century and carved out a huge empire. British, French, and Dutch colonies were also established in the northeast. Except for French Guiana, these are now independent, although not without problems. Extremes of wealth and poverty, overcrowded cities, and the illegal drug trade are features of most countries in this region.

VENEZUELA

When the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci first visited the southern shores of the Caribbean Sea in 1499, he named the land Venezuela, or “Little Venice.” The lake dwellings of the native Indians reminded him of the houses and canals of the Italian city of Venice. Part of the Spanish Empire for three centuries, Venezuela became independent in 1811.

Today it is a country of huge contrasts: the oil industry produces immense wealth, yet many people live in shantytowns. Most people live in cities, yet the tribes of the interior are barely touched by modern life.

RAIN FOREST TRIBES

The few native peoples who still survive in Venezuela live in the remote interior of the country near the border with Brazil. The main group is the Yanomami and numbers about 10,000 people. The Yanomami are hunters and gatherers who live in enormous thatched huts called yanos, built in clearings in the forest. Their way of life is threatened both by logging companies and mineral prospectors anxious to exploit the wealth of the region, and by measles and other diseases against which they have no defense.

COLOMBIA

CARTAGENA

The bustling port of Cartagena was founded by the Spanish in the 1500s. Great Spanish galleons bound for home set off from here piled high with riches looted from the native peoples. The old city walls, enclosing beautiful mansions and churches, are still there today, along with the many fortifications built by the Spanish to ward off pirates and attacks from other countries. When Spanish conquerors reached Colombia in 1499, they discovered a civilization that was rich in gold. They spread tales of a mysterious lost city called El Dorado, filled with wealth, but it has never been found. Since 1819, when Colombia became an independent country, it has suffered decades of violent political battles and, more recently, bloody rivalry between drug cartels. Today Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine. Large rivers, such as the Orinoco and Amazon, form an important means of transportation for goods across the country.

AGRICULTURE

The variety of climate zones in Colombia means that a wide range of crops can be grown. For many years coffee was the country’s main export and Colombia is still the world’s third largest producer. Once picked, coffee beans are spread out in trays to dry naturally in the sun. Falling world coffee prices have forced Colombia’s farmers to develop other products, such as sugar, bananas, cotton, and cut flowers, which are all grown for export.

EMERALDS

Many people consider Colombian emeralds to be the finest in the world. The earliest civilizations to live in this region made beautiful objects from gold and emeralds. Today, Colombia produces more than half of the world’s emeralds.

Veins of natural emeralds are found in rocks such as calcite or pyrite.

TEXT 4. ARGENTINA

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Capital city: Buenos Aires, Area: 1,068,296 sq miles (2,766,890 sq km)

Population: 38,400,000, Official language: Spanish

Major religions: Christian 92%, Jewish 2%, other 6%

Government: Multiparty democracy, Currency: Argentine peso

Adult literacy rate: 97% Life expectancy: 74 years

People per doctor: 370, Televisions: 289 per 1,000 people

 

Stretching from the subtropical forests of the north, down across the vast central plains of the Pampas, to the snowcapped mountains of Patagonia in the south, Argentina occupies most of southern South America. The country is bounded by the Andes Mountains in the west, and slopes gently downhill to the Atlantic Ocean in the east. Today’s population is a mixture of native Indians, Spanish settlers, and immigrants from southern Europe who arrived during the past 100 years. The country is relatively wealthy, but has suffered from years of political instability, with periods of military rule alternating with elected governments.

BUENOS AIRES

Almost 40 percent of Argentinians live in or near the capital city of Buenos Aires, making it one of the major cities in the southern half of the world. The city was founded by the Spanish in 1536 as a port on the Río de la Plata, and inhabitants are still called porteños, meaning “people of the port.” Modern Buenos Aires is highly sophisticated, with grand avenues, a subway system, and expensive stores. It is the trading center of the country, and most of Argentina’s exports are shipped through its docks.

TIERRA DEL FUEGO

When Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish crew first saw the rocky islands at the tip of Argentina in 1520, they named them Tierra del Fuego, or Land of Fire, because they saw fires lit by the Fuegian Indians to keep warm. The islands, shared between Argentina and Chile, are wet and windswept, with glaciers carving out huge valleys in the mountains.

ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS

In the years leading up to World War I in 1914, about 2 million people fled the poverty of southern Europe to start a new life in Argentina. More than half came from Italy, finding work on the land or in the expanding cities of Buenos Aires and Rosario. Italian food, such as the potato pasta ñoquis, is still served in restaurants throughout Argentina.

FALKLAND ISLANDS

Some 300 miles (480 km) east of Argentina lie the disputed Islas Malvinas. Occupied by Spain in 1767, the islands were invaded by Britain in 1833 and renamed the Falkland Islands. Britain and Argentina have contested ownership ever since. In 1982 an Argentinian invasion was repelled by Britain, which now has a military garrison there.

DANCING THE TANGO

Tango, the national music of Argentina, began in the slums of Buenos Aires. The music, and the dramatic dance style that goes with it, reflects the hopes of working people and is sometimes happy, but often sad. Tango music is played on a bandoneon, a type of accordion, with a piano and violin accompaniment.

GAUCHOS OF THE PAMPAS

As famous as his northern cousin, the American cowboy, the Argentine gaucho has roamed the rolling plains of the pampas for about 300 years. The name gaucho comes from a South American word for outcast, since gauchos have always chosen to live beyond the law of the cities. The men work on the vast estancias, or ranches, fixing fences and corrals (pens for animals), tending the horses, and looking after the large herds of cattle. Tough, self-reliant, and free, the gauchos have become legendary heroes and anational symbol of Argentina.

TEXT 5. BRAZIL

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The largest country in South America, Brazil covers almost half the continent. From the 16^th to 19th centuries it was ruled by the Portuguese, who named it after the brazilwood tree. The country contains deserts in the northeast, rain forests in the north and west, and rolling grasslands in the south. Because the climate is so varied, it is possible to grow almost any crop. Brazil has crowded modern cities – and areas that have never been explored. In the south, the forces of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers have been harnessed to form the one of the world’s largest hydroelectric projects, the Itaipú Dam.

CITY LIFE

About 80 percent of Brazilians live in cities, most of which have developed near the coast. Over the years, many people have moved to the cities from the countryside in search of work and a better standard of living. For many years the cities grew rapidly, although this has now slowed down. More than 20 million people live in or around the city of São Paulo, more than the populations of London and Paris put together.

PEOPLE OF BRAZIL

The population of Brazil is a mixture of peoples. Some are descended from native Indians who have always lived in Brazil, others from the Portuguese who ruled there for 300 years. Many Brazilians have African ancestors who were brought over in the 17th century to work as slaves on the sugar plantations. At the beginning of the 20th century many Japanese sailed to Brazil to escape crop failures at home. Also during the 20th century, large numbers of European migrants settled in the south of the country.

AGRICULTURE

Brazil is the world’s major producer and exporter of coffee, which is grown on huge plantations, mostly in the states of Paraná and São Paulo. However, coffee is only one of the country’s main crops; soy beans, sugarcane, and cotton are also produced on a large scale. Brazil is one of the world’s main producers of oranges, bananas, and cocoa beans as well. About one-quarter of Brazilians work in agriculture, although the size of farms varies from tiny plots of land to vast estates. Many people work in the fields for little pay, while a few rich landowners benefit from huge profits.

AMAZON RAIN FOREST

Covering an area the size of Australia, the Amazon rain forest is the largest remaining tropical rain forest anywhere on Earth. It covers about one-third of South America, mostly growing around the Amazon River in Brazil. Many animals, birds, insects, and reptiles rely on the trees for food and shelter, as do the tribes of Amazonian Indians who have lived in the forest for thousands of years. But the rain forest is a fragile environment and both wildlife and people are under serious threat as vast areas of the forest are cut down.

INDIAN TRIBES

At one time there were about 5 million native Indians living in the rain forest; today, only about 220,000 remain. The largest of these tribes are located on the above map. Most live as shifting cultivators, which means they settle for a while to hunt and grow basic food crops, and then move on. This way the forest soil can recover its fertility. Since the arrival of people from outside the forest, the Indians have been at risk from diseases, such as influenza and measles, to which they have no resistance.

TEXT 6. EUROPE

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A great curve of mountain ranges that includes the Pyrenees and the Alps roughly divides the cooler north of Europe from the warmer south. In the far north, treeless tundra merges into cool coniferous forests that extend across Scandinavia and into Russia. South of this lies the fertile North European Plain, which supports most of the continent’s agriculture and mixed woodland. By contrast, the Mediterranean region to the south is hot and almost desertlike in places. Volcanic activity is confinedto Iceland and southern Italy, where Mount Etna is constantly active. The

Ural and Caucasus mountains form Europe’s eastern borders.

THE ALPS

The mountains that form the Alps run from southeastern France, through Switzerland and Italy, into Austria. In the last 2 million years, ice has molded the scenery, carving pyramid-shaped peaks, like the Matterhorn (above), knife-edged ridges, dramatic waterfalls, and armchairshaped basins filled with lakes. Alpine plants, such as the Bird’s Eye primrose, have adapted to growing at high altitudes.

THE LAKE DISTRICT

The 15 lakes of the Lake District in northwestern England lie in U-shaped valleys extending outward like the spokes of a wheel from an uplifted dome of low mountains. Long ago, the valleys contained rivers, but during the Ice Age these were deepened by the movement of glaciers. Most were dammed by eroded rock left behind when the glaciers melted. The erosion of the main valleys has cut off tributary valleys and left them “hanging” above the main valleys, often with waterfalls cascading from them.

THE EUROPEAN UNION

In 1957, six European countries agreed to form the European Economic Community (EEC). They believed that economic cooperation would reduce the likelihood of war between the member countries and would bring prosperity to the peoples of Europe. Since that time, more countries have joined, and the EEC has been renamed the European Union (EU). Today it consists of 27 member states and in addition to closer economic cooperation, there are moves to encourage greater political union.