Read each set of notes and see if you can guess which passage can be referred to a certain name of the country given to you – India, Nepal, South Africa, Canada, Japan, Holland, Brazil, Mexico.

1. A peninsula bounded by a large mountain range in the North – a wide plateau extending to the ocean in the South – unpredictable monsoon climate – population (approximately 1 billion) concentrating in the northern plains.

2. Enormous forest areas in the interior – coastal mountains in the West – numerous islands off the north coast – lowlands in the North – continental climate, severe inland, more moderate by the sea – total area: 3,851,809 square miles.

3. A wide variety of land and climate – a huge river basin in the North – thickly forested – a vast plateau in the South – densely populated in the coastal belt to the east – relatively undeveloped in central areas beyond the highlands – mountainous and hilly in the South-East – lies on the equator.

4. Consists of four main islands – mountainous and hilly – many active volcanoes – subject to earthquakes, typhoons and tidal waves – extends through many degrees of latitude – the climate, therefore, is very diverse.

5. Located round the mouth of the Rhine and opposite the Thames estuary – a long coastline – most of the country flat and low-lying – large areas in the West and in the North below sea level – subject to floods – complex network of canals.

6. Mountainous with numerous lakes – varied climate according to altitude, ranging from tropical to temperate to cold – highest point over 18,000 feet (nearly 6,000 metres) – desert in the West – half of the country lies inside the Tropic of Cancer.

7. To the North the southern slopes of a gigantic mountain chain – tropical forests and jungle – highest peak 8,845 metres – fertile valleys for agriculture in central zone.

8. Most highly developed country in Africa – rich in mineral deposits and other natural resources – large industrialized urban area round coasts – rural in the interior – rich vegetation, good irrigation.

 

Now, make a story of the same type about the countries suggested below:

Italy, Egypt,

Bulgaria, Mongolia,

the Philippines, Argentina,

Monaco, Panama,

Norway, Ethiopia,

Chilli, Congo.

Do you know…

1. … across what countries the following rivers run: the Danube, the Rein, the Oder, the Congo, the Mekong, the Rio-Grande, the Orinoco, the Amazon, the Gang, the Ind, the Euphrates, the Niger, the Limpopo?

2. …where the following mountain ranges are situated: the Yablonevy Range, the Cascade Range, the Jugjur Range, the Atlas Mountains, the Sikhote-Alin Range, the Pennines, the Carpathian Mountains, the Chersky Range, the Smoky Mountains, and the Cheviot Hills?

3. … the names of at least three lakes of Europe, Africa, Asia, America and at least one of Australia?

4. … what mineral resources have such countries as Congo, South-African Republic, Spain, Poland, Afghanistan, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, India, and Austria?

 

Some information about geographical phenomemena.

What do you know about oceans? Can you answer these questions before reading the text?

1. What ocean is the greatest?

2. What ocean is the smallest?

3. What is the deepest point in the oceans? Where is it?

4. Why are the oceans salty?

5. Whom of the famous Russian seamen do you know?

6. Whom of the foreign seamen can you name?

Now there is a piece of information about oceans.

Four or Five Oceans?

Oceans cover about 70% of the Earth's surface. The oceans contain roughly 97% of the Earth's water supply. The oceans of Earth are unique in our Solar System. No other planet in our Solar System has liquid water (although recent finds on Mars indicate that Mars may have had some liquid water in the recent past). Life on Earth originated in the seas, and the oceans continue to be home to an incredibly diverse web of life. The oceans of Earth serve many functions, especially affecting the weather and temperature. They moderate the Earth's temperature by absorbing incoming solar radiation (stored as heat energy). The always-moving ocean currents distribute this heat energy around the globe.  This heats the land and the air during winter and cools it during summer.

The Earth's oceans are all connected to one another. Until the year 2000, there were four recognized oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographical Organization delimited a new ocean, the Southern Ocean (it surrounds Antarctica and extends to 60 degrees latitude). There are also many seas (smaller branches of an ocean); seas are often partly enclosed by land. The largest seas are the South China Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Why are the oceans salty?

As water flows in rivers, it picks up small amounts of mineral salts from the rocks and soil of the river beds. This very-slightly salty water flows into the oceans and seas. The water in the oceans only leaves by evaporating (and the freezing of polar ice), but the salt remains dissolved in the ocean - it does not evaporate. So the remaining water gets saltier and saltier as time passes. 

The salinity (salt content) of ocean water varies. The oceans and seas contain roughly 5 x 10 ¹⁶ tons of salts. One cubic foot of average seawater contains 2.2 pounds of salt. The oceans are about 3.5% salt (by weight). Salinity is generally reported in terms of parts per thousand (abbreviated o/oo), the number of pounds of salt per 1,000 pounds of water; the average ocean salinity is 35 o/oo. The saltiest water is in the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf, which have a salinity of about 40 o/oo (due to very high evaporation rates and low fresh water influx). The least salty seas are in the Polar Regions, where both melting polar ice and a lot of rains dilute the salinity. We don't speak here about the salinity of the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea – in fact they are lakes. Though, you can read a newspaper lying in the water of the Dead Sea.