The United States of America

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 505.

Text D

Exercise 9. Make a computer presentation about one of the traditions of Great Britain.

The United States of America is one of the greatest countries in the world. It is situated on the North American continent and is washed by three oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic. The USA borders only on two countries — Canada and Mexico.

This great country has a lot of mountains, rivers, lakes. The main mountains are the Appalachians and the Cordilleras. The longest rivers are the Mississippi and the Missouri.

The climate of the country is varied. In the southern part it is subtropical while the northern part has very cold weather in winter.

America has fifty states and one federal District of Columbia where the capital of the country is situated. The capital of the USA is Washington. It stands on the Potomac river in the eastern part of the country. The main cities are located on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. New-York is the largest city of the country. Other large cities are San-Francisco, Los-Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Phoenix and Dallas.

The USA is a country of highly developed industry and agriculture. The main industrial centres are Chicago and Detroit, with their greatest automobile company “General Motors”. There are many farms with various agricultural products. Grain, fruit and vegetables are grown on numerous fields especially in the South.

The USA is a country with great holidays, customs and traditions. It is one of the most beautiful and interesting countries in the world. In Europe there are people who have lived in the same house and have been in the same job for 20, 30 or more years. That's not the American way of life. The Americans love change, they call it the spirit of adventure, a spirit that they think is more characteristic of America than of Europe. They like to move away, to change houses and jobs. While the Englishman thinks it is ill mannered to ask private questions, the American doesn't feel that at all. He will tell you all about himself, his wife and family, and ask where you have come from, what your job is, how you like America and how long you are staying. The American prefers sociability. In his home he doesn't object to being seen by everyone — he actually likes it.

With this sociability goes overwhelming hospitality. A national Thanksgiving Day is perhaps the only holiday spent by the Americans at home. Table decorations follow a traditional pattern — a harvest of Indian corn, apples, oranges, walnuts and grapes. Flowers also bring the fall scene indoors. The centrepiece is the traditional roast turkey. Still another American tradition concerns Halloween. Its origin dates back hundreds of years to the Druid festival. The Druid New Year began on November 1, marking the beginning of winter and the reign of the Lord of Death. The custom of telling ghost stories on Halloween comes from the Druids. On this occasion children usually wear ghost costumes or false faces. They also carve out rounded eyes in pumpkins and put burning candles inside them to make them visible from far away.

And, of course, no nation can exist without humour. As they themselves say, an American must have one wife, two cars, three children, four pets, five suits, six acres, seven credit cards — and is lucky to have eight cents in his pocket.

Exercise 10. Find English equivalents of the following word combinations:

омываться; океан; граничить; варьировать; побережье; промышленность; сельское хозяйство; главные промышленные центры; автомобильная компания; дух приключения; личные вопросы; предпочитать; общительность; отказываться; огромный; гостеприимство; День благодарения; образец; грецкий орех; осень; жареная индейка; жреческий фестиваль; привидение; маски; вырезать; тыква; горящий; видимый; существовать; шесть акров; быть удачливым.

Exercise 11. Answer the following questions about the text:

1.Where is USA situated?

2.What oceans is the country washed?

3.What countries does the USA border on?

4.What are the main mountains of the USA?

5.What are the main rivers of the USA?

6.How many states does the USA have?

7.What is the capital of the USA?

8.What are the main industrial centres of the USA?

9.What can you say about the American way of life?

10.What is the only holiday spent by the Americans at home?