THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

№ Country Language (official) People Nation 1 America (the USA) English an American (the) Americans 2 Australia an Australian (the) Australians 3 Canada English/French a Canadian (the) Canadians 4 Germany German a German (the) Germans 5 Italy Italian an Italian (the) Italians 6 Russia Russian a Russian (the) Russians 7 China Chinese a Chinese (the) Chinese 8 Japan Japanese a Japanese (the) Japanese 9 the UK British people (the) British 10 France French a French person/ French people (the) French 11 England a English person/ English people (the) English

Complete the sentences. Use the words from the table above. 1. Spaghetti is a favourite … food. 2. Paris is the capital of … . 3. In some … restaurants you can eat borshch, blini and drink tea from a samovar. 4. The … live on the Brinish isles. 5. Do people in Australia speak … like people in the USA? 6. Mike and Jack are Canadians. Do they speak … or …? 7. The … celebrate the New Year holiday in the hottest time of the year. 8. The Grimm brothers are …, they wrote their tales in the … language. 9. The … live in China and have a very old culture. 10. The … live in Japan. They have a lot of interesting traditions. 11. The official language of Japan is … . 12. The official language of China is … .

The USA. The United States of America is the world's fourth largest country. Only Russia, Canada and China have bigger territories than the USA. The Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean wash the USA in the west and in the east. The country borders on Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. There are two large mountain chains on the territory of the USA. In the west the high Rocky Mountains run from Canada to Mexico. The Appalachian Mountains extend in the east. These mountains are older and not so high as the Rockies. Between the moun­tains stretch the Great Plains where the mighty Mississippi River flows. It is a very large country, so the climate is different from state to state. The most important rivers in the USA are the Mississippi, the Colorado, the Ohio and the Hudson River. The main mountain chains are the Cordillera in the west and the Appalachian Mountains in the east. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the largest and the deepest in the USA. The United States is a democratic federal republic. It comprises 50 states including the District of Columbia, where the capital of the country is situated. The largest state is Alaska, and the smallest is Rhode Island. Washington DC (District of Columbia) is the capital of the country. Head of the State is the President, who is elected every four years. The flag of the United States of America is called “Stars and Stripes”. There are three colours on the flag- red, white and blue. . Americans are proud of their flag.

See how well you know the geography of the USA See how well you know the geography of the USA. Write down the names of these places. 1) Five big lakes in the north of the USA. 2) The largest city in the USA. 3) The biggest river of the USA. 4) The chain of mountains in the east of the USA. 5) The chain of mountains in the west of the USA. 6) The capital of the USA. 7) The plains which are situated in the central part of the USA.

Now check your answers! 1) The Great Lakes. 2) New York. 3) The Mississippi. 4) The Appalachian Mountains. 5) The Rocky Mountains. 6) Washington, D.C. 7) The Great Plains.

There are some very unusual places in the USA There are some very unusual places in the USA. One of them is Death Valley. It lies not very far from the Pacific Coast. It is the low­est, driest and hottest place in North Ameri­ca. Once it had the temperature of 134 °F (56,7 °C)! Lake Badwater situated in Death Valley is dry most of the time. The valley is home to the Timbisha tribe of Native Ameri­cans. Some families still live there. The Grand Canyon lies in the southwest of the country. The Colorado River made this canyon millions of years ago. In some places the canyon is 6 kilometres deep! The rocks of the canyon give scientists a lot of useful in­formation about the continent. The Grand Canyon may be one of the most beautiful places to visit on our planet. More than five million visitors come here every year. One more perfect place to visit is the Niagara Falls on the Niagara River in the north. Water from the Great Lakes flows through this riv­er. Every minute about 450,000 tons of water fall 50 metres down. Peo­ple can look at the falls from observation towers. They are only few of the places to see and remember in the USA.

1) The USA a) a chain of mountains in the east of the USA 2) Canada b) the country that borders on the USA in the north 3) Mexico 4) The Rocky Mountains c) very large waterfalls on the border between Canada and the US 5) The Appalachian Mountains 6) The Grand Canyon d) a river that flows through some states and the Grand Canyon 7) Death Valley 8) The Niagara Falls e) the lake in Death Valley 9) The Great Plains f) the chain of mountains in the west of the USA 10) The Great Lakes g) the country that borders on the USA in the south 11) The Colorado 12)The Mississippi h) a large territory of high land in the west and the central parts of the US 13) Lake Badwater i) the five big lakes in the north of the US j) a very deep cut in the ground k) the fourth largest country in the world l) the lowest and hottest place in North America m) a mighty river that flows through the Great Plains

Say what names are missing in the text and complete it. The United States of America The States is the fourth largest country in the world stretching from the (1) Ocean in the east to the (2) Ocean in the west. It is situated in (3) America. It borders on (4) in the north and on (5) in the south. There are a lot of mountains in the USA. The highest and largest are the (6) in the west. The (7) Mountains are in the east, they are lower and older. The mighty (8) is the longest river in the USA. Some other rivers flow into it. The (9) Lakes in the north of the USA are deep. The Niagara River flows out of the Lakes. People know the name of this river because the famous (10) are situated on it and are very popular with tourists. The (11) Can­yon is situated in the great valley in the desert. The (12) River formed it many millions years ago. Slowly, the river cut down through the rock. (13) is the capital of the USA. It is situated on the (14) River.

Complete the sentences. Use present perfect or past simple. 1) The other day we (went/have gone) to picture gallery. 2) I never (had/have had) a flat of my own. 3) Lately Jane (saw/has seen) a gar­den full of beautiful spring flowers. 4) It's the first time we (were/have been) on such an interesting journey. 5) I know that Columbus (discov­ered/has discovered) America but I don't remember when he (did/has done) it. 6) It's the second time I (have driven/drove) a car. It's really great. 7) It's ten o'clock in the morning and I (haven't seen/didn't see) Charlie yet. (Have you seen/Did you see) him, Pamela? 8) It's awful. They (have destroyed/destroyed) the old church lately. You can't see it any more and it (was/has been) so beautiful. 9) The children (came/have come back) home just now. 10) What (did you do/have you done) the day before yesterday?