North America South America Africa Europe Asia Oceania Antarctica Pacific Ocean Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Arctic Ocean Name the seven continents and four oceans.

Mississippi River

Seattle San Francisco Los Angeles Denver Houston New Orieans Miami Atlanta Boston New York Philadelphia Washington, D.C Appalachian Rocky Mountains Mexico Chicago Detroit St. Louis Canada Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean the Mississippi

Ocean on the east coast _________________ Ocean on the west cost __________________ Country to the north of USA __________________ Country to the south of USA ________________ Mountains range in the west ______________________ Longest river in the USA : ____________________ Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Canada Mexico Rocky Mountains Mississippi River

Superior Michigan Erie Huron Ontario

United States of America is composed of a federal district - Washington DC and 50 states. All the states except for Hawaii islands are situated in mainland America. It has a population of about 2,900 million. Its area is 9,370,000 sq km. The climate of USA is mainly temperate( 温带的 ) in nature but in Hawaii and Florida, it is tropical.

Star-Spangled Banner 50 stars —— Each star represents one state 13 stripes —— the original 13 states. Blue — loyalty and justice Red —— courage White — freedom

The White House The executive mansion of the President of the United States. The American President lives and works in the building.

The Statue of Liberty The crowned lady is 46 meters high, with a torch in her right hand holding a loft and Declaration of Independence in her left.

1. Which flag is American flag? A. B. C. 2. Which city is the capital of the USA? A.New York B.Washington D.C C.Los Angeles Competition about the general knowledge of USA.

3. Who is president of America? B. Gordon Brown A. Obama C. Putin

4. Which doesn’t belong to the USA? A. Statue of Liberty D. Golden Bridge B. White House C. Big Ben

Pre-reading It has an area of 411,ooo square kilometers. And it is one of the American states of the largest population, with the most developed economy.

California is amazing. The pleasant weather, long beach and graceful natural landscape make the tourism prosperous.

How each picture is relevant to the history of California? Native American Indian— one of the first people to live in California.

A gold miner— the discovery of gold in California created a gold rush which brought people from all over the world to California.

A building in Chinatown, San Francisco—Many Chinese have settled in California and many of them live in Chinatown in San Francisco.

Some pictures about the history of California!

Native Americans

Gold Rush Period

1. California is the ____ largest state in the USA. A. third B. second C. fourth D. fifth 2. California, a state in the western USA, borders _____. A. the Pacific Ocean B. the Indian Ocean C. the Atlantic Ocean D. the Arctic Ocean General knowledge quiz about California

3. _____ is California’s largest and the nation’s second largest city. A. Sacramento B. Los Angeles C. San Diego D. San Francisco 4. California’s official nickname is the ___ A.Sunflower State B. Golden State C. Land of Opportunity D. Evergreen State

5. ____ has the largest population in the USA. A. California B. Alaska C. Washington D. Texas 6. California entered the Union on September 9, 1850, as the ___ state. A. thirtieth B. thirty-eighth C. thirty-second D. thirty-first

New words illustrate vt. 说明 ; 阐明 distinction n. 差别 ; 区别；卓著 majority n. 大多数 ; 大半 prehistoric adj. 史前的 elect v. 选择；决定做某事 ; 选举某人 percentage n. 百分比 ; 百分率

boom n. ( 人口、贸易的 ) 繁荣 vi. 处于经济迅速发展时期 immigrate vi. 移入（外国定居） racial adj. 人种的；种族的

1. What’s the topic of this text? A. the culture of California B. the history of California C. the weather of California D. the history of USA 2.Which state in the USA has the largest Population? California (over 30 million people)

Russians Later Arrivals The Spanish Most Recent Arrivals Native Americans 3. How many kinds of people are mentioned in this text? Gold Miners

1.Of the first Spanish to go to California ， what are the majority ？ 2. What is the relation between California and Mexico ？ 3. What information about Russians can you get ? 4. Who were the first to arrive in California to rush for gold? 5. When and why did the large number of Chinese immigrate to California? 6. What attracted people from different parts of the world to immigrate to California?

Historical periods Historical events At least _______ _______ ago It’s likely that Native Americans crossed the Bering Strait in the _____ to America. 15,000 years Arctic Detailed reading I. Read the text carefully and fill in the blanks.

In the early 16th century ◆ _______ _______first arrived in South America. ◆ Most of the first Spanish to go to California were________ ______, whose ministry was to teach the _______ religion to the natives. Catholic Spanish soldiers religious men

In the early _____ ◆ Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. ◆ People from Africa lived in California. In 1821California became part of_______. In____The USA declared war on Mexico. 1800s Mexico 1846

In 1848 South Americans, people from the United States and adventurers from _______and ______came to California searching for____. In 1850 California became the _________ federal state of the USA. In the 1860s A larger number of _______ came to California to build the ___________ from the west to the east coast. gold thirty-first Chinese rail network EuropeAsia

In the ________ ______ _________, mainly fishermen but also wine makers arrived in California. In the first decades of the 20th century ◆ People from ________ established their own town in California. ◆ Europeans arrived in California because of the ___________ boom, including many _____ people. ◆ Japanese farmers arrived in California. late 19th century film industry Italians Jewish Denmark

Between 1942 and 1945 More people from Africa worked in the________________ industries. In more recent decades ◆ California has become home to more people from_____, including _______, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. ◆ The computer industry has ________Indians and Pakistanis. ship and aircraft attracted Asia Koreans

In the future People believe that there will be no distinct major_____ or ________ groups, but simply a ________ of many races and cultures in California. racial cultural mixture

1. California is the third largest state in USA but has the largest population. 2. In 1848, before the American- Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. 3. The native people suffered greatly after the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century. F T T III. True or False.

4. Over 40% of Californians speak Spanish as a first language. 5. In the 1800s, Russian hunters began settling in California. T F

6. A lot of people rushing for gold lost their lives or went back home, but most of them remained in California to make a living for themselves in the new towns or on farms. 7. Compared with the period of gold rush, less Chinese immigrate to California during the period of building the rail network from the west to the east coast. 8. By the 1920s, the film industry was well established in California. T T F

9. It is the computer industry since its beginning in 1970s that has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California. 10. With more immigrants coming to California now and then, It is believed that before long there will be a even greater mix of nationalities in this state. T T