_ПРАВКА_лексика разг.речи_. _ПРАВКА_лексика разг. Министерство образования и науки
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TEXT 9. Read and translate the text. Make reports on other American cities (Detroit, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Boston) and states. Welcome to Chicago
TEXT 10. Read and translate the text. Name 10 reasons to visit Alaska. Alaska: the Great Land Alaska is the largest state in the United States. It has a territory of 1 717 854 square kilometers and is about two times the size of Texas, the next largest American state. Its name comes from the Aleut for «great land». Alaska has 3 million lakes, more than 300 rivers, and over half of the world’s glaciers. Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other US states combined. It is also the only state to have coastlines on different seas: the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Seventeen of the tallest mountains in the United States are in Alaska. They include the tallest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley. Alaska also has 29 volcanoes and some of them erupt from time to time. One-third of Alaska is above the Arctic Circle. So there are areas in Alaska that get 24 hours of daylight and 24 hours of night. Some people think that Alaskans live in snow all the year round. Actually, in some places in Alaska it gets surprisingly warm in summer. Many wild animals live in Alaska including wolves, bears, foxes and moose. Alaska is often called a «bear country» because it’s home to polar, brown and black bears. They are not only found in the wild. Sometimes they visit big cities. There are 8 national parks in Alaska. No wonder many people go to Alaska on holiday. Probably the best known is Denali National Park where you can find Mount McKinley and other mountains, large glaciers, beautiful rivers and lakes. There are hotels in the park, but some visitors like to set up tents and sleep outdoors. Native people – the Aleuts, Indians and Eskimos – have lived in Alaska for thousands of years. They lived by hunting seals, whales, caribou, bears, and by fishing. They used sleds pulled by dogs (dog mushing is the official state sport in Alaska nowadays) to travel over the snow-covered land, and lived in igloos. In the 18th century Russia took control of the territory. Russian whalers and fur traders founded the first settlement in Alaska in 1784. In 1867, the territory was sold to the US for 7 million dollars – about 2 cents an acre. In fact, it was one of the best deals the United States ever made. In 1896 gold was discovered in Alaska. More than 30 000 people went to Alaska hoping to get rich. Most of them didn’t. But some of them decided to stay there. Mainly they earned money as miners, fishermen and shop owners. Although Alaska is the largest state, it has the fewest people. Most Alaskans live in central and southern Alaska. The climate is milder there and there is more daylight during winter. Alaska’s largest city is Anchorage, with about 280 000 people. Fairbanks and Juneau, the capital, have about 35 000 each. In the 1960s oil was discovered in northern Alaska. It is now the state’s main industry. 25% of all oil produced in the US is from Alaska. Oil brings money but also risks. In 1989, the tanker ship Exxon Valdez hit a group of underwater rocks. The ship had 5 holes in its side and 50 million liters of oil flew out of the ship into the sea. It was the worst oil spill in American history. Today, Alaskans try to protect their beautiful land, clean water and wildlife. TEXT 11. Read and translate the text. Ask 10 questions on the contents. Hawaii: the Pacific Paradise Hawaii is the only American state that is made up entirely of islands. It has 132 tropical islands, but people only live on seven of them. The islands were formed by hot lava flowing from undersea volcanoes. You can still watch this process on the largest island, which, like the state, is called Hawaii. People usually just call it the Big Island. On the Big Island, red-hot lava has been flowing from the Kilauea volcano since the early 1980s. The people who originally lived in Hawaii were Polynesians. Polynesian people first sailed to Hawaii about two thousand years ago. A king ruled the islands when the 18-century British explorer James Cook arrived. At first, Hawaiians treated Captain Cook like a god. But in the end, he was killed on the Big Island in 1779. Hawaii is the newest of all American states. It became the fiftieth US state in August, 1959. Hawaiian people don’t have a word for «weather» because the weather is the same all the year round: it’s always warm. In the mountains they have «vog». It’s like fog, but it’s from the gas in the Hawaiian volcanoes. Hawaii is the home of surfing. There are 283 beaches and fantastic high waves. When Hawaiian people say «Surf’s up!» and it means that the waves are just right for surfing. Kauai, also known as the “Garden Isle” is probably the most beautiful island in Hawaii. More than 60 Hollywood movies have been filmed there. By law, no building in Kauai can be higher than a palm tree. The capital of Hawaii is Honolulu. This beautiful city is the birthplace of the 44th US President Barack Obama. Most of the pineapples in the world are from Hawaii. The state produces about 320 000 tons of this tasty fruit each year. Hawaii is also the only American state that grows coffee. The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 7 consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p, w). When Hawaiian people meet, they say «Aloha». The Hawaiian word Aloha means «hello», «goodbye», «love» and «welcome». Forty species of shark swim in the water near the Hawaiian Islands. You can eat some of the sharks. TEXT 12. Read and translate. Practice in making silly laws (three will be enough). The Silliest American Laws
TEXT 13. Read and translate the text. Be ready to discuss. The Independence Day or Happy Birthday, America! July 4th, or Independence Day, is the most important American holiday. It’s the birthday of the United States of America. On this day, in 1776, America signed the Declaration of Independence and started the fight for freedom from British rule. Before 1776, the King of England, George III, ruled the thirteen colonies in America. The colonists were tired of the taxes that George III imposed on them. «We have no representation in the British Parliament», they said, «so what right does he have to tax us?», «No taxation without representation» became their battle cry. In 1767, the British government placed new taxes on tea and paper that colonists imported from abroad. The colonists got angry and refused to pay. George III sent soldiers to keep order. In 1773, a group of colonists dressed up as Indians threw 342 chests of tea belonging to the East India Company into the waters of Boston harbour. King George didn’t think it was funny. His reply to this «Boston tea party» was a set of laws to punish the colonists. Boston harbour was closed until the tea was paid for. More soldiers were sent there to keep order. But the «Intolerable Acts», as the colonists called King George’s laws, served only to unite the colonies against the British rule. The War of Independence began. On July 4th, 1776, the colonists declared their independence from Britain. Led by Thomas Jefferson, the representatives of all thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence. A large part of it was written by Jefferson himself. The document stated that the colonies were now «free and independent states» and officially named them the United States of America. It also said that all men had a natural right to «life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness». The following day, copies of the Declaration of Independence were distributed and, on July 6th, The Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first newspaper to print the extraordinary document. People celebrated the birth of a new nation. But the War of Independence dragged on until 1783 when the colonists finally won. The head of the Revolutionary army was George Washington, who later became the first President of the United States of America. In 1783, Independence Day was made an official holiday. Today, the country’s birthday is widely celebrated with parades, public meetings, patriotic music and speech-making. There are picnics and barbecues, and in the evening there are big fireworks shows. Wherever Americans are around the globe, they will get together for a traditional 4th of July celebration! TEXT 14. Read and translate the text. Make reports on other American holidays and festivals. Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving Day in the United States is a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. It precedes Black Friday. Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a holiday to give thanks for the food collected at the end of the harvest season. Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal. The meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have. Thanksgiving Day parades are held in some cities and towns on or around Thanksgiving Day. Some parades or festivities also mark the opening of the Christmas shopping season. Some people have a four-day weekend so it is a popular time for trips and to visit family and friends. Most government offices, businesses, schools and other organizations are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Many offices and businesses allow staff to have a four-day weekend so these offices and businesses also closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Public transit systems do not usually operate on their regular timetables. Thanksgiving Day is one of the busiest periods for travel in the USA. This can cause congestion and overcrowding. Seasonal parades and busy football games can cause disruption to local traffic. The American Thanksgiving began as a feast of thanksgiving almost four hundred years ago. In 1620, a religious Puritan community sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World. They settled in what is now known as the state of Massachusetts. Their first winter in America was difficult. They arrived too late to grow a rich harvest. Moreover, half the colony died from disease. The following spring the Iroquois Indians taught them how to grow corn. Indians showed them also how to grow other crops and how to hunt and fish. In the autumn of 1621 they got a beautiful harvest of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so they planned a feast. Local Indian chief and ninety Indians were present. The colonists learned from Indians how to cook cranberries and dishes of corn and pumpkins. In following years many of the colonists celebrated the harvest with a feast of thanks. After the United States gained independence, Congress recommended one yearly day of thanksgiving for the whole country. Later, George Washington suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Then, after the Civil war, Abraham Lincoln suggested the last Thursday in November to be the day of thanksgiving. Charitable organizations offer traditional meal to the homeless. It is a time to remember all the good things in life and to be thankful. TEXT 15. Read and translate the text. Be ready to speak on the topic. The USA The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada and China). It occupies the central part of North America and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also comprises Alaska and Hawaii. The total area of the country is about nine and a half million square kilometres. The USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. It also has a sea-border with Russia. The USA is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. Each of the states has its own government. The seat of the central (federal) government is Washington, DC. According to the US Constitution the powers of the government are divided into 3 branches: the executive, headed by the President, the legislative, represented by the Congress, and the judicial, exercised by the Supreme Court. The Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and the Democratic. The population of the country is more than 280 million. They are the people of all races and nationalities, including African, European Americans, Chinese,etc. The largest cities are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San-Francisco, Washington and others. People live within four time zones. If we look at the map of the USA, we can see lowlands and mountains. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, the Cordillera and the Sierra Nevada. The highest peak is Mount McKinley which is located in Alaska. America's largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the largest and deepest in the USA. One of the most fascinating places is the Niagara Falls. The climate of the country varies greatly. The coldest regions are in the north. The climate of Alaska is arctic. The climate of the central part is continental. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often bring typhoons. The USA is a highly developed industrial country and the world’s greatest economic power. The American economy produces and Americans consume more than any other economy in the world. It also plays a great role in a global economy. The nation’s wealth depends on its rich natural resources, its agricultural output and technology industries. Among the most important manufacturing industries are aircraft, cars, textiles, armaments, furniture and paper. The USA is the world’s leader in biochemical and genetic engineering, aerospace development, communication, computer and information services and other high-technology fields. |