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.

UNIT 3. THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Learn the following words and word combinations

Vocabulary List

TEXT 1. Read and translate the text. Answer the questions below.

Tourism in Russia

Most of the tourism in Russia is centered on the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, as these cities are the most famous attractions of Russia.

Tourists are attracted by a very rich cultural heritage and rather tumultuous history of Russia. Popular tourist destinations in the major cities include the Tretyakov Gallery, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow; St. Issac’s Cathedral, the Summer Palace of Peter the Great, the Russian Museum, the canals and waterways on the river Neva in St. Petersburg.

The Russian countryside tends to be quite rural and undeveloped. Big pieces of tundra, taiga, woodlands, and steppe stretch across vast expanses of the Eurasian continent.

In the countryside, there are many little towns with old castles. Some notable cities and towns, which have their own rich cultures and traditions, include Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea coast, Novgorod, Tver, Nizhni Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, Rostov and Kazan.

Tourists are also drawn to the cruises on the big rivers like Volga, Lena or Yenisei as well as journeys on the famous Trans-Siberian railway, the third-longest continuous service that stretches from Moscow to its eastern terminal of Vladivostok at the coastline of the Pacific Ocean. Other destinations include the golden Ring region towns of Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Rostov, Suzdal.

Russian cuisine is rich and varied. Some of the most famous dishes include borshch, schi, sirniki, okroshka, pirozhki, blini, pelmeni and shashlyk. Russia is also famous for its caviar, though severe overfishing has threatened the fisheries that provide the source of this delicacy.

Despite these attractions, travelling in Russia presents many challenges for foreigners, such as weather and the language barrier.

Questions

1. What are the centres of Russian tourism?

2. What are the most famous attractions of Moscow and St. Petersburg?

3. What can you say about the Russian countryside?

4. What do you know about national Russian cuisine?

5. What challenges for foreign tourists are there in Russia?