12 Lesson 12 North America

12.1 Words and word combinations to the text

adjacent islands – близлежащие острова isthmus – перешеек

inverted triangle – перевёрнутый треугольник ancient rocks – древние породы

to encircle – окружать prairie –прерия tributary – приток

mammal – млекопитающие musk ox – овцебык

caribou – карибу, северный олень

preyed on by … – служить добычей для … seal – тюлень

moose – американский лось wolverine – росомаха songbird – певчая птица

biome – биом (совокупность различных групп организмов и среды обитания в определённой географической зоне)

woodland bison – лесной бизон marten – куница

wild turkey – дикий индюк insects – насекомые coyote – койот

bob cat – рыжая рысь skunk – полосатый скунс jack rabbit – заяц

12.2 Practise reading the following words

Northern Hemisphere, Isthmus of Panama, Columbia, equator, Bering Strait, Greenland, Arctic Canadian Archipelago, Newfoundland, Antilles and Bahama Islands, Aleutian, Queen Charlotte, Vancouver, Alexander Arch (Archipelago), Canadian Shield, Interior Lowlands, Precambrian, Cordilleran system, Alaska, Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Mississippi, Great Lakes, Canada, the USA, Saint Lawrence River, Great Salt Lake, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey.

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12.3 Read and translate this text

North America

North America is the third largest continent, the total area of the continent with the adjacent islands is 24,250 thousand sq. km. The population for the entire continent is estimated to be 424,523,000. North America lies in the Northern Hemisphere relative to the equator. Except where the relatively narrow Isthmus of Panama extends southeastward to connect with Colombia in South America, the continent shaped like an inverted triangle, is completely surrounded by water. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The narrow Bering Strait separates North America from Russia. There are big islands off the coasts of North America. In the north lies the world’s largest islands, Greenland (2,200 thousands sq. km.) as well as Arctic Canadian Archipelago. To the east of North America is Newfoundland, to the northeast are the Antilles and Bahama Islands. In the north-west and west lie such islands as Aleutian, Queen Charlotte, Vancouver and Alexander Arch (Archipelago).

In the north-central part, mainly in Canada, lies the Canadian Shield made up of ancient rocks. Nearly encircling the Shield and Interior Lowlands are various mountain systems, formed at different times since the Precambrian. On the south-east is the Appalachian system. On the west are the Cordilleran system, extending from Alaska to the Isthums, and the Rocky Mountains. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains are the central lowlands, which are called the prairie, and the eastern lowlands, called the Mississippi valley. The Mississippi River with its farreaching tributaries is one of the major river systems of the world. The five Great Lakes, between the USA and Canada, are joined together by short rivers or canals, and the Saint Lawrence River joins them to the Atlantic Ocean. In the west there is another lake called the Great Salt Lake.

Looking at the East Coast of the continent, we see that the southern tip of Florida has a tropical savanna climate. This gives way almost immediately to the humid subtropical climate of the southern states. Then the humid subtropical climate changes to humid continental, hot summer climate. Further north, there is humid continental climate with mild summers. Moving still further north, we see that most of Canada has a subarctic climate until we reach a latitude of 55 0 to 60 0N, or 65 0 to 70 0N in the western part of the country. Poleward to these latitudes the climate is described as polar tundra.

The wild life of tundra includes such large mammals as musk oxen and caribou, preyed on by wolves, and sea mammals such as seals and walruses, preyed on by polar bear. Directly to the south of the tundra is the coniferous forest, which is inhabited primarily by moose, black bears, wolves, lynxes and wolverines, as well as numerous kinds of songbirds. South of the coniferous forest lies the great deciduous forest biome. The wild life of these forests include woodland bisons, deer, mountain lions, martens, wild turkeys. The grassland covers the heart of the continent. In spite of the severe conditions of the North American deserts, insects population is large. Coyotes, foxes, bob-cats, skunks, wild mice, jack rabbits dwell this region.

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12.4 Find these countries of the North American continent on the map, name their capitals

Антигуа и Барбуда – Antigua and Barbuda – Saint Johns

Багамские острова – Bahamas –

Барбадос – Barbados – Белиз – Belize –

Бермудские острова – Bermudas –

Гаити – Haiti – Гватемала – Guatemala – Гондурас – Honduras –

Гренландия – Greenland (Denmark) – Доминика – Dominica –

Доминиканская Республика – Dominican Republic –

Канада – Canada – Коста-Рика – Costa Rica – Куба – Cuba –

Мексика – Mexico – Никарагуа – Nicaragua – Панама – Panama – Пуэрто-Рико – Puerto Rico Сальвадор – El Salvador

Сент-Винсент и Гренадины – St Vincent and the Grenadines – Сент-Китс и Невис – St Kitts and Nevis –

Сент-Люсия – St Lucia – США – the United States –

Тринидад и Тобаго – Trinidad and Tobago Ямайка – Jamaica –

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12.5 Say whether the following statements are true or false

1.North America takes the third place among the continents according to the size of the territory.

2.North America lies in the Northern Hemisphere relative to Greenwich.

3.The largest island in the world, Greenland, is situated in the North.

4.American mountain systems were formed at different times since the Pre-Permian epoch.

5.The eastern lowlands are called the prairie.

6.Most of Canada has a polar climate.

7.The Great Salt Lake is situated in the region of the Great Lakes.

8.Vegetation and wild life of North America vary according to the climatic regions.

12.6Complete the following sentences

1.North America is connected with South America by ………. . 2. ………. separates North America from Russia.

3. The Canadian Shield, made of ………., lies in ………. of continent. 4. The Rocky and Appalachian mountains are situated ………. .

5. ………. joins the five Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

6. Tropical savanna climate can be found in ………., while polar tundra occupies

………. .

7. The wild life of the deciduous forest includes ………. . 8. ………. dwell the North American deserts.

12.7Read the text and reproduce it in the form of a dialogue

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Originally inhabited by Indians, North America long remained a sparsely settled and economically undeveloped land in global terms, but with the coming of Europeans (particularly the Spanish, French and British) and the Africans they introduced as slaves, the continent underwent a profound transformation.

The process of removing the Indians from their lands led to bitter disputes and to the creation of Indian “territories” that were eventually reduced to small isolated “reservations”. In Canada the system of reservations was adopted early and protected Indian settlements throughout the eastern part of the country. Intermarriage between whites (notably the French) and Indians was much more common in Canada than that in the USA and produced the sizable French-and-Indians Metis community. In Mexico, racial admixture went much farther; mestizos, of mixed Indian and white descent, now account for some three-fifths of the population. European immigration to Central America has been negligible since the Spanish conquest, and the Indians make up much of the population there (as high as 50 percent in Guatemala).

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12.8 Answer the following questions

1.Where is North America situated?

2.What are the total area? the population of the continent?

3.Which is the largest island of the world?

4.Has North America any adjacent islands? What are they?

5.How are the mountains systems encircling the Shield and Interior Lowlands called?

6.In what direction does the Cordilleran system extend?

7.Where is the region of Great Lakes located?

8.What are the peculiarities of North American climate?

9.What animals dwell the American continent?

12.8 Text for written translation

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, and with its farreaching tributaries one of the major systems of the world. Long ago Ojibway Indians, roaming the forests of Wisconsin, called it Missisipi, or “Great River“. Other tribes termed it the “Father of the Waters”. Both names were appropriate, for the scope and volume of this vast stream have made it almost a synonym for great rivers everywhere: even the Volga has been termed the Russian Mississippi. The length of the Mississippi has been variously interpreted. The Mississippi River Commission calculates the length at 6,415 km from the headwaters of the Missouri to the delta outlet on the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi system cuts a wedge of 3,220,000 sq. km out of the heart of the continent. Geographically, the true source of the Mississippi lies in western Montana. There, three streams unite to form the Mississippi. Fed by the melting snows and gushing springs of the Rockies, it sweeps on through the Northwest. Some 320 km to the south the rivers of the north unite with their eastern branch, the Ohio. The Ohio and its many tributaries drain the ridges and valleys of the Appalachian Mountain. Father south the Mississippi attracts other tributaries, chief among these are the Arkansas and the Red River. The Mississippi is quite deep, its channel ranging usually from 15 to 30 m or more. It would be difficult to exaggerate the influence of the Mississippi on the development of America.

12.9Make up all possible types of questions to the text 12.9

12.10Speak on:

12.12 Get ready to speak about any country of North American continent (See Lesson 10 ex. 10.12)

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