The geographical position of the united states

BEFORE YOU READ

Answer these questions

1. Do you agree that the USA is a country of great diversity? Why?

2. How many states does the USA consist of? What are they?

READING TASKS

A. Understanding main points

Read the text below about one of the largest countries in the world and answer the questions, beginning your answers with the fol­lowing phrases: as a rule …; to tell the truth …; as far as I know …; the matter is that …; as far as I remember …; as far as I am concerned …; frankly/strictly speak­ing …; to make a long story short … .

1. What country is one of the largest countries in the world? What is it often called for short?

2. What do you know about the geographical position of the USA?

3. What facts prove that the USA is an extremely large country in North America?

4. What mountains in the USA do you know? Where are they situated? Are they considered to be young or old mountains?

5. What is there between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains? What are the central and the eastern lowlands called?

6. What are the five Great Lakes joined together by?

7. What rivers on the territory of the USA do you know? Which of them are considered to be the main rivers?

8. Do you think that the climate in North America is much colder or much warmer than in Europe?

9. What forests are the Northern Appalachians and the upper Great Lakes region dominated by?

10. What do states in the USA differ in? Which of them is the largest one and which is the smallest one?

11. What big cities in the USA do you know? What is the national capital of the country? What do you know about it?

B. Understanding details

Mark the statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text. Give your reason using the fol­lowing phrases: as a matter of fact ...; I don't think so …; I'm of the same opinion …; in my opinion …; on the contrary …; strictly speaking ...; to my mind ... .

1. The United States is situated in the central part of the South American conti­nent.

2. The USA is the largest country in the world.

3. The USA consists of four separate parts. It possesses a lot of islands in the Pacific Ocean and in the Atlantic.

4. The continental part of the USA consists of five physical geographical parts: two highland and three lowland regions.

5. The Rocky Mountains are considered to be old, high, rough, and irregular in shape.

6. The five Great Lakes are situated in the northern state of Minnesota.

7. Though the USA is a very large country, it doesn’t have several different climate zones.

8. The USA consists of fifty-one states and the District of Columbia.

9. The states of the USA don’t differ very much in size, population and economic development.

10. The population of the USA is over 300 million people, most of the population lives in the country.

ONE OF THE LARGEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD

The United States is one of the largest countries in the world. Its whole name is the United States of America but for short, the country is often called the USA. The United States is situated in the central part of the North American conti­nent. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, from Canada in the north to Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of California in the south. Canada to the north and Mexico to the south are the only countries bordering on the United States.

The USA is an extremely large country in North America. Its total area is over nine million square kilometers. The USA consists of three separate parts. They are the Hawaiian Islands, situated in the central part of the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, se­parated by the Canadian territory, and the rest major part of the USA. It possesses a lot of islands in the Pacific Ocean and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the Atlantic.

The continental part of the USA consists of four physical geographical parts: two highland and two lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian Mountains in the east, and the Cordillera and the Rocky Mountains in the west. The highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains is 2.037 metres high. The highest peak of the Cordillera in the USA is 4.418 metres high. The Appalachian Mountains are very old. The Rocky Mountains are considered to be young, high, rough, and irregular in shape. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains there are the central lowlands, called the prairie, and the eastern lowlands, called the Mississippi valley.

The United States is a land of rivers and lakes. The northern state of Minnesota is the land of 10 000 lakes. The five Great Lakes, between the USA and Canada, in­clude Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. They are all joined together by short rivers or canals, and the St. Lawrence River joins them to the Atlantic Ocean. In the west of the USA there is another lake called the Great Salt Lake.

The main rivers of the USA are the Mississippi, flowing south to the Gulf of Mexico; the Missouri, one of the Mississippi's many long tributaries, flowing into the Mississippi; the Rio Grande, flowing along the boundary be­tween Texas and Mexico into the Gulf of Mexico; the Yukon, flowing northwest and then southwest from Ca­nada through Alaska to the Bering Sea; the Colorado, flow­ing into the Gulf of California; the Columbia, flowing into the Pacific Ocean, and the St. Lawrence River and the Hud­son River, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

The USA is a country of great diversity. Being a very large country, it has several different climate zones. The coldest regions are in the north and northeast, where much snow falls in winter. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often bring typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast. The region around the Great Lakes is known for its changeable weather. In general, the climate in North America is much colder than in Europe and the average annual temperature of New York, for example, is 11°С.

In the East the principal trees are spruce, poplar, birch and fir. The Northern Appalachians and the upper Great Lakes region are dominated by mixed forests of birch, beech, maple, hemlock, and pine. Much of southern Florida and the lower Mississippi River valley are covered by marsh grasses. The warm-winter desert areas of Southwest support much cactus. The Pacific Northwest has dense coniferous forests with fir, hemlock, and spruce among the principal trees. Northwestern California has dense stands of giant redwoods (sequoias) along the coast.

The USA consists of fifty states and the District of Columbia. The states differ very much in size, population and economic development. The largest of America’s states is Alaska. It’s nearly 400 times the size of Rhode Island, which is the smallest state. But Alaska has half the population of Rhode Island.

The population of the USA is over 253 million people; most of the population lives in towns and cities. There are a lot of big cities in the USA, such as New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and many others. The national capital is Washington, D. C. Its population is about 3.4 million people. It was chosen as permanent site for the nation’s capital in December 1800 by George Washington.