Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет

The United States of America

Учебные задания по английскому языку для студентов математических факультетов

Санкт-Петербург

Утверждено на заседании кафедры иностранных языков для математических факультетов

Составитель: ст. преп. И.А. Бадеева

Рецензенты: ст. преп. Д.Х. Ибрагимова

ст.преп. Е.В. Аношина

Учебные задания способствуют расширению познаний студентов о Соединенных Штатах Америки. Пособие содержит материал о географическом положении, национальной символике и политическом строе страны. В работе также рассмотрены особенности американской разновидности английского языка. Каждый раздел включает текст и различные упражнения на закрепление материала и освоение основных лексических единиц, связанных с данной темой. Издание предназначено для студентов математических факультетов университета.

The geographical overview

O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.

America! America! God shed this grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

(from song 'America, The Beautiful', music by Samuel

Ward, lyrics by Katherine Lee Bates)

The United States of America has an area of 9.4 mln square kilometers almost all of which is on the continent of North America. Its overseas possessions are mainly islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. There are 50 states and one Federal District, created as a site for the Federal Capital, Washington, and known as the District of Columbia.

The USA is the fourth largest country in the world. From New York in the east to San Francisco in the west, i.e. from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast, you have to travel more than 4,500 km and leave behind four time zones. Two states, Alaska and Hawaii, are situated near the Arctic circle and in the tropical part of the Pacific Ocean respectively .

Thanks to the geographical extremes, different parts of the country range from moist rain forest areas to desert regions and bald mountain peaks. The United States possesses vast non-fuel natural resources. The major resource is iron, three quarters of which comes from the region of the Great Lakes in the north-east of the USA.

The West is an extensive mountain area occupying approximately one-third of the United States and is a region of tremendous variety, which is rich in resources such as gold, lead and uranium. Among high mountains there are broad, fertile valleys and large plateau regions with canyons, cliffs and basins that contain many important metals, oil and natural gas.

The heart of the United States is a vast plain, which rises gradually like a saucer to higher land on all sides. It is divided into two major parts: the eastern area is called the Central Plains and the western area the Great Plains, both of which have good soil.

The soil in the south-west is not fertile, but this region is famous for its canyons among which is the world known Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is the world's most spectacular illustration of erosion, being the result of combined actions of the Colorado River, rain, wind and frost. It is 397 km long, 6.4 to 22.5 km wide and 1.6 km deep. According to geologists' estimates, it took 7 to 9 million years to cut the Grand Canyon. The colors of the Canyon change through the day. One cannot describe its beauty, and the Grand Canyon is always mysterious.

The United States has several immensely long rivers. There are a lot of rivers in the eastern part of the country, the longest of which is the Missouri (4,740 km), a tributary of the Mississippi (3,950km). In the west the Rio Grande, which forms part of the United States-Mexico border, flows for 3,016 km.