UNIT 7 GEOGRAPHYIII. Class Reading and Home Reading.
Writing
Exercises for Class Readingi. Read the following texts in five or seven minutes’ time and be prepared to
do the following with each one of them
1. Word the gist of the text
2. Divide the text into as many logical parts as you think it has. Give the
title to each part (do it in writing)
3. Say who the story is meant for and what its main goal is
4. Make a list of the words from the active vocabulary of Unit 7
5. Pair work – asking questions and answering them
Exercises for Home Readingii. Read the following texts and do the following (in writing)
Exercises for home reading
1. Divide the text into as many logical parts as you think it has. Give the
title to each part (do it in writing)
2. Make a list of the words from the active vocabulary of Unit 7
3. Make a list of the unknown words and word combinations. Find their
meaning in the dictionary
4. Make up questions to the text
GREAT BRITAIN
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometres.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales and
does not include Northern Ireland. But in everyday speech "Great Britain" is used to mean the United Kingdom. The capital of the UK is London.
The British Isles are separated from the continent by the North Sea and the
English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic
Ocean and the Irish Sea.
Shakespeare called Britain a "precious stone set in the silver sea" because of its natural beauty. It has a varied countryside where you can find mountains, plains, valleys and sandy beaches. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain,
but it is only 1343 metres high. There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn
is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole year round.
The UK is one of the world's smaller countries. Its population is over 58
million. About 80% of the population live in cities.
The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of machinery, eleckonics, textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is
shipbuilding.
The UK is a constitutional monarchy. In law, the Head of State is the Queen. In practice, the Queen reigns, but does not rule. The country is ruled by the elected government with the Prime Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of
two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the Labour, the
Conservative and the Liberal parties.
THE USA
The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada and China). It occupies the southern part of North America and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. 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-boarder with Russia.
The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The population of the country is more than 300 million.
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.
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 climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast.
The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It's the world's leading producer of copper and oil and the world's second producer of iron ore and coal. Among the most important manufacturing industries are aircraft, cars, textiles, radio and television sets, armaments, furniture and paper. Though mainly European and African in origin, Americans are made up
from nearly all races and nations, including Chinese and native Americans.
The largest cities are: New Yorkt Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San-Francisco, Washington and others.
The United States is a federal union of 50 states, each of which 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, exercised by the Congress, and the judicial. 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, though there's hardly any difference between their political lines.
OUR-PLANET EARTH
The planet Earth is only a tiny part of the universé, bu it's the only place where human beings can live. Today, our planet is in serious danger. Acid rains, global warming, air and water pollution, overpopulation are the problems that threaten human life on Earth.nWho is to blame for the disaster? The answer is simple: all of us. Our forests are disappearing because they are cut down or burnt. If this trend continues, one day we won't have enough oxygen to breathe. The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly
dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas. Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If
nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today may soon become extinct. Air pollution is another serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air 15 dangerous
- equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same
holds true for many Russian cities.
Factories emit tons of harmful chemicals. These emissions have disastrous
consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse
effect and acid rains. An even greater threat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic
the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are. Fortunately, it's not too late to solve these problems. We have the time,
the money and even the technology to make our planet a better, cleaner and
safer place. We can plant trees and create parks for endangered species. We can
recycle litter. We can support green parties and put pressure on those in power.
Together we can save the planet and all of us with it.
Environmental protection
- Is the problem of environmental protection urgent today?
- Yes, the problem of protecting the nature is of primary importance today.
Through their daily activities people pollute and contaminate land, water and air. If
it continues the damage may become irreversible. It is known far and wide that
pollution has accompanied mankind ever since groups of people first assembled and
remained for a long time in one place. But pollution was not a serious problem as
long as there was enough space available for each individual or group. With the
establishment of permanent human settlements pollution became a problem and has
remained one ever since. With the rise of advanced technology, the rapid spread of
industrialization and the increase of human populations pollution has become a
universal problem. The price for rapid industrial development is very high: natural
resources are exhausted, the ecological balance of the planet is disturbed.
- How is the environmental protection problem solved today?
- In recent years the pollution problems have received great publicity. The
environmental movement associated with no political party has gained widespread
trust and support. Environmental activists stress that the problem is caused by
industrial pollution and the automobile. The media's begun to campaign against the
ugliness of billboards, tin cans and trash. The protection of natural resources and
wildlife is becoming a political programme in every country. Numerous anti-
pollution campaigns in different countries led to considerable improvements in
environment. In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters
have been installed, measures have been taken to protect rivers and seas from oil
- What are the main problems of today?
- Cleaning up air pollution is one of the main problems of today. Urban air
pollution continues to expand as a result of the increased number of motor vehicles.
Exhaust fumes from the engines of automobiles contain a number of polluting
- Is acid rain damaging to nature?
- One of the climatic effects of air pollution is acid rain. It is damaging to water,
forest, and soil resources. It is blamed for the disappearance of fish from many
lakes, for the widespread death of forests in European mountains, and for damaging
tree growth in the United States and Canada.
- Does radioactive contamination of environment worry people?
People are also concerned about the dangers resulting from massive releases of
radioactive materials from nuclear weapons, which, if used on a major scale, could
seriously endanger all of humanity. Another concern is accidents at nuclear power
plants. One form of pollution that is characteristic of industrial societies is noise.
- What can people do to stop pollution?
- Attempts to control pollution, initiated during the 1950s, resulted in the
successful elimination of such sources of pollution as industrial wastes and the
outdoor burning of trash and debris. The task of cleaning up air pollution, though
difficult, is not believed to be impossible. Use of fuels that are low in pollutants; the
scrubbing of industrial smokestacks often in combination with a recycling of the
pollutants; and the shift to less polluting forms of power generation, such as solar
energy in place of fossil fuels - all are methods that can be used for controlling
pollution. Many large cities have taken measures to decrease the level of urban
noise; the problem has received much attention with the ad vent of supersonic jet
airplanes.
- What can common people do to protect nature?
- To protect nature people should change their attitude to it. Man should stop
taking from it everything he needs and give it his love instead. Otherwise the payoff
will be too high. It is good that at last people have started to realize that they should
keep air and water clean by establishing strict pollution control. Efforts are being
made to reduce pollution from automobile engines by developing pollution-free
engines which may eventually eliminate the more serious air pollution problems.
Moreover, the strong public reaction can facilitate the exercise of absolute pollution
control in various contamination industries.
(From “The Ecologist”)
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