of the North American continent and is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the
east and the Pacific Ocean in the west. Placed between two oceans, the USA
has a free access to the trade routes of the world.
On the whole the USA has a continental climate. It is at the same time one
of the coldest and one of the hottest countries, one of the wettest and one
on the driest.
The flag of the United States is called “Stars and Stripes”. The 50 stars
represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent 13 original English
colonies, which in 1776 became free and independent of England.
The USA is governed by Congress and by the President. Congress consists of
the Senate (100 senators — 2 from each state) and the House of
Representatives (435 Congressmen). The President, who is also the head of
the government and the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces, is
elected every four years.
The capital of the United States is Washington. It is situated on the
Potomac River not far from the Atlantic coast. Washington is not a very
large city. Such cities as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Orleans and some others are
larger.
The USA is one of the most developed countries in the world. It is a
country of great contrasts. There are a lot of unsolved problems in the
country such as unemployment and inflation, but nevertheless it is one of
the greatest countries in the world.
|Protection of Environment. It is a small world we live in, and it is high
time for all of us to realize it. Since ancient times people have been
trying to produce more and more to increase human wealth. Nobody noticed
that we were destroying Nature by using it as the source of raw materials,
and as the garbage can for our waste. Nature seemed to be boundless and
endless... Far from it as it turned out. Millions of cars and smoky
factories pollute and spoil the air we breathe in. Pollution is hanging
over big cities like an ugly brown cloud. It is hurting our lungs as well
as the life of animals, birds and plants. People need wood and paper, so we
cut down our forests. We don't know what to do with waste materials of our
industry, so we pour them into water, bury them into soil, and shoot them
into atmosphere. We pollute the water we drink, and the land we live in.
People build nuclear power stations and carry out nuclear tests. As a
result, radiation represents one of the main problems nowadays. The rapid
growth of population in the world may turn into another grave problem very
soon. The speed, with which we are using up our non-renewable resources
like oil and gas, is appalling. With the development of our civilization we
have become dangerous to the planet and to ourselves. What must we do not
to find ourselves in a dirty desert in the near future? This question
cannot be ignored. Some scientists are pessimistic about our problems. They
suppose that we have already reached the point of no return. Others are
more optimistic and believe that our ecological problems are solvable
because more and more people begin to understand how dangerous they are.
There is increasing awareness of people of the real state of the planet. In
many countries environmental protection agencies and research centers are
set up. Such organizations as "Green Peace" and "Friends of the Earth" try
to put pressure upon those governments that do not care for ecology in
their countries. The humankind will be able to survive only if we all
understand that environmental protection is our universal concern.
Mass media. The most popular sources of entertainment and information are
the press, radio, tv, and movies. The press plays an important part in the
life of society. Millions of Americans in their free time read newspapers.
The English word ‘newspaper’ does not really describe everything that you
can read in this kind of publication. Newspapers include not only stories
about recent events (news), but opinions, advertising, and other non-news
items. The first American newspaper was called Public Occurrences Both
Foreign and Domestic. This paper was first published in Boston in 1690. Now
there are about 2,600 newspapers published in the USA. The New York Times,
the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times are three of the most
important daily papers that describe foreign and domestic news. The radio
does not interfere with your activities. You can listen to the radio while
doing some work about the house, reading a book or driving a car. On the
radio one can hear music, plays, news, and different commentary and
discussions called ‘forums’. At a forum several authorities exchange views
on social, economic and political problems. A peculiar feature of the
American radio is soap opera. It is a sentimental serial drama that
describes domestic problems and which is for housewives. Soap opera is
usually broadcast every day. Most people find soap opera boring. There ate
a lot of games on the radio. They are called ‘panel games’. Radio brings
also cultural and educational programs. Many programs are made up of
classical music. Television is a ‘chewing gum for ears and eyes’. There are
many serials on TV in the USA. They appeared in the 1950s. TV games-
attract a large audience, too. During TV quiz programs TV viewers answer
different questions. There is a lot of education on television. For
example, you can take a TV course in history, political economy,
management, banking and in many other subjects, or learn a foreign language
by TV. Educational TV films and programs are shown in schools and colleges
as a part of the curriculum.
Moscow is the capital of Russia. It is one of the biggest and most
beautiful cities in the world. Moscow is a modern city now. The population
of the city is about 9.8 million people. Moscow is a political centre,
where the government of our country works. Moscow was founded in 1147 by
Yuri Dolgoruky. The total area of Moscow is about nine hundred square
kilometres. We say that Moscow is a port of five seas, as the Moscow—Volga
Canal links Moscow with the Baltic, White, Caspian and Black seas and the
Sea of Azov. Moscow is an industrial centre too. There are many factories
and plants in it. One of the best-known plants produces many lorries, and
the other one produces cars. The Bolshoi Theatre is one of the famous
theatres all over the world. If you are fond of painting you can go to the
Tretyakov Art Gallery or to the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum and see a lot of
interesting portraits and landscapes there. We say that the Tretyakov Art
Gallery is a treasure-house of Russian art. Young people like to visit the
Central Military Museum. There are many tanks, guns and war documents
there. One can see the Kremlin and Red Square in the city. There are many
fine buildings, wide streets, green parks, large squares, churches and
monuments in Moscow. It is necessary to mention such famous monuments as
monuments to the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and to the first
Russian printer Ivan Fedorov. Visiting the capital a lot of foreigners from
all over the world come to see these monuments. One of the highest
buildings in Moscow is the State Moscow University. It was founded in 1755
by the great scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. Transport. Moscow is a very big
city, and its transport must be comfortable and fast. One can see a lot of
cars, buses, trolley-buses, trams in the streets of our city. The Moscow
metro began its work on the 15th of May, 1935. There were 13 stations at
that time. Now it has 190 stations. Our metro is a beautiful and convenient
one. There are nine railway stations in Moscow and five airports around the
city. There are many stadiums in Moscow. The Central Stadium is in
Luzhniki. Many competitions and football matches are held there. The
Olympic village was built for the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. It
is a big complex for sport games. I live in Moscow and I am proud of this
city.
The vast territory of Russia lies in the Eastern part of Europe and in the
northern part of Asia. In area, it is one of the largest countries in the
world. Airlines service many cities throughout the country. A flight from
Moscow to Magadan takes eight hours. Russia is washed by twelwe seas and
three oceans. The oceans are: tha Atlantic, the Arctic, the Pacific. The
northern and eastern coasts of Russia are washed by the White Sea, the
Barents Sea and by the Okhotsk Sea. The land of Russia waries a lot from
heavy forests to barren deserts, from high peaked mountains to deep
valleys. Russia is located on two plains. They are: the Great Russian Plain
and the West Siberian Plain. There are three main mountain chains in
Russia. The Urals, the longest mountain chain, separates Europe from Asia.
There are various types of climate on the territory of Russia. But the
temperate zone with four distinct seasons prevails. Russia is a land of
long rivers and deep lakes. The broad Volga River system has a great
historic, economic and cultural importance to Russia. It became the cradle
of such ancient towns as Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod.
Numerous canals join all the rivers in the European part of Russia, making
it the largest inland water transportation route in Europe. The Volga River
runs into the Caspian Sea, which is in reality, the largest lake in the
world. The Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. The European part of
Russia is densely populated. There are a lot of cities, towns and villages
there. Russia is rich in natural resources. It has deposits of coal, oil,
natural gas, iron ore, gold, nickel, etc. Russia borders on fourteen
countries, including the former Republics of the USSR, which are now
independent states. The history of Russia dates back to the year 862. Now
Russia is a Presidental Republic. Russia has always played an important
role in the world. It is one of its leading Powers.
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