Пособие состоит из 16 уроков и трех дополнительных разделов. Каждый урок рассчитан на работу в течение 4-5 часов аудиторных занятий

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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 north-
east 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 far-
reaching 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 
0
N, or 65 
0
to 
70 
0
N 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. 
12.6 Complete 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. 
12.7 Read the text and reproduce it in the form of a dialogue 
*** 
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 far-
reaching 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. 
12.9 Make up all possible types of questions to the text 12.9 
12.10 Speak on: 
1. geographical position of North America 3. climatic regions 
2. landforms of the continent 4. the Mississippi river 
12.12 Get ready to speak about any country of North American continent (See Lesson 
10 ex. 10.12) 

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