Учебное пособие для студентов 3 курса специальности 032301. 65 Регионоведение Чита 2008 (075)
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| Iowa is considered the richest of the farming states of the Northern Plains. Nearly 96 per cent of the land is arable that is fit for cultivation. The average size of a farm in Iowa is 114 hectares. Since Iowa is situated in the eastern part of the plains, it receives more rainfall than the states in the west. Corn is grown instead of wheat. In fact, Iowa is the leading state in the USA in corn production. Because of the great amount of corn which is used for fodder. Iowa also leads the nation in the raising of hogs.
The cities of the Northern Plains have developed as markets and food processing centres. The most typical ones are as follows: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City, and Omaha. St. Louis, the largest city in the Northern Plains, was founded as a trading centre in the 1700's. But in the last 150 years it became a major industrial city. Today, manufacturing is the most important economic activity. Among its products are metals, chemicals, airplanes and automobiles. Oil is the most important natural resource in the Southern Plains. The growing demand for oil products brought great wealth to Texas and Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas, and Houston. In addition to oil, farming is important to the Southern Plains states. The farms in the state of Oklahoma grow wheat, sorghum, cotton, corn, and peanuts. However, the state has a serious problem with soil erosion. In order to overcome this problem much of the cropland has been converted to grass land. This change has given good results: cattle raising has become a major agricultural activity in Oklahoma. Texas is one of the most important agricultural states in the region and the country. The average size of a farm in Texas is 270 hectares, which means that the farms are quite big. Many farms belong to large corporations. Such farms are much bigger than the usual ones. They have a size of 405 hectares or even more. Vegetables and citrus fruit are grown in south Texas, and wheat and cotton are grown in the north of the state. Texas leads the country in both the number of cattle and sheep. Though Texas has more individual farmers than any other state, most of the people in the state live in cities of over 50,000 population. In recent years the growth of the population in Texas is rapid. Many people migrate to Texas from other states because of its warm climate and the availability of service jobs in the growing cities. It should be mentioned that the Great Plains are also America's cattle country. The cattle were scattered over hundreds of miles of country and had to be rounded up by cowboys who knew how to ride, and ride hard. The drive to the meat packing plants in Chicago was long and slow. A herd might travel 20 miles during a day, and at night the nervous cattle had to be calmed. To keep them quiet, cowboys circled the herd throughout the night, singing to the animals. This was part of the cowboys' work and their sad ballads have become part of American culture. With the development of refrigerated railroad-cars which permitted the shipment of fresh meat over long distances cattle-raising extended over the entire plains. But there were many difficulties. In summer the heat scorched the grass and there were grass fires. In winter farmers had to contend with extreme cold and blizzards of snow. Today a new cattle industry occupies the Great Plains. Cooperative associations have been formed which divide the land among the members and decide on the number of cattle on each plot. Many problems remain, but the cattlemen are trying to restore the pastures just as farmers are restoring the soil. Houston is among the largest cities of the USA with around 1, 5 million people in the city and about 3 million in the metropolitan area. It is becoming the national centre for technology for space exploration, energy and medicine. Dallas is the second largest city in Texas with about 1 million people. The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area has about 3 million people. Its economy is based on the manufacturing of electrical equipment, airplane parts, clothing, and the processing of food products. San Antonio is the third largest city in the state and among the largest cities of the country. Its population of about 800,000 people is engaged in food processing, manufacturing and government service. T  HE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. The Rocky Mountain region is made up of the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The most striking feature of this region is the small population compared to other regions of the United States. Large parts of the region have few or no people. This is mainly due to the lack of water, which will continue to influence the development of the region in the future.
In the days when gold was king and thousands of men lived in the mining camps in the wilderness, agriculture began in the Rockies. In this land of little water, farming was very difficult - and would have been impossible without streams of irrigation canals that bring water from the high mountain streams to the dry valleys below. Today farms m the dry areas of the region are also situated along the water-ways or where there is irrigation. The main crops are cotton, potatoes, wheat, barley, and sugar beets. As there is lack of water, many farmers find it more profitable to raise livestock; the cattle and sheep require a lot of land on which to graze. Therefore many of the ranches in the region are very large. Their sizes can be as large as 900 hectares. Though agriculture in the region has many problems because of lack of water and poor soils, the Rocky Mountains are rich in mineral and energy resources. Gold and silver were the first resources discovered in the 19th century. Today, a number of minerals are mined such as copper, mercury, and molybdenum, which is used to strengthen steel. Coal and iron ore are mined in Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. On this basis a regional steel industry has developed. Oil, natural gas, and coal are now of major importance to the Rocky Mountains region. It is believed that under much of Wyoming and Colorado there are large deposits of oil shale that is rocks containing oil. From these rocks oil can be received. The Powder River Basin of Wyoming is now one of the most important coal mining regions of the country. The major cities of the region are Phoenix and Denver. Phoenix has about 800,000 people in the city and 1,5 million in the metropolitan area. It is an important producer of electronic products, computers, airplanes, steel, aluminum, and chemicals. Denver with about half a million people in the city and 1,6 million in the metropolitan area has an economy based on federal government service including a mint where they make coined money. Food processing and the making of transportation equipment are also important. Vocabulary unpredictable to roam versatile arable to encroach homesteader interloper to coax life to terrace the land square farming to restore to live on the claim to flare up in to extract to scorch to contend with fodder Comprhension Check Exercise I. Scan the text for answers to the following questions. 1. Where is the region of the Plains situated?
9. How has it happened that the Great Plains are America's cattle country? What problems has America been facing in this field?
12. Is the Powder River Basin of Wyoming rich in gold? If not, name the main mineral resources. Vocabulary Study Exercise I. Fill in the blank with the correct word:
Exercise II. Complete the sentence with the best answer (a, b or c) according to the information in the text: 1. Today the Plains is considered a) the centre of the auto industry of the USA; b) the most popular place for tourism; c) the "American breadbasket". 2. Iowa is the leading state in the USA a) in coal production; b) in corn production; c) in the raising of hogs. 3. Texas and Oklahoma became very rich a) because of the growing demand for oil products;
4. Large parts of the Rocky Mountains have few or no people a) because they left the region trying to find jobs in others places; b) as the climate here is very wet; c) due to the lack of water. 5. Many ranches in the Rocky Mountains are large a) as they specialize in growing wheat; b) because livestock is raised and cattle require a lot of land on which to graze; c) due to the great amount of vegetables produced here. Exercise III. Find out whether the statement is true or false according to the information in the text: 1. The first American explorers of the Great Plains called it the “Great American Desert” 2. Oil is the most important natural resource in the Northern Plains. 3. The Dallas — Fort Worth metropolitan area is a major centre of the steel and food processing industries. 4. The main crops grown on the farms of the Rocky Mountains region are rice, sugar beets where there is no irrigation. 5. The major cities of the Rocky Mountains region are Phoenix, Denver and Houston 6. Phoenix is famous for its mint where they make coined money. 7. Denver with about half a million people in the city and 1,6 million in the metropolitan area has an economy based on federal government service. Exercise IV. Supply the word combinations from the text which are periphrases of the following: 1) coarse food (especially for cattle and horses) composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of a cereal crop; 2) to intrude on the property or rights of another person; to trespass on something; 3) farming “square acres” of land; 4) changing or fluctuating readily; 5) to break out or intensify usually suddenly or violently; 6) a person who acquires or occupies a tract of public land to live on and cultivate it.; 7) to separate a metal from an ore to withdraw by physical or chemical process; 8) the action or process of wearing out (exhausting); 9) an intruder, someone who likes interfering with other people’s affairs; 10) to devastate completely especially before abandoning; 11) to manipulate with great perseverance and usually with considerate effort toward a desired state or activity; 12) to live on a tract of land staked out; 13) to strive or vie in contest or rivalry against difficulties; to struggle for; 14) to go from place to place without any purpose or direction. Exercise V. Find in the text the English phrases corresponding to the Russian equivalents. 1) пахотная земля; 2) соперничать, состязаться; 3) опалять выжигать; 4) многосторонний, непостоянный; 5) владелец участка, поселенец; 6) устраивать в виде террасы; 7) восстанавливать, возмещать; 8) человек, вмешивающийся во все личные дела каждого из нас; 9) вспыхнуть; 10) терпеливо устраивать жизнь; 11) участок земли, отведенный для разработки недр; 12) эрозия почв; 13) вторгаться; покушаться на чужие права, посягать. Exercise VI. Guess what state is meant:
Exercise VII. Guess to what states the given mottoes belong: 1. To the stars through difficulties. 2. Our liberties, we prize and our rights we'll maintain. 3. The star of the north. 4. Friendship. 5. God enriches. 6. Nothing without providence. 7. The welfare of people shall be the supreme court. 8. Equality before law. 9. Under God, the people rule. 10. Labor conquers all things. 11. Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable. 12. It grows as it goes. 13. Equal rights. 14. All for our country. 15. Industry. 16. God and silver. 17. It is all for my country. Exercise VIII. A. Each of the states on this map has been mislabeled. Write the correct abbreviation for the name of each state in the blank provided. 
B. Draw a line through the phrase in each item below that does not describe the state. Use the maps to help you. 1. MINNESOTA: borders Lake Superior, source of the Mississippi River, borders Illinois 2. SOUTH DAKOTA: average population density: 2 ... 25 people per square mile, divided by Missouri River, father cast than Minnesota 3. MICHIGAN: borders four Great Lakes, shares no border with Illinois, forestry is important industry 4. MISSOURI: the Missouri River ends here, most of state at 700 ... 1500 feet above sea level, west of Kansas 5. KANSAS: capital is Kansas City, has three climate zones, population is sparser than Iowa's 6. WISCONSIN: capital is Milwaukee, borders two of the Great Lakes, north of Illinois 7. ILLINOIS: elevation is lower in south, boundaries include three rivers, cast of Indiana 8. INDIANA: has no natural boundaries, south of Michigan, humid continental climate 9. IOWA: south of Minnesota, borders Lake Michigan, eastern boundary is the Mississippi River 10. NEBRASKA: south of Kansas, heaviest population along the Platte River, the Missouri River forms east border 
T  HE PACIFIC REGION includes those states which are washed by the Pacific Ocean. They are Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.
Due to its location on the ocean, the region has important fisheries. California holds the first place in the country for its catch. The most important fish caught are anchovy, tuna, and mackerel. Alaska and Washington are the main suppliers of salmon and halibut. Fishing in Hawaii is mainly for sport and recreation. California also leads the Pacific states in farming. It is the country's leading grower of fruits and vegetables. Much of California's farming is done in the Central Valley. The farms in the valley produce cattle, dairy products, cotton, grapes, tomatoes, and citrus fruits. In Oregon and Washington, the Cascade Mountains divide the states into two different farming zones. In the dry eastern zone, wheat is grown, and the cattle is raised. West of the Cascade Mountains, in Oregon's Willamette Valley, for example, regular rainfall and a mild climate allow good yields of such crops, as beans, pears, onions, and corn. In Washington, cherries and apples are major fruits. Both states are among the most important sources of timber in the United States. Some large-scale commercial farms in Hawaii grow sugarcane and pineapples. However, both Alaska and Hawaii must import most of their food from the mainland states. Tourism plays a very important role in the economy of Hawaii. Alaska, which in the past depended mainly on fishing and timber, now receives great profit from oil production. Production began in 1959, the year Alaska became a state. In 1968, oil was discovered in the North Slope of the Brooks Range near Prudhoe Bay. Today a pipeline takes oil pumped at Alaska's Prudhoe Bay in the north to the port of Valdez in the south for further shipment. Construction of the massive pipeline over thousands of kilometres of wilderness had been delayed because of serious concerns for the environment. Completion of the pipeline has helped increase Alaska's profits. Today the state has the highest profits per capita, or per head of the population of the state. The fastest growing industries in the Pacific region are in electronics and technical products. A large number of companies making electronics parts are found in an area around the city of San Jose. This area is known as the Silicon Valley. It is named for the Silicon Chip, which is a basic part in modern electronics products. Most of the region's large cities are ports. Los Angeles, the third largest city in the country, has a population of about 3 million people. There are some 7,5 million people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Los Angeles and neighboring Long Beach have very good harbors which are well protected behind 15 kilometers of break water. Together with several fine airports they serve as the West Coast's major gateways for trade with the countries of the Pacific Ocean. The Los Angeles area is a giant center of aircraft production, computers, communications equipment, motor cars, and cosmetics. It is also a major region of space technology. Los Angele's position as a world center of finance and industry has also stimulated the development of such services as health care, accounting, education, law. However, Los Angeles is also known all over the world as the city of entertainment because of Hollywood, which is the world capital of film production. In the 1940s, the peak years of movie making, Hollywood produced more than 400 films a year. Today TV is competing successfully with the traditional film industry, but Hollywood has also changed, producing quite a lot of films for American TV. Los Angeles is also a city of striking contrasts. There are many Hispanics, Asians, Blacks living here and these people in their majority have poorly paid jobs. Therefore social tension in many districts of Los Angeles is very high. It was no wonder that in 1992 there were mass riots in Los Angeles which shocked all America. The other major city on the Pacific coast of the United States is San Francisco. It lies at the tip of land broken by the narrow channel of the Golden Gate. Through this channel the tides of the Pacific pour into a great bay. The city has long been a centre of trade, finance, shipping, culture for more than three million people in the metropolitan bay area. Asian immigrants together with many waves of European settlers have made San Francisco a city of many nationalities and different cultures. Freight from ports all over the world is unloaded at a fine harbor, while long lines of freight trains bring into the city the fruit from the countryside. The transcontinental railroad connects San Francisco with the industrial and agricultural centres of the Midwest and the East, thus providing an interchange of goods and passengers. And at the city's airport, which is one of the largest in the United States, there are about 400,000 landings and takeoffs a year. Great streams of motor traffic cross the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, which is 1,6 kilometres long, to the north shore. In the first decade of the 20th century, this major city of the west was in ruin. In 1906 a great earthquake destroyed the city. But within three years, 20,000 new buildings were constructed, and in seven years, a new city had risen out of the ashes. Several years ago, another serious earthquake hit the city, but it did not cause much damage because the buildings were well protected against the forces of nature. To draw a conclusion, it's clear that unlike the dry hot desert of the mountain area, the northwest coast of the United States abounds in rich land. Many manufacturing and fishing towns lie along the forested hills and lowlands that flank the bays and inlets of the coast. Just as the natural harbors of New England are America's door to Europe, the shores of Puget Sound (the Pacific Ocean harbor of Seattle) open the way to the Orient. At cities like Seattle, Portland, Everret, and others goods from Asia and the South Pacific are unloaded while fruit, grain, fish, timber, or machines are put aboard ships bound for ports all over the world. Vocabulary to pump a pipeline inlets to delay flank concerns for per capita break water landings social tension mass riots takeoffs to bind for Comprehension Check
Exercise IV. Guess what state the following mottoes belong to: 1. North to the future. 2. Eureka! (I found it!). 3. The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. 4. She flies with her own wings. 5. By and by. Exercise V. A. Give the right answer to the following questions. 1. Name the only state with a subpolar climate; with a Me  diterranean climate.
2. Name three mountain ranges where a highland climate is found. 3. Name the four western states that border Canada. B. Write the number of the state from the list below in the correct blank on the map. Name the only four states that meet at one point Exercise VII. For this exercise, you will need a list of the two-letter, post office abbreviations for the states. Each of the statements below describes a state. Write its abbreviation on the line with the matching letter. Each pair of abbreviations will form a common word without rearranging any of the letters. Some states are used more than once. 1. a. Hollywood is located here. ______+______=_________ b. This is the easternmost state. a b 2. a. The nickname of this state is the Centennial State b. This is a southern state that produces a large amount of steel. _____ + _____ = ________ a b 3. a. This state entered the United States on November 11, 1889. b. This is the 24th largest state. ______+______=________ a b 4. a. The Pictured Rocks are here. _____ + ______ = _______ b. This is the site of Acadia National Park. a b 5 a. This state is the nation’s major goober producer. b. This state is known as the Crossroads of America. ____+_____=_________ a b 6. a. This was the eighth state to ratify the Constitution. b. This was the 25th state to enter the Union. _____+______=________ a b 7. a. The largest city in this state is Wilmington. b. Helen Keller was born in this state. _____+_____ = _______ a b 8. a. The first water-powered mill was built in this state. b. Author Louis L’Amour was born here. ______+______=_________ a b 9. a. The highest point in this state is Timm's Hill. b. Scott's Bluff Monument is located here. _____+______ = ________ a b 10. a. Pineapple, sugar, and coffee are grown here. b. This state is called the First State. ______+______ = _______ a b 11. a. The only diamond mine in the United States is located here. b. This state's song is "Home on the Range." _____+______ = _______ a b 12. a. The nation's second capital was located here b. This state is nicknamed the Nutmeg State. _____+______=________ a b 13. a. This state is called the Keystone State. b. This state is famous for potatoes. ______+______ = _______ a b SUPPLIMENTORY MATERIAL Task: Listen to the following texts on the tape-recorder, fill in the blanks and do the exercises after them. 1. FARMING IN THE UNITED STATES The industrial power of the United States is matched by the _________ of its agriculture. Because the United States has diverse climates and soils, its farms produce an _______________________. In California's Central and Imperial valleys, for example, fruits and vegetables as well as cotton grow year round. The long ______________________ in the South makes it a good region for the growth of fruits, vegetables, and cotton. In Texas, _____________________, about 40 percent of the farms grow this important crop. Washington, Oregon, Michigan, and New York are also major fruit-growing states. But perhaps the most important cash crops are grown in the wide _______________ of the United States. Extending from the Great Plains in the west to the Appalachian Mountains in the east is a vast area of farmland that regularly produces some of the largest crops of _______ in the world. Wheat, _________________ in breads, cakes, and rolls, grows mainly in the western section of this area, from Texas in the south to North Dakota in the north. Kansas is usually the largest _________________. Corn, the principal source of ________ for cattle and hogs, grows from central Minnesota through Ohio. Iowa and Illinois usually produce the most corn in this region. Though not a grain, _________ are grown in the same area as corn and are used in a variety of ways, often as ________________. So much grain is produced in the United States—much more than we can use— that a major part of the crop is shipped to other countries.     
The United States ______ its remarkable grain harvests in large part to soil and climate. The soil is excellent for ____________________ because it is rich with ____________ and the land is relatively level. During the Ice Age, glaciers ground off the tops of hills and filled in the valleys on their _________________, leaving relatively level land that is perfect for the use of machinery. The growing season varies from 110 days near the Canadian border to 140 days in the southern part of the region, just right for grain crops. Rainfall tends to come ____________, especially in the early summer, _______________ with sunny and humid conditions, again ideal for these plants. To hold a good position in the world economy, a country must _______________. Today Japan and many West European countries compete on the ________________ with the United States to sell industrial goods, such as steel, automobiles, and electronic equipment. Therefore, agricultural products have become even more important in the US economy. In the 1970s, grain crops provided the ____________ of American exports, making up somewhat for the ______________ of oil bought from the oil-producing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Because grain harvests are large, food is relatively cheap. The average American spends less of his or her income on food than do people from other countries. Inexpensive food is __________________ for non-farmers, but ________ for farmers who must pay high prices for the goods they buy. Unlike most American workers, the farmer has few _________________________. There is no guarantee that enough rain will fall or that frost will not __________________ or that the market price will be high enough ________________________. Thus farmers must rely on _____________, on government __________________ to other countries, and on government _________________ when prices are unusually low. Exercise I. Answer the following questions to check you understand the idea of the text. 1. What natural features encourage the growing of grain in the United States? 2. Why is agriculture important to the United States economy? 3. What economic problems do many farmers face? 2. AN INDUSTRIAL GIANT Industrial America lies in a wide belt stretching from __________________ to ______________________. In addition, there are also major __________________ in the Southeast, in Texas, and on the Pacific Coast. In the industrial cities of the North are the older, heavy industries, like _______, _________, _________, __________, automobiles, and ___________________, as well as the complete range of consumer goods. The newer _____________________ have ____________ in Washington State and in the __________ states of California, Texas, Georgia, and Florida. In the past fifty years, the United States has been developing its ____________________. The network of railroads that was built in the nineteenth century has been paralleled, and in some areas largely replaced, by ___________ of highways for cars, trucks, and buses, as well as by a large system of air transport. The construction of the ______________________________ in the 1950s opened up the heart of the country to ocean shipping. New resources such as ______________ (aluminum ore), _________ (for nuclear reactors), and ______________ (a heat-resistant metal used in ___________) have been developed. Devices such as washing machines, television sets, refrigerators, ___________________, stereo equipment, synthetic _______, and computers have changed the way Americans live. Mass production has put former ___________, like cars and home appliances, _______________ of nearly all Americans. Growth, expansion, and progress have continued to be an expected part of "________________________”. The ______________________, the total dollar value of goods and services products, in the nation, doubled in the 1950s. By the 1980s it reached well over two trillion dollars each year. Nevertheless, throughout the 1970s, the number of unemployed workers ______________ between 7 and 9 percent of the total work force, leading to ___________ for many millions of Americans. But though ________________ and poverty have continued ____________________, Americans as a whole tend to have a higher standard of material wealth than the people of most other countries. This __________ (material wealth) is largely the result of continued industrial growth. CHECKUP
3. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE Since 1790, the federal government has conducted _________ every ten years to determine how many states each state _______________________ in the House of Representatives. This is required by the United States Constitution. From the very beginning, the census takers did more than simply count heads. They asked questions about ______, ________, national _______, and so on. Gradually more and more kinds of questions were asked so that today the Census Bureau gathers a wide variety of information. Each census has recorded more people living in the United States than at the time of the previous one. The population constantly changes as some people are born and others die, as some ___________ into the country and others____________. If the figures exactly balance, taking into account additions and subtractions, there will be ________________________. This has yet to happen in the United States because, on the average, people are living longer each year due to the advances of modern medicine. Also, immigration continues into the United States, accounting for about 20 percent of the new Americans each year. Births account for the other 80 percent. The combined effect of longer life spans and the fact that fewer babies are being born will tend to increase the ____________ of the American people. In fact, population experts estimate that the median age will come close to 40 by 2030, if present trends continue. Median age is determined by making a list of all the ages of the people from youngest to oldest. This aging of the population will have major effects on the economy and the pace of life in the United States. The fastest-growing segment of the population will be the 20- to 44-year-olds, who buy most of the____________________[such as automobiles and large appliances] that ________________________ the nation's economic growth. And with fewer children and more two-income families, people will have more money to spend for luxuries and services. As the United States becomes a nation of middle-aged and older people, cultural values will probably change, too. America's frantic worship of the young, the new, the different________________. Geographers are interested in how people __________ themselves over the land. The Census Bureau reports this data in terms of _____________________, the average number of people living on each square mile of land. The West of the country is less densely populated than the East, especially the northeastern quarter of the United States. Away from the dense Northeast, ________________ population densities are located in the upper South, around major cities on the eastern edge of the Great Plains, at _________________ in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin, and in a series of ______________ along the West Coast from northwest Washington south to the Mexican border. CHECK UP Exercise A. Fill in the Blanks The motto of the United States is (1)____. The phrase could refer to the American population because so many people came as (2)____ or (3)____. Since 1790, the total population has (4)____, and the proportion of women has (5)____. Four major population movements in the past century have been (6)____, (7)____, (8)____, and (9)____. The United States does not have zero population growth because of longer life spans and (10)____. Final Test Task I. Fill in the blanks with necessary geographic notions. The United States is one of the most diverse land masses in the world. The lands go from high steeping mountains (the tallest mountain is in Alaska – (1)____ to the deep valleys (the lowest point is (2)____ in California). There are two main mountain ranges in America – (3)____ and (4)____. The (5)____ Mountains run from (6)____ to (7)____. The (8)____ are in (9)____. Pacific Ranges is a name given to all mountains on the western coast line. This includes (10)____, (11)____ (in northwest) and (12)____(in California). There are two different types of plains: coastal and interior. In America there are two major coastal plains: the (13)____ Plains, which are located from Massachusetts to Florida, and the (14)____ Plains, which extend from Texas. Other coastal plains are located along the Arctic Ocean and near the southern shores of the Hudson Bay. The second type of plains are interior plains. The two major include the (15)____, which lies between the (16)____ mountains and the (17)____ River, and the (18)____ Plains, which stretch from the (19)____ to the (20)____ Mountains. There are many rivers in America. The number one river, the longest in the US, is the (21)____ River. It runs between (22)____and (23)____. Its main tributary is the (24)____ River. Another river is the (25)____ River, which runs with quiet dignity in the northwestern part of the US. In contrast this river, (26)____, is a river of enormous fury. The natural boundary between the US and Mexico is the (27)____. In America many lakes were formed from water filling huge depressions left by ice age glaciers. There are two kinds of lakes in America: salt and fresh water lakes. There are five major fresh water lakes, called (28)____. They are (29)____. The other type of lake is a salt water lake and the main are (30)____ in (31)____ and (32)____ in (33)____. There are also two natural lakes where the water brought down the mountains is stored; they are (34)____ and (35)____. As for the natural resources the US has over 100 varieties of minerals. America is ranked as the first in (36)____, the second in (37)____, and the third in (38)____. It also is rich in (39)____. Though America lacks such necessary resources as (40)____. One - third of America is a forest land. There are over 1000 varieties of trees described, among them are (41)____. As for the wild life? It is also very diverse. There are such fur-bearing animals as (42)____, (43)____, (44)____, (45)____, (46)____, (47)____. In farms they grow (48)____ and (49)____. In forests and in zone of mixed forests you can see (50)____. Florida is a home of , and the prairies are for (51)____ or (52)____. The coastal water are abundant with such fish as (53)____ and such sea food as (54)____. Task II. Give the English equivalents to the given words and word combinations. 1) долгота, широта; 2) полушария; 3) доисторические времена; 4) средняя плотность населения; 5) самые плотно / густо заселенные и самые редконаселенные штаты; 6) город средних размеров; 7) быстрый рост населения; перепись населения; 8) естественная граница; 9) действующие / потухшие вулканы; 10) склон / горы; 11) крутые и складчатые горы; 12) горы с заснеженными вершинами; 13) растительность; 14) зона полупустынь; 15) ниже уровня моря/ выше уровня реки; 16) русло руки; 17) притоки рек; 18) пресноводные озера; 19) в низовьях реки; 20) в дельте реки; 21) судоходный; 22) климатические зоны; 23) влажность; 24) общие запасы; 25) залежи; 26) нефтеносные районы; 27) добывающая промышленность; 28) тяжелая промышленность; 29) города - призраки; 30) самый заселенный штат; 3) городская агломерация. Task III. Do the translation. С самых первых шагов колонизации на территории будущих США стали складываться районы с резкими различиями между ними. Северная часть страны заселялась в основном мелкими фермерами, а южная - белой беднотой и плантаторами, которые использовали чернокожих рабов. Поэтому сразу возник сильный социально-экономический и культурный контраст между Севером, где развивались капиталистические отношения, и рабовладельческим Югом. Граница между ними официально проходила по границе между штатами Пенсильвания и Мэриленд (37 ° с.ш.). Так возникли два главных региона США, которые настолько сильно отличались по своему общественному устройству, что их противостояние привело к гражданской войне. Кроме того, начал формироваться третий крупный регион - Запад. Эта линия получила название "фронтир" (рубеж). Три главных региона США окончательно оформились к началу XX в. Названия их кажутся слишком простыми, даже примитивными (указаны стороны света), но в американской культуре они насыщены глубоким смыслом. Север для американцев - это могучая индустрия, гигантские города, предприимчивость, демократизм, обилие иммигрантов. Американский Юг - это не просто жаркий климат, но и высокая доля чернокожих, расовые предрассудки рабовладельческой эпохи, четкое классовое расслоение общества, замедленный ход социальной жизни, известная отсталость; в то же время это, по американским меркам, более "человечное" общество, где отношениям между людьми уделяется гораздо больше внимания, где выше понятия о личной чести, взаимопомощи и т.п. Запад же — это широкие горизонты и широкие возможности для деятельного человека, это еще слабо освоенная территория с богатыми ресурсами, но заодно и с упрощенным бытом, и с упрощенными правилами жизни. Региональная структура США постоянно усложнялась, и к середине XX в. Север стали разделять на два района – северо-восток и Средний Запад. Эти названия тоже имели большое культурное значение. Северо-восток был освоен еще в колониальный период и прошел долгую эволюцию, глубокие преобразования. Для американцев это "древний" район. Развитие же Среднего Запада совпало с расцветом американского капитализма в XIX в., и этот район стал олицетворением американизма — громадные города и громадные заводы, тучные нивы и тучные стада, резкие контрасты богатства и бедности, динамизм развития и господство американского индивидуализма. Границы между этими четырьмя главными районами США весьма расплывчаты и условны, но для простоты их зачастую проводят по границам штатов. Task IV. Circle the best answer to complete each statement. 1. The western section of the interior plains region of the United States is called the a) Gulf Coastal Plain; с) Atlantic Coastal Plain; b) Great Plains; d) Central Plains. 2. The coastal area of the eastern United States ends with the highlands of the a) Superior Upland and the Black Hills; b) Ozark Plateau; c) Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains; d) Bitterroot Range. 3.Heavy rainfall supports thick needleleaf forests in the region of the a) Gulf Coast; с) Great Salt Lake; b) Pacific Coast; d) Sangre de Cristo. 4. The ecosystems of the eastern portion of the United States include large areas of a) tall grass and broadleaf forests; b) mosses and short bushes; c) short grasses and scattered trees; d) broadleaf or mixed broadleaf and needleleaf forests. 5. Between 1880 and 1930, many jobs in the nation's industrial cities were filled by a wave of immigrants from a) southern and eastern Europe; c) Latin America; b) South Asia; d) East Asia. 6. The most recent immigrants to the United States come mainly from Latin America and a) Africa; c) Canada; b) Western Europe; d) Asia. 7. Most of New England is a region of a) winds, mountains, and frequent rains; b) moist climate conditions and level land; с) poor soil, long winters, and hilly land; d) short growing seasons and rich soil. 9. Farmers of the Midwest have suffered setbacks recently due to a) land shortages; c) falling income; b) soil erosion; d) outdated equipment. 10. The nation's industrialized heartland consists of the urban areas of the Midwest and the a) Northeast; c) Gulf Coast; b) Pacific Coast; d) South. 11. Many factories have moved to the South in recent years because a) lumber for building is plentiful there; b) its taxes, cost of land, and other expenses are low; с. the steel industry is centered in the region; d. foreign automakers have located there. 12. Continuing the South's oldest major industry, factories in Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas produce a variety of a. dyes and chemicals. c. canned fruit and vegetables. b. cooking oils. d. textiles and clothing. American Quilt
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Елена Сергеевна Эмирзиади A PANARAMIC VIEW OF NORTH AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY Учебное пособие Лицензия ЛР № 020525 от 02.06.2003. Редактор д-р. социол. н. Н.П. Романова Технический редактор В.А. Макаров Сдано в производство 01.11.08 Форм. бум. 60 х 84 1/16 Бум. тип. № 2 Печать офсетная. Гарнитура литературная Уч.-изд. л. 6,0 Усл. печ. л. 5,9 Тираж 100 экз. Заказ № Читинский государственный университет 672039, Чита, ул. Александро – Заводская, 30 РИК ЧитГУ жүктеу/скачать 1.4 Mb. Достарыңызбен бөлісу:
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