Учебное пособие для студентов 3 курса специальности 032301. 65 Регионоведение Чита 2008 (075)
жүктеу/скачать 1.4 Mb.
|
- Бұл бет үшін навигация:
- Vocabulary
- the Continental Divide navigable Comprehension Check
- Exercise II. Develop the following points using information and the vocabulary of the text.
- Vocabulary Study
- Exercise II. Find in the text the English words and phrases corresponding to the Russian equivalents
- Exercise III. Supply the words or word combinations from the text which correspond to the following
- Exercise IV. Guess what is meant by the following definitions
- Exercise V. Circle the best answer to complete each statement.
- Exercise VI. Write the best of the phrase from column B on the line before the term it identifies in column A. A B
- Exercise VII. Crossword. Here you should guess all the geographical terms given in the text. Vertical
| carved out for their paths. The rivers of the United States belong to the Atlantic and the Pacific basins.
The chief drainage system of the country is the Mississippi River System. The Mississippi is one of the world's great continental rivers, like the Amazon in South America, the Congo in Africa, the Volga in Europe, or the Ganges and Amur in Asia. Its waters are gathered from two-thirds of the United States and, together with the Missouri (its chief western branch), the Mississippi flows some 6,400 kilometers from its northern sources in the Rocky Mountains to its outlet in the Gulf of Mexico, which makes it one of the world's longest waterways. It is a swift and wide river, and navigable almost throughout its entire length. The Mississippi has been called the "father of waters". Curving through the heart of the whole western half of the Central Basin is the Missouri River, the principal western branch of the Mississippi. In the past it was the most destructive river in the United States. When the first explorers reached this river, they were amazed by the mighty stream of dirty water pouring down from the west. Before the Missouri reaches the Central Basin, it runs for 1,600 kilometers through a region where there are long droughts and sudden, extremely heavy rains. The Missouri is really two rivers: one of water, and one of small bits of soil washed off the land. The people who live along the Missouri's banks say that it is "too thin to plough and too thick to drink". A devastating-flood in 1951 killed 41 people, left more than 200,000 homeless, put more than 800,000 hectares of farmland under water. Where the Missouri pours into the Mississippi from the west, it colors the river deep brown with small pieces of soil. Other important tributaries of the Mississippi, which rank among the most important rivers of the world, are, besides the Missouri, the Ohio River, the Arkansas River and the Red River. Like the Mississippi, all the rivers east of the Rockies finally reach the Atlantic. All the rivers to the west of the Rockies finally arrive at the Pacific. For this reason the crests of the Rocky Mountains are known as the Continental Divide. The two greatest rivers of the Pacific side are the Colorado in the south, and the Columbia, which rises in Canada and flows to the north. In the dry Western part of the country both rivers, very different in character, are vital sources of life. The Columbia, wild in prehistoric times, cutting and shaping the land, now flows with quiet dignity. But the Colorado is still a river of enormous fury—wild, restless and angry. It is cutting deeply into the desert rocks, forming the Grand Canyon, which strikes one's imagination as a fabulous phenomenon of nature. Its perpendicular walls go up to the hight of over 1,500 meters above river level. In 1939 Hoover Dam was built to tame the red waters of the Colorado and put it to work. All the farms and cities of the southwestern corner of the country depend on its waters. More than 200 meters high, the dam produces enough electricity to drive the industrial machines and light the houses of all southern California. It irrigates 300,000 hectares of dry land and prevents the raging floods that formerly threatened property and human life each spring. It attracts thousands and thousands of tourists from all over the world. The Colorado and Columbia Rivers are navigable only in their lower reaches, they have great value as sources of water power. The Rio Grande, about 3,200 kilometres long, is the most important river of the Southwest. It forms a natural boundary between Mexico and the United States, which together have built irrigation and flood control projects of mutual benefit. The Yukon River rises in the Canadian Rockies, but in its lower course it flows westward across Alaska to its mouth in Bering Sea. Many short rivers that rise east of the Appalachian Mountains — the Delaware, the Potomac, the Hudson — flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The United States has thousands of lakes of all kinds and sizes. The Great Lakes make up the largest group of lakes in the country, as well as the greatest collection of fresh-water lakes in the world. The total area of the Great Lakes (over 245,000 square kilometres) is equal to that of Great Britain and forms a vast "inland fresh-water sea". Only Lake Michigan lies entirely inside the United States. The other four lakes, Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario, form a border between north-eastern United States and Canada. They stretch nearly half the distance across the country. The lakes are interconnected by short rivers and channels. Through the St. Lawrence River (on the Canadian side) and the Hudson River the Great Lakes are connected with the Atlantic Ocean. Between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, on the Niagara River, which links the two lakes, are the powerful Niagara Falls, precipitating from the hight of almost 50 metres. Another group of lakes is to the west of the Rocky Mountains. Some of these lakes are high in the mountains, in the crater pits of inactive volcanoes. Others spread out as shallow sheets of salty water across the western desert plains. The most famous of these salty lakes are the Great Salt Lake, in Utah, and the Salton Sea, which lies some 80 metres below sea level in Southern California. The Great Salt Lake contains six thousand million tons of salt. Other lakes hold millions of tons of soda. The lakes often change size and shape with the rainfall and sometimes dry up completely in hot weather. The following region of numerous lakes lies along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic shore. There are hundreds of small lakes and lagoons in dark coastal swamps or behind sandy coastal dunes. These coastal lakes were formed when the ocean floor gradually rose out of the sea to become the coastal plain. Vocabulary lagoon tributary reach dune branch to tame swamp source to curve through stream mouth to precipitate a fresh-water lake swift to carve out mutual benefit crest drainage system the Continental Divide navigable Comprehension Check Exercise I. Scan the text for answers to the following questions.
Exercise II. Develop the following points using information and the vocabulary of the text.
a) the Colorado and Columbia Rivers; b) the Great Lakes. Vocabulary Study Exercise I. Look up the following words in an English – English dictionary and write out the principal meanings: 1) tame v; 2) benefit n; 3) precipitate v; 4) tributary n; 5) divide n; 6) curve v; 7) carve v; 8) lagoon n; 9) crest n. Exercise II. Find in the text the English words and phrases corresponding to the Russian equivalents: 1) низвергать с высоты; 2) судоходный по всей длине; 3) изгибаться; 4) быстрое течение; 5) маленькие ручьи и могучие реки; 6) усмирять бурные воды; 7) континентальный водораздел; 8) гребни гор; 9) устье и притоки рек; 10) “внутреннее пресное море”; 11) прибрежные болота, песчаные дюны; 12) взаимовыгодные проекты по контролю за наводнениями и орошению; 13) поражать воображение. Exercise III. Supply the words or word combinations from the text which correspond to the following: 1) a watershed; 2) to domesticate, to discipline; 3) something that aids or promotes well-being; 4) to fall vertically, sharply, or headlong; 5) able to be sailed on or through safely; 6) to bend without angles; 7) the top of a mountain, ridge; 8) a branch that flows into the main stream; 9) moving or capable of moving with great speed, fast; 10) to make or get by or as if cutting; 11) a system of watercourses or drains for carrying off excess water. Exercise IV. Guess what is meant by the following definitions:
Exercise V. Circle the best answer to complete each statement. 1. A body of water partly enclosed by land but having an opening to the sea is called a a) lake; b) current; c) bay ; d) strait. 2. A point of land that reaches out into the sea is a a) cape; b) strait; c) glacier; d) plateau. 3. The narrow strip of land that connects the continents of North and South America is a) a peninsula; b) a strait; c) an isthmus; d) island chain. 4. The moving sections of Earth's crust are known as a) ocean ridges; b) tectonic plates; c) groundwater; d) faults. 5. Folding, faulting, and volcanic action are the main forces that create a) islands; b) seas; c) mountains; d) continents. 6. An earthquake on the ocean floor can cause a huge, destructive wave called a a) rift; b) tsunami; c) ridge; d) trench. Exercise VI. Write the best of the phrase from column B on the line before the term it identifies in column A. A B __ 1) saltwater areas a) stripping away of Earth's surface __ 2) freshwater areas b) wind-deposited silt __ 3) plain c) oceans, seas, gulfs, bays __ 4) archipelago d) built-up silt deposits at a river's mouth __ 5) continent e) rivers, lakes, streams, groundwater __ 6) lava f) chain of islands __ 7) erosion g) melted rock that reaches Earth's surface when a volcano erupts __ 8) delta h) one of Earth's seven largest landmasses __ 9) loess i) large area with level or rolling land Exercise VII. Crossword. Here you should guess all the geographical terms given in the text. Vertical: 1. The Gulf which is an arm of the Atlantic south of the United States and east of Mexico. 2. The river that has been called the “father of waters”. 5. A vast prairie region extending from Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada south through the west central United States into Texas; formerly inhabited by Native Americans. 7. A mountain range in the eastern United States extending from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico; a historic barrier to early westward expansion of the United States. 11. A peninsula of the USA that juts out from the landmass like a finger. 14. The northeastern part of Alaska is washed by this ocean. 15. The West is occupied by this mountain system. 16. A mountain range in eastern California; a region of large gold deposits. 17. The longest river in the United States; arises in Montana and flows southeastward to become a tributary of the Mississippi at Saint Louis. 20. This lake contains 6 000 million tons of salt. Horizontal: 3. A desert area in eastern California and southern Nevada; the lowest point in North America. 4. The only lake that lies entirely inside the United States. 6. New England region is washed by this ocean. 8. Hawaii lies in this ocean. 9. The crests of these mountains are known as the Continental Divide. 10. Hoover Dam was built to tame the red waters of this river. 12. The eastern slopes of the Appalachians merge with this Plain. 13. The subdivision of the Cordilleras. 17. Another name for the Coast Ranges; 18. North American river; rises in southwestern Canada and flows southward across Washington to form the border between Washington and Oregon before emptying into the Pacific; known for its salmon runs in the spring. 19. The strait which connects Russia and Alaska. 21. The lake which forms a border between northeastern United States and Canada. 22. The 49th state of the United States. 23. A string of mountain ranges along the Pacific coast of North America from southeastern Alaska to Lower California. 24. A state in the United States in the central Pacific.
жүктеу/скачать 1.4 Mb. Достарыңызбен бөлісу:
|