Тест № 1 Выполните тест письменно.

1) The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of …

a) 50 states

b) 70 states

2) The government of the USA act according to the Constitution which was signed by the first thirteen representatives of thirteen original American states in …

a) 1787

b) 2020

3) The Constitution proclaims a federal system of government which keeps both the states and the federal power from ….

a) getting too much power

b) dog

4) The federal power is located in Washington, D.C. It is based on …

a) legislative, executive and juridical branches of power.

b) juridical branches of power.

5) Constitution has been amended twenty six times. The Bill of Rights guarantees individual liberties: freedom of word, religion and so on. Later amendments abolished slavery, granted the vote to women and colour people and allowed citizens to vote at the age …

a) of 18.

b) of 39

Урок № 23

Тема урока «Достопримечательности Вашингтона»

Задание 2. Переведите устно текст и выполните тест. Ответы на тест пришлите преподавателю.

Washington

       Washington, the capital of the United States of America, is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district is a piece of land ten miles square and it does not belong to any separate state but to all the states. The district is named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America. The capital owes much to the first President of the USA -George Washington. It was G. Washington, who chose the place for the District and laid in 1790 the corner-stone of the Capitol, where Congress sits.
       Washington is not the largest city in the USA. It has a population of 900 000 people. Washington is a one-industry town. That industry is government. It does not produce anything except very much scrap paper. Every day 25 railway cars leave Washington loaded with scrap paper.
       Washington has many historical places.

United States Capitol

United States Capitol   The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the United States Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government.   It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The White House

The White House The White House is the official residence of the President of the USA. It is located in Washington. The building consists of 6 floors with different rooms including living space and halls for official receptions.   George Washington was the only American president who didn't live in the White House. When he was the President, the White House did not exist.   The White House was built in 1800. The famous Oval Office where the President of the USA works is located here. Washington Monument   The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington.   He was the first President of the United States (1789–1797). The monument is the world's tallest obelisk, standing 169 m tall. National Air and Space Museum   The National Air and Space Museum is one of the world's most visited museums.   The museum contains the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, the Bell X-1 which broke the sound barrier, and the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer airplane near the entrance. National Gallery of Art   The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C. The Gallery's collection of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, and decorative arts traces the development of Western Art from the Middle Ages to the present.   The collection includes Ginevra de' Benci (the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas). Washington National Cathedral   Washington National Cathedral is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church.   Construction began in 1907, when the foundation stone was laid in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt, and ended 83 years later in the presence of President George H. W. Bush in 1990.

Тест № 2. Выполните тест и пришлите ответы.

1)  Washington, the capital of the United States of America, is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia.

a) True

b) False

2) The district is a piece of land ten miles square and it does not belong to any separate state but to all the states. The district is named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America.

a) False

b) True

3) The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the United States Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government.

a) True

b) False

4) The White House is the official residence of the President of the USA. It is located in Washington. The building consists of 6 floors with different rooms including living space and halls for official receptions.

a) True

b) False

5) The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington.

a) True

b) False

6) The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C.

a) False

b) True

7) Washington National Cathedral is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church.

a) True

b) False

 

Урок № 24

Тема урока «Австралия»

Задание 3. Прочитайте тексты, выучите новые слова и выражения к текстам.

Слова к текстам:
to lie — находиться
to be situated — быть расположенным
mainland — материк
Latin — латинский
Commonwealth of Australia — Австралийский Союз
federation — федерация
state — штат
territory — территория
capital — столица
government — правительство
tie — связь
Commonwealth of Nations — Британское Содружество наций
income — доход
standard of living — уровень жизни

Australia-1

       Australia is the only country in the world that is also a continent. It is the sixth largest country and the smallest continent. It lies between the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The name of the country comes from Latin word "australis" which means "southern". The country's official name is Commonwealth of Australia.

       The Commonwealth of Australia is a federation of states. Australia has six states — New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. Each state has its government.

       About 23 million people live in Australia nowadays. The natives of the country are called Aborigines. Now they occupy a very small part of the country’s population due to the former extrusion of the native people in the past.

       The capital of Australia is Canberra. All the government buildings are situated there.
The capital is also the home of many cultural institutions, such as Australian National University, National Gallery, National Museum, Royal Military College, Australian Institute of Sport and many others.

       The largest and the most visited city in Australia is Sydney. With the population of more than 4.6 million people. There is a great number of attractions in Sydney. The most well–known ones are Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral and others.

       The country has some unique species of animals, which can’t be found anywhere else. Among them, koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, flightless emus, wombats and many others. So, the Australian Zoos can be another place of interest for tourists.

The Climate of Australia

       Australian seasons are the antithesis of those in Europe and North America (because Australia is south of the Equator): summer starts in December (ends in February), autumn in March (ends in May), winter in June (ends in August) and spring in September (ends in November).

       Seasonal variations are not extreme and its rare for temperatures to drop below zero on the mainland except in the mountains.

       The country occupies the whole continent, so the climate is different in different regions of the country.

       Darwin, in the far north, is in the monsoon belt, where there are just two seasons: hot and wet, and hot and dry.

       The southern states are popular during the summer months, but the best time to visit is probably the seasons of spring or autumn when the weather in the south is mild. Spring in the outback can be spectacular if rains encourage wildflowers.
Average annual temperatures vary from about 27 °C in the north of the continent to 13 °C in the south. Floods and cyclones are rather common along the coast of the continent.

       Summer (December-February) can get uncomfortably hot just about anywhere, except Tasmania. If you're in the southern states during these months its great beach weather. Up north, this is the wet season, when it's very, very humid and when the sea abounds with box jellyfish.

       From June until August things have cooled down a little and dried up a lot up north. This is a good time to visit Queensland or the outback. If you're here for the skiing, now's the time to head for the snowfields of Victoria and New South Wales. Overall, spring and autumn are probably the safest bets — the weather is reasonably mild wherever you are, and spring brings out the wild-flowers in the outback, while autumn is particularly beautiful in Canberra and in the Victorian Alps.

       Between the arid interior and the well-watered coasts lies a wide belt with average annual precipitation of about 760 mm.

Australia-2

Geographical position

       Australia is the smallest continent between the Indian and Pacific oceans. With the island state of Tasmania to the south, the contitent makes up the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal parliamentary state the total area is 7 686 810 sq.km. Australia’s capital is Canberra. Its largest city is Sydney, closely followed in population by Melbourne. There are five continental states in the nation (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia). The population of Australia is about 15 million people. There are only 40 000 aborigines. The first Europians settled in 1788. There are more about 200 nationalities in Australia.

Wild animals

       Kangaroos live in Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and New Zealand. Their strong legs and feet help them to hop and leap. Kangaroos usually have one young baby. The native birds of Australia are very interesting. The emu is the next tallest bird in the world after the ostrich.

Sydney

       Sydney is Australia’s largest city, chief port and main cultural and industrial center. Its main exports are wool, wheat, flour, sheepskins and meat, the chief imports are petroleum, coal, timber and sugar. The city was founded in 1788 as the first penal settlement of Australia. Its name was taken from a cave named for Captain Cook’s patron Viscount Sydney. Among its museums are the National Gallery of Art and the Australian Museum (natural history). The dramatic, modernistic Sydney Opera House complex was largely designed by Joem Wizen.