Полезные тексты. США. Россия. Австралия.
учебно-методический материал по английскому языку (8 класс) на тему

Russia

I live in Russia. Russia is my native country. The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies 1/7 of the Earth’s surface. It is situated both in Europe and Asia. The total area is about 17 million squarekilometres. The country is washed by 12 seas and 3 oceans: the Pacific,  the Arctic and the Atlantic. Our neighbours in the south are China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan. In the west we border on Norway, Finland, Belarus and Ukraine. There is no other country in the world like Russia with its steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga inthe north, highlands and deserts in the east. There is a great number of rivers in Russia. The Volga, the longest in Europe river, flows into the Caspian sea. The main Siberian rivers – the Ob’ and the Yenissey flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific ocean. The deepest lake in the world is Baikal. The water in the lake is so clear, that you can see the stones on the bottom.

Because of the vast territory there are various types of climate in the country. The climate varies greatly in different regions. In the north it‘s cold and frosty in winter, summers are hot and short. But in central regions it often rains and the weather is cool and warm. At the Black sea coast the climate is subtropical.

Russia is  rich in gas, oil coal, iron ore, nickel and other mineral resources.

Russia is a parliamentary republic with the strong power of the President who is the head of the state. The State Duma and the Council of Federation are the legislative branch of the government.

The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is the largest political,cultural and industrial centre. It is one of the oldest Russian cities.

The national banner of Russia is a tricolor with white, blue and red stripes.

The United States of America

The United States of America is situated in the central part of the North American Continent between the two oceans: the Pacific in the west and the Atlantic in the east.

Canada in the north and Mexico in the south are the only countries that have borders with the USA.

The USA consists of three separate parts: the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific ocean, Alaska and the main part. There are 50 states in the USA. They are very different in size, population and economic development. The smallest state is Rhode Island, the biggest is Texas. The total area of the USA is about 9 million square kilometres. The population is about 230 million people.

The USA is a big country and the climate conditions are very different in different places.

There are many big cities in America. The largest are New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and others.

The USA economically is the most powerful country in the world.

The USA is a parliamentary republic. The government has three branches; the Congress, the Supreme Court and the President.

There are two main political parties in the USA; the Democratic party, their symbol is a donkey; and the Republican party, their symbol is an elephant.

The national banner of the United States has 50 stars and 13 stripes

Australia

Australia is the country in the world that is also a continent. It is the sixth large country and the smallest continent. Australia lies between the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is situated about 11.000 km southwest of North America and about 3.200 km southeast of mainland Asia. 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. Australia has two territories – the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The capital of the country is Canberra.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy like Great Britain. The nation is administered under written constitution. The British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is also queen of Australia and country’s head of state. But the queen has little power in the Australian government. She serves mainly as a symbol of long historical tie between Great Britain and Australia. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations which is an association formed by Britain and some of its former colonies.

Australia is one of the world’s developed countries. Australia has modern factories, highly productive mines and farms, and busy cities. It is the world’s leading producer of wool and bauxite (the one from which aluminium is made). It also produces and exports large amounts of other minerals and farm goods. Income from the export enables Australians to have high standard of living. The most important trading partners of Australia are Japan and the United States.

Questions:

1. Where does  Australia lie?
2. What is the official name of the country?
3. What is the capital of the country?
4. Who is the country’s head of state?
5. Is there a written constitution in Australia?
6. What are the main products of Australia?