The United States of America

Урок № 19

Тема урока «Известные деятели культуры и науки Великобритании»

Задание 1. Прочитайте устно тексты и сделайте письменно тест.

Charles Darwin was born in the beginning of the 19th century. He was a great biologist. He created a new theory of evolution. Once there were only simple organisms living in the seas, hundreds millions of years they have developed to produce all the different kind animals and plants we knew today.

Margaret Thatcher was the longest Prime Minister of the 20th century. Margaret Thatcher began her career in politics, when she became a Conservative Member of Parliament. In 1979 she was elected as Britain's first woman Prime Minister. From the start, her autocratic style earned her the nickname of "The Iron Lady". Margaret Thatcher was re-elected Prime Minister in the general elections of 1983 and 1987. In this year Margaret Thatcher celebrated her 85 birthday.

Horatio Nelson entered the Royal Naval College in January 1771 at the age of twelve. Nelson's bravery as a naval commander was never doubted by his contemporaries. He always led his men by his own example. He first made his name at the battle of St. Vincent in February 1797. Admiral Nelson is Britain's national hero. A tall column crowned with his statue stands in Trafalgar Square in London, in memory of this great man.

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in London, England, on April 1889. Chaplin didn’t t have a very happy childhood. When his mother got ill, Chaplin and his brother went to the workhouse, which was the place for orphans. He started his career as an actor when he was nine. When he was twenty-one, he joined a traveling music-hall company. Soon after he went to America and became the famous star, Charlie Chaplin. The actor died in 1977 but we still remember his «Little Tramp», a funny little man in baggy trousers and a small bowler hat.

The Queen was born in London on 21 April 1926. She is the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, subsequently King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Five weeks later she was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in the chapel at Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne in 1952 and is Head of State, though this is a rather symbolic role.

William Caxton is the first English printer. He was born in Kent in 1422. His father was a farmer. William did not want to become a farmer like his father. So his father sent him to London. He worked in an office which traded with different countries. William liked to read new books which were printed in Europe.

When William Caxton was thirty, after his master’s death he started his own business in Belgium. In 1471 he left his business and began to translate French books into English. He became interested in printing and at last he learnt it. William wanted to have his own press one day and he did.

In 1476 he brought his printing – press to London. Printing was something new at that time and most people thought that it was the work of the devil. Some of the people wanted to break his press. Caxton printed his first book in 1477. It was the first book printed in the English language. The book was Caxton’s translation of the French “Tales of Troy”.

William Caxton printed about eighty books. He translated thirty-one books from French. Caxton died in 1491.

Задание 1. Test № 1

Answers the questions of teacher «Famous People. Who are they?»

1. The USA. He was a film actor. He had a funny way of working.

a) Charlie Chaplin

b) Queen Elizabeth II

2. She was born in 1891. She wrote the 75 detective stories. She died in 1976. She was known as the Queen of Crime.

a) Agatha Christie

b) Horatio Nelson

3. A well known British Politician. She was the first woman Prime Minister of Britain. She was called “An Iron Lady”.

a) Margaret Thatcher

b) Queen Elizabeth II

4. A great English scientist. He studied many different kinds of plants and animals. He built up his own theory of evolution.

a) Charles Darwin

b) Horatio Nelson

5. He was a British flag officer famous for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars, most notably in the Battle of Trafalgar, during which he lost his life. His monument stands in the centre of Trafalgar Square.

a) Horatio Nelson

b) Agatha Christie

6. She is the Queen of sixteen independent countries and their territories. She holds the crown of each country separately, but she lives in the United Kingdom. She has reigned for 58 years (in 2010).

a) Margaret Thatcher

b) Queen Elizabeth II

Урок № 20

Тема урока «Соединённые Штаты Америки»

Задание 2. Записать в тетрадь и выучить новые слова. Прочитать текст устно. Выполнить тест № 2 письменно.

1) to cover - покрывать

2) a valley - долина

3) to connect - соединять

4) rapids – пороги реки, стремница

5) common – общепринятый, распространенный

6) to set – устанавливать, to set aside - откладывать

7) a seal - печать, the Great Seal – большая государственная печать

8) to represent –представлять, излагать

9) olive branch and arrows –оливковая ветвь и стрелы

10) a desire - желание

11) an ability -способность

12) a war - война, to wage a war – вести войну

13) the Eye of Providence – Глаз провидения

14) an honour - честь

15) to abbreviate - сокращать, an abbreviation – сокращение, аббревиатура

16) to mix up with – смешиваться с, путать с

17) to deal with – иметь дело с

18) wheat - зерно, cattle – крупный рогатый скот

19) to go sightseeing – осматривать достопримечательности

20) carefully –осторожно

21) a reason – причина

22) a desert - пустыня, semidesert – полупустыня

23) similar – подобный, сходный, похожий, to be similar – быть похожим

24) a bachelor’s degree – степень бакалавра

25) an oven печь

26) a tribe - племя

Текст

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world in area. It covers a large territory of about 9,400,000 sq km in the central and southern part of North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It also includes Alaska in the northwestern part of North America and Hawaii far out in the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America borders Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. The United States is often called the US, the USA or America.

One can’t describe the country without mentioning its surface. The USA can be divided into three main regions: the Appalachians in the east, the plain in the central part, the Cordilleras including the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada and the dry Californian Valley between them in the west. Many rivers are flowing through the country, such as the swiftest Columbia and Colorado, the longest Mississippi with its main tributaries the Missouri and the Ohio. The northeastern part of the USA comprises the region of the five Great Lakes (Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario) connected by natural channels which are cut by rapids (the greatest one — the Niagara Falls).

The USA is rich in natural resources. It has vast areas of fertile soil, an abundant water supply and large areas of forests. There are also large deposits of minerals, such as coal, iron ore, natural gas etc.

The United States is the third largest country in the world in population (about 250 million people). About 94 per cent of the people were born in the United States. The largest foreign-born groups are Mexicans, Germans, Canadians, Italians, British and Cubans. The US has never had an official language, but English has always been the main language spoken in the country. Emigrants from the British Isles, including the nation’s founders, spoke English. Spanish is the second most common language in the USA.

The US consists of 50 states and the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia is a piece of land set aside by the federal government for the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. The United States has a federal system of government with the President at the head.

The national symbols of the USA include the American flag and the Great Seal. There are 50 stars on the American flag symbolizing 50 states of the USA, and 13 stripes representing 13 original states. On the one side of the Great Seal, there is an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, which are symbolizing a desire for peace and the ability to wage a war. On the reverse side, there is the Eye of Providence, representing God, and a pyramid dated 1776.

Тест № 2

1) The USA is the third largest country in the world in…

A) area

B) natural resources

C) population

D) coal

2) It also includes... in the northwestern part of North America.

A) Alaska

B) California

C) Hawaii

D) Nevada

3) The Rocky Mountains are in the....