The motto of the lesson:

America, America!God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea.The Americans love their country, not,Indeed, as it is, but as it will be.

KEY FACTS:Area:

Population: Capital city: Official language:

Largest cities:

Longest rivers:

Highest mountain:

Almost 9,400,000 sq.kmOver 280,000,000 Washington, D.C.EnglishNew York City, Chicago,

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle

Mississippi, Missouri

Mount McKinley

The United States of America is situated on the North American continent between Canada and Mexico. The USA is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the West and the Atlantic Ocean in the East . It consists of 3 separate parts: the Hawaiian Islands, Alaska and the major part of the USA. There are 50 states and the district of Columbia.

The main part of the USA consists of several physical divisions, including highland and lowland regions. Major highlands are the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains.

The Mississippi River together with the Missouri form the longest river in the world (7,300 km)

The Northern part of the US embraces the region of the five Great Lakes, which are connected by natural channels cut by rapids.

The greatest of these rapids is the Niagara Falls

The people of the USA are a mixture of many different nationalities. The United States is often called a big melting pot.

The US flag is called The Stars and Stripes. It is also called the “Old Glory”. It consists of 50 white stars on the blue ground, which represent the number of states of the country nowadays and 13 red and white stripes that represent the number of the states which proclaimed the independence.

WASHINGTON IS THE CAPITAL OF THE US. It was founded in 1791. It was named after the first president of the country. The District of Columbia is the territory of the city Washington. Washington lies on the Potomac river which divides it into two parts. Its population is about 900,000 people.

Washington is a one industry city. That industry is government. The Capitol is the place where Congress sits. It is located in the very centre of the city, on Capitol Hill. The Capitol is the highest building in Washington.

THE WHITE HOUSE IN WASHINGTON It is the residence of the president of the

United States. The White House was built in 1799. It is a two-storied, white building. Here the president lives and works.

THE WASHINGTON Monument, built in the memory of the first president of the country, is situated not far from the Capitol. It looks like a big pencil (160 metres high). A special lift brings visitors to the top in 70 seconds.

New York is one of the largest cities in the world. It’s the financial capital of the country and the large sea-port. The New York City is situated in the New York state.

The population is over 16 mln people.

It is informally called “The Big Apple”.

The city is situated in the mouth of the Hudson River.

Liberty Island is situated in New York Harbour.

The Statue Of Liberty is the first thing people see when they arrive in New York by the sea. It is the symbol of American democracy.`

CHICAGO Chicago is also a

huge city. It is a very important industrial district. The city is located near the lake Michigan. Its population is about 8 mln people.

The peculiarity of its architecture is a lot of skyscrapers in the business part of Chicago. The Sears Building is the highest one in the USA (443 m)

Seattle is also one of the biggest cities in the United States. It is an industrial city.

San Francisco is the capital of the state California and its main port. Americans call it “the Western Coast Pearl”. There are a large number of the bridges there and the most famous among them is the Golden Gate Bridge

LOS ANGELESThe territory of the city is about 10,000 sq. km.

More than 4 mln people live there. It is well known as a fashionable health resort and as the entertainment capital of the world.

THE FORMER SUBURB OF LOS ANGELESIt is known as a place where a large number of

movie studios are located.

The largest park in the USA covers an area of 3,472 sq.km. Yellowstone is a world in itself. It was born of volcanic fire. It has high mountains and cliffs, waterfalls, hot

springsand the greatest concentration of geysers (not less than 10,000).This park is located mostly in Wyoming and also covers small

parts of Montana and Idaho. It was established in 1872.

This canyon belongs to seven Nature’s Greatest Wonders. IT is

quite unusual in colour and architecture. The Grand Canyon is a fantasy of stones and cliffs. It is formed by the Colorado River. It

flows across the plateau carving a deep gorge.