1. How many states are there in the United States?

2. How many stars and stripes are there in the U.S. flag?

3. What does the US national flag represent?

4. What is the population of the United States?

5. Who was the fist president of America?

6. What is the United States capital?

7. What are the major cities of the United States?

8. Can you name famous American scientists?

7.3. Give some interesting facts you know which characterise the USA.

The United Kingdom

7.4.Listen to the text and get ready to answer the questions about the UK geographical position and history:

The United Kingdom is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It has a long history as a major player in international affairs and fulfils an important role in the EU, UN and NATO. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain, is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe.

The United Kingdom is a unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with three devolved national administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively.

Education is mandatory from ages five to sixteen (15 if born in late July or August). The majority of children are educated in state-sector schools, only a small proportion of which select on the grounds of academic ability. Despite a fall in actual numbers, the proportion of children in England attending private schools has risen to over 7%. Just over half of students at the leading universities of Cambridge and Oxford had attended state schools. State schools which are allowed to select pupils according to intelligence and academic ability can achieve comparable results to the most selective private schools.

England has some of the top universities in the world; University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and University of London are ranked among the top 20 in the 2007 THES - QS World University Rankings. There are fears, however, that a decline in the number of English students studying a foreign language will have a negative effect on business, which has led to calls for languages to be given greater priority.

Two non-departmental public bodies have key roles in Scottish education: the Scottish Qualifications Authority is responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications other than degrees which are delivered at secondary schools, post-secondary colleges of further education and other centres; and Learning and Teaching Scotland provides advice, resources and staff development to the education community to promote curriculum development and create a culture of innovation, ambition and excellence. The proportion of children in Scotland attending private schools is just over 4%, although it has been rising slowly in recent years.

Education in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Minister for Education, currently Caitríona Ruane (Sinn Féin), although responsibility at a local level is administered by five Education and Library Boards, covering different geographical areas.

The National Assembly for Wales has responsibility for education in Wales. A significant number of Welsh students are taught either wholly or largely in the Welsh language; lessons in Welsh are compulsory for all until the age of 16. There are plans to increase the provision of Welsh Medium schools as part of the policy of having a fully bi-lingual Wales.The Programme for International Student Assessment ranked the UK 14th in science, which was higher than the OECD average

Notable civil engineering projects, whose pioneers included Isambard Kingdom Brunel, contributed to the world's first national railway transport system. Other advances pioneered in the UK include the marine chronometer, the jet engine, the modern bicycle, electric lighting, the electric motor, the screw propeller, the internal combustion engine, military radar, the electronic computer, vaccination and antibiotics.Scientific journals produced in the UK include Nature, the British Medical Journal and The Lancet. In 2006, it was reported that the UK provided 9% of the world's scientific research papers and a 12% share of citations, the second highest in the world after the US

7.5. After listening the text the UK answer the questions:

How many countries are there in Great Britain?

How many countries are in the UK?

Why do you think that there are so many English - speaking countries in the world?

How did the English language travel so far?

7.6. After you have listened the text about The United Kingdom fill in the facts about this country using the information from the text.

Full name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Geography:

Population: 60.7 million (UN, 2007)

Capital: …

Major language: …

Area: 242,514 sq km (93,638 sq miles)

Head of state:…

Major religion: Christianity

Famous writers:

Life expectancy: 77 years (men), 82 years (women)

Monetary unit: 1 pound sterling = 100 pence

Internet domain: …

International dialling code: +44

7.7. Answer the following questions:

Can you name any members of the British royal family?

Can you name any of Queen Elizabeth’s children or grandchildren?

What does the term “constitutional monarchy” mean?

Which other countries still have a monarchy?

Do you think there is any place for kings and queens in the 21^st century ?

7.8. Make up a presentation about your own country.

Write a list of facts about your country in the same way as it’s written about the UK in Ex.7.6. You should write about 350 words.

7.9. Compare the systems of higher education in GB and in Russia. Comment on the differences.