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КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА #2 анг

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КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА № 2

по дисциплине «Иностранный язык английский (основной)»

(весенний семестр) для студентов ИЗО всех специальностей

F1: Иностранный язык АНГЛИЙСКИЙ

F2:ВУЗ, Анохина С.П., Бутахина Л.А. Филиппова А.В.

F3: Зачетная контрольная работа по английскому языку (основной) весенний семестр для студентов всех специальностей

TEXT 1. THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Секция 1

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth’s surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south, Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a sea-border with the USA. There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.

There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe’s biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers - the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena- flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean. Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world’s deepest lake (1,600 meters) is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.

Russia has one-sixth of the world’s forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East. On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental. Russia is very rich in oil, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.

Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of State is the President. The legislative powers are exercised by the Duma. The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial center. It is one of the oldest Russian cities. At present, the political and economic situation in the country is rather complicated. There are a lot of problems in the national economy of the Russian Federation. The industrial production is decreasing. The prices are constantly rising; the rate of inflation is very high.

TEXT 2. THE USA

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada and China). It occupies the southern part of North America and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the country is about nine and a half million square kilometers. The USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. It also has a sea-boarder with Russia. The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The population of the country is about 250 million.

If we look at the map of the USA, we can see lowlands and mountains. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, the Cordillera and the Sierra Nevada. The highest pick is Mount Mc-Kinley in Alaska. America’s largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the largest and deepest in the USA. The climate of the country varies greatly. The coldest regions are in the north. The climate of Alaska is arctic. The climate of the central part is continental. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often bring typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast.

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It is the world’s leading producer of copper and oil and the world’s second producer of iron ore and coal. Among the most important manufacturing industries are aircraft, cars, textiles, radio and television sets, furniture and paper. Though mainly European and African in origin, Americans are made from nearly all races and nations, including Chinese and native Americans. The largest cities are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San-Francisco , Washington and others.

The United States is a federal union of 50 states, each of which has its own government. The seat of the central (federal) government is Washington DC. According to the US Constitution the powers of the government are divided into 3 branches: the executive, headed by the President, the legislative, exercised by the Congress, and the judicial. The Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and the Democratic.

TEXT 3. AUSTRALIA.

What will you find if you go to Australia ? It will seem to you rather an upside-down world. New Year is at midsummer, midwinter is in June. Hot winds blow from the north; cold winds blow from the south. The farther north we go, the hotter it gets. The trees look strange; it will seem odd to you that they never lose their leaves, and you will miss the bare branches in winter. Australia is a land of strange birds and beasts such as the kangaroo, koala, echidna, dingo.

What about the climate ? Australians boast that they can sleep out-of-doors all the year round. The sun shines in winter and in summer. Snow and ice are rare, except in the high mountains. There is not much rain, and drought is a constant anxiety. In bad times, and in the driest parts, many animals may die for want of water.

Australia was discovered by the Dutch in 1606, but the continent was not settled till captain Cook discovered the east coast in 1770. When settlement of Australia began in 1778 the continent was inhabited by about 300.000 people, who are now called aborigines. These people generally had black, wavy hair and brown skin. They kept no animals except the dingo and used weapons made of wood and stone. They had no permanent homes but moved about hunting and gathering food.

Diseases brought by settlers caused deaths among the aborigines. Now there are only about 60, 000 of them left. Some of them live on mission stations where they are housed and fed. Others are employed as stockmen on the ranches of northern Australia. Many of them still live a difficult life in the desert region. The first white settlers were convicts, soldiers, and a few free men from England. In the early years people depended upon farming and sheep raising for a living. Merino sheep were brought to Australia from Africa in 1797. This breed, raised for its highquality wool, now makes up about 80 per cent of Australia’s sheep.

Not until the discovery of gold in the 1850’s was there migration to Australia. Some of the gold seekers who were unsuccessful turned to cattle or sheep raising or to farming. Others began exploring elsewhere in Australia for minerals. Before World War II more than 95 per cent of the population was of English descent; since then, however, people from other nations have moved to Australia in growing numbers.

TEXT 4. THE UK.

Britain, Great Britain, the United Kingdom (UK for short), England, the British Isles – these different names are sometimes used to mean the same thing, and they are frequently used wrongly. In theory, there is a difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The UK is the name of the political unit which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The name used at the United Nations is the “United Kingdom “; in full, this is “ The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. “

Great Britain is the name of the land mass which includes England, Scotland and Wales. In practice, the expression Great Britain is often used to refer to the political unit, so that it can mean exactly the same as the UK. The British Isles is the geographical name for Britain, Ireland, and all the islands round about.

Foreigners usually call all British people “ English “ but the Scots, the Irish and the Welsh do not like to be called English and do not consider themselves to be English. The English are Anglo-Saxon in origin, but the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish are not. They are Celts, descendants of the ancient people, who crossed over from Europe to the British Isles centuries before the Roman invasion (the Roman period of British history lasted 465 years). It was these people whom the Germanic Angles and Saxons conquered in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D.

These Germanic conquerors gave England its name “Angle land “. They were conquered in turn by the Norman French in 1066. It was from the union of Norman conquerors and the defeated Anglo-Saxons that the English people and the English language were born. The Danes, or Vikings, who invaded Britain in the ninth century, also stamped their influence on the people and the language.

Since 1066 the blood of many other races has been added to the original English mixture. As the English are such a mixed people, local customs and local pride is still strong in some parts of the country. As in other countries, there are a number of different regional accents in the United Kingdom. Apart from Scottish, Welsh and Irish accents, the north, east, west and south-west of England, as well as London, all have their distinctive accent. It is as difficult to find a typical Englishman as it is to find a typical Briton.

TEXT 5. The Government in Great Britain

The party which wins the most seats in a general election forms the government, and the leader of this party becomes the Prime Minister, the head of the government. Prime Ministers usually take policy decisions with the agreement of their Cabinet. Prime Ministers hold Cabinet meetings at their house at number 10 Downing Street, which is very near to the Houses of Parliament. The power of the Cabinet is, in turn, controlled by Parliament, for no bill which a minister prepares can become law until it is passed by an Act of Parliament.

Bills can be introduced into either House, but all important bills are presented first to the House of Commons. Here they are explained and debated. If they receive a majority votes they go to the House of Lords. The lords only have the power to delay a bill. They can throw it once, but if presented a second time, they must pass it.

Finally the bills are taken to the Queen who always signs them. The Queen is a constitutional monarch, that is to say she governs through Parliament. She acts on the advice of her Prime minister and does not make any major political decisions. The House of Commons is the main law-making body. If a major bill is defeated then the government usually resigns and there is a new election. In any case, election must be held at least every five years.

National newspapers are papers which are sold in all parts of Britain. Nearly all the national newspapers have their head offices in London, but the famous newspaper street, Fleet Street, now houses only two of them, The Daily Express and The Daily Telegraph. The national papers can be divided into two main groups: quality papers and popular papers. Quality papers like The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Observer, The Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph report national and international news very thoroughly. They also publish articles on many general subjects. The popular papers tend to make news sensational and to publish

“ personal “ articles which sometimes shock.

Many big cities have evening newspapers which give the latest news. London has only one, The New Standard. There are magazines and periodicals for almost every profession, sport, hobby or interest. The most important periodicals for the more serious readers are: The Economist, which comments on events of international political or economic interest; New Society, which has long articles on social matters; New Scientist, which reports on scientific matters in language that non-specialists can understand; Punch, a humorous magazine which also has serious articles.