Unit 1 Part 1. Economy and Industry of Ukraine

1. Read the following words:

industrial, metallurgy, chemical, mineral resources, iron, thermal power stations, reserves, extraction, Crimean region, Sub Carpathian region, mining equipment, machinery, producer, agricultural.

2. Read and translate the text.

Ukraine is an industrial and agricultural country. Most of the gross national product comes from metallurgy, chemical industry, machine building and food industry.

Ukraine has extremely rich mineral resources in high concentrations and close to each other. Rich, iron ore reserves located near Kryvy Rih, Kremenchuk, Bilozerka, Mariupol, and Kerch form the basis of Ukraine's large iron and steel industry. One of the richest areas of manganese-bearing ores in the world is located near Nikopol. Bituminous and anthracite coal used for coke are mined in the Donetsk Coal Basin (commonly called Donbas). Energy for thermal power stations is obtained using the large reserves of brown coal in the Dnipro basin (north of Kryvy Rih) and the bituminous coal deposits of the Lviv-Volhynian Basin north of Lviv. The 3 major natural-gas and petroleum producing areas in Ukraine are the Sub Carpathian region, the Dnipro-Donets region and the Crimean region.

Ukraine also has important deposits of titanium, bauxite and mercury ores. A large deposit of ozokerite (a natural paraffin wax) is near the city of Boryslav. There are large deposits of potassium salt in Subcarpathia and rock salt in the Donetsk Coal basin. Some phosphorites and natural sulfur are also found in Ukraine.

In many places of the country there are health spas famous for their mineral springs, and in addition, spas near the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov specialize in mud baths.

Ukraine is a highly industrialized country. The industrial heartland of the country is the Donetsk Coal Basin. It is the most densely populated and highly industrialized region of the country and one of the world's major metallurgical and heavy industry complexes. The basin has large iron and steelworks, and plants that produce mining equipment, other types of heavy machinery and a variety of Chemicals.

Ukraine has a major ferrous-metals industry, and it rivals China as the fourth largest steel producer in the world. Another important branch of the economy is mining. Its main products are coal, natural gas and iron ore. The most prominent manufactured goods include metallurgical equipment, diesel locomotives, tractors and TV sets. Ukraine also has well-developed chemical and food industries. There are more than 50 plants which produce a wide range of agricultural equipment. Machine-tool and instrument-manufacturing industries are also being developed. The growing importance of consumer goods is reflected in the increasing output of cameras, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. Some of the principal products of light industry are textiles, ready-made clothes and shoes.

The chernozem (black) soils of the forest-steppe zone are among the world's more productive farmlands and are exceptionally good for wheat and sugar beet. Besides wheat, Ukraine produces such grains as barley (mostly for animal feed), buckwheat and rice. Other crops include potatoes, vegetables, melons, berries, fruit, nuts and grapes. Ukraine's most important industrial crop, sugar beet, is concentrated in the forest-steppe zone.

Cattle and pigs are raised throughout Ukraine, while chicken, geese and turkey are kept for meat and egg production. There are many large-scale broiler and egg-laying farms close to big cities. Bees are kept in all parts of Ukraine for honey and wax.

The main fishing grounds are the Black Sea estuaries and the Sea of Azov, though the latter is heavily polluted by chemical fertilizers and pesticides. All the main rivers are full offish but they suffer from pollution, too.