Stratford-on- Avon

April 23^rd is Shakespeare’ s birthday and is also the day he died. Both events happened in STRATFORD-on-AVON, a small town in the centre of England. The first place visitors go to is Shakespeare's birthplace, a small house with small rooms in the centre of the town. Then the visitors can have a look at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, a big modern building. They say it’s the best stage in England.

Practice: Which place(s) have you chosen to visit? What are your reasons? What would you like to visit and see there?

Help:

Ancient – старовинний

Population – населення

Convenience – зручність

Valley – долина

Boast – хвастати

5.2. Reading: get some information from the text about the United States of America.

Text C: The USA – the COUNTRY of DIVERSITY

Capital: Washington, D.C.

Form of government: Republic.

Physical features: The longest river – Missouri; the largest lake – Michigan; the largest island – Hawaii.

Flag: Adopted on June 14, 1777.

Motto: In God We Trust.

National anthem: “The Star-spangled Banner.”

Bird: Bald Eagle.

Flower: Rose.

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

The United States of America, the USA in short, is the third largest country in the world in population, and it is the fourth largest country in area.

The USA is a federal state. It includes 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Congress is the highest legislative body in the country. It consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. President is the head of the state and the Government.

The United States is the greatest industrial nation in the world. Its mineral and agricultural resources are tremendous. It's the world's largest producer of electrical and nuclear energy.

The USA is a country of great differences. The country is blessed with a wealth of natural beauty. A traveller from almost any part of the world will find in the USA an area that can match anything he will meet at home. To imagine it well, read some lines about its rivers.

The Mississippi is one of the world’s great rivers (6,400 kilometers); it was known to American Indians as the “father of waters.” Other important rivers are the Yukon in Alaska, the Rio Grande, the Columbia, which rises in western Canada and continues in the United States for about 1,900 kilometers west of the Rocky Mountains; and the Colorado, which begins in the Rocky Mountains. For 342 of its kilometers the Colorado flows through the magnificent Grand Canyon, carved through the ages by the river's waters. Other well-known rivers include the Hudson, which meets the Atlantic Ocean at New York City; the Potomac, bordering the national capital at Washington; and the Ohio, which flows west from the Appalachian Mountains to meet the Mississippi.

One can speak much about the USA, a new state on the map of the world. More than two-hundred history of it is rich in excitement and drama: the transformation of an untamed land into a mighty industrial power; the growth of a basically English colony into a complex multiethnic society. There have been moments of triumph and sadness, but throughout there also has been remarkable faithfulness to the democratic ideals proclaimed at the moment of the nation’s birth.

Washington

Washington called after George Washington, the first President of the United States, is the capital of the United States. It is situated on the Potomac River. It is the District of Columbia. This district does not belong to any one state but to all the states. The district is named in honour of Columbus, who discovered America.

Specially planned and built as a national capital, Washington was laid out by French architect in the 18th century. It is not as large as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit or Los Angeles. It has a population of over 900,000 people. Washington is one-industry town. That industry is government. It produces only scrap paper. Every day twenty-five railway cars leave Washington loaded with scrap-paper.

The capital is famous for its historical places. Among the largest and tallest buildings is the Capitol with its great Hall of Representatives and Senate Chamber. There are no sky-scrapers in Washington because no other building must be taller than the Capitol. The White House is the President's residence. All American presidents except George Washington had lived in the White House. It was built in 1799. In 1814, during the war with England, the White House was burnt down. After the war the remains of the building were whitewashed. Since that time the residence of the American presidents has been always painted white.

A city of great beauty and a center of world affairs, it is also a leading cultural centre.

5.3. Conversational Topic: Speak about your plans to visit one of the English-speaking countries – When? Why? What?

6. Written Task

Use the vocabulary of the texts A, B, C and write an essay “Why does Great Britain / or the USA attract tourists?”

Follow the structure of any writing in the English language, it consists of three steps:

Introduction: the purpose and content of our writing is presented in two-three sentences.

Main body: two or more paragraphs will cover the topic. Each of them presents a separate viewpoint supported by reasons / examples. Ideas should be united with the help of linking words as: to begin with / to start with; personally, I think, to tell you the truth / frankly speaking, as a matter of fact, this would mean that, instead of, inspite of / despite, however, besides, what is more, in this way, although, such as, for example, in conclusion, so that, on condition that, finally, all things considered, etc. Avoid a ‘good-bad’ syndrom but use a variety of other adjectives and adverbs to make your writing attractive both to you and a reader.

Conclusion: we summarise our opinion using different words, either we can give our personal comments and recommendations.

Checklist: before handing in your piece of writing, check the content (interesting / well developed?), the organization (paragraphs and sentences well-linked together?); accuracy (if there are any errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc) and a range of vocabulary and grammar.

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Test Four

TEST FOUR

Дата добавления: 2015-10-23