US test 2

1. The USA is washed by the _____ Ocean in the west.

a) Atlantic b) Pacific c) Arctic

2. In size the USA is fourth among the nations after _____, _____, _____.

a) Russia, Canada, China b) Brazil, Canada, Russia

c) China, Canada, Mexico

3. The _____ area, which is mountainous and includes the Cordilleras and the Rocky Mountains.

a) eastern b) western c) central

4. The _____ area is a highland with the Appalachian Mountains.

a) eastern b) western c) central

5. The five Great Lakes are connected by canals and cut by _____.

a) bridges b) rapids c) hydroelectric stations

6. The _____ river joins the water of the five lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

a) Missouri b) Hudson c) St. Lawrence

7. The south has a _____ climate.

a) tropical b) subtropical c) moderate

8. The USA is situated in the _____ part of the North American continent.

a) northern b) central c) southern

9. The Appalachian Mountains run parallel to the _____ and the Cordilleras stretches along the _____.

a) Atlantic Ocean b) Gulf of Alaska c) Arctic Ocean

10. The largest river in the USA is the _____ which flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

a) Columbia b) Mississippi c) Colorado

1. US ECONOMY

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. By the post-World War II era, the United States was producing 50 per cent of the ''gross world product''. The country endured a global depression in the first half of the 20^th century. By 1900, according to several criteria, the US had become the greatest nation, and its citizens enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world.

America remains the world leader in many areas. Among these are, for example, biochemical and genetic engineering, aerospace research and development, communications, computer and information services, and similar high-technology fields. Many countries now have their own silicon valleys, but the first and biggest computer research and production area is still Silicon Valley, near San Francisco, where some 4000 high-tech firms are located. The most important industries are aircraft, textiles, automobile, shipbuilding, computers, radio, and television sets, furniture and paper. American agriculture is highly mechanized and the USA produces and exports food products. The US produces around 25 percent of the world's industrial products, agricultural goods and services.

The United States owes its high level of economic development mainly to its great mineral resources: natural gas, copper, oil, coal, lead, phosphates, uranium, molybdenum, gold, iron, bauxite, nickel, silver, potash, mercury, tungsten, zinc. It has been able to use them for a long time without wars. No one of the world wars of the 20th century took place on its territory. The US monopolies only became richer from the world wars.

America's share of the world's land that can be used for farming is less than 8 per cent and only a tiny proportion of America's total population (less than two per cent) is involved in agriculture. America not only feeds her own people – one of the few industrialized countries that does so – but a great many other people in the world as well.

The United States entered the 21^st century with an economy that was bigger, and by many measures more successful than ever.

The main cities. Washington is a beautiful administrative city without much industry. The city's economy is mainly based on tourism. New York is the largest city and port. With its suburbs, it has a population of about 18 million people. It is the financial and business centre of the capitalist world. It is famous for its skyscrapers. Boston, one of the first towns founded on the Atlantic coast of America, is historically famous for the Boston Tea Party, which later developed into the war for independence. It is now an important port and a financial and cultural centre. It has three universities. Chicago is one of the biggest industrial cities in the USA and the second largest after New York. Philadelphia, near the east coast, produces agricultural machines and locomotives. Light industry is highly developed there. Philadelphia is an important cultural centre with many fine buildings and a university. Detroit, in the Great Lakes region, is a port and one of the biggest centres of the automobile industry. San Francisco, on the Pacific Coast, is a big port and shipbuilding centre. Of great interest are its nine bridges over the Golden Gate Channel between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. Los Angeles, in California, is an important centre of modern industries. Not far from it is Hollywood, the world-known centre of the US film business.

1. In what fields of science is America most successful?

2. What are silicon valleys?

3. Where is American Silicon Valley situated?

4. What are the US main cities?