Ukraine

Activity 1. Match the following Russian/ Ukrainian words with their English equivalents.

Activity 2. In each line choose one word that does not belong to the group and explain why you think so.

1. sea, river, canal, lake, forest

2. plain, hill, climate, mountain, peak

3. town, city, capital, territory, village

4. TV-set, railway car, tractor, locomotive, industrial robot

5. coal, plant, iron ore, oil, gas

Activity 3. Fill in the missing prepositions from the box in the following sentences below.

1. Ukraine has always been associated … grain and sugar production.
2. Ukraine is a gateway … Asia.
3. The Danube connects Ukraine … 7 European countries.
4. Ukraine lies … the Carpathians and the Black Sea.
5. The executive branch is headed … the president of Ukraine.
6. Speaking … the industry of Ukraine, the two branches should be mentioned as primary in importance.
7. The main part of Ukraine is located………watershed of the Dnieper river.
8. The name …. Ukraine is … Slavic origin which originally meant “borderland”.

Activity 4. Read the text and do the communication activities that follow it.

The name of Ukraine is of Slavic origin which originally meant “borderland”. It is really a borderland of Europe, the gateway to Asia. Ukraine is situated in the south-eastern part of Central Europe, and it borders on other European countries: Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. 68% of the population is urban, and 32% is rural. Not only Ukrainians live in our country. There are alsoRussians, Jews, Moldavians, Tatars, Poles, Armenians and some other ethnic minorities.

The territory of Ukraine is mostly a treeless plain called the steppe. The thickest forests in Ukraine can be found in Volyn; they are part of the famous Byelovezhskaya Puscha. Ukraine is not a mountainous country. The Carpathian Mountains are in the west of the country and they are not very high. The Carpathians are the only mountainous natural boundary of Ukraine. They are covered with mixed forest. There are many picturesque mountain resorts there and winter sports are very popular. The highest peak (2, 061 m) is Hoverla.

The main river in the country is the Dnieper which is the third longest in Europe. The mouth of another Ukrainian river, the Danube, connects Ukraine with 7 European countries. Other less important rivers of Ukraine are the Dniester, the Southern Bug, the Desna, the Prypyat, the Severskiy Donets and about 70 thousand small rivers.

The southern coast of Ukraine is bordered by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Black Sea has a surface area of 423.000 sq. km. Its depth is 2000 m. The important ports of Odesa, Kherson and Mykolaiv lie on the Black Sea. The Sea of Azov is much less picturesque. Syvash Bay with bitter and very salty waters form part of the sea. There are wonderful sandy beaches on its northern coast and it is very rich in fish life.

The climate of Ukraine is temperate, cool and continental. Some geographers call it " Ukrainian climate". The warmest region is in the south near the Black Sea, the coldest - in the north-east and in the mountains. Winter is rather mild, with no severe frosts but with regular snowfalls everywhere except the south. The rivers and lakes freeze in winter. Even the Sea of Azov freezes over. The average winter temperature varies -20 C in the north to -3-5C in the south. Summer is quite hot and dry, with occasional showers and thunderstorms. The fertile black soil is well watered in spring and autumn and gets plenty of sunshine in summer.

Ukraine is a country that is developed in both industry and agriculture. Speaking about the industry of Ukraine, two branches should be mentioned as primary in importance. The ferrous metallurgy industry, centered in the Pridniprovie Region, produces enough iron, cast iron and steel to satisfy the needs of the whole country. The Ukrainian machine-engineering industry manufactures diesel locomotives, railway cars, automobiles, tractors as well as equipment for metallurgy, mining and textile industries, electric motors and industrial robots. The country also supplies its domestic market with many household appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines and TV-sets.

Ukraine has always been associated with grain production. That and sugar production are the main branches of Ukrainian agriculture. Our county is the world’s largest producer of sugar beet. This is natural because of the characteristics of the country’s relief and climate. Ukraine possesses 25% of all the black soils in the world which are exceptionally good for wheat and sugar beet. It may be said that Ukraine has everything to become one of the most economically developed countries in the world.

Ukraine is a sovereign state whose independence was declared in 1991. Before that it was one of the republics of the former Soviet Union. The country has a democratic political system which means that its executive branch is headed by the president, and its legislative branch is represented by a national parliament. Ukraine’s parliament called Verkhovna Rada, is the nation’s law-making body. Judicial power in Ukraine is represented by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.

The president is assisted by the Cabinet of Ministers whose responsibilities lie in the areas of foreign affairs, home policy, economy, science and technology, industry, law and humanitarian matters. The Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister who is appointed by the President and approved by the majority of the Parliament.

Ukraine has wide relations with Canada, the USA, Great Britain and many other countries of the world. Recently a great number of various joint ventures and economic, cultural and political projects have appeared in Ukraine. Our specialists in different scientific fields improve their qualification abroad. We also have programmes of students’ and schoolchildren’s exchange. English, Canadian and American children visit Ukrainian families, go to Ukrainian schools, while Ukrainian children stay at their host families abroad. These exchange programmes help us to understand each other better, to study culture and traditions of other countries.

Activity 5. Decide which of these statements are true or false. Correct the false statements.

1. Ukraine is situated in the south-east of Europe.

2. Ukraine borders on 8 countries.

3. The territory of Ukraine is larger than that of Great Britain.

4. More people live in the country than in the city.

5. The extraction of natural gas in Ukraine satisfies all its needs in fuel.

6. Ukraine’s crop production is highly developed.

7. The Cabinet of Ministers is headed by the President of Ukraine.