Geographical position of ukraine

A new state, Ukraine, appeared on the world political map in 1991. Ukraine occupies an area of 603,700 square kilometers. The territory of Ukraine extends 900 kms from north to south and 1,316 kms from east to west. In the north Ukraine borders on Belarus; in the east and north-east on Russia; in the south-west on Hungary, Romania and Moldova; in the west on Poland and Slovakia. In the south Ukraine is washed by the Black sea and the sea of Azov. The total length of the frontiers is 6,500 kilometres, including 1,050 kms of the sea frontiers.

In the north of Ukraine there are forests, in the west – the Carpathian mountains, in the eastern and central Ukraine – black-soil steppelands.

We can admire picturesque slopes of the green Carpathians and the Crimean hills, the green forests of Poltava, Chernihiv and Kyiv, the endless steppes of Kherson, Mickolaiv and Odessa. It is really the land of woods, lakes and rivers.

The main territory of Ukraine is flat, but 5% of it make up mountains. The major rivers are the Dnieper, the Dnester, the Bug, the Donets and others.

Typical representatives of the Ukrainian fauna are hare, fox, squirrel, bear, wolf, goat. Among the trees growing in the Ukrainian territory are birch, pine, oak, fir-tree.

The Carpathians are situated in Europe and stretch through Hungary, Poland, Romania, including Ukraine. They are divided into the West Carpathians, East and South ones. The highest point of the Ukrainian Carpathians is Hoverla – 2,061 metres above the sea level. They are covered with beautiful forests and woods, there are meadows here which are called as “polonyna”.

The Crimean Mountains stretch for about 150 kilometres along the coast of the Black Sea. The highest point of them is the mountain Roman-Kosh – 1545 metres above the sea level.

The Crimea is a peninsula located in the south of Ukraine and is washed by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The population of Ukraine is about 46 million. Ukraine is inhabited by representatives of 128 nations, nationalities and ethnic groups.

The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv. It stretches on the high hills along the Dnieper, rivaling the oldest and most charming cities of Europe.

Ukraine’s other big cities are Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Lviv, etc. The largest Crimean towns are Simpheropol, Sevastopol, Kertch, Yevpatoria, Yalta and Feodosiya.

The geographical position of Ukraine is very favourable for the development of its industry and agriculture.

The climate of Ukraine is moderately-continental. Winters are frosty, summers are hot and dry.

Vocabulary

to extend – простираться to stretch – простираться

to border – граничить to be divided into – делиться на

to be washed by – омываться meadow – луг

frontier – граница peninsula – полуостров

black-soil steppelands – чернозёмные степи rival – соперник, соперничать

to admire – восхищаться, любоваться favourable – благоприятный

picturesque – живописный moderate – умеренный

slope – склон

endless steppes – бесконечные степи

representative – представитель

fauna – фауна

TEXT 4

KYIV

Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine.It isone of the oldest cities of Europe and therefore there are many historical places in it.!t was the capital of ancient Rus,the cradle of three fraternal peoples - the Russian, the Ukrainian and the Byelorussian.

Nowadays itis a large political, industrial, scientific and cultural centre of Ukraine. Its population equals nearly 3 million people, it is theseat of the Supreme Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers.

Kyiv is famous not only for its history but for its beauty, for the abundance of places of historic interest in it. It is situated on the picturesque banks of the Dnieper River.

Kyiv's monuments of the past attrect a lot of visitors. They are impressed by Kyiv-Pechersky Monastery which stands on the green hill above the Dnieper and itssparkling gold cupolas can be seen from outside the capital. The huge gateway from Volodymyrska Street opens on the territory of another ancient monument St. Sophia's Cathedral which is a state architectural and historical preserve. It was founded in 1037 during thereign of Yaroslav theWise. On the other corner of Volodymyrska Street you can see the Golden Gate. Shevchcnko Memorial, Vydubetsky Monastery, Askold's Grave, Church of St. Andrew are really worth sightseeing too. Inthe Park of Immortal Glory there is a Tomb of Unknown Soldier, over which an eternal fire burns.

There are a lot of museums in Kyiv: the Historical Museum, the Museum of Ukrainian Art, the Museum of Russian Art, the Museum of Western and Oriental Art, Shevchenko Museum, Lesya Ukrainka Memorial Museum and others.

Kyiv is the centre of Ukrainian culture.Many research institutesand highereducational establishments are to be found here. Jt is famous for its theatres and concert halls such as Taras Sevchenko Opera and Ballet Theatre, Musical Comedy Theatre. Puppet Theatre, Conservatoire and Philarmonics, the Concert Hail "Ukraine". The performances staged at these theatres are always of great demand.

The picturesque green banks and hills, plentiful flowerbeds withmillions of different flowers, wonderful beaches of the Dnieper, Kreshchatic,one of the widest and most beautiful streets in our country - all this adds up to the beauty of me Ukrainian capital.

Vocabulary

ancient – древний, старинный

cradle – колыбель

fraternal – братский

abundance – обилие

to impress – поражать, производить впечатление

sparkling – сверкающий, искрящийся

cupola – купол

huge – огромный, гигантский

gateway – ворота, вход

preserve – заповедник

reign – правление

worth sightseeing – стоит посмотреть

immortal glory – вечная слава

tomb – могила, надгробие

eternal – вечный, неугасимый

research – исследовательский

higher educational establishments – высшие учебные заведения

performance – спектакль, представление

to be of great demand – пользоваться большим спросом, быть популярным

TEXT 5

THE CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE

Governed by the Act of Ukraine’s Independence of August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on behalf of the Ukrainian people adopted the Constitution – the Fundamental Law on June 28, 1996.

The Costitution establishes the country’s political system, assures rights, freedoms and duties of citizens, and is the basis for its laws.

It asserts that Ukraine is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social, legal state. It is a unitarian state with single citizenship.

Ukraine is a republic. The people are the only source of power which is exercised directly and through the bodies of state power and local self-government.

The land, mineral raw materials, air space, water and other natural resources which are on the territory of Ukraine are objects of the property right of Ukrainian people.

The state language in Ukraine is Ukrainian.The state symbols of Ukraine are the State Flag, the State Emblem and the State Anthem of Ukraine. The State Flag is a blue and a yellow banner made from two equal horizontal stripes. The main element of the Great State Emblem of Ukraine is the Sign of the State of Prince Volodymyr the Great (the Small State Emblem of Ukraine). The State Anthem of Ukraine is the national anthem with the music of M.Verbytsky.

The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv.

The Constitution states that every person has the right to the free development of his/her personality, and has obligations before society where free and full development of the personality is assured. Citizens have equal Constitutional rights and freedoms and are equal before the law. There are no privileges or restrictions based upon face, color of skin, political and other beliefs, gender, ethnic and social origin, property, ownership, position, place of residence, language, religion.

The articles of the Constitution guarantee the rights to life, personal inviolability and the inviolability of dwelling, noninterference in private and family life, free choice of residence, work, rest, education, social security, housing, health protection, medical care and medical insurance, legal assistance, a safe and healthy environment.

Defence of the Motherland, of the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and respect respect for the state’s symbols are duty of citizens. Citizens of Ukraine perform military services in compliance with the law. No person may damage the environment, cultural heritage. Every person shall pay taxes and duties in the order and amount determined by law.

The Constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and duties. Under the Constitution the powers of the government are divided into three branches – the legislative which consists of the Verkhovna Rada, the executive, headed by the President, and the judicial, which is led by the Supreme Court.

The parliament – the Verkhovna Rada is the only body of the legislative power in Ukraine. There are 450 people’s deputies who are elected for a term of four years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

The Verkhovna Rada’s main function is making laws. Law drafting work is performed by its Committees.

The Verkhovna Rada adopts the State Budget for the period from January 1 to December 31 and controls the execution of it. The monetary unit of Ukraine is the Hryvnia.

The President of Ukraine is the head of the state and speaks on behalf of it. He is elected directly by the voters for a term of five years with no more than two full terms.

The highest body of the executive power is the Cabinet of Ministers. It is responsible to the President and is accountable to the Verkhovna Rada. It carries out domestic and foreign policy of the State, the fulfillment of the Constitution, as well as the acts of the President, develops and fulfills national programs on the economic, scientific and technological, social and cultural development of Ukraine.

Justice in Ukraine is exercised entirely by courts. It is administered by the Constitutional Court and by the courts of general jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Ukraine is the highest juridical body of general jurisdiction.

The Constitution defines the territorial structure of Ukraine. It is composed of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, 24 oblasts, rayons, cities, rayons in cities, settlements and villages. Cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol possess a special status determined by law.

The Constitution of Ukraine consists of 15 chapters, 161 articles.

The day of its adoption is a state holiday – the Day of the Constitution of Ukraine.

Vocabulary

governed by – руководствуясь

on behalf of – от имени

to adopt – принимать

to assure – гарантировать, обеспечивать

duty – долг, обязанность

legal – юридический, правовой

citizenship - гражданство

to exercise – осуществлять, выполнять

body – орган, свод, кодекс

anthem - гимн

banner – знамя

stripe - полоса

obligation – обязанность, обязательство

full development – всестороннее развитие

restriction – ограничение

gender – пол (муж., жен.)

origin – происхождение

ownership – имущественное положение

position – должность

inviolability – неприкосновенность

dwelling – жилище

noninteference – невмешательство

residence – место жительства

housing – жильё

medical care – медицинская помощь

insurance – страхование

environment – окружающая среда

territorial integrity – территориальная целостность

in compliance – согласно, в соответствии

damage – ущерб, повреждение

heritage – наследие

taxes and duties – налоги и сборы

amount - количество

outline – намечать, очерчивать

specify – точно определять

branch – ветвь, отрасль

legislative – законодательный

executive – исполнительный

judicial – судебный

Supreme Court – Верховный Суд

suffrage – избирательное право

UNIT II

TEXT 6

GREAT BRITAIN

Great Britain (official name - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is situated on two large islands, the larger of which is Great Britain, the smaller is Ireland. In addition to these two islands Great Britain includes over 500 small islands. The total area of Great Britain is 240,000 sq. kms, its population is 56,000,000 people.

In the north-west and west the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, in the east - by the North Sea. The island of Great Britain is separated from France by the English Channel. Northern Ireland, which is a part of Great Britain and which is situated on the island of Ireland, is separated from Great Britain by the North Channel.

The island of Great Britain is divided into two parts: mountainous (in the north and west of the island) and lowland (in the south and east).

There are no very long rivers in Great Britain. The most important rivers are the Thames (the deepest) and the Severn (the longest). Some of the British greatest ports are situated in the estuaries of the Thames, Mersey, Trent, Tyne, Clyde and Bristol Avon.

The rivers seldom freeze in winter. Due to the moderating influence of the sea Great Britain has an insular climate, rather humid and mild, without striking discrepancy between seasons.

Great Britain consists of four main parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Administratively Great Britain is divided into 55 counties. The biggest cities of Great Britain are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

England is the largest part of Great Britain (it occupies over 50% of the territory and its population amounts to 83% of the total population of Great Britain). Wales is a peninsula in the south-west of the island of Great Britain. It occupies about 9% of its territory with the population of 4.8% of the total population. Scotland is the most northern part of Great Britain with the territory of 32% of the total territory and with a population of 9% of the total population of Great Britain. Northern Ireland occupies the north-east part of the island of Ireland. It's territory amounts to 5.2% of the total territory of Great Britain. The main cities of Northern Ireland are Belfast and Londonderry.

The Welsh have their own language. However, many Welsh people donot know Welsh, and English is spoken by everyone in Wales. Scotland and Ireland also have their own languages, but these are rarely spoken and English is known by everyone there.

There are no high mountains in Great Britain. In the north the Cheviots separate England from Scotland, the Pennines stretch down North England along its middle, the Cambrian mountains occupy the greater part of Wales and the Highlands of Scotland are the tallest of the British mountains.

There is very little flat countryexcept in the region known as East Anglia, Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources, it has some deposits of coal and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea.

Great Britain is a highly industrialized country.New industries have been developed in the last three decades. The main industrial centres are London, Birmingham, Mancheter, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow and Bristol. The capital of the countryis London. The main fields of British industry are machine-building, ship- building, metallurgy and electronics.

Great Britain is a parlimentary monarchy. Officially the head of state is the Queen (or the King). However, the power of the Queen in Great Britain is not absolute. She acts only on the advice of the ministers and Parliament. There is no written constitution in Great Britain. British legislation does not provide written guarantees of individual political rights.

Parliament in Great Britain has existed since 1265 and is the eldest Parliament in the world. It consists of two Houses - the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords consists of 1000 peers who are notelected by the people. The House of Commons is a nation-wide representative body which is elected by the people at a general election, within 5 years of the last election. After the general election theQueen appoints the head of the government - the Prime Minister. As a rule the Prime Minister is the leader of the party that has won the election. The Prime Minister appoints the ministers to make up thegovernment.

There are two main political parties in Great Britain: the Conservative party and the Labour party. The Conservative party came into being in the 19^th century as a result of the evolution of the Tory party. The Labour party was founded in 1900. Since 1906 it has borne the name of the Labour party. The Labour party won the election for the first time in 1945.

Vocabulary

in addition – в дополнение

to divide – разделять

mountainous – горный

lowland – равнина, низменность

estuary – устье

seldom – редко

to freeze – замерзать

moderating influence – смягчающее влияние

insular – островной

humid – влажный

mild – мягкий