The Russian Federation

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Byelorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a sea-borders with the USA.

There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.

There are two great plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountains chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.

There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe's biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers- the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena- flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean.

Russia is reach in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake (1,600 meters) is Lake Baikal.

It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.

Russia has one-sixth of the world's forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.

On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.

Russia is very reach in oil, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.

Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of State is the President. The legislative powers are exercised by the Duma.The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre. It's one of the oldest Russian cities.

But in spite of the problems Russia is facing at present, there are a lot of opportunities for this country to become one of the leading countries in the world.

Washington, the capital of the United States of America, is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district is a piece of land ten miles square and it does not belong to any separate state but to all the states. The district is named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America.The capital owes much to the first President of the USA - George Washington. It was G. Washington, who chose the place for the District and laid in 1790 the corner-stone of the Capitol, where Congress sits.Washington is not the largest city in the USA. It has a population of 900 000 people.Washington is a one-industry town. That industry is government. It does not produce anything except very much scrap paper. Every day 25 railway cars leave Washington loaded with scrap paper.Washington has many historical places. The largest and tallest among the buildings is the Capitol with its great House of Representatives and the 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 (the White House was not yet built in his time), have lived in the White House. It was built in 1799. It is a two-storied, white building.Not far from the Capitol is the Washington Monument, which looks like a very big pencil. It rises 160 metres and is hollow inside. A special lift brings visitors to the top in 70 seconds from where they can enjoy a wonderful view of the whole city.The Jefferson Memorial was built in memory of the third President of the USA, Thomas Jefferson, who was also the author of the Declaration of Independence. The memorial is' surrounded by cherry-trees.The Lincoln Memorial is devoted to the memory of the 16th President of the US, the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave freedom to Negro slaves in America.On the other bank of the Potomac lies the Arlington National Cemetery where President Kennedy was buried. American soldiers and officers, who died in World Wars I and II are buried there too.

Вашингтон

Вашингтон, столица Соединенных Штатов Америки, расположен на реке Потомак в округе Колумбия. Округ Колумбия - это кусочек земли площадью десять квадратных миль, который не принадлежит отдельному штату, но всем одновременно. Округ назван в честь Колумба, первооткрывателя Америки.

Столица многим обязана первому президенту США - Джорджу Вашингтону. Именно Дж. Вашингтон выбрал место для округа и заложил в 1790 г. краеугольный камень Капитолия, места заседания конгресса США.Вашингтон не самый большой город в США. Он имеет население в 900 тысяч жителей.Вашингтон - город одного вида промышленности. Эта промышленность - правительство. Оно не производит ничего, кроме большого количества макулатуры. Каждый день из Вашингтона отбывают 25 железнодорожных вагонов, наполненных макулатурой.В Вашингтоне много исторических мест. Капитолий с его большой Палатой представителей и Сенатом - самое большое и высокое из всех зданий. В Вашингтоне нет небоскребов, потому что здесь ни одно здание не должно быть выше, чем Капитолий.Белый дом - резиденция президента. В Белом доме жили все американские президенты, кроме Джорджа Вашингтона (в его время Белый дом еще не был построен). Он был построен в 1799 г. Это двухэтажное здание белого цвета.Недалеко от Капитолия расположен памятник Вашингтону, который похож на большой карандаш. Это полый изнутри памятник, возвышающийся на 160 м. За 70 секунд на специальном лифте посетители поднимаются на верхушку монумента, откуда они могут полюбоваться красивым видом города.Мемориал Джефферсона был воздвигнут в память третьего президента США - Томаса Джефферсона, который был также автором Декларации независимости. Вокруг мемориала растут вишневые деревья.Мемориал Линкольна посвящен памяти шестнадцатого президента Соединенных Штатов, автора Провозглашения освобождения, которое дало свободу неграм-рабам Америки.

На другом берегу реки Потомак находится Арлингтонское национальное кладбище, где захоронен президент Кеннеди. Здесь также захоронены американские солдаты и офицеры, погибшие в I и II мировых войнах.

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