Прочитайте текст, переведите (устно) и ответьте на во письменно. Read and translate the text. Answer the questions! The United States proper (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) stretches across North America from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, from Canada in the north to Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of California in the south. The USA is an extremely large country in North America. The United States proper (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) consists of the Atlantic coastal plain, the Appalachian highlands, a vast interior plains region, the Rocky Mountains belt, the basin and plateaus west of the Rockies, and the mountains and valleys of the Pacific borderland. Alaska's main physical division are the Pacific mountain system, the Central Plateau, the Arctic mountain system, and the Arctic Slope. The USA has several different climate zones. The northern borders of the USA correspond to the line of Paris – Vienna - Volgograd, while the southern ones correspond to the northern part of the Sahara desert. New York lies in the same latitude as Naples. But the climate in North America is much colder than in Europe and the average annual temperature of New York is 11°C; five degrees lower than that of Naples. North America may have been discovered in about 1, 000 A. D. by Vikings under Leif Erickson, but Europeans did not know of its existence until Columbus sailed there in 1492. The first permanent English settlement in America was Jamestown, Virginia (1607 Although, effective colonization in New England began in 1620 when the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, a lot of time had passed before an independent country - the USA was formed in 1776. Head of state and government: President, elected for four years. Legislative body: Congress (bicameral), consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate consists of 100 members - two from each state - chosen by popular vote for a six-year term; a third of its membership is renewed every two years. The House of Representatives has about 450 members elected by popular vote every two years; each state is entitled to at least one representative, with the total number determined periodically according to population. English is the official and predominant language. Spanish is the preferred language of sizable minorities in New York City (chiefly Puerto Rican immigrants), Florida (immigrants from Cuba), and along the Mexican border. Other minority languages include Italian, German, Polish, Yiddish, Russian, American Indian tongues, Chinese and Japanese. 1. Where is the USA situated? 2. What land area does it cover? 3. Why is the climate of the USA so diverse? 4. What seas and oceans is it washed by? 5. Who is the head of state and government? 6. What is the legislative body? 7. What language is official?