Great Britain
      Great Britain is not large. It takes just six hours in a fast train
from London to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Great Britain lies not
far from continent of Europe. It is separated from the continent by the
North Sea and English Channel.”Great Britain” has several different names.
Some people say “Britain” or “the United Kingdom”, or just “UK”. There are
four different countries in the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland. Britain is only a small country, but every part is
different. Scotland is a land of mountains, lakes and romantic castles. The
winters are cold, with plenty of snow, but the summers are often warm and
sunny. Most farmers keep sheep and there are many small factories, which
make fine sweaters from their wool.
      Northern Ireland has its problems but it has beauty too. In the warm
wet climate, the grass grows a brilliant green, and much of the land is
farming country. Wales is a special place, a country of mountains and
pretty valleys. But Wales has plenty of industry too, with many factories
and coalmines. The Midlands, known as the heart of England is the largest
industrial part in the country. The most important industrial cities are
Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, which is one of Britain’s big parts, and
Birmingham. The two famous Midlands cities, Stratford on Avon and Oxford
are connected with English culture: Stratford is the birthplace of great
William Shakespeare and Oxford is famous for its university.
                       The USA
      The United States of America -the richest and one of the biggest
countries in the world — has several names. People say “The United States”,
“The States”, “America” or just “the USA” or “the US”.
      There are fifty states in the USA and over 200 million, people live
in them. There is no “American climate” or “American countryside”. Every
part of the country is different, from Alaska in the north, covered with
snow and ice, to tropical Florida in the south.
      The American Indians were the first people to live in that vast land.
They had a fascinating, ancient culture, and rich traditions of language
and customs. But then, the immigrants came. Most came from Europe, but
there were also many from the Middle East and Africa.
      You can find almost anything in America. There are mountains and
deserts, old churches and moon rockets, homes with three cars and homes
with no electric lights at all.
      The United States is a young country. Its written history is only a
few hundred years old. It is sometimes, in fact, called the “New World”.
Over the last four hundred years millions of people have come to start a
new life in this “New World”. Americans are not afraid of new ideas. They
built the first skyscrapers and they put the first man on the Moon. They
like to be modern. They like exciting, modern cities, new houses, and new
cars. At the same time, Americans love old things. They like to visit
historic houses and museums. They build old pioneer houses and remember the
days of “Wild West”. Americans are interested in old traditions, but they
are good at making new traditions too.
                       Russia
                       Russia is one of the largest countries in the world.
The vast territory of the Russian Federation stretches from the Baltic Sea
in the West to the Pacific Ocean in the East, from the Arctic Ocean in the
North to the Black Sea in the South. Due to the large territory the climate
and nature are of various types in Russia . The climate of Siberia is
continental with very cold winters and hot and dry summers. The climate in
the central part of Russia is rather mild. In the south of Russia the
climate is subtropical.
      Russia is a country of thick forests, high mountains and long rivers.
The longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Ob., Yenissei and the
Lena in Asia. Lake Baikal is the biggest and the deepest in the world. It’s
famous for its crystal clean water.
      Russia is rich in natural resources such as gas, oil, coal. Russia
has one-sixth of the world forests.    Our country has a glorious history.
Russian people suffered from many wars. But they never attacked any other
country.
      Russia gave the world such famous writers and poets as Tolstoi,
Dostoevsky, Pushkin. Such composer as Tchaikovvsky, Glinka, Borodin are
admired in the world. The emblem of Russia is a double-headed eagle, the
most ancient symbols. The symbol of Russia is a three-coloured flag. Is has
three horizontal stripes: white, blue, red. White represents peace, blue
represents loyality, and red stands for valour. The capital of Russia is
Moscow.