Copy: do the Vocabulary and Grammar exercises;
Ukraine - read and translate Part 1 (...materials).
Ukraine - read and translate Part 1 (...materials).
Ukraine (Geographical Position)
To be honest, I have
never been interested in learning exact facts about the geographical features
of any country, but I’m sure it is necessary to know the main things about the
country I was born and live in. So, let me tell you a few words about Ukraine.
Ukraine is the second
largest country in Europe with an area of over 603,000 square kilometres. Its
territory is twice as large as the territory of Italy! It has a population of
nearly 45 million people. There are over 12 million Ukrainians who live abroad
– in Canada, the USA, Brazil, Italy, Poland and other countries.
Ukraine is situated in
Eastern Europe and borders on Moldova, Romania, Hungary in the south west,
Slovakia and Poland in the west, Belarus in the north west and Russia in the
north east and east. It lies on the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of
Azov. Their coasts are good for ports. We have quite a lot of big seaports, for
example, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Izmail, Mariupol and Kerch.
The climate of our
country is mild and there is a lot of rich black soil, so people can grow
various plants. The climatic conditions are generally favourable for
agriculture. Winters are usually snowy and cold, and summers are mostly hot –
the temperature often rises above 30 degrees Celsius. Ukraine is sometimes
called the “breadbasket” of Europe, because it sells a lot of wheat. The
country is also rich in natural resources like coal, iron, natural gas and
non-metallic raw materials.
The Ukrainian countryside
is very beautiful. The territory of our country has a variety of landscapes as
it lies in three main zones: mixed forests, forest-steppes and steppes. There
are large tracts of thick forests in the north, vast steppes in the south, the
Crimean Mountains in the south and the Carpathian Mountains in the west. The
highest mountain is Hoverla with the height of 2061 metres.
The nature of Ukraine
is especially beautiful due to a large number of rivers and lakes. The longest
river is the Dnipro, which flows through the centre of the country into the
Black Sea. It is one of the longest European rivers and one of the main sources
of hydroelectric power in Ukraine. Other important rivers are the Dnister, the
Donets and the Pivdennyi Buh. The most impressive and the largest lakes are
Svitiaz, Synevyr and the Shatsky Lakes.
The geographical
position of Ukraine is very favourable because the country lies on the
crossroads of the ways from Asia to Europe. Since the times of Kyivan Rus
Ukrainian roads have been used for trade contacts.
The flora and fauna of
our country are extremely rich. Almost all kinds of animals and birds can be
found in the territory of our vast land. I love my native country and admire
its picturesque landscapes.
