H/A 31.01

Copy: do the Vocabulary and Grammar exercises;
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.