博采英语阅读第三册8单元.doc

Chapter 8 Geography and People Part One. Geography I. Location and Area 1. Location The United States of America is located in the central part of North America (except Alaska and Hawaii). The continental United States across central North America from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west, about 4,500 km. from east to west; including 4 times zones. It is bounded by Canada on the North and by Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico on the south, about 2,500 km from south to north. 2. Ideal Location: 1) Its Atlantic coast faces the developed countries of Western Europe and its Pacific coast and Hawaii give the nation an approach to the Far East and Australasia. They provide convenient sea routs for foreign trade. 2) Mainland America, lying within the northern temperate zone, grows rich agricultural products. 3) The long coastline with many harbors and inlets provides favorable conditions for foreign trade and the fishing industry, but also brings much of the country within the influence of the oceanic air mass. 4) America has no land neighbor that is strong enough to pose a threat to its security. This relieves the US of the burden of maintaining a large frontier army along its border. 3. Area: The total area of the United States is 9,5 million sq. km, which makes it the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, Canada and China. The United States from the western coast line to eastern stretches 4500 km. and some 2,500 from south to north. Its coastline runs 19,924 km. 4. States: America consists of 50 states and a federal district, the District of Columbia, (also called Washington D. C.) in which the capital city of Washington is located on the Potomac River. The largest state: of the fifty states, the largest state in area is Alaska, but on the mainland, the largest state is Texas. The smallest state: Rhode Island. 2) Two youngest states: Alaska: located in extreme Northwest of North America between the Arctic and Pacific