Lesson
1: The
Geography
The
Geography of U.S.
The United
States,
located in
the central part of the North American Continent, is one of the
largest countries of the world. It borders on
Canada in the north, and Mexico in the south. In its east coast
lies the Atlantic Ocean, in its west coast the Pacific Ocean, and in
the south the Gulf of Mexico.
The U.S. consists of fifty States, Washington, D.C., its capital, and
other territories. When it declared independence in 1776, it had
only 13 States, all in the east coast, such as New York and
Virginia.
Other States were later "conquered" or bought from France, Mexico and
Russia. The 49th State to join the Union was Alaska, and the 50th
Hawaii, both in 1959.
The Mississippi is the longest river in U.S., flowing in the Central
Plains from north to south. In the west are the Rocky Mountains,
and in the east the Appalachian Mountains. The highest mountain
is Mt. McKinley in Alaska, 20,320 ft (6,198 m) above sea level. In the
southwest, is the peninsula of Florida.
The largest city is New York City, with a population of seven
million. Other larger cities are: Chicago, Illinois; Los
Angeles and San Francisco, California; and Miami, Florida.
[Written by Yoshi
MIKAMI, 07/07/2004]
New Words
The Gulf of Mexico =
墨西哥湾
Mt. McKinley = 麦
金利山
peninsula
= 半岛
|
D.C. (District of
Columbia) = 美国地区
The Rocky
Mountains = 落基山脉
The
Appalachian Mountains = 阿巴拉契山脉
|
Questions
- Where is the
United States located?
- How many States
are there in U.S.?
- Which
States were the last to join the Union?
The
Geography of China
China, located in Far
East, at the
eastern end of
the Asian Continent, is one of
the largest countries of the world. It borders on Russia and
Mongolia in the
north, and on Vietnam, India and other countries in the south. In
its eastern and
southeastern sides lie the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South
China Sea, and
the Pacific Ocean.
China consists of the four municipalities directly under the Central
Government, 23 Provinces, 5 Autonomous Regions, and other areas.
The last area that was made a province is Hainan in the south
(1988). Hongkong (Xianggang) and Macao (Aomen) were returned to
China in 1997 and 1999, respectively, now governed as the Special
Administrative Regions. The Province of Taiwan is now under the
control of
the government in Taipei (Taibei).
The Chang (Long) River, formerly called the Yangtze River, the Huang
(Yellow) River and the Heilong (Black Dragon) River, called the Amur
River in Russia, are China's longest rivers, that all flow from
west to east. In the western part of China is the Xinjiang-Uigur
Autonomous Region, where the Gobi Desert is. In the
Tibet Autonomous Region, in the
southwest, are the
Himalayan Mountains, which include Mt. Everest, 8,854
meters (29,028 feet) above sea level, called
Qomolanma (Zhumulanma) in Tibettan (Chinese), the world's highest mountain. In the
Yellow Sea, there are the Shandong and Liaodong Peninsulas.
Shanghai, with a population of over ten
million people, is the largest city in
China. Shanghai, Beijing, the
capital, Tianjing, and Chongqing are the four
municipalities directly under the Central
Government. Some other large
cities are: Nanjing in Jiangsu
Province, Guangzhou in
Guangdong Province, and Shenyang in Liaoning Province.
[Written by Yoshi
MIKAMI, 07/07/2004, updated 07/08/2004]
New Words
Mt. Everest =
Qomolanma =
珠穆朗玛峰
The Gobi Desert = 戈壁滩 (戈壁荒漠)
|
The Jiang River
(Yangtze River)
= 长江 (杨子江)
|
Questions
- Where is China
located?
- What are
China's three largest rivers?
- What is
the largest city in China?