1. Match the following English words with their Ukrainian equivalents.
1) urban a. низовини, низини
2) boundary b. озера
3) lowlands c. високогір’я
4) uplands d. ґрунти
5) steppes e. сільський
6) plains f. густота населення
7) highlands g. гирло річки
8) lakes h. кордон
9) rural i. міський
10) tributary j. поклади корисних копалин
11) soils k. степи
12) deposits l. рівнини
13) mouth m. притока
14) density n. високості, височини
2. Rank the following kinds of geographical relief of the earth surface according to their height over the sea level. Start with the highest.
1. plain
2. mountain
3. highland
4. valley
5. hills
6. uplands
7. lowlands
3. Read the following text and do the activities that follow.
UKRAINE
Ukraine is a sovereign state whose independence was declared in 1991. Before that it was one of the republics of the USSR. The name Ukraine is of Slavic origin and is connected genetically with the word “Ukraine” which originally meant “borderland”. It is really a borderland of Europe, the gateway to Asia and its desolate steppe region, on the outskirts of the Mediterranean Sea and on the border between the forests and the steppe.
Ukraine is situated in the south-eastern part of Central Europe, and it borders on other European countries: Russia, Byelorus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania. The territory of our countryis slightly larger than France, much larger than Great Britain but considerably smaller than the USA and Russia. The population of the country is more than 46 million people. Not only Ukrainians live in our country. There are also Russians, Jews, Byelorussians, Moldovans, Rumanians, Greeks, Tatars, Poles, Armenians, Germans, and some others.
The territory of Ukraine is mostly a level treeless plain, called the steppe. Ukraine is not a mountainous country, though there are Crimean Mountains in the Crimean Peninsula and the Carpathian Mountains in the west of the country; both not very high. The Carpathians are the only mountainous natural boundary of Ukraine. There are many picturesque mountain resorts there and winter sports are very popular. The thickest forests in Ukraine can be found in Volyn; they are part of the famous Byelovezhskaya Puscha. The Crimean Mountains are an all year round tourists’ and mountain-climbers’ attraction. They are close to the second natural boundary of Ukraine – the Black Sea and the Azov Sea which are famous for their holiday centres and children’s summer camps.
The Ukrainian landscape can’t be called monotonous, it has some diversity as its plains are broken by highlands – running in a continuous belt from northwest to southwest – as well as by lowlands.
The main river of the country is the Dnieper which is the third longest in Europe. The Dnieper has many tributaries which unify central Ukraine economically, connecting the Baltic coast countries with the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The mouth of another Ukrainian river, the Danube, provides an outlet for our country’s trade to the Balkans, Austria and Germany. The Danube River connects Ukraine with 7 European countries.
The biggest cities of Ukraine are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhiya, Donetsk, Odesa, Mikolaiv and some others.
4. Decide which of these statements are true and which are false.
1. Ukraine is situated in the south-east of Europe.
2. It has only two natural borders.
3. Ukraine borders on 8 countries.
4. The territory of Ukraine is smaller than that of France but larger than Great Britain’s.
5. The Crimean Peninsula with its mountains is in the west of the country.
6. The main rivers of Ukraine are important trade routes.
5. Read the text.
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF UKRAINE
Ukraine is a sovereign state. The country has a democratic political system which means that its executive branch is headed by the president with strong powers, and its legislative branch is represented by a national Parliament.
The president who is elected to a five-year term is the commander-in-chief of the military forces and can issue orders, called edicts, without the approval of the Parliament.
Ukraine’s Parliament, called Verckhovna Rada (the Supreme Council), is the nation’s law-making body. It has one chamber consisting of 450 members who are elected by voters at general elections to a four-year term.
Judicial power in Ukraine is represented by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.
The president is assisted by a Cabinet of Ministers whose responsibilities lie in the areas of foreign affairs, home policy, economy, science and technology, industry and humanitarian matters. The Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister who is appointed by the president and approved by the majority of the Parliament.
In other words, it is possible to say that state power in Ukraine is based on the division of authority into legislative, executive and judicial branches, and Ukraine can be called a country with a parliamentary-presidential form of government.
There are a variety of political parties in Ukraine, their currently number is about 100. The most influential are the Social-Democratic Party of Ukraine (United), political block “Our Ukraine”, Party of Regions, Communist Party, etc. President of Ukraine does not belong to any of the parties.
The main trend of foreign policy in Ukraine is to live in peace with the rest of the world community, to cooperate with other countries and participate in European and world structures through membership in the United Nations Organization and other international political, economic and cultural organizations.
Vocabulary
sovereign суверенний
independence незалежність
executive виконавчий
legislative законодавчий
judicial судовий
five-year term п’ятирічний термін
commander-in-chief головнокомандуючий
law-making законотворчий
one chamber однопалатний
general elections загальні вибори
responsibility відповідальність
foreign affairs закордонні справи
home policy внутрішня політика
to appoint призначувати
to approve схвалювати
world comminute світове співтовариство
6. Match the words from columns A and B, adding prepositions if necessary.
A B
sovereign system
political Parliament
legislative orders
to issue branch
approval general
law-making one
A B
chamber affairs
elections policy
foreign President
home body
appointed party
approved state
7. Complete the following statements.
1. Ukraine is a …
2. Executive branch is headed by …
3. Legislative branch is represented by …
4. The president is elected …
5. Verkhovna Rada is the …
6. The Prime Minister is …
7. Ukraine can be called a country with a …
8. The main trend of foreign policy in Ukraine is …
8. Answer the following questions.
1. What does a democratic political system mean?
2. What is the legislative branch represented by?
3. What are the main responsibilities of the president?
4. What is the nation’s law-making body?
5. What branch of power do Supreme Court and Constitutional Court represent?
6. What responsibilities does the Cabinet of Ministers have?
7. What is the state power in Ukraine based on?
8. What are the most influential political parties in Ukraine?
9. Does the president belong to any of the parties?
10. What is the main trend of foreign policy in Ukraine?
9. Read the text and insert the words missing. Use the words from the box.
yellow symbols banners Christianity Flag Emblem stripes blue colours
pictures Kyivan Rus Anthem ancient emblems
THE NATIONAL FLAG
The Ukrainian Constitution states that the National … of the country are the National …, the National … and the National …. They were adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in 1992. The Ukrainian flag consists of two horizontal … of equal width. The top is … and the bottom is … These are the … of the sky, the mountains, the rivers and the golden fields of our beautiful country. Blue and yellow (or gold) were symbols of … … long before the introduction of … . These colours can be found on the … … of the cities of Mirgorod, Lubny, Pryluky and some others. In the 17th century … of the Cossacs were blue with gold stars or with … of saints embroidered in gold.
10. Decide which is the odd word in each group and explain why. Bear in mind that more than one answer may be possible.
1) legislative democratic judiciary executive
2) court law bills judge
3) senator voter representative deputy
4) to govern to adopt to approve to educate
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