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9. Where is the climate much warmer?
10. Why does the climate in the USA differ from one part of
the country to another?
4. Read and translate the text:
Facts in Brief:
9,372,614 SQ. KM (CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES
PLUS ALASKA AND HAWAII)
19,924 KM OF COASTLINE
2,176,000 FARMS, AVERAGING 186.7 HECTARES
PER FARM
29.3 PER-CENT GRAZING AND PASTURE; 17.8
PERCENT CULTIVATED
26.9 PERCENT FOREST
26 PERCENT URBAN
The vast and varied expanse of the United States of America
stretches from the heavily industrialized, metropolitan Atlantic
seaboard, across the rich flat farms of the central Plains, over the
majestic Rocky Mountains to the fertile, densely populated West
Coast, then halfway across the Pacific to the semi-tropical island-state
of Hawaii. The continental United States measures 4,505 kilometers
from its Atlantic to Pacific coasts, 2,574 kilometers from Canada to
Mexico; with Alaska and Hawaii it covers 9,372,614 square
kilometers. In area, it is the fourth largest nation in the world (behind
Russia, Canada and China).
The sparsely settled far-northern state of Alaska is the largest of
America's 50 states with a land mass of 1,477,887 square kilometers.
Alaska is nearly 400 times the size of Rhode Island, which is the
smallest state; but Alaska, with 525,000 people, has half the
population of Rhode Island.
Airlines service 834 cities throughout the country. A flight from
New York to San Francisco takes five-and-a-half hours. Train service
is also available. The most frequent service is between Washington,
D.C., New York and Boston in the East; St. Louis, Chicago and
Milwaukee in the Midwest; and San Diego, Los Angeles and San
Francisco in the West. A coast-to-coast trip by train takes three days.