THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
The United Kingdom is situated in the north-west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north-west and the North Sea on the east.
The U. K. includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, contains England, Scotland and Wales.
The United Kingdom has an area of 244,000 square kilometres (94,249 square miles). The capital of the country is London. English is the official language.
The population of the U. K. is nearly 60 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns. Over 46 million people live in England. Over 3 million - in Wales. A little over 5 million - in Scotland. About 1.5 million- in Northern Ireland. London's population is over 7 million people. The British nation consists of the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. There are many people of all colours and races in the United Kingdom.
The climate of Great Britain is mild. It is not too hot in summer or too cold in winter. It often rains in England. Rain falls in summer and in winter, in autumn and in spring. Snow falls only in the north and west of the country. The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but Scotland and Wales are mountainous. Many parts of the country have beautiful villages. There are many rivers in Great Britain. The main river is the Thames. Many ships and barges go up and down the river. The longest river is Severn. It is 350 kilometres long.
There are many universities, colleges, libraries, museums and theatres in the country. The most famous universities are Cambridge University, Oxford University, Glasgow University.
The U. K. is a parliamentary monarchy. The British Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of the government.
The United Kingdom has some mineral resources. Coal and oil are the most important of them. The United Kingdom is one of the world's most industrialized countries. The main industrial centres are Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester. The largest cities of the country are London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin.
Agriculture takes an important sector in economy of the country. The British people grow wheat, fruit, vegetables, oats.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The USA is one of the largest countries in the world. It is situated in the central part of the North American continent. The area of the USA is over nine million square kilometres. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean and by the Atlantic Ocean. The most northern part of the USA is Alaska, the largest state, separated from the rest of the country by Canada.
The population of the United States is nearly 250 million people, most of the people live in towns.
People of different nationalities live in the USA,
The official language of the country is English. The capital of the country is Washington. It was named in honour of the first President, George Washington.
As the USA is a large country, the climate is different in different regions. For example, the Pacific coast is a region of mild winters and warm, dry summers, but the eastern continental region is watered with rainfall. The region around the Great Lakes has changeable weather.
There are many mountains in the USA. For example, the highest peaks of the Cordillera in the USA are 6,193 and 4,418 metres.
The main river of the country is the -Mississippi. But there are many other great rivers in the USA: the Colorado in the south and the Columbia in the north west. There are five Great Lakes between the USA and Canada.
The USA produces more than 52 per cent of the world's corn, wheat, cotton tobacco.
There are many big cities in the country. They are Washington (the capital of the country), New York (the city of contrasts, financial and business centre of the USA), Boston (there are many colleges and universities in it), Chicago (one of the biggest industrial cities in the USA), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit (one of the biggest centres of the automobile industry).
The USA has an Academy of Sciences. There are many scientific institutions, museums, libraries, theatres and other interesting places in the country.
The USA is a highly developed industrial country. The USA is rich in mineral resources, such as aluminium, salt, zinc, coppers, and others. The country is rich in coal, natural gas, gold and silver, too. It holds one of the first places in the world for the production of coal, iron, oil, natural gas.
Such industries as machine-building, ship-building are highly developed in the country.
American agriculture produces a lot of food products: grain, fruit, vegetables.
The USA is a federal republic, consisting of fifty states. Each of these states has its own government. Congress is the American Parliament which consists of two Chambers.
The president is the head of the state and the government. He is elected for four years.

NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is a very interesting country. It has got total area of 269,000 square kilometres. It is situated to south-east of Australia in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (North Island and South Island) and some smaller ones. Nearly 3.5 million people live in the country. The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. It is a financial centre too. The city was founded in 1840 and has been the capital since 1865. The official language is English.
The climate of New Zealand is moist. New Zealand is rich in minerals. There are some main industries in the country, for example, iron and steel industry. The country has gas and petroleum. There are many mountains in New Zealand. The highest is Mount Cook (3,764 metres or 12,349 feet).
There are many rivers and lakes in the country. The chief rivers are the Waikato and the Wairu. You have heard about the native animals in the country. One of them is the kiwi. This interesting bird lives in the wet parts of the thick bushes. In the day-time the bird does not go out. It comes out only at night to find food. Kiwis cannot fly. Many years ago kiwis were hunted for food. Now the government does not permit the hunting the kiwis. The kiwi is now the symbol of New Zealand people. Small children are often called kiwis.
New Zealand is independent state, but formerly it is a part of the British Empire. The head of the state is the Queen. New Zealand is self-governing state. The Parliament consists of one House only, the House of Representatives. The Prime Minister is the head of the government.
New Zealand has got heavy industry. There are many plants in the country. Paper and rubber industries are developed too. New Zealand exports wool, meat, butter.
There are some big cities such as Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dune-din, Nelson. Auckland and Wellington are the main ports of the country.
There are some educational and cultural institutions in Wellington. They are the University of New Zealand, Victoria University College and others. Victoria University was established in 1897.
New Zealand is a very interesting and beautiful country.

THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal state. It has got six states: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and two internal territories. The official language is English.
Australia is situated in the south-west of the Pacific Ocean.
The area of this country has got 7,687,000 square kilometres. Australia is the largest island in the world and it is the smallest continent. The Dutch were the first Europeans to visit Australia. In 1770 the English captain James Cook discovered the east coast of Australia.
Nearly 20 million people live in Australia.
Australia's climate is dry and warm. Australia is situated in the southern hemisphere and that's why there is summer, when we have winter and there is winter, when we have summer. It is interesting to know that January is the hottest month in Australia.
Australia is separated from many countries. The animals in Australia have a lot of original, and they are interesting, for example, dingoes (wild dogs), koala bears, kangaroos.
The kangaroo and koala have got the pouch in which they carry their cubs. There are many birds in the country, too. One can see parrots and cockatoos. The emu is the most interesting bird in Australia. It is big and can't fly.
There are many rivers and lakes in the country.
Australia is an industrial country. It has coal, nickel, zinc, gold. Several factories and plants work in the country. Australia is one of the most important producers of metals and minerals. It exports wool production, meat, fruit, sugar.
The capital of the country is Canberra. The city became the capital in 1927. Federal Government works in Canberra in the government buildings. It is interesting to know that there are no industrial plants in Canberra.
The population of Canberra is about 300,000 people.
There are many sights in the city. They are the Building of the Australian Academy of Sciences, the Australian National University and others. There are two big industrial cities in Australia: Sydney and Melbourne.
The habited part of the country is situated near ocean. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and others are the ports of the country.
Australia is a part of the British Empire. Formerly the head of the state is the Queen, but in fact Australia is independent, self-governing state. The Parliament consists of two Houses.
There are many universities, theatres and museums in Australia.