Номер 2, страница 17 - гдз по английскому языку 8 класс учебник Лапицкая, Демченко

2. Make a web page about UK's extremes. First listen, read and answer: Which of the facts are the most surprising for you?

We can hardly (едва ли) find great distances ['dɪstənsɪz] in the UK, as it is an island country. It is small, lovely, cosy, varied and extremely attractive. It is full of beauty.

Compare it with the world's geography. The largest of the British Isles - Great Britain - is about 230,000 sq km. The world's largest island Greenland is 2,176,000 sq km. It means that Greenland is almost ten times as large as Great Britain. The longest mountain range - the Andes - is 9,000 km long. It is sixty times as long as the Cambrian Mountains in Wales, which are 150 km long.

The rivers in Britain are not very long either. But of course they are not so short as the Haolai [,haɪəʊ'laɪ] River in China and they are not as narrow as this river. The Haolai River is almost twenty times shorter than the Thames. The total (полная) length of the Haolai River is about 17 km and its average depth is about 50 centimetres. Usually, it is a bit more than 10 cm wide. The narrowest part is only a few centimetres. You can put a book on it as a bridge. Therefore it is also called the Book Bridge River. Experts are surprised that this narrow river is like (как) any natural river. They also proved (доказали) that the Haolai River has been flowing (течет) for more than 10,000 years.

But none of the UK's rivers can compare with such a huge river as the Amazon. It is almost (почти) as long as the Nile. But the second longest river in the world is the widest. Many kilometres from its mouth the Amazon can be as wide as 11 kilometres. During the wet season, parts of the Amazon are more than 40 kilometres in width. At the place where it meets the Atlantic, it is as wide as 80 km. Because of its huge size, it is sometimes called the River Sea. Nowhere is the Amazon crossed by bridges. This is not because of its huge width, but because most of the river flows through tropical rainforest, where there are few roads and even fewer cities, so there is no need for crossings.

What do the words in italics mean?

adjective – noun

deep (глубокий) – depth (глубина)

long – length

wide – width

strong – strength

Grammar focus: Comparative sentences

A.

The Thames (1) is twenty times as long as the Haolai River (2). (1) is 20 times longer than (2) = (2) is 20 times shorter than (1)

B.

+ The Amazon is almost as long as the Nile.

as (adj) as = the same as

- The UK rivers (1) are not as short as / not so short as the Haolai River (2).

not so (adj) as / not as (adj) as = not the same as

? Is the Amazon as long as the Nile?

as (adj) as = the same as

See “Grammar reference” on page 253.

Какие из фактов для вас самые удивительные?

Ответ: The most surprising fact is about the Haolai River in China. It is so narrow that it can be crossed with a book, earning it the name "Book Bridge River". It is also astonishing that this river has been flowing for over 10,000 years.

Перевод: Самый удивительный факт — о реке Хаолай в Китае. Она настолько узкая, что ее можно пересечь с помощью книги, за что она получила название «река Книжный Мост». Также поразительно, что эта река течет уже более 10 000 лет.