LOS ANGELES

           I am going to tell you about Los Angeles.

       Los Angeles spans a widely diverse geographic area. Pri­marily a desert basin, the area is surrounded by the San Gabri­el Mountain range and divided by the Santa Monica Mountains. Los Angeles County has 81 miles of coastline. There are such rivers as the Los Angeles, the Rio Hondo, the San Gabriel and the Ventura rivers.

        The climate of Los Angeles as the climate of Southern Ca­lifornia has often been described as «perfect» and with good reason. Mostly it is sunny and warm with gentle ocean breezes in the summer. The humidity is low with little rain. In fact, there are no unpleasant seasons in Los Angeles.

        The name Los Angeles is Spanish for the Angels. In the late 18th century, Felipe de Neve, Spanish Governor of California, saw the need to establish a settlement along the River Los An­geles. The primary purpose for the pueblo was to reaffirm Spain’s claim over the territory in the face of encroachments by Russia in the north and Britain from the sea. The settlement would also help to keep Spain’s California military garrisons supplied and fed. Los Angeles was officially established by Go­vernor Felipe de Neve on September 4, 1781.Governor de Neve’s statue stands today at the Plaza of Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles. Later, when Mexico became an independent state, California with Los Angeles was governed by Mexicans.

       In August of 1846, American soldiers entered Los Angeles and the Stars and Stripes flag has flown over the city since January 1847. On February, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed and the Mexican-American War was fi­nished. California was ceded to the United States.

        In 1851 the first Los Angeles City police force was orga­nized.

         Nowadays the city of Los Angeles holds many distinctions. Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world, a cul­tural centre which has more than 300 museums and a paradise of good weather.

        It is the only city in the world to host the Summer Olym­pics twice. Downtown of Los Angeles is the largest govern­ment centre outside of Washington, D.C. Los Angeles has the only remaining wooden lighthouse in the world. It is located in Fermin Park in San Pedro. Los Angeles has the largest his­torical theatre district, located in Downtown on Broadway.

        Los Angeles is on the leading edge of the growth industries. The Los Angeles area «Digital Coast» has more multimedia jobs than Silicon Valley and New York City combined. The Los An­geles metropolitan area, with more than 122,000 jobs in the fashion industry, has surpassed New York’s fashion district work force.

       The population of Los Angeles is about four million peo­ple. Los Angeles ranks as the second largest city in the nation behind New York City. In Los Angeles there are people from about 140 countries, speaking approximately 86 different lan­guages and currently call Los Angeles home.

QUESTIONS:

1. Where is it located?
2. What rivers are in that area?
3. What climate has this area got?
4. What is the origin of the name Los Angeles?
5. Why did Felipe de Neve found the settlement?
6. When was the settlement established?
7. When did American soldiers enter Los Angeles?    
8. When was California ceded to the USA?
9. How many museums are there in Los Angeles?
10. How many people live in Los Angeles today?
11. Is it the largest city of the USA?
12. Is it a multinational city?

VOCABULARY:

to span — охватывать, обхватывать, простираться, рас­пространяться (в пространстве и времени)

diverse — различный, разнообразный, разный; разно­типный

primarily — в основном, главным образом

desert — пустыня; пустынный район

to be surrounded — быть окруженным

coastline — береговая линия

gentle — мягкий, добрый; спокойный, небурный (о по­годе, море, реке и т. п.)

breeze — легкий ветерок, бриз; ветер

humidity — сырость, влажность; влага, мокрота

Governor — губернатор

to establish — основывать, учреждать; упрочивать, устра­ивать (на постоянной основе)

settlement — поселок, городишко

purpose — назначение, намерение, цель; результат; ко­нечная цель

to reaffirm — вновь подтверждать

to claim over — заявлять о своих правах на что-л.

encroachment — агрессия, вторжение

garrison — гарнизон

to supply — снабжать чем-л., поставлять

fed — накормленный

downtown — деловой район, деловая часть города, биз­нес-центр

to fly over (flew, flown) — развеваться над

the Treaty — договор, соглашение, конвенция

to sign — подписывать(ся), ставить подпись

to cede to — уступать, передавать (собственность, права)

police force — зд.полицейское подразделение ;

іdistinction — различение; отличительный признак, от­личительная особенность

entertainment capital — столица развлечений

paradise — рай; райское место, райский, блаженный уго­лок

to host — принимать гостей, выступать в роли хозяина, принимающей стороны

outside — снаружи, извне; вовне, наружу

to remain — оставаться, пребывать; находиться; оста­ваться в каком-л. состоянии

multimedia job — рабочее место в сфере мультимедиа

to surpass — превосходить; обгонять, опережать, пере­гонять