North America

South AmericaAfrica

Europe

Asia

Oceania

Antarctica

Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Atlantic

Ocean

Indian Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Name the seven continents and four oceans.

Mississippi River

Seattle

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Denver

HoustonNew Orieans

Miami

Atlanta

BostonBoston

New YorkNew York

PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaWashington, D.CWashington, D.CA

ppal

achi

anR

ocky Mountains

Mexico

ChicagoDetroit

St. LouisSt. Louis

Canada

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

the Mississippi

Ocean on the east coast _________________

Ocean on the west cost __________________

Country to the north of USA __________________

Country to the south of USA ________________

Mountains range in the west ______________________

Longest river in the USA : ____________________

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Canada

Mexico

Rocky Mountains

Mississippi River

Superior

MichiganErie

Huron

Ontario

United States of America is compos

ed of a federal district - Washington DC an

d 50 states. All the states except for Hawaii

islands are situated in mainland America.

It has a population of about 2,900 million.

Its area is 9,370,000 sq km. The climate of

USA is mainly temperate( 温带的 ) in nat

ure but in Hawaii and Florida, it is tropica

l.

Star-Spangled Banner

50 stars —— Each star represents one state

13 stripes —— the original 13 states.

Blue —

loyalty and justice

Red —— courage

White —

freedom

The White House

The executive mansion of the

President of the United States. The

American President lives and works in

the building.

The Statue of Liberty

The crowned lady is

46 meters high, with

a torch in her right

hand holding a loft

and Declaration of

Independence in her

left.

1. Which flag is American flag?

A. B. C.

2. Which city is the capital of the USA?

A. New York

B. Washington D.C

C. Los Angeles

Competition about the general knowledge of USA.Competition about the general knowledge of USA.

3. Who is president of America?

B. Gordon Brown

A. Obama C. Putin

4. Which doesn’t belong to the USA?

A. Statue of Liberty

D. GoldenBridge

B. WhiteHouse

C. Big Ben

Pre-reading

It has an area of 411,ooo square kilometers. And it is one of the American states of the largest population, with the most developed economy.

California is

amazing. The

pleasant weather,

long beach and

graceful natural

landscape make the

tourism prosperous.

How each picture is relevant to the

history of California?

Native American

Indian— one of

the first people to

live in California.

A gold miner—the discovery of gold in California created a gold rush which brought people from all over the world to California.

A building in

Chinatown, San

Francisco—Many

Chinese have settled

in California and

many of them live in

Chinatown in San

Francisco.

Some pictures about

the history of

California!

Native Americans

Gold Rush Period

1. California is the ____ largest state in the USA.A. third B. second C. fourth D. fifth

2. California, a state in the western USA, borders _____.

A. the Pacific Ocean B. the Indian OceanC. the Atlantic Ocean D. the Arctic Ocean

General knowledge quiz about California

3. _____ is California’s largest and the

nation’s second largest city.

A. Sacramento B. Los Angeles

C. San Diego D. San Francisco

4. California’s official nickname is the ___

A. Sunflower State B. Golden State

C. Land of Opportunity D. Evergreen State

5. ____ has the largest population in the USA.A. California B. Alaska C. Washington D. Texas

6. California entered the Union on September 9, 1850, as the ___ state.A. thirtieth B. thirty-eighth C. thirty-second D. thirty-first

New words

illustrate vt. 说明 ; 阐明distinction n. 差别 ; 区别；卓著majority n. 大多数 ; 大半prehistoric adj. 史前的elect v. 选择；决定做某事 ; 选举某人percentage n. 百分比 ; 百分率

boom n. ( 人口、贸易的 ) 繁荣 vi. 处于经济迅速发展时期immigrate vi. 移入（外国定居）racial adj. 人种的；种族的

1. What’s the topic of this text?

A. the culture of California B. the history of California C. the weather of California D. the history of USA2.Which state in the USA has the

largest Population? California (over 30 million people)

• Russians

• Later Arrivals

• The Spanish

• Most Recent Arrivals

• Native Americans

3. How many kinds of people are mentioned in this text?

• Gold Miners

1.Of the first Spanish to go to California ， what are the majority ？ 2. What is the relation between California and Mexico ？ 3. What information about Russians can you get ?

4. Who were the first to arrive in California to rush for gold?5. When and why did the large number of Chinese immigrate to California?

6. What attracted people from different parts of the world to immigrate to California?

Historical periods

Historical events

At least _______ _______ ago

It’s likely that Native Americans crossed the Bering Strait in the _____ to America.

15,000 years Arctic

Detailed reading

I. Read the text carefully and fill in the blanks.

In the

early

16th

century

◆ _______ _______first arrived

in South America.

◆Most of the first Spanish to go

to California were________

______, whose ministry was to te

ach the _______ religion to th

e natives.

Catholic

Spanish soldiers

religious

men

In the

early

_____

◆ Russian hunters, who had orig

inally gone to Alaska, began se

ttling in California.

◆ People from Africa lived in Cal

ifornia.

In 1821 California became part

of_______.

In____ The USA declared war on

Mexico.

1800s

Mexico

1846

In 1848

South Americans, people from the United States and adventurers from _______and ______came to California searching for____ .

In 1850

California became the _________ federal state of the USA.

In the 1860s

A larger number of _______ came to California to build the ___________ from the west to the east coast.

gold

thirty-first

Chinese

rail network

Europe Asia

In the ______________

_________, mainly fishermen but also wine makers arrived in California.

In the first decades of the 20th century

◆ People from ________ established their own town in California.

◆ Europeans arrived in California because of the ___________ boom, including many _____ people.

◆ Japanese farmers arrived in California.

late 19th century

film industry

Italians

Jewish

Denmark

Between

1942 and

1945

More people from Africa worked in

the________________ industries.

In more

recent

decades

◆ California has become home to

more people from_____, includin

g _______, Cambodians, Vietna

mese and Laotians.

◆ The computer industry has ____

____Indians and Pakistanis.

ship and aircraft

attracted

AsiaKoreans

In the

future

People believe that there will

be no distinct major_____ or

________ groups, but simply a

________ of many races and

cultures in California.

racial cultural

mixture

1. California is the third largest state in USA but has the largest population.

2. In 1848, before the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California.

3. The native people suffered greatly after the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century.

F

T

T

III. True or False.

4. Over 40% of Californians speak

Spanish as a first language.

5. In the 1800s, Russian hunters

began settling in California. T

F

6. A lot of people rushing for gold lost their lives or went back home, but most of them remained in California to make a living for themselves in the new towns or on farms.

7. Compared with the period of gold rush, less Chinese immigrate to California during the period of building the rail network from the west to the east coast.

8. By the 1920s, the film industry was well established in California.

T

T

F

9. It is the computer industry since its beginning in 1970s that has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California.

10. With more immigrants coming to California now and then, It is believed that before long there will be a even greater mix of nationalities in this state.

T

T