Английский язык, 5 класс

I choose Madagascar because I had heard of Madagascar but never really found out where it was. Madagascar is an island near the continent of Africa. It is the fourth largest island in the world. It is situated in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar is formed by one large island and several small islands. The country's total area is 226,658 square miles. It is about the size of Texas. The animals there are different and there are some species which couldn't be found anywhere else; not even in Africa. 50 species of lemurs inhabit the island, as well as 800 different types of butterflies. Madagascar has an ethnically diverse population of 13,005,989. Some major ethnic groups are the Merina, who makes up 27 percent of the total population, and the Betsilo - 12 percent. Only 22 percent of the total population is classified as urban. Antananarivo the capital, is the largest city with a population of 703,000. The two official languages of Madagascar are the Merina dialect of Malagasy, a language of Malayo-Indonesian origin, and the other is French. Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world. The country remains, like in colonial times, mostly agricultural. Eighty percent of the country's people work in fields. Madagascar has its own money. The money in Madagascar is called Malagasy franc. One dollar in US currency is equal to 1846.87 Malagasy francs. The history of Madagascar, first European to sight the island was Diogo Dias. Dias was from Portugal. He found the island some time in the 1500s. During the 17th century, the Portuguese, the English, and the French successively and unsuccessfully tried to colonize Madagascar. Now Madagascar has its own government, and is progressing well. They have a system similar to the United States. They have a congress, a constitution, and a president.