Climate The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones. Land north of the twenty-fourth parallel experiences cooler temperatures during the winter months. South of the twenty-fourth parallel, temperatures are fairly constant year round. Areas south of the twentieth-fourth parallel with elevations up to 1,000 meters (the southern parts of both coastal plains as well as the Yucatán Peninsula), have a yearly median temperature between 24°C and 28°C. Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a 5°C difference between winter and summer median temperatures. Although low-lying areas north of the twentieth-fourth parallel are hot and humid during the summer, they generally have lower yearly temperature averages (from 20°C to 24°C) because of more moderate conditions during the winter.
Economy According to the World Bank, Mexico ranks thirteenth in the world as regards GDP and has the fourth largest per-capita income in Latin America, ranking it among the highest in Latin America. Since the economic crisis of 1994–1995, the country has made an impressive economic recovery. Mexico has a mixed economy. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, natural gas distribution, airports and telecomunications. State oil extraction-company PEMEX, and electricity- generation CFE remain the only legal companies in those sectors, due to a constitutional ban to prevent national or international private funding.
Leisure and Sport
Dancing and singing are commonly part of family gatherings, bringing the old and young together, no matter what kind of music is being played, like mariachi, rancheras, cumbia, salsa, merengue or banda.Singing enjoys the same popularity and Mexicans will sing mostly in family and friend reunions. Also, a place, such as a restaurant, with live music and singing will be a preferred choice for Mexicans to eat. Most Mexicans live in urban areas, therefore they’re able to enjoy a great variety of options for leisure. World-class shopping centers are some of the favorites. Most of them, have multiplex cinemas, international and local restaurants, food courts, cafes, bars, bookstores and most of the international renowned clothing brands are found too. Middle class Mexicans tend to travel to lots of places around the world, while lower class Mexicans are prone to travel within their own country, making short weekend trips to a neighbouring city or town.
The favorite sport remains football (soccer) . Mexico has a very strong league and its “First Division” (Primera Division de Mexico) is extremely popular not only nationally but in all Latin-America.Baseball is also popular, especially in the Gulf of Mexico and the border states in the NW. The season runs from March to July with playoffs held in August. The Mexican professional league is named the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.The national sport of Mexico is Charreria. Ancient Mexicans played a ball game which still exists in Northwest Mexico (Sinaloa, the game is called Ulama), though it is not a popular sport any more.
Bullfighting is also a popular sport in the country. Almost all large cities have bullrings. La Monumental in Mexico city, has the largest bullring in the world, which seats 55,000 people.
Sport fishing, is popular in Baja California and the big Pacific coast resorts, while freshwater bass fishing is growing in popularity too. The gentler arts of diving and snorkelling are big around the Caribbean, with famous dive sites at Cozumel and on the reefs further south. The Pacific coast is becoming something of a centre for surfing, with few facilities as yet; all these sports attract tourism to Mexico.
Major cities The following is a list of the major metropolitan areas of Mexico in order of population (as reported in the 2005 census).
| Rank | City | State | Population | Region |
| 1 | Mexico City | Federal District | 19.23 million | Center South |
| 2 | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 4.10 million | West |
| 3 | Monterrey | Nuevo Leon | 3.66 million | North East |
| 4 | Puebla | Puebla | 2.11 million | East |
| 5 | Toluca | Mexico | 1.61 million | Center South |
| 6 | Tijuana | Baja California | 1.48 million | North West |
| 7 | Leon | Guanajuato | 1.43 million | Center |
| 8 | Ciudad Juarez | Chihuahua | 1.31 million | North West |
| 9 | Torreon | Coahuila | 1.11 million | North East |
| 10 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosi | 0.96 million | Center |
| 11 | Queretaro | Querétaro | 0.92 million | Center |
| 12 | Merida | Yucatan | 0.90 million | South East |
| 13 | Mexicali | Baja California | 0.85 million | North West |
| 14 | Aguascalientes | Aguascalientes | 0.81 million | Center |
| 15 | Tampico | Tamaulipas | 0.80 million | North East |
| 16 | Cuernavaca | Morelos | 0.79 million | Center |
| 17 | Acapulco | Guerrero | 0.79 million | South |
| 18 | Chihuahua | Chihuahua | 0.78 million | North East |
| 19 | Culiacan | Sinaloa | 0.76 million | North West |
4 Comprehension check. Answer the questions: 1) Why is Mexico so unique in the world? 2) How large is the country?
3) Where is it located? What is it surrounded by?
4) What is the climate in the country like?
5) Do you think that Mexico is a highly developed industrial countryWhy?
6) What music do Mexicans prefer? 7) What can you say about spare time activities of Mexican people? 8) What kind of sports are very popular in the country? 9) How many metropolises are there in Mexico? What are they?
5 Match the words from the text with their definitions:
| 1 hue | a) old-fashioned |
| 2 lush | b) to stroll, to walk |
| 3 remote | c) meeting of people |
| 4 outmoded | d) to feel something |
| 5 prone to | e) luxiriant |
| 6 to wander | f) inclined to |
| 7 to experience 8 reunion | j) distant, far away h) colour, shadow |
6 Say whether these statements are true or false: a) Mexico is the 19th largest English-speaking country in the world. b) This country is situated in South America. c) Mexico is famous for beautiful glaciers and deserts. d) Winter and summer temperatures greatly vary from each other. e) Mexico is one of the leading industrial countries in the world. f) Mexicans enjoy shopping very much. g) Bullfighting is a spectacular show for international tourists. h) Mexico is a rather small country, having only 1 metropolis- Mexico City.
7 Discussion Divide into group of 3-4 and expand on the following statements: 1) Mexico is a very diverse country of the world. 2) The country has a very favourable geographical position. 3) Mexicans are very musical. 4) Mexico is not like any other country in North America.
Text 6 TOURISM IN MEXICO
1 Answer the following questions before reading the text: 1) What is Mexico famous for? 2) Is the country popular with international tourists? Why? Why not? 3) What places of Mexico would you offer to visit?
2 Say what these geographical names mean: El Palenque Yucatan Cancun Mujeres Tulum Meso-American Acapulco Zipolite Bahia Kino Veracruz
3 Read the text to learn more about tourism in Mexico
Tourism in Mexico is a very large industry. The most notable tourist attractions are the ancient Meso-American ruins, and popular beach resorts. The nation’s temperate climate and unique culture – a fusion of the European (particularly Spanish) and the Meso-American – also make Mexico a large draw. The peak tourists seasons in Mexico are during December and during the mid-Summer, with brief surges during the week before Easter and surges during Spring break at many of the beach resort sites which are popular with vacationing college students from the United States.
In 2002 Mexico received 19.7 million tourists.
The vast majority of tourists to Mexico come from the United States and Canada and, to a lesser degree, from Europe and Asia. There is also a burgeoning domestic tourism trade as a growing affluent middle class begins to vacation within their own country (and abroad as well). A small number of tourists also come from other Latin American nations.
Mexico City/Federal District (Mexico) – Capital of Mexico and popular with tourists as an ancient Meso-American city, a megalopolis conurbation, and the site of many popular tourist attractions such as the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The man-made tourist zones of La Zona Rosa, El Palenque and El Zocalo are also here. The city is also home to the Plaza de toros Mexico – the world’s largest bullring – and to the Mexican National Palace built on the site of Montezuma’s palace, and the huge Metropolitan Cathedral the largest in the western Hemisphere, built over the even Greatest Teocalli Temple of the Aztecs, unfortunately buried forever by the Spaniards. Mexico City features also one of the great museums in the world: the National Museum of Anthropology and History which is worth a visit to Mexico in itself.
The coastlines of Mexico harbor many stretches of beaches that are frequented by sun bathers and other visitors. On the Yucatán peninsula, one of the most popular beach destinations is the resort town of Cancún, especially among university students out on spring break. Just offshore is the beach island of Isla Mujeres, and to the east is the Isla Holbox. A day trip to the south of Cancún is the historic port of Tulum. In addition to its beaches, the town of Tulum is notable for its cliff-side Mayan ruins.
On the Pacific coast is the notable tourist destination of Acapulco, once the destination for the rich and famous. The beaches have become crowded and the shores are home to many multi-story hotels and vendors. Acapulco is home to renowned cliff divers: trained divers who leap from the side of a vertical cliff into the surf below.Further south down the coast are the surfing beaches of Puerto Escondido, the snorkeling, harbor beach of Puerto Ángel, and the naturist beaches of Zipolite. To the north of Acapulco is the resort town of Ixtapa and the neighboring fishing town of Zihuatanejo. Beyond to the north are the wild and rugged surfing beaches of the Michoacán coast.Along the central and north Pacific coast, the biggest draws are beaches of Mazatlán city and the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. Less frequented is the sheltered cove of Bahía de Navidad, the beach towns of Bahía Kino, and the black sands of Cuyutlán. San Carlos, home of the Playa los Algodones (Cotton Beach), is a winter draw, especially for retirees.
At the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula is the resort town of Cabo San Lucas, a town noted for its beaches and marlin fishing. Further north along the Sea of Cortés is the Bahía de La Concepción, another beach town known for its sports fishing. Closer to the U.S. border is the weekend draw of San Felipe, Baja California. The central and southern parts of Mexico was host to several pre-Hispanic civilizations, with the most prominent being the Aztec, Mayan, and the Olmec. There are numerous tourist destinations where these ruins can be viewed. The Yucatán peninsula was home to the Mayan people, and many of the indigenous people still speak the language. The area also contains many sites where ruins of the Maya civilization can be visited. The richest of these are located in the eastern half of the peninsula and are collectively known as La Ruta Puuc. The largest of the Ruta Puuc sites is Uxmal, which was abandoned in the 12th century.
A one hour drive to the northeast of Ruta Puuc are the surviving remains of the city of Mayapán. This settlement was controlled by Chichén Itzá to the east, now a large archaeological site with many interesting ruins. Other ruins on the peninsula include the aforementioned Tulum on the east coast, Cobá to the northwest of Tulum, and Calakmul in the nature reserve along the Guatemala border. However this list by no means exhausts the number of archaeological sites to be found in this area. To the west, the state of Chiapas includes the temples and ruins of Palenque, the glyphs of the city of Yaxchilán, the painted walls of nearby Bonampak, and the remains of the fortress of Toniná. In the city of Villahermosa to the north is the Parque-Museo La Venta, with a collection of Olmec sculptures.
Along the gulf coast area in the state of Veracruz are more archaeological sites, with the Olmec ceremonial center of Tres Zapotes, the ruins of the large Totonac city of Zempoala, and the ruins of El Tajin with the Pyramid of the Niches. The city of Xalapa contains the Museo de Antropología, a notable museum featuring a collection of massive Olmec head sculptures.
In the state of Oaxaca along the Pacific coast are the ruins of Mitla, known as the “City of Death” and of Monte Albán, the remains of the once extensive Zapotec capital and religious center.Moving to the north, the central region about Mexico City contains several archaeological sites. To the southwest are the massive ruins of Teotihuacán, including the Pyramid of the Sun and the Temple of Quetzalcóatl. To the southeast near the city of Cholula is the Great Pyramid, visible from the city center. Just to the north of Cholula are the well-preserved ruins of the city of Cacaxtla. Last but not least is the Toltec capital of Tula, to the north of Mexico City. In the capital itself is the largest museum in Mexico, the Museo Nacional de Antropología.