Unit 5 the United States of America

I. Read and memorize the following words and phrases.

to border on	межувати з
vast	неосяжний
mineral resources	мінеральні ресурси
pig iron	чавун
petroleum refinery	нафтопереробний завод
domestic consumption	внутрішнє споживання
poultry	домашня птиця
livestock	велика рогата худоба
wheat	пшениця
trade turnover	товарообіг

II. Before you read the text, write down two or three things you can imagine thinking of the USA.

III. Read and translate the text. Use dictionary if necessary.

The UnitedStates of Amer­ica stretches from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the American Pacific islands on the west covering the territory of

9,5 million sq.km. Bordered on the north by Canada and on the south by Mexico, it is a vast nation on a vast continent. The United States is generally divided into four regions: the North-East, the Middle West, the South, the West. The population of the United States is more than 270 million people.

There are many moun­tainsespecially in the west and south-west. The Rocky Mountains extend all the way from New Mexico to Alaska. Many riverscross the country. The most important are the Mississippi, Missouri and Rio Grande flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. The main lakesin the U.S.A. are the Great Lakes in the north.

The major cities include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Washington, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Baltimore.

The United States is rich in mineral resources, especially in petroleum, coal, natural gas, copper, uranium, zink, aluminium, iron ore, as well as in gold, silver and platinum.

The country also holds a leading position in the world’s industrial production. The key industries include: machinery, petroleum refinery, food processing, motor vehicles, pig iron and steel, chemical products, fertilizers, electrical goods. In each branch of industry there are a number of big corporations concentrating most of the production, e.g., in the automobile industry: General Motors, Ford, Chrysler; in petroleum: Texaco, Mobil Oil, Exxon; in electrical and electronic engineering: General Electric, International Business Machines (IBM), ITT-Bell; in chemicals: Du Pont, Dow Chemical, Kodak, Polaroid.

The United States is one of the leaders in the world’s agricultural production, both in output and productivity. It covers domestic consumption and produces surpluses for export. The main agricultural products are: maize, wheat, soya beans, barley, oats, cotton, tobacco, livestock (principally cattle, pigs and poultry).

The U.S. foreign trade turnover is one of the highest in the world. The principle exports are manufactured goods (machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, weapons, chemicals, electronics, agricultural products). The major trading partners are traditionally Canada, Japan, Mexico, UK and Germany.

The United States of Americais a Federal Union of fifty states plus theDistrict of Columbia. The Federal Government resides in Washington D.C, which is thecapital of the nation.

The Government of the U.S.A. is based on the Constitution,a document written in 1787.

Theflag of theU.S., popularly called "the Stars and Stripes and Old Glory", was adopted in 1777. It consists of thirteen horizontal stripes equal to the number of the original states with a blue union marked with white stars equal in number to 50 states today.

The Coat-of-Armsof the U.S. represents an eagle with wings outspread, holding a bundle of rods in the left claw and an olive twig in the right claw.

The motto on the coat-of-arms is "E Pluribus Unum" (One out of many).

The federal government of the United States is divided into three main branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial.

The legislative branch of the U.S. Government is vested in the Congress. The Congress of the U.S.A is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The term of the Congress is for two years.

The U.S. Senate has 100 members — two from each of the 50 states. Members of the Senate are elected to six-year terms. The Constitution says that a Senator must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the U.S. for nine years, and a resident of the state from which he is elected.

The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 members. The number of Representatives depends on its population. The Constitution says that each state, no matter how small in population, must have at least one Representative.

The function of the legislative branch of the government is to make laws and to finance the operation of the government through gathering taxes and appropriating money requested by the executive branch of the government, make rules for trade with foreign countries and between states, set up federal courts below the U.S. Supreme Court, organize the Armed Forces.

The executive branch, which includes the President, Vice-President, and the President's cabinet, is responsible for administering and executing the laws.

The President is elected for four years of service and may be reelected for four additional years. He must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and for at least 14 years a resident of the United States. The presidential elections in the USA are held in two stages. First the voters choose electors and then the latter elect the President.

The President administers national government, appoints higher officers such as cabinet members, ambassadors, federal judges. has the initiative in foreign affairs. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he has considerable authority over military policy. His actions may involve the country in a state of war, leaving Congress no alternative but to recognize the fact.

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of the United States and the system of federal courts. It has the responsibility of judging the consti­tutionality of acts of law. The Supreme Court is made up of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. One of the most important duties of the justices is to decide whether laws passed by the Congress agree with the Consti­tution.

There are only two major political parties in the United States, The Republican party (which is more conservative) and the Democratic Party (which is more liberal). The symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant and that of the Democratic Party – the donkey.

The main task of the parties is to run the election machine. Every four years the American parties assemble as national bodies in the Presidential nominating conventions. But once the President is chosen the parties become loosely organized confederations. Traditionally the Republican Party votes come from higher income groups, while the lower income groups generally vote Democrat.

IV. Did any information about the USA impress you? Why?

V. Read the text and find information about:

- Geographical position

- Political system

- Major political parties

- Economy

VI. Think of 10 questions to ask your group about the USA

VII. Work in pairs. Discuss the following topics:

- Geographical position

- Political system

- State symbols

- Economy

VIII. Work in pairs. Student A is a journalist and Student B is an American. Act out an interview about the USA.

IX. You are going to visit the USA. Write a letter to your American friend to get the required information.

X. Make reports on the following topics:

- Famous American scientists, writers and poets

- Holidays, customs and traditions

- System of education

- American English

WASHINGTON

I. Read and memorize the following words and phrases:

separate	окремий
to be named in honour of	бути названим на честь
scrap paper	макулатура
skyscraper	хмарочос
except (for)	крім

II. Read the text. Use dictionary if necessary.

Washington, the capital of the United States of America, is situated on the Potomac Riverin the District of Columbia.The District is a piece of land ten miles square and it does not belong to any separate state but to all the states. The district is named in honourof Columbus, the discoverer of America.

The capital owes muchto the first President of the USA. It was George Washington who chose the place for the District and in 1790 laid the corner-stone of the Capitolwhere Congress sits. Washington is not the largest city in the USA with only 640,000 inhabitants.

Washington isa one-industry city. That industry is government. It does not produce anything except very much scrap paper. Every day 25 railway cars leave Washington loaded with scrap paper.The city's main output are laws and government decisions. Besides, Washington is the residence of the President and the Congress of the United States.

The White House is the President's residence.All American presidents except George Washington have lived in the White House built in 1799.

Not far from the Capitol there is the Washington Monument rising 160 metres. A special lift brings visitors to the top in 70 seconds from where they can enjoya beautiful viewof the whole city.

The Jefferson Memorial was built in memory of the third President of the USA, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence. The memorial is surroundedby cherry-trees.

The Lincoln Memorial is devoted to the memory of the 16-th president of the USA, the author of Emancipation Proclamation, which gave freedom to Negro slaves inAmerica.

On the other bank ofthe Potomac lies the Arlington National Cemeterywhere President Kennedy was buried. American soldiers and officers, who died in World War I and II are buriedthere too.

Washington has nothing characteristically Amer­ican in it, as its conception is purely French. It has long wide avenues, gardens, beautiful parks and no skyscrapers at all. It also contains the Capitol, the seat of the American Congress, the Supreme Court, the Headquartersof the FBI(Federal Bureau of Investiga­tion), the Pentagon, the offices of the Defence Department.

Washington is also a place of culture. It has several universities, such as Georget­own University, George Wash­ington University and Howard University. Some of the most i mportant art collections in the world are included in the National Gallery of Art, the National Collection of Fine Arts and the Smithsonian Institution, the largest complex of museums with its Air and Space Museum and the National museum of American History.

III. Render the following word-combinations into English:

- Розташована на річці Потомак

- Не належати до жодного штату

- Який обрав цю місцевість

- Окрім великої кількості макулатури

- Спеціальний ліфт піднімає гостей за 70 сек.

- Великий науковий та культурний центр

- Побудований на честь

- Присвячений пам’яті президента

IV. Think of 3-5 questions to ask your group mates about Washington.

V. What other interesting facts about Washington do you know?

VI. Make up a list of key words and retell the text by using them.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

I. Read the texts about New York

II. Did any information about it surprise you? Why?

NEW YORK

New York is one of the largest cities in the world. It is the financial capital of the country and one of the largest seaports in the world. New York City is situated in New York State, at the mouth of the Hudson river. Its population is over eight million and it includes five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Richmond, also known as Staten Island.

In early times the New York area was populated by Indians. In 1626 a Dutchman bought Manhattan Island for $24 and named the place New Amster­dam. The English took over the place in 1664 and renamed it New York. Today, New York City is informally called ‘The Big Apple’. The origin of this name is unknown, but it is popular all over the world.

Manhattan is the economic and cultural heart of New York City. It is an island at the north end of New York Bay with an area of 47 sq. km and with about 1.5 million residents. Manhattan Island is usually divided into Uptown Manhat­tan, Midtown Manhattan and Downtown Manhattan.

Central Park, Harlem, the Guggenheim Museum, the Lin­coln Center for the Performing Arts, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are uptown.

Central Parkis a huge park which extends between Fifth Avenue and Central Park West. On weekdays it is occupied by mothers and children, people stretching their muscles and minds before and after work, and tourists. At weekends the Park is a playground for all New York, and one of the best places to feel the spirit of its people.

Harlem's official boundaries extend south to north, from 90^th Street to I78^th Street. Despite its reputation as a ghetto with 10 per cent of city’s blacks living there, Harlem has also middle-class blocks, museums, beauti­ful buildings, fine restaurants, live entertainment places and the Apollo Theatre.

The Lincoln Center is at Broadway and 64^th Street and includes the New York Philarmonic, the New York State Theatre, a library and a school.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the ­most important and largest art museums in the world including hundreds of world famous masterpieces.

The western half of Midtown Manhattan is dominated by the theatre district and the garment district. On the East Side there is a dense concentration of office buildings and skyscrapers.

The Empire State Building is a 102 story building 381 m high built in 1931. It includes two observatories and was the tallest building in the world until 1971.

Carnegie Hall is a music centre founded in 1891 by the capitalist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The world's greatest orchestras and soloists play here.

Times Squareis the inter­section of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. It is the theatrical centre of the city, surrounded by playhouses, cin­emas, night-clubs, hotels and shops. After dark it pulses with a neon glow which has given it the name: ‘The Great White Way’.

The oldest part of Manhat­tan Island is downtown. Wall Street was the northern limit of the city in 1653, when the Dutch built a wooden palisade here to protect the colony from Indian attack. Nowadays it is famous as America's financial center. The New York Stock Exchange is the nation's larg­est organized market for stocks and bonds.

The Statue of Libertyis the symbol of American democracy. It stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbour. This Na­tional Monument was a present from France to the U.S.A., commemorating the alliance between the two countries during the American Revolu­tion. The French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi built it, but it was A.G. Eiffel, the author of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, who designed it. Liberty carries the torch of freedom in her right hand and is stepping out of broken chains. In her left hand she is holding a tablet with the inscription ‘July 4, 1776’ — American Independence Day.

Notes: The Great White Way – Чумацький Шлях

III. Make up a list of key words and retell the text by using them.