Th E UNI t E D S t A t E S o f AME r I C A

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world in area. It covers a large territory of about 9,400,000 sq km in the central and southern part of North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It also includes Alaska in the northwestern part of North America and Hawaii far out in the Pa- cific Ocean. The United States of America borders Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. The United States is often called the US, the USA or America.

One canʼt describe the country without mentioning its surface. The USA can be divided into three main regions: the Appalachians in the east, the plain in the central part, the Cordilleras including the Rocky Moun- tains, Sierra Nevada and the dry Californian Valley between them in the west. Many rivers are flowing through the country, such as the swiftest Columbia and Colorado, the longest Mississippi with its main tributaries the Missouri and the Ohio. The northeastern part of the USA compris- es the region of the five Great Lakes (Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario) connected by natural channels which are cut by rapids (the greatest one — the Niagara Falls).

The USA is rich in natural resources. It has vast areas of fertile soil, an abundant water supply and large areas of forests. There are also large deposits of minerals, such as coal, iron ore, natural gas etc.

The United States is the third largest country in the world in popula- tion (about 250 million people). About 94 per cent of the people were born in the United States. The largest foreign-born groups are Mexicans, Germans, Canadians, Italians, British and Cubans. The US has never had an official language, but English has always been the main language spoken in the country. Emigrants from the British Isles, including the

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nationʼs founders, spoke English. Spanish is the second most common language in the USA.

The US consists of 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Dis- trict of Columbia is a piece of land set aside by the federal government for the nationʼs capital, Washington, D.C. The United States has a federal system of government with the President at the head.

The national symbols of the USA include the American flag and the Great Seal. There are 50 stars on the American flag symbolizing 50 states of the USA, and 13 stripes representing 13 original states. On the one side of the Great Seal, there is an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, which are symbolizing a desire for peace and the ability to wage a war. On the reverse side, there is the Eye of Providence, representing God, and a pyramid dated 1776.

 

EXErCISE 16. read and give a summary of the text.

W AS h IN g t o N, D.C.

The first President of the USA George Washington, in whose hon- our the city was named, chose the place for the capital between the states of Virginia and Maryland, on the Potomac River not far from  the Atlantic Ocean. The City itself forms the District of Columbia ab- breviated into D.C. The name of the capital is always used with this abbreviation not to be mixed up with another Washington, a state on the Pacific Coast.

Washington, D.C. is like no other city of the USA. New york is a cen- tre of finance, shopping, fun; New Orlean deals with cotton; Chicago will sell you wheat and cattle. But Washingtonʼs only industry is government. The White House where the US President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of the US Congress and the Supreme Court are all in Washing- ton, D.C. About three quarters of the population in Washington, D.C. are wholly or indirectly involved in the administrative machine and the general process of government.

If you go sightseeing in Washington, D.C., your attention will be attracted not only by such famous buildings as the Capitol, the White House, but also by the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Smithsonian Institute etc.

Washington, D.C. is not the largest city in the United States, but it is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in the country, the first care- fully planned capital in the world.

 

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US Flag

Congress

White House

 

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EXErCISE 17. Quote the sentences in which these words and word combi- nations are used in the texts:

in area, far out, through, the country, is rich in, foreign-born, set aside, on the reverse side, abbreviated into D.C., not to be mixed up, like no other city, deals with, go sightseeing.

EXErCISE 18. find in the texts English equivalents for these words and word combinations:

четвертая по занимаемой площади страна в мире, охватывает, простираясь, далеко в, не упоминая, может быть разделена, между ними, ее главные притоки, естественные каналы, пороги, природ- ные ресурсы, плодородная почва, огромные залежи, железная руда, основатели нации, отведенный, с президентом во главе, звезды, по- лосы, оливковая ветвь, стрелы, огромное желание, способность ве- сти войну, на обратной стороне, недалеко от, чтобы не перепутать, не похож ни на какой другой город, пшеница, крупный рогатый скот, Верховный cуд, Капитолий, три четверти населения, процесс управления, посещение достопримечательностей, внимание будет привлечено, необычные города, тщательно планируемый.

EXErCISE 19. a) find in the texts the words which have the similar mean- ings as the following words:

biggest, stretching, to comprise, chief, district, quickest, great, wish, well-known, nice.

b) find in the texts the words which have the opposite meanings to the fol- lowing words:

smallest, in the east, in the north, wet, slowest, shortest, artificial, poor, always, peace, near, buy, directly, usual.

c) read, translate the sentences, change the words in italics into words with similar or opposite meanings.

1. This is the largest area in the south. 2. This river is the swiftest. 3. The country has vast deposits of oil. 4. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. 5. The people have a great desire for peace.