Тема 5. США – географическое положение, достопримечательности. Вашингтон.

Text. United States of America

The United States of America is situated in the southern half of North America. It occupies a favourable geographical position being washed by two oceans and having various climate zones.

The area of the USA is much larger than that of Western Europe. Today the USA covers an area of 9,4 million sq. km¹.

The USA is a federation of 50 states. The population grew from 4 million (1790) to 300 million inhabitants now

Stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, the USA borders upon Canada in the North and upon Mexico in the South.

The biggest river in the United States is the Mississippi. The larg­est lakes are the Great Lakes, five in number. The highest mountain chains are the Appalachian Mountains in the East and Cordillera Mountains in the West.

On the whole the USA has a continental climate. It is at the same time one of the hottest and one of the coldest countries; one of the wettest and one of the driest.

The capital of the USA is the city of Washington situated in the District of Columbia. The population of Washington, D.C., is about 4 000 000 and together with the suburbs (metropolitan area) its population is about 7 million. Washington is like no other city of the USA. You know that the flag of the USA, the «stars and stripes» has 50 stars on a blue background. Each of these stars represents one of the fifty States. But the city of Washington is not in any of those states. It belongs to all of them. Washington is the seat of government of the nation. 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 Washington, D.C. New York is a center of finance, of shipping, of fun; New Orleans deals in cotton; Chicago will sell you wheat and cattle.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States of America, was founded in 1791. It is named after George Washington, the first President of the USA. It is situated on the Atlantic Coast along the Potomac River. Washington, D.C. had a resident population of 601.723 in 2010, together with the suburbs, the city’s population is over 1million people

There is a law against building structures more than 90 feet high in this city. In the very center of the city rises the large dome of the Capitol, the US Congress. Not far from the Capitol, is the Library of Congress, built to hold over 5 million books.

In Washington, too, is the White House, home of the President. Straight to the west of the Capitol runs Constitution Avenue where many departments (of Justice, Labour, Commerce, etc.) are situated. Washington hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the organization of American States etc.

Washington has a subway system and there are also buses and streetcars. There are many educational institutions, theatres, cinemas, libraries etc. There are many places of interest there. The National Mall is a large, open park area in the center of the city. The area is often the location of large scale political protests and demonstrations. The Washington monument and Jefferson Pier are located near the center of the Mall, south to the White House. There is also Lincoln memorial, National World War II Memorial, The Korean War veterans Memorial etc. The National Gallery of Art, located near the Capitol, features works of American and European Art. Washington is the center of arts. The John Kennedy center for Performing Arts is home to the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera and the Washington Ballet. There is National Theatre, Warner theatre, Ford’s Theatre in Washington.

Литература:

1. Английский язык:учеб. Пособие (1 курс 1 семестр)/ сост. И.В. Мятченко, Т.А. Манина. – Краснодар: Краснодар. Ун-т МВД России, 2012. – 146 с.

2. Справочник по грамматике английского языка для юристов // Смирнова М.И. – Симферополь, 2016

3. Словари: англо-русский, русско-английский.

 

Тема 6. Исполнительная ветвь власти США. Президент и его кабинет. Конгресс США

Грамматика. Времена группы Continuous

New words

Amendment поправка

Government правительство

Branch отрасль, ветвь

Executive исполнительный

Legislative законодательный

Judicial судебный

To elect выбирать

Election выборы

Resident житель

To carry out выполнять

To enforce a law проводить закон в жизнь

To negotiate вести переговоры

To conduct проводить

To pardon помиловать

To appoint назначать

Ambassador посол

Representative представитель

To override не принять во внимание

To (dis)approve (не)одобрять

Chamber палата

To sign подписывать

To try разбирать (в судебном порядке)