American Symbols

The American flag is often called “The Stars and Stripes”, it is also called “Old Glory”. It represents the growth of the nation. It has 13 horizontal stripes, 7 red and 6 white which stand for the original 13 states. In the top left hand corner there are 50 white stars on a blue background: one star for each state.

The flag of today evolved out of many earlier flags raised in days gone by. For several centuries after European explorers first sailed to North America, the flags of Spain, Holland, France, England and Sweden flew over different parts of the continent. An English flag known as the Red Ensign waved over American colonies from 1707 until the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It was the merchant flag of England. When the revolution started in 1775, the colonies wanted a flag of their own. That new flag, the Grand Union, was raised over George Washington’s headquarters outside Boston on January 1, 1776. On June 14 of the following year, the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia chose a design for the first official flag of the USA. Today Americans celebrate June 14 as “Flag Day”. When two more states joined the Union in 1795, the flag gained two stars and two stripes, bringing to 15 the total of each. The Star Spangled Banner flew above Fort McHenry during the British bombardment in 1842, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write American national anthem.

As more states joined the United States, Americans realized the flag would become an awkward shape of additional stripes sewn to it. The Congress restored the design to the original 13 stripes, and decided that a star would be added to the blue field for each new state. The 50-th star – for Hawaii – was added on July 4, 1960.

The national anthem of the USA is the “Star Spangled Banner”. The words written during the Anglo-American war of 1812-1814 and set to music of an old song. Every state has its own flag, its own emblem and its own anthem too.

The eagle became the national emblem of the country in 1782. It has an olive branch (a symbol of peace) and arrows (a symbol of strength). You can see the eagle on the back of a dollar bill.

The Statue of Liberty is the symbol of American democracy. It stands on Liberty Island in New York. It is one of the first things people see when they arrive in New York by sea. This National Monument was a present from France to the USA. France gave the statue to America in 1886 as a symbol of friendship. Liberty carries the torch of freedom in her right hand. In her left hand she is holding a tablet with the inscription “July 4, 1776” – American Independence Day.

Notes:

1. glory (n) – слава, триумф

2. stripe (n) – полоса

3. background (n) – фон

4. gain (v) – получить, приобрести

5. restore (v) – восстанавливать, вернуть на прежнее место

6. anthem (n) – гимн

7. torch (n) – факел

2. Answer the following questions using the information given in the text:

1. How do people often call American flag?

2. What are the colours of the American flag? How many stripes are there on the flag?

3. What facts from the history of the flag have you learned?

4. What is the national emblem of the country?

5. Where is the Statue of Liberty placed? What country presented it to the USA?

6. What does the Statue of Liberty symbolize?

3. Read the text and answer the following question:

ü What is the current level of unemployment in the USA?

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