Text 21 The United States of America (The USA)

There are fifty states in the United States of America. Two of these states, Alaska and Hawaii, are not geographically connected to the other states. The US is washed by the Pacific Ocean on the west coast, by the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast, by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico in the south. In the north are the Great Lakes.

More than 250 million people live in the United States. The United States is a young country. Its written history is only a few hundred years old. It is sometimes called the "New World". Over the last 400 years millions of people have come to start a new life in this "New World".

The people of the United States are a mixture of many different nationalities. These different people brought to their new land a wonderful mixture of customs and traditions. The German brought Christmas trees. The Irish brought St. Patrick's Day celebrations. The Scots brought Halloween.

The US government has three branches. The 1st branch is the Congress. The Congress is a legislative body of representatives from all 50 states. The people elect these representatives. The Congress makes laws that everybody must obey. The Congress meets in the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Congress is divide d into two parts, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Every state, no matter how large or small, sends two people to the Senate. These public officials are called senators. There are one hundred senators in the Senate. A senator's term is six years. Each state also sends people to the House of Representatives. They are called congressmen or congresswomen. The number of congressional representatives from each state depends on the number of people who live in the state. All in all there are 425 representatives in the House of Representatives. A representative's term is two years. The Constitution gives many powers to the Congress. One important power of the Congress is the power to declare war.

The 2nd branch of government is the President and his administration. They carry out the laws that the Congress makes. The President signs bills and then they become law. The Vice President and members of the Cabinet support the President in making decisions. The US President is the Commander in Chief of the country's armed forces. A person who wants to become President must be at least 35 years old and must live in the United States for at least 14 years before becoming President. The President's term is four years and one can be President for one or two terms, but not longer.

The 3rd branch of government is the Supreme Court [ sju:pri:m ko:t]. It is made up of nine judge s [dзаdз], the most important judges in the land. They have to make sure that the President, the Congress and citizenry follow the Constitution. Americans are very proud of their Constitution. It was written more than 200 years ago and it is still working!

Vocabulary:

Western – западный

Eastern - восточный

Highland regions - возвышенность

Lowland regions - низменность

Development – развитие

Coast - побережье

To consist - состоять

To be washed by -омываться

Separate - отдельный

To divide - разделять

Legislative - законодательный

Executive - исполнительный

Judicial - судебный

To represent – представлять

Major - главный

Main - основной

The USA-2

1. powerful

2. highly

3. de`veloped

4. country

5. world

6. `continent, `continental

7. western coast

8. western coast

9. washed [ - St]

10. Pacific ocean [pә`sifik әuSәn]

11. Gulf of Mexico [`galf әv `meksikәu]

12. separate parts [`seprit]

13. Hawaiian Islands [`ailәnd]

14. the rest major [`meidЗә]

15. consists

16. the highland regions

17. lowland regions

18. Cordillera

19. the District of Columbia

20. in honour of … [in `onә ov]

21. Chicago [Si`ka:gәu]

22. Government [`gavnmәnt

23. branches [bra:ntSiz]

24. legislative [`ledЗislәtiv]

25. executive [ig`zekjutiv]

26. judicial [dЗu(:)`diSәl]

27. Supreme Court [sju(:) `pri:m ko:t]

28. democratic [`demә`krætic]

29. represent [repri`zent]

30. colonies [`kol әni:z]

31. independent [`indi`pendent]

Exercises:

I. Where is the USA situated?

What kind of state is the USA?

What is thye USA washed by in the east and in the west?

What is the main rivers of the USA?

Where is the capital of the country situated?

What are the major political parties?

Who is the US president now?

What is the political structure in the country?

What is the capital of the USA?

What is the name of the american flag?

II to consist, continental, of, the, two, the USA, lowlands, the, of, highlands.

Of, world, developed, most, highly, powerful, the, country, USA,, is, the.

By, its, washed, Atlantic, western, the, ocean, coast, is,

Was, in, name, president, the, George, of, whose, was, Washington, named, it, honor, first.

III. true or false

The eastern coast of the USA is washed by the Atlantic ocean.

The capital of the USA is New York.

The Goverment of the USA is divided into two branches.

The USA is monarchy republic.

The flag of the USA is called Union Jack.

IV.

The goverment of the USA is divided into three branches.

The capital of the USA was named in honour of the first president.

The USA is the most powerful and highly developed country of the world.

Its western coast is washed by the Pacific ocean.

The population of the USA is about 250 million people.

The continental part of the USA consists of the highland regions and two lowland regions.

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