12. Who is the head of the country?

The President is the head of the country and the Government.

13. What is the system of government in the country?

The US is a constitutional (federal) republic and representative democracy. The US President is the head of the State and Government. The executive power belongs to the President, Vice president, and federal departments and agencies. The Legislative power is exercised by Congress, consisting of the Senate (100 members) and the House of Representatives (435 members).

Judicial powers belong to the Supreme Court and the system of federal and state courts.

14. What are the main political parties?

The two major parties are Republican (its symbol is elephant) and Democratic (its symbol is donkey).

15. When are elections held?

The presidential election is held every four years (on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as stated in the US Constitution).

16. What are the major national holidays?

Independence Day, July 4, is a major national holiday.

Other national holidays are Presidents Day (November 11), Thansgiving Day (November, fourth Thursday), Christmas Day (December 25) and others.

New Year’s Eve is usually celebrated in Time Square in New York City.

17. What are the sights of the capital?

There are many governmental buildings in Washington, DC. The Capitol is the place where Congress meets. Inaugurations of US Presidents take place in front of the Capitol.

White House is the place where the US President works and lives. Oval office is the President’s office. President Adams was the first to live in the white House.

Washington monument is built to remember the first American President - George Washington. Its nickname is «The Pencil».

Lincoln Memorial is built to remember one of the greatest President Abraham Lincoln who freed the slaves and united the country.

The Library of Congress.

The Metro is called subway.

Jefferson memorial is built to remember Thomas Jefferson – the author of the original draft of the Declaration of Independence.

18. What is the national mass media?

The most famous newspapers are the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal. There are more than nine thousand radio stations. Most of them are commercial, except for National Public Radio stations.

National commercial networks are ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox Broad casting Company. The only noncommercial network is PBC (Public Broadcasting Service). There are about 500 cable stations. Two well-known of them are HBO (Home Box office showing movies) and CNN (showing news).

19. What is the system of education?

All American children from the age of five to seventeen have the right to get free education at a public school. There are also private schools.

The school system includes: elementary school, including kindergarten (age 5), and grades 1-5 (age 6-12); secondary school, including middle school / grades 6-8 (age 12-15) and high school / grades 9-12 (age 15-18).

High education system comprises: college or University: undergraduate studies which take 2 years at a community college (lead to Associate’s Degree), or 4 years (lead to Bachelor’s Degree); graduate school: postgraduate courses (lead to Masters Degree and Doctorate or PhD).