15. Cultural peculiarities of Far west states and Hawaii

California – Death Valley, prehistoric fossils. Historical missions (San Juan Capistrano, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara de Asis, San Juan Bautista). Tournament of roses in Pasadena. Sequoia National Park. Homes of Jack London, F. Bret Harte, W. Saroyan, J. Steinbeck. The Valley of the Moon, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park. San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge.

Washington – the only sate with a true American name. The Olympic Rain Forest.

Oregon – «Oregon Fever» of the XIX c. Rose Festival in Portland.

Alaska – a wild frontier, Midnight sun in the North. Earthquakes Park near Anchorage. Denali National Park and Mount McKinley. Whitehorse Rapids.

Hawaii – the only island state. Hawaii – giant volcanoes, Qahu – Pearl Harbor, Kanai – the Garden island, Lanai – pineapple plantation.

1. What was the last state joined to the USA?

2. Why is California called “Golden state”?

3. In what state can we see the Midnight Sun?

4. Where is the Rain Forest situated?

Tournament of Roses

New Year’s Eve may belong to Times Square in Manhat­tan. But there is no question where the focus of America settles on the first day of the year. With its floral parade and football game, the one that announcers love to describe as “the granddaddy of all bowl games,” sedate Pasadena in California is the symbol of another year’s beginning.

Although it sounds vaguely Spanish, Pasadena is actually an amalgam of the first syllables of four Chippewa words suggested by a missionary to that tribe. The words supposedly meant “Crown of the Valley”.

By 1890, however, the warm California sun had turned Pasadena’s residents on New Year’s Day to revel in the beauty of the climate by decorating some carriages with flowers and holding burro races. They had a good time and also sent pictures to the folks back home to show them what a paradise Pasadena was — the same achievement that television pulls off today.

Within five years, the Tournament of Roses had attained much of its present form, with numerous flower-bedecked floats and a Rose Queen. In 1902, they decided to add a football game. In the first Rose Bowl, Michigan came out to the West Coast and throttled Stanford, 49—0. That discouraged the Californians, and for the next fourteen years they limited it to a parade and a few chariot races. But the football games resumed in 1916 and, aside from one year during World War II when travel restrictions forced its removal to North Carolina, the Rose Bowl has been an intrinsic part of the festivities.

Вопросы к учебным фильмам

Washington

1. What political leader is speaking before the beginning of the film?

2. What embassies are situated in Washington?

3. What kind of restaurants can you find in Washington?

4. Name the newspapers sold in Washington.

5. When was the capital moved to Washington?

6. Is the traffic in Washington congested?

7. What portraits can we see in the White House?

8. Describe the parks of Washington.

9. What do you know about Lincoln Memorial?

Hawaii

1. What is the most active volcano now?

2. How did life appear on the Hawaiian Islands?

3. When did the Polynesians find Hawaii?

4. Are there any rain forests on Hawaii?

5. What plant exists only on Hawaii?

6. What was discovered at the bottom of the ocean?

7. What was the aim of the ecologists’ work on Hawaii?

8. Why is the film called «The Hidden Hawaii»?