THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contents:

Unit 1. History. How was America created?

Unit 2. Politics. How is America governed?

Unit 3. Media. How is America influenced?

Unit 4. Arts. How is America inspired?

Unit 1. History. How was America created?

Pre-reading task. Discussion club.

Get in pairs and discuss:

-) what image of the US you have

-) why it was created

The Factfile.

Read the text and learn it by heart.

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada and China). It is called the United States, the US, the USA, the States, America. The USA occupies the southern part of Northern America, Alaska in the north and some islands, including the Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the country is over nine and a half million square kilometers. The USA borders on Mexico in the south and Canada in the North. It has sea border with Russia, too. The western coast of the country is washed by the Pacific Ocean, and its eastern coast — by the Atlantic Ocean.

The USA comprises 50 states and one federal district, the District of Columbia, and has several territories. The capital of the country is Washington, D. C, situated in the District of Columbia. The population of the country is about 250 million people who live mostly in cities and towns. The population of Washington is about 3 million people. The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco.

The USA is a very large country and has different climatic regions. The coldest regions are in the north and north-east of the country. The climate of the south of the USA is subtropical, Alaska has arctic climate. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast because of the warm winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico. The USA is a state of rivers and lakes. America's largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the deepest and the largest in the USA. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, the Cordillera and the Sierra Nevada.

The USA is rich in natural and mineral resources. It produces copper, iron ore and coal. It is a highly developed industrial and agricultural country. The most important manufacturing industries of the USA produce planes, cars, textiles, radio and television sets, armaments and paper. The USA became the world leading country in the 19th century.

The USA is a presidential republic. The highest legislative body of the country is the Congress. It consists of two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state elects two senators for four years. A senator must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the USA for 9 years, and live in the state he represents. The job of the Congress is to make laws, declare war, impeach the President, approve the justices that the President appoints to the Supreme Court.

The executive branch of the government is the President and the Cabinet of Ministers. The President is elected every four years. He must be at least 35 years old, born in the USA, a citizen of the country for 14 years, and be a civilian. The President can sign or veto a bill, ask the Congress to declare war, appoint justices to the Supreme Court.

The judicial branch of the government is the Supreme Court. Its job is to enforce laws. The Supreme Court can decide if the law is constitutional or not. The three branches work together to protect the Constitution and the rights of people.

Reading. Read the text carefully and retell it close to the original. Be ready to discuss it.

THE USA – creation and further development.

How It All Started. The Discovery of America.

America was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Christopher was born in Italy. His father and both grandfathers were cloth makers. Columbus was a seaman and made many sea voyages, and one of them was destined to be of crucial importance to the humanity.

Most people in Columbus's days thought that the earth was flat and they did not believe that beyond the Atlantic Ocean lay India. In 1492 the King and the Queen of Spain gave him money to go to India. He decided to sail west as he was sure that our planet was round. There were 3 caravels: the Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta. After sailing 4000 miles he reached some land.

The crew saw something like a white cliff and cried out: "Tierra! Tierra!" Columbus thought 'that it must be India but it was not. It was a new land — a new continent. It was America. Columbus named the land they had reached San Salvador ("Holy Saviour"). People began to speak about the land as "The New World".

Columbus was mistaken in thinking he had reached India. Columbus, who was as confused as anybody who has been at sea for a long time, called the first people he saw "Indians". Accompanied by his followers, Columbus made several other voyages in search of India. Try as he might, however, he kept discovering America and finally returned to Spain to die.

Brief History of the USA. 

The history of the USA dates back only to the 15^th century. In the 15^th century there was no USA at all. The present territory of the USA was divided among some countries. In the 15^th-16^th centuries some territory of the USA belonged to Great Britain (northern and western lands); southern parts (California, Florida, New Mexico, Texas) belonged to Spain, then — to Mexico; the central part, the territory was called Louisiana — to France; Alaska was possessed by Russia; some territories remained to be under Indians control.

In 18^th century there were only 13 Britain's American colonies and they broke with Great Britain in 1776 and later were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America, following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19^th and 20^th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded their frontiers across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions.

There were three most dramatic experiences in the nation's history: the Civil War (1861-1865), the Great Depression of the 1930s and Vietnam War of the 1960s-70s. After its involvement in victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the USA remains the world's most powerful state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and great advances in technology.

Nowadays USA is world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India). It is about half the size of Russia or slightly larger than China or Brazil.

Cities.

"Why was Washington made the capital of the United States?”

After the War of Independence the United States needed a capital city. Different cities in different parts of the country wanted to be the nation's capital. In the end it was decided to build a new city. In 1791 George Washington, the first president, chose the place where the city now stands. The land round the city was called the District of Colombia, after Christopher Columbus; and the city on it was named Washington, in honor of the country's first president. The architect of the new city planned straight streets with trees on both sides, beautiful buildings, and monuments to honor great men. The buildings for the Congress of the United States and some other buildings were erected on a hill. These buildings were called the Capitol. Then the hill was renamed Capitol Hill. In 1800 President John Adams, the second president, and other members of the government moved to the new city of Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia)

So nowadays Washington, D. C. is the federal district containing the city of Washington only. It is the centres of all three branches of the US federal government, as well as the headquarters of most federal agencies. Washington also serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other national and international institutions. All of this has made Washington D.C. the frequent focal point of massive political demonstrations and protests. Washington D.C. is also the site of numerous national landmarks, museums, and sports events, and is a popular destination for tourists.

New York City, officially named the City of New York, is the most populous city in the United States, and the most densely populated city in North America. Located in the state of New York, New York City has a population of 8.2 million people within an area of 830 square km. It is at the heart of the New York Metropolitan Area, which is one of the largest urban conglomerations in the world. The city comprises five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

The city is at the centre of international finance, politics, manufacturing, entertainment, and culture, and is one of the world's major global cities (along with London, Tokyo and Paris). It has a unique collection of museums, galleries, international corporations, and stock exchanges. The city is also home to the United Nations and all of the international missions associated with it.

New York City attracts large numbers of immigrants from over 180 countries, as well as many people from all over the United States, who come to the city for its culture, energy, cosmopolitanism, and by their own hope of making it big. New York City is home to more than 500 companies. If the city were a nation, it would have the 17^th highest gross domestic product in the world, more than that of Switzerland and nearly equalling that of Russia.

New York is a city of great museums with the Metropolitan Museum of Arts collection of historic art, the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum's 20^th century collection, and the American Museum of Natural History and its Hayden Planetarium focusing on the sciences.

Vocabulary:

persecution - преследование to reach - достигать confusion - путаница voyage - путешествие

to possess — иметь, владеть to remain — оставаться to recognize — зд. признавать treaty — договор, конвенция to acquire — получать, приобретать to expand — увеличивать, расширять frontier — граница powerful — мощный steady — стабильный, устойчивый unemployment — безработица advance — продвижение вперед, прогресс, улучшение

PART 1.

Text-based tasks.

1. Text-based questions.

1. What was the image of the world of the people in the 15^th century?

2. Who sponsored the trip of Columbus to the new land?

3. What does “San Salvador” mean?

4. Why did Columbus call the people he saw “Indians”?

5. Who did America belong to before it gained independence?

6. When did the colonies decided to be independent from Britain?

7. How many original colonies were there in America?

8. What makes America an advanced country?

9. Is America bigger than China?

10. Why was Washington made the capital of the United States?

11. Who was George Washington?

12. What is the Capitol?

13. Is Washington D.C. a state?

14. What is the population of NY?

2. What do these figures refer to?

1. 1783

2. 1930

3. 3

4. 4000

5. 5

6. 1861

7. 1791

8. 8,2

9. 1492

10. 180

11. 830

12. 1960

13. 13

14. 1776

15. 15

16. 16

17. 17

18. 18

19. 1865

20. 20

21. 1991

22. 1800

23. 500

24. 37

3. Explain these words in English.

1. To discover - …

2. Voyage - …

3. Crucial - …

4. Humanity - …

5. To sail - …

6. Crew - …

7. Cliff - …

8. To recognize - …

9. Overseas - …

10. Steady - …

11. Follower - …

12. Inflation - …

13. Headquarters - …

14. Cosmopolitanism - …

15. Immigrant - …

4. Make a crosswords based on the words from the text.

5. Word-building. Create new words based on the one given in the table.

NOUN	VERB	ADJECTIVE
1. sail
2.	recognise
3.		entertaining
4. development
5.	attract
6.		believable
7. destiny
8.	govern
9.		final
10. population
11.	grown
12.		confusing
13. possession
14.	employ
15.		Cosmopolitan

6. Underline all the irregular verbs in the text and give the three forms of them.

7. Translate this text from Russian into English.

Соединенные Штаты Америки.

На сегодняшний день, США — самая мощная и высокоразвитая страна в мире. Она расположена в центральной части Северной Америки. Ее западное побережье омывается Тихим океаном, а восточное — Атлантическим океаном и Мексиканским заливом.

США отделяется от Канады на севере 49-й параллелью и Большими озерами, от Мексики на юге — линией, проходящей вдоль реки Рио Гранде и через нагорные районы к Тихому океану. Общая площадь США — около 9 млн. квадратных километров.

Континентальная часть США состоит из возвышенностей и двух низменностей. Возвышенности — это Аппалачи на востоке и Кордильеры, расположенные на западе.

Между Кордильерами и Аппалачами находится Центральная низменность, которая называется прериями, и восточная низменность, называемая долиной Миссисипи. Главные реки США — Миссисипи, самая длинная река в мире (7 330 км), и Гудзон. Климат в США сильно отличается в разных частях страны. Самый холодный климат в северной части, где температура может опускаться до 40 градусов ниже нуля. На юге климат субтропический, летом температура повышается до 49 градусов.

Население Соединенных Штатов Америки составляет около 250 млн. человек. Большинство людей живет в городах, а население в сельской местности уменьшается.

В течение многих десятилетий США являются страной, куда приезжают люди, которые ищут убежище от преследований за политические и религиозные убеждения. Поэтому в Америке имеются представители практически всех рас и национальных групп. В стране живет около 25 млн. негров и чуть больше полумиллиона индейцев.

Столица США — Вашингтон. Он расположен в округе Колумбия. Вашингтон — красивый административный город, практически без промышленности. США — высокоразвитая индустриальная страна. В Кордильерах есть угольные шахты. Около Великих озер добывается железная руда. В США имеются богатые месторождения нефти на территории Калифорнии, в Техасе и других регионах. Штаты занимают одно из первых мест среди стран мира по добыче угля, железной руды, нефти.

В США высокоразвитая автомобильная промышленность. Не будет преувеличением сказать, что автомобили стали символом американского образа жизни. Машины, производимые такими компаниями, как "Форд" и "Дженерал Моторс", известны во всем мире. Автомобильная промышленность сосредоточена в Детройте и вокруг него. Кораблестроение развито вдоль побережья Атлантики и в Сан-Франциско. На северо-востоке и юге страны сосредоточена текстильная промышленность.

В США высокоразвитая система железных дорог. Здесь также находится одна из лучших в мире сеть автомобильных дорог. Их называют автострадами.

США — федеральное государство, состоящее из 50 штатов и округа Колумбия. В политической жизни страны всегда занимали ведущее место две основные партии: демократическая и республиканская. Во время выборов они всегда оспаривают президентство и большинство мест в конгрессе. Конгресс — высший законодательный орган страны. Он состоит из двух палат — палаты представителей и сената. Президент, избираемый всей нацией на 4 года, является главой государства и правительства.  

8) Humor. Read, understand, and enjoy the humor =)

Robert went to his lawyer and said, 'I would like to make a will but I don't know exactly how to go about it. 'The lawyer smiled at Robert and replied, 'Not a problem, leave it all to me.' Robert looked somewhat upset and said, 'Well, I knew you were going to take a big portion, but I would like to leave a little to my family too! ' Two lawyers arrive at the pub and ordered a couple of drinks. They then take sandwiches from their briefcases and began to eat. Seeing this, the angry publican approaches them and says, 'Excuse me, but you cannot eat your own sandwiches in here! ' The two look at each other, shrug and exchange sandwiches.

PART 2.

Discussion.

1. The “why”-questions. Provocative thinking.

1. Why was it difficult for Columbus to distinguish between the New World and India?

2. Why did the colonies want to gain independence?

3. Why is America so advanced in terms of economy and the level of life?

4. Why is NY so attractive?

2. Research questions. Choose the issue that interests you most and search for more information. Prepare a report and deliver it to your classmates.

1. Amerigo Vespucci and his role in the discovery of America.

2. Colonies in America.

3. Reasons for breaking up with the UK.

4. Great depression.

5. Involvement in WW I.

6. Involvement in WW II.

7. Alaska and Russia.

8. Immigration to America.

9. Indians, Native Americans.

10. African-American population and their rights.

3. Outstanding Events from the History of America.

Here are some hints on names, dates, and events that shaped America. Your task is to expand on them and prepare a report disclosing the event and its significance in the history of the USA.

1. Amerigo Vespucci

2. Mayflower

3. New England

4. Declaration of Independence

5. The Union and the Confederation

6. Cold War

7. Mount Rushmore

8. Silicon Valley

9. Apple

10. Neil Armstrong

11. September, 11

12. African-American President

4. Two great American cities were mentioned in the text.

Here are some more American cities. Explain what these cities are notable for.

1. Philadelphia

2. Boston

3. Dallas

4. Los Angeles

5. Las Vegas

6. Salt Lake City

7. Miami

8. San Francisco

9. Atlanta

10. Baltimore

11. Denver

12. Detroit

13. San Diego

14. Huston

15. Chicago

16. Memphis

17. Austin

5. Find out the toponyms (place names) that are taken to the USA from other countries.

6. Choose any two well-known personalities from the USA and arrange a dialog between them.

7. Write a review on any American film.

8. Write a composition named: “To Live in the USA – Will I Agree?”

FOLLOW-UPS.

Supplementary reading.