The USA

Official name of the country: the United States of America (US or USA).

Type of the state: federal republic. Area: 9,372,614 square km.

Administrative divisions: 50 states and 1 district.

Population: about 265 mln people.

Capital: Washington, DC (District of Columbia), stands on the Potomac River.

Largest cities: New York (over 18 mln people), Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Nickname of New York – “Big Apple”. Largest state: Alaska.

Seattle (called Emerald City) – the biggest city of state Washington.

Hollywood – the symbol of the American movie industry.

Detroit – Motor City (Ford, Chrysler and General Motors have their plants there).

Boston – the oldest city in the USA (a lot of colleges and universities).

Cape Canaveral (in Florida) is famous for the Kennedy Space Centre.

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 July (1776).

Executive branch: President, vice president, Cabinet.

The official residence of the President: the White House.

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress which consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representa­tives.

Political Parties: two major national parties — Republican (its symbol is Elephant) and Democratic (its symbol is Donkey).

Elections: presidential elections are held every four years.

Flag: Stars and Stripes; Stars are for the 50 states of the United States; Stripes are for the 13 colonies (the first 13 states).

Longest river: the Mississippi. The other ones: the Missouri, the Yukon, the Colorado.

Niagara Falls – two large water falls on the border with Canada.

Mountains: the Cordilleras, the Rocky, the Appalachian.

Highest point: Mount McKinley (called before Denali) in the Cordilleras (Alaska).

The Grand Canyon – one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.

The Statue of Liberty was presented to the US by the French and stands in New York.

Wall Street (New York) – the financial centre of the country.

The White House (Washington) – the official residence of the President.

US Capitol is the tallest building in Washington (the laws are made here).

The USA is often compared with a “ melting pot ” (плавильный котел) because of lots of immigrants living there.

TEST

1. America was discovered by: a) Christopher Columbus;

b) George Washington;

c) The pilgrims.

2. The President of the USA is: a) Margaret Thatcher;

b) George Bush;

c) Barack Obama.

3. The capital of the USA is: a) Washington;

b) New York;

c) Los Angeles.

4. The USA has: a) fifty states;

b) fifteen states;

c) fifty one states.

5. One singer is not from the USA. Who? a) Michael Jackson;

b) Kylie Minoque;

c) Debblie Gibson.

6. When is Independence Day? a) 4 July;

b) 26 October;

c) 14 July.

7. What is the favourite sport in the USA? a) baseball;

b) cricket;

c) rugby.

8. What river is not in the USA? a) the Mississippi;

b) the Missouri;

c) the Thames.

9. Where is the Statue of Liberty? a) New York;

b) Washington;

c) California.

10. The American flag has: a) fifty stripes;

b) thirty stripes;

c) thirteen stripes.

11. The anthem of the USA is: a) America, the Beautiful;

b) The Star-Spangled Banner;

c) God Save the Queen.

12. In the USA the temperature is measured according to: a) Celsius scale;

b) Fahrenheit scale.

13. The native Americans are: a) the British;

b) the French;

c) Indians.

14. Manhattan is a part of: a) New York;

b) San Francisco;

c) Washington, D. C.

15. The forty-second President of the USA is: a) Ronald W. Reagan;

b) George H. Bush;

c) William J. Clinton.

16. The tallest sight in Washington, D. C., is: a) US Capitol;

b) the Statue of Liberty;

c) the White House.

17. The best mark in the USA is: a) 5; b) A; c) 100.

18. Is there any difference in meaning be­tween "Coca-Cola" and "coke"?

a) yes; b) no.

19. Oscar is a prize given for: a) achievement in motion-picture produc­tion;

b) achievements in journalism and liter­ature;

c) achievements in music.

20. The home of the United Nation Organization is:

a) Geneva; b) New York; c) Washington.

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