The United States of America. The United States is one of the largest countries in the World

Official name — the United States of America (the USA) Status — A Federal Republic, a Union of 50 States Area — 9,364,000 square kilometers Population — 232,000,000 Capital — Washington Language — English is the official and predominant language.

The United States is one of the largest countries in the world. The United States and Canada are almost twins in size. But Canada is a little bigger.

The whole name of the United States is the United States of America. For short, the country is often called the USA. There are fifty states and the District of Columbia. A few small parts of them is the tiny District of Columbia over which Washington, the famous capital of the country.

The United States of America lies in the central part of the North American con­tinent between two oceans, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific to the west. Thus ships can sail from the United States' ports to the Indian Ocean by way of either the Pacific or the Atlantic. Friendly Canada to the north and friendly Mexico to the south are the only countries bordering on the United States.

The USA consists of three separate parts. These are the Hawaiian Islands, situ­ated in the central part of the Pacific Ocean; Alaska separated by Canadian territory; and the rest, the major part of the USA. The states differ very much in size, pop­ulation and economic development.

The USA is a country of great diversity. This is due to its geography, weather, landscapes, and the ways of living. The Great Rocky Mountains run north and south. Some of them form a divide between rivers that flow westward and those that flow toward the Atlantic or its arm, the Gulf of Mexico.

East of this divide are two of the world's longest rivers. One is the famous Mississippi. The Missouri, one of the Mississippi's many long tributaries, is about as long as the Mississippi.

There are many big cities and towns in the USA. New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, and Los Angeles are the biggest.

The United States developed from a number of English colonies. After a long eight years struggle (1775-1783) the colonists gained their independence. The American colonists were led by a talented soldier, George Washington, who later became the first president of the USA. The capital was named after him.

The USA is a highly developed industrialized country. It has very powerful industries, advanced technologies and science. Electronic and electric engineering, transport, communication and machine-tool industries can be found almost in all the large cities of the USA.

The USA is a federal republic. The Government of the US is composed of three branches — executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch sees that laws are carried out. The legislative branch makes new laws. And the judicial branch makes sure that the laws and actions of the other branches agree with the Constitution.

In the White House the president carries out his many duties as head of the exec­utive branch of the government. He appoints cabinet members, each of whom becomes the head of a very important governmental department.

Not far from the White House stands the Capitol. Here Congress, the legislative branch of the government, meets to make laws to govern the country. The Senate and the House of Representatives form Congress.

Decide which answer best fit according to the text:

1) The whole name of the United States is:

a) the United States of America; b) the States of America; c) America

2) There are ___states and the District of Columbia:

a) 30; b) 60; c) 50

3) The United States of America lies in …

a) the central part of the North American con­tinent between two oceans, the Indian Ocean to the east and the Pacific to the west

b) the central part of the North American con­tinent between two oceans, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Pacific to the east

c) the central part of the North American con­tinent between two oceans, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific to the west

4) Friendly Canada to the north and friendly Mexico to the south are the only ____on the United States.

a) countries hostile (enemy); b) bordering countries; c) friendly countries

5) The USA is a country of great diversity due to its ____:

a) geography and the ways of living; b) geography, weather; c) geography, weather, landscapes, and the ways of living

6) The Government of the US is composed of three branches — executive, legislative and judicial. The legislative ____.

a) makes sure that the laws and actions of the other branches agree with the Constitution; b) branch makes new laws; c) sees that laws are carried out.

7) In the White House ___appoints cabinet members, each of whom becomes the head of a very important governmental department.

a) the Senate; b) Congress; c) the president

Use the words in the box to complete the following text. Think do you believe in this?

Uncle	Dates back	The idea	To make fun	Real	Flag	The letters

Do you know Uncle Sam?

Uncle Sam is not a _(1) person. He is just an imaginary person who stands for the United States.

The idea of calling the United States "Uncle Sam" ___(2) to the early days of the country. During the War of 1812, one story goes; a man saw __(3) "U.S.” on a big package. Of course, they stood for the United States, but the man did not know this. He asked what they meant. At that time there was a man whom everyone called ___(4) Sam. __(5) of the man who asked what "U.S." stood for, someone told him that the letter stood for Uncle Sam. People who heard of the joke told others, and ___(6) of calling the United States Uncle Sam spread.

In his picture Uncle Sam is always tall and thin. He always wears a long-tailed coat and a high hat. His suit has stars and stripes on it like those of the United States __(7).

What does the word Yankee mean?

Insert his words where necessary. From, During, Before, Now

To the people of many other countries anyone __(1) the United States is a Yankee. ___(2) the Revolutionary War the British soldiers called the American soldiers Yankees. But the name had probably been used (3). There are several ideas about where it came __(5). One is that the word was the Indians' way of saying the French word for English. Another is that it came ___(6) an old Scotch word meaning "shrewd". Still another is that it came ___(7) a Dutch name and was used only for Dutch settlers at first. No one knows which idea is right.

One song that almost every American knows and likes is "Yankee Doodle". The words are foolish, but the tune is a good one. The song has a long history. A thousand years ago the tune was part of the music of the Church in Italy. The Italian people liked it so much that they put new words to it and began singing it in the vineyards as they worked.

It spread from Italy to other parts of Europe. In Holland it was used as a harvest song. In England in Shakespeare's time it was a nursery song. Later in England other words were put to it.

The words Americans __(8) sing to it were made up by an English Army doctor. He wrote them to make fun of the American soldiers, who were not well trained and did not have good and smart uniform. But the American soldiers liked both the words and the tune. They began singing the song around their campfires.

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