Washington D. C.

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text

Washington was created to be the seat of government of the USA. It occupies the District of Columbia, abbreviated into DC, name of the capital always goes with this abbreviation not to be mixed up with another Washington, which is a state on the Pacific coast. President George Washington picked out the spot that included the old tobacco-trading Potomac River, port of Georgetown, not far from George Washington’s own home of Mount Vernon. The Congress approved the choice.

Washington’s only industry is government. The White House, where the US President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of the US Congress and Supreme Court are all there.

French architect Pierre l’Enfant planned the city. The city is divided into four sections or quadrants: North West, North East, South West, and South East. (NW, NE, SW, SE).

The Capitol is also the point from which the city’s streets are numbered and lettered. The streets east and west of the Capitol are numbered 1^st street, 2^nd street, the streets to the north and south are lettered G Street, K Street.

Almost every public building, art gallery, government office can be seen in the North-West quadrant, the other quadrants are residential.

The Capitol, seat of the US Congress, got its name from the Temple in Rome. It consists of a central building crowned by a great dome and connected at each end by galleries with a large wing, one of which contains the Senate Chamber and the other the Hall of Representatives.

The Mall, a long expense of green stretching to the Washington Monument is bordered by a number of museums and art galleries.

The White House, the official residence of the presidents of the USA, is located at 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Library of Congress happens to be the biggest existing library, contains more than 13 million books in various languages, more than 19 million manuscripts, including the personal papers of presidents. The Library serves the Congress, the government establishments and the public. The law of 1870 makes it obligatory to send to the library two copies of every American book, newspaper or any other published item.

Pennsylvania Avenue connects the Capitol with the White House. This is the route of the President’s inauguration procession every four years.

Lafayette Square is located in front of the White House. The Washington Monument, a tall structure rises on the hill behind the White House (152 meters high). It is an obelisk of white marble nicknamed the Pencil.

The Lincoln Memorial is a big temple in Greek style with 36 marble columns to represent the states in the union at Lincoln’s death.

It is interesting to know that the Pentagon, headquarters of the Department of Defence is the world’s largest office building.

Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic college in the USA, is in Georgetown. It is worthy of note that the Arlington National Cemetery is a sacred place in Washington where President John F. Kennedy is buried.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-28