House and home

САН-ФРАНЦИСКО

Сан-Франциско является одним из самых красивых городов в Америке. Он раскинулся на холмах рядом с заливом. Это крупнейший и наиболее важный порт и главный военно-морской базы на побережье Тихого океана, он имеет несколько городов спутников через залив - Ричмонд, Беркли и Окленде он был основан испанскими переселенцами в 1776 году. Золотой лихорадкой, бушующее в Калифорнии влияет на ее экономическое развитие. Когда не было больше золота, развитие Тихоокеанского торгового стимулировал ее дальнейшего роста. Сейчас это крупный промышленный и финансовый центр с крупнейшим банком страны. Американской академии наук и университета Беркли значительно повышают престиж города. Город, если смотреть сверху производит серебристо впечатление, потому что в течение многих лет муниципальные власти сделали люди красят свои дома белого или серебристого оттенка.
Населения в Сан-Франциско смешанные; в чайна таун мы видим, китайцы, японцы. В латинском квартале живут итальянцы и французы в больших количествах. Существуют также 50,000 россиян, первых из них осели на " русские горки". Есть несколько городов в Калифорнии нося такие имена, как Севастополь, Одесса, Киев, " Волга", Кремль и другие. Несколько городов и населенных пунктов по имени Москва. Мосты в Сан-Франциско над заливом известны повсюду. Оклэнд бридж - крупнейший в мире - 8 км в длину и двух-этажных, в нижней части для тяжелого транспорта, а верхняя часть - для автомобилей. Другой называется мост " Золотые ворота " и окрашены в оранжевый цвет; он выглядит как гигантский солнечный луч над голубым океаном.

Калифорния-Родина многих выдающихся американских писателей: Марк Твен, Синклер, Стейнбека, Сакстон и Джек Лондон, там он прожил большую часть своей жизни.

HOUSE AND HOME

The lives of most Americans revolve around their homes and houses.The percentage

of Americans owning the houses and apartments they live in is the highest among western nations.

Most Americans still live in "single-family dwellings," that is, houses which usually have a front and back-yard.

Most of America has a more or less four season climate; and the rhythms of

life around the house tend to follow the seasons. Spring means that the storm

windows must be taken down in those areas, where it gets cold in winter. The

screen windows, so intended to keep out insects, need to be cleaned or painted

and installed. After winter, the garden needs a lot of work to be done. In summer,

the lawn must be mown every week or so. It is a good time to scrape and paint.

The car gets washed every week or so. As soon as autumn leaves begin to fall,

they must be raked, and the storm windows need to be ready and put up again.

In winter, the walks and driveways must be kept clear of ice and snow. There is

always something that needs to be done around the house, and most American

home owners do it themselves.Shopping, that is, the big food shopping, is usually done once a week at t| local supermarket. One advantage of a service-oriented economy (and one §

foreigners frequently comment on) is that many businesses, with employees wqi ing in shifts, stay open late to provide services and possibilities for shopping. Mc Americans, like most people everywhere, are always trying to keep their budg$ under control, and always going over. The food will often be paid for by check. (convenient and, moreover, as all checks are returned by the bank, you have record of everything spent. Most stores will pack your groceries for you, and mar still take them out to your car. The big brown bags traditionally provided can be n used later for a lot of things, from masks for the children to garbage bags and wra| ping paper for packages. By the way, plastic bags are making their entry, but bein resisted by many shoppers. The young men and women who pack the grocerie are almost always neighborhood teen-agers who work part-time.

In many American families children are expected to help around the housf They are assigned "chores" which might include, for instance, vacuuming the rugs washing and waxing floors, cleaning windows, mowing the lawn, shoveling snov keeping the cars clean, looking after the pets, and so on. Some families give small amount of money, an allowance, in exchange for these and similar chores Other families simply expect such work to be shared by everyone in the family.

At the same time, many American middle-class families expect their children to fin part-time jobs especially as they enter their teens. They might be working at the locc supermarket or service station, mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, or baby-sitting In fact, about 75 percent of high school seniors work during the average school week Most of these teen-agers are working because their families can't afford buying things for them. Rather, the idea seems to be that the work experience is (as parents are so fond of telling their children) "good for you." One effect on American society is thai middle-class children can do menial work without losing face. Sometimes, in fact, it's a way of gaining status. This has a subtle effect on customer-employee relations: the kic who just packed your groceries or filled your gas tank could well be your neighbor's sor or daughter. In general, Americans feel that young people should appreciate the value of work and team how to stand on their own two feet.

Most Americans expect their children to leave.home at an earlier age than dc parents in many other western countries. Beyond a certain age, they are often ex­pected to contribute to, or pay for things that go beyond food, clothing, and shelter. The image that American teen-agers "get whatever they want" from their parents comes from a time when the standard of living was much higher in the USA. than й was elsewhere. Many high school students have their own cars. But most of them were paid for by the students themselves (along with the necessary automobile insurance, which, by the way, is particularly expensive for teen-agers).

Most Americans today work not more than eight hours a day, five days a week at their jobs.

In the average American home, there is an enormous amount of activity, of coming and of going, seemingly all happening at once. For the parents, there are perhaps courses at the local evening school or college. There are different clubs and public service organizations, many of them related to charitable work.Many American children take (or are made to take) piano or other music lessons,

cinq or ballet lessons, horseback riding, swimming, skiing, golf, tennis, and just about anything else that parents think will be good for their children. The social life is often hectic as well. One child is off to a party, another to the library, another to see a film Neighbors drop by, and the telephone keeps ringing. Messages (often put on the refrigerator door) remind one family member to do this or that, to pick up Marilyn on Monday for her violin lesson, or to bake the cake for the church dinner.

Many adults and teen-agers are involved in volunteer work. According to a recent Gallup poll, about 84 million Americans, that is, almost one out of every three Americans donate some part of their time as volunteers. More than half of them do over 100 hours of volunteer work during the year. Some of this work is done through the so-called service organizations and clubs.

In addition, there are so many other activities and clubs, groups, volunteer orga­nizations, courses, and hobbies, that most Americans are involved in several at the same time. And, of course, there's always work and school, and the things that need to be done around the house. Americans also talk about a stress. Life is hectic, the pressure is on at work and school. The competition is intense. And working hard, Americans often have schedules that leave little room to just sit and do nothing. They are usually on the go most of the week, and have full week-ends as well. Americans also take shorter and fewer holidays and vacations than most people in other indus­trialized societies. They are under pressure to do well on their examinations and get into a good university, to get a better and better paying job, to improve themselves. Still, this emphasis on the stress of American daily life is frequently overdone, often by Americans who sometimes boast in telling others how busy they are.

In fact, in the past decade there has been a sharp decline in stress-related health problems such as heart attacks. A better diet and a radical change in ex­ercise habits has meant that the number of heart attacks among American busi­nessmen is going down, although they are still on the increase in other western nations. Also, the rules for competition in the US are well understood. Americans have shown their preference to a comfortable and convenient life style.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29