Read and translate the text. The United States of America is a federal union, consisting of fifty states, with the District of Columbia as the seat of the national government

The United States of America is a federal union, consisting of fifty states, with the District of Columbia as the seat of the national government. Each state has its own government and the state governments follow much the same pattern as the federal government. The present constitution was proclaimed in 1878 in Philadelphia. Since then, the basic document has not been changed.

The president is head of the state and the government and he chooses the ministers.

If you want to be a president of the United States of America you must be thirty-five years old or older and you must be a resident of the United States for fourteen years or longer.

President can serve two terms. A term is four years. This means that one can be president only twice. This became law in 1951. Before that, the law was different. In fact, Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1933. He was still president when he died in 1945. He was president for twelve years. No one was president longer than he was.

Presidents of the United States are very different people. Twenty-two of them were lawyers, four soldiers, four farmers, four teachers, two writers, two businessmen, one tailor, and one actor.

Congress consists of two houses, The House of Representatives and the Senate.

Elections to the House of Representatives take place every two years. The house has 435 members. A member must be an American citizen for more than seven years and at least 25 years old.

Each of the 50 states elects two Senators to the Senate. There are 100 members in the Senate. They are elected to serve for a period of six years, but every two years elections to the senate take place when one third of its members may be changed or re-elected.

A Senator must be over 30 years old and a citizen of the USA for at least nine years.

Election day is always in the month of November, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday.

In the USA there are two main political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Democratic Party is the oldest of the two. Its history began back in the 1820s. The Republican Party was organized in the 1850s.

Answer the following questions.

1. Why do we call America a federal union?

2. Where is the seat of the national government?

3. How often is the president elected in the USA?

4. Who can be the president of the country?

5. Who can be elected to the House of Representatives?

6. How many senators are there in the Senate?

7. What is the period of service for a senator?

8. Who can be a senator?

9. When is the election day in the USA?

10. Can you name the main political parties in the USA?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-16