George Washington

Ø 1) What do you know of George Washington? What was he (politician, farmer, military officer, inventor, president, commander-in chief)? How does the country commemorate him?

George Washington was the first President of the United States of America. He was born on February 22, 1732 in Virginia. At the age of 20 he became an adjutant in the Virginia militia. In 1759, he married Martha Dandridge Castes, a widow, and settled down as a gentleman farmer at Mount Vernon, Virginia.

From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses.

When the Second Continental Congress took place in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

On October 19, 1781 the war against British influence was over, but the Nation was not functioning well. So Washington became the prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Congress at Philadelphia in 1787. Two years later he was elected President. He was the head of the country for eight years (1789-1797).

George Washington died of a throat infection in Virginia on December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him.

Ø 2) Decide which of the following sentences may be included into this text:

a) George Washington, the president-elect, had presided at the convention;

b) He received the votes of all the presidential electors from the states;

c) Washington was inaugurated on April 30;

d) The responsibilities of the first president were greater than of any president to follow;

e) President Washington selected department heads and other high officials who were qualified by character or experience and who supported the Constitution;

f) As President, George Washington thought it was his duty to see that the laws of Congress, if constitutional, were carried out,

g) A man of strong will, George Washington was the master of his own administration;

h) George Washington, forty-three years old, responsible by nature, had more command experience than any other American-born officer available and he had political as well as military qualifications;

i) As early advocate of independence, he was admired and trusted by nearly all the Patriots;

j) A Virginian, he had the support not only of Southerners but also of Northerners. He took command in June 1775.

John Kennedy

Ø 1) Put the following paragraphs in the proper order to get a cohesive text.

Ø 2) What facts of the Kennedy’s family do you know? Write down a few sentences about the Kennedys.

(1) On November 22^nd, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. He was riding in an open car through the streets of Dallas, Texas.

(2) After having survived World War II, John Kennedy returned home to Massachusetts. His older brother did not. Joseph Kennedy Junior was killed in the war. The Kennedy family had always believed Joe Junior would someday become President of the United States. After his death, that goal fell to his younger brother. In 1946, John Kennedy was elected to the United States House of Representatives, and served until 1952. Then he was elected senator from Massachusetts. He served in the Senate until 1960 when he was elected President.

(3) He joined the United States Navy during World War Two and was commander of a small attack boat in the South Pacific Ocean. A Japanese ship destroyed the boat. Two of the men were killed. The others swam to a nearby island, where John Kennedy spent the next four days searching for help. The crew was rescued. Later, Kennedy was honored for saving the life of one of his crewmen.

(4) His death ended the time in American politics that has been known ever since as “Camelot.” Jacqueline Kennedy named the years of her husband’s presidency after the imaginary time of peace and good will in ancient Britain. She said her husband liked the song from the musical play called “Camelot”.

(5) John Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940. His final paper became the best selling book, “Why England Slept.”

Ø 3) Put the given sentences into the proper places in the text:

a) President Kennedy inherited the problem of Vietnam, which began in 1950 when President Truman gave financial help to the French in their war against the Vietnamese. After the defeat of the French President Eisenhower gave moral and material support to the government of the southern part of Vietnam. President Kennedy increased the American personnel to 15,500.

b) Kennedy was becoming convinced that the government must do more for the African Americans, to whose votes he owed his victory in the 1960 election.

c) The competition between the USSR and the USA began when in October 1957 the first Russian satellite was put into orbit.

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