Vocabulary notes

Incorporate-регистрировать

Segregation-изоляция, отсоединение

Prominent-выдающийся

Tomb-могила, склеп

Rotating-вращающийся

Specimens- образец, экземпляр

fine/visual arts-изобразительное искусство

venue-место сбора

Cradle of Liberty-колыбель свободы

massacre-резня

ornate-богато украшенный

embedded-встроенный, вкрапленный

portage-перевозка

clog-засорять

drastic-интенсивный

exceed-превышать

intersperse-рассыпать

sanctuary-убежище, неприкосновенность

bay-залив

shelter-укрытие

annexation-добавление

waterborne-на плаву, перевозимый морем

tonnage-грузовместимость

cargo-груз

sin-грех

gamble-играть в азартные игры

lavish-неумеренный, расточительный

hedonism-гедонизм

vicinity-соседство, близость

boost-поддержка, рекламирование

mansion-особняк

consolidate-объединять

enclave-анклав

masonry-каменная кладка

devastate-опустошать

peninsular-полуостров

Culture

The United States is a culturally diverse nation, home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values. The culture held in common by the majority of Americans is referred to as "mainstream American culture." Certain Native American traditions and many cultural characteristics of enslaved West Africans were absorbed into the American mainstream. Westward expansion brought close contact with the culture of Mexico, and large-scale immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from Southern and Eastern Europe introduced many new cultural elements. More recent immigration from Asia and especially Latin America has had broad impact. The resulting mix of cultures may be characterized as a homogeneous melting pot or as a pluralistic salad bowl in which immigrants and their descendants impact distinctive cultural characteristics.

Popular media

Movies

The iconic Hollywood sign

In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge demonstrated the power of photography to capture motion. In 1894, the world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York City, using Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope. The next year saw the first commercial screening of a projected film, also in New York, and the U.S. was in the forefront of sound film's development in the following decades. Since the early twentieth century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, California. The major film studios of Hollywood are the primary source of the most commercially successful movies in the world, such as Star Wars (1977) and Titanic (1997). American screen actors like John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe have become iconic figures, while producer/entrepreneur Walt Disney was a leader in both animated film and movie merchandising. Director D. W. Griffith was central to the development of film grammar and Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941) is frequently cited in critics' polls as the greatest film of all time.

Television

After World War II, American homes were invaded by a powerful new force -television. The idea of seeing "live" shows in the living room was immediately attractive. Television has developed since World War II into the most popular medium in the United States, one that has had great influence on American way of life. Three large privately-owned networks -- NBC, CBS and ABC -- claimed 90 percent of the TV market from the 1950s through the 1970s with free broadcasts.

Cable Television

However, the rapid spread of pay cable TV in the 1980s broke the hegemony of the big three. By 1999, close to 70% of American households had subscribed to cable TV. Cable TV, carried by coaxial and fiber-optic cables, originated in 1948 to better serve individuals in mountainous or geographically remote areas who could not receive over-the-air TV stations.

In December 1975, Home Box Office, an all-movie channel owned by Time, Inc., became the first programmer to distribute its signal via satellite. The next service to use the satellite was a local television station in Atlanta owned by Ted Turner. It became known as the first "superstation," bouncing its signal off a satellite to reach a nationwide audience. The same technology allowed Turner in 1980 to found the Cable News Network, CNN, the world's first 24-hour all-news channel. By early 1993, MTV, the leading American rock music TV network, had an audience of 46 million in the United States and 32 other countries.

Public Television

U.S. public television stations are independent and serve community needs. All public television organizations are linked nationally, however, through three national organizations: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), created by Congress in 1967 to channel federal government funding to stations and independent producers; the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), formed in 1969 and which today distributes programming and operates the satellite system linking all public TV stations; and the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), which helps member public TV stations with research and planning. In addition to these public TV stations, there are a growing number of noncommercial stations run by Christian evangelistic ministries, which are, for the most part, supported by donations from viewers and member churches.

Radio

The beginning of regular commercially licensed sound broadcasting in the United States in 1920 ended the print monopoly over the media and opened the doors to the more immediate and pervasive electronic media. By 1928, the United States had three national radio networks - two owned by NBC (the National Broadcasting Company), and one by CBS (the Columbia Broadcasting System).

In 1998, the number of U.S. commercial radio stations had grown to 4,793 AM stations and 5,662 FM stations. In addition, there are 1,460 public radio stations in the United States. Most of these stations are run by universities and public authorities for educational purposes and are financed by public and/or private funds, subscriptions and some underwriting. NPR (National Public Radio) was incorporated in February 1970 under the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act. NPR was created to provide leadership in national newsgathering and production and to act as a permanent nationwide interconnection of noncommercial stations.

Magazines

The late 1800s saw the start of opinion journals still influential a century later, including the Atlantic Monthly, the Nation, and Harper's. The largest readerships were won, however, by magazines that catered to Americans' increasing leisure time and appetite for consumer goods, magazines such as Cosmopolitan, the Ladies Home Journal, and the Saturday Evening Post. Publishers were no longer just selling reading material; they were selling readers to advertisers. “Time” was launched in 1923 by Henry Luce (1898-1967). Intended for people too busy to keep up with a daily newspaper, Time was the first magazine to organize news into separate departments such as national affairs, business and science. “Newsweek”, using much the same format, was started in 1933. Other prominent news weeklies are “Business Week” and “U.S. News” and “World Report”.

Newspapers

The first U.S. newspaper, Public Occurrences: Both Foreign and Domestic, first published on September 25, 1690 lasted only one day before it was suppressed by British colonial authorities. Other newspapers quickly sprang up, however, and by 1730, the colonial press had gained sufficient stature to seriously challenge British governors. Historians consider the birth of America's free-press tradition to have begun with the 1734 trial of John Peter Zenger for seditious libel. Horace Greeley founded the New York Tribune in 1841, and it quickly became the most influential newspaper in America. Other important dailies, such as the New York Times, Baltimore Sun, and Chicago Tribune were founded in the 1850s. Two media giants, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, began building their newspaper empires after the Civil War (1861-1865). Their fierce competition produced "yellow journalism" -- sensational and often inaccurate reporting aimed at attracting readers. "Chain" newspapers under the same ownership became a dominant feature in the early 20th century. In addition to the front-running Hearst chain, the Scripps-Howard and Cowles chains grew following World War I.

The top five daily newspapers by circulation are: the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post.

Music

Elements from folk idioms such as the blues and what is now known as old-time music were adopted and transformed into popular genres. Jazz was developed by innovators such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington early in the twentieth century. Country music, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll emerged between the 1920s and 1950s. More recent American creations include funk and hip hop. American pop stars such as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Madonna have become global celebrities.

Theater

American theater is traditionally dated from the arrival of Lewis Hallam's English troupe in Williamsburg in 1752. Theater became a more pervasive part of American life during the early nineteenth century and the two decades before and after the turn of the century were golden years for theater. Audiences could choose between legitimate theater, ballet, vaudeville, burlesque, and opera. In the second half of the 19th century, vaudeville emerged. From the 1880s through the 1930s, vaudeville's fast-paced collage of music, comedy, dance, novelty numbers, and skits appealed to a large audience.

In 1866, the "The Black Crook" was produced and the American musical was born. Song, dance, and spectacle were grafted onto an existing melodrama. By the end of the nineteenth century the American musical stage encompassed a number of genres: Operettas, topical musicals and revues with roots in minstrel shows. After World War I, Broadway entered a golden period. Ever since the production of "West Side Story" in 1957, dance has been integral to the story. Performers now had to sing, dance, and act - the triple-threat talent required for most subsequent shows. Rock 'n' roll pushed Broadway out of its place as the trendsetter of American popular music.

Today's American theater might be divided into three categories. First, Broadway productions persist and many new plays, usually about 50 productions a season, are presented first in the theater district of New York City. Second, many fine regional theaters produce some of the best new drama. Subsidized by corporations, foundations and the government, regional theater for some critics represents the best hope of American drama. Finally, colleges and universities support active theater programs. Musicals may still rule on Broadway, but it also launches some great new American plays.