The review of the states.

The United States of America is a federal Union (federation) which is made up of fifty states and one independent district – the District of Columbia (D.C.) The District of Columbia is the territory of the national capital of the USA – Washington.

Each state has its own government, laws and regulations, slogan, nickname and state emblems.

The territory of New England comprises 6 states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island.

Unofficial names or nicknames of the states reflect their peculiar features concerning geographical position of the state, its history, traditions and way of life.

Thus, Vermont is called “The Green Mountain State” as it lies in the Green Mountains. The people living there is called “Green Mountain boys”.

New Hampshire is “the White Mountain state”. Skiing is a major source of income in this state.

Massachusetts is called “The Bay State” due to its geographical position. Boston is the capital of this state. It is famous for Harvard University which is located not far from Boston and considered to be oldest and the most privileged University in the USA. Boston is also associated with Boston Tea Party.

Connecticut is the state which has three nicknames: “The Constitution State”, “The nutmeg State”, and “The brown stone State”.

Rhode Island is one of the smallest states. That’s why it is called “Little Rhody”.

Alaska is the largest state and its nickname is “The Great Land”.

California is called “The Golden State”. There are gold mines on its territory. Gold – rush days are connected with California.

New York State is famous for New York, one of the largest cities in the world. However, New York isn’t the capital city.

Pennsylvania with its largest city Philadelphia, the first capital of the USA, is known for the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the drafting of the Constitution.

North Dakota is the exact geographical centre of North America.

South Dakota is famous for a memorial to four famous presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Their heads are carved on a granite cliff of Mount Rushmore.

Kansas is the geographical centre of the USA. Its nicknames are “The Sunshine State” and “The Central State”.

Wyoming is called “The Equality State” because it is the first state where women where given the right to vote.

Colorado is known to be a highest state in the country: there are 52 peaks there.

Utah has a nickname “The Salt Lake State”. Great Salt Lake is situated on the territory of this state. The capital of the state is also called Salt Lake City.

Nevada is nicknamed “the Silver State”. Rich deposits of gold and silver were discovered in 1859. Los Vegas is the largest city in this state. It is known all over the world as the city where a great number of gambling casinos, night clubs and other places of entertainment are located.

Illinois is called “the Land of Lincoln” due to the fact that Abraham Lincoln began his political activities there. Chicago, the 2nd largest city after New York, is situated in this state.

Arizona is “the Grand Canyon State”. The Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world. Four Indian tribes live in this region.

New Mexico is famous for Carsbad Caverns, huge underground caves.

Oklahoma is an Indian territory.

Montana is “the Treasure State”. Its slogan is “Gold and Silver”. In the middle of the 19^th century gold was discovered there. Cold winters and considerable snowfalls are typical for the climate of this state.

Minnesota is called “the Bread and Butter State” or “the Wheat State”.

New Jersey is known as “the Garden State”.

West Virginia is famous for its colourful caverns.

Virginia has a nickname “the Old Dominion of Mother of Presidents”. This state was settled by the English colonists and was nicknamed after Elisabeth I, the Queen of England.

Florida is a resort area famous for unique beaches.

Delaware has nickname “the First State”. It was the first state to ratify the Constitution of the USA.

Michigan is called “the Lake State”. It is situated in the valley of the Great Lakes.

Nebraska’s nickname is “the Blackwater State”. The water of its rivers is dark.

Check yourself

1. What native American holidays can you name?

2. What nicknames and emblems of states can you remember?

Lecture 5

Mass Media. The Press.

On September 25, 1690, news-hungry Bostonians, who had to wait months for papers from Britain, bought the first copies of the American Colonies’ first newspaper. It was a small four-page journal with one blank page on which readers could fill in their own news. The paper was fairly sensational for its day, with reports of smallpox and fevers, a suicide, Indian raids, and a scandalous story about the King of France. That first issue was also the last because the printer, Benjamin Harris, had not obtained the license required by law. More than a decade passed before Americans saw another native newspaper.

Although there are two American news services operating worldwide – the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) – the tremendous size of the nation, the variety of time zones, and the general preoccupation with many local issues make it difficult for national daily newspapers to exist. “The New York Times”, with a circulation of 900 000, is perhaps the most influential daily newspaper, followed by “The Washington Post” and “Los Angeles Times”. “The Christian Science monitor” has become known for its in-depth analysis of major news developments. An attempt has been made to introduce the “popular” “US Today” on a nationwide basis; and “The Wall Street Journal”, broadened from strictly financial paper to one with general news interest, comes close to being a national newspaper.

All large American cities have at least one newspaper and, although mainly concerned with local affairs, they are also read in other States.

Periodicals exist for virtually every type of interest, some with just a tiny circulation, others like “The Time” with a circulation worldwide of more than 6 million copies. More than 50 of the leading magazines produce over 1 million copies of each issue.

New periodicals keep appearing. There has been a great growth in suburban newspapers, which siphon readers from the big city press. Most successful of these has been New York’s “Newsday”. Founded in 1940, it is today one of the country’s leading evening papers.

In a single month some 9000 different magazines appear in the United States. Americans all across the country buy million of copies of these periodicals, which treat every imaginable subject in the range of human thought. There are publications for farmers, apartment dwellers, cooks, weight lifters, and antique collectors, among many others. Men and women of every age group and children can all find magazines specifically aimed at them. Sports of every variety and special interests in every field are covered.

Although individual magazines come and go, the magazine business continues to be the most competitive, and imaginative of all publishing attempts, and there are no signs that the public appetite for its products is about to diminish.

More and more the Nation seems to be getting its news from radio and television. But it is the newspapers and magazines that have the time and the space for the most careful interpretation of the news. The newspapers in the United States continue to deal most effectively with local news and to relate the national news to the locality.