MODULE 3

3.1 The History of the u.S. Customs Service. Grammar: Passive Voice

Exercise 1. Read the text using the dictionary and making notes. Make up a list of essential words and phrases from the text.

PART I

By the 1700s, England had established 13 colonies in the eastern part of what is now the United States. Most of the colonists were English or from other parts of the British Isles, such as Scotland, Ireland and Wales (there were also, however, many Germans in Pennsylvania, Swedes in Delaware and Dutch in New York, which was originally the Dutch colony of New Netherlands but was captured by Britain in 1664).

As time passed, the colonies began to resent the governing power that Britain exercised over them. The British government required them to pay taxes to help pay for colonial expenses, but gave them no voice in passing the tax law. British troops were stationed in the colonies and some people were forced to house the troops in their homes. The British motherland determined what the colonies could produce and with whom they could trade.

In 1774, a group of leaders from the colonies met and formed The Continental Congress, which became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution.

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress issued а Declaration of Independence, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, a farmer and a lawyer from the colony of Virginia. This document declared that from that time the “United Colonies” were no longer colonies of England. The Declaration described them as “free and independent states” and officially named them the United States of America.

With the help from France, England’s old enemy, and from other Europeans, the American armies, led by George Washington, a surveyor and gentleman farmer from Virginia, won the War of Independence. The peace treaty signed in 1783 set the western boundaries of the new nation at the Mississippi River.

When peace came, the United States was not one unified nation as it is today. Each new state had its own government and was organized very much like an independent nation. After the war was won, the country’s administration would handle only problems and needs that the individual states could not handle alone. It would raise money to pay off debts of the war, establish a money system and deal with foreign nations in making treaties. The agreement that set up this plan of cooperation was called the Articles of Confederation. Eventually this agreement failed because the states did not cooperate with country’s administration and with each other. When the United States needed money to pay the national army or to pay debts owed to France and other nations, some states refused to contribute.

Vocabulary Notes

to capture захватывать, брать силой

to resent негодовать, возмущаться

to pass the law принять закон

to house the troops размещать войска

the governing body руководящий орган

Declaration of Independence Декларация независимости

surveyor (здесь) землемер, топограф

peace treaty мирный договор

the Articles of Confederation Статьи Конфедерации (Первая конституция США, принятая в 1777. Оставалась в силе до 1789).

to contribute делать пожертвования, взносы

Exercise 2. Explain the meaning of the following words in the text: colonists; to exercise one’s power; expenses; to pass the law; the governing body; independent states; old enemy; surveyor; to sign a treaty; to handle a problem; to raise money; the agreement failed; to refuse to contribute.

Exercise 3. Answer the following questions.

1. How many colonies had been established on the eastern coast of North America by 1700s?

2. Who were the founders of New York City?

3. What were the reasons for demanding independence?

4. Why was the Continental Congress formed?

5. When was the Declaration of Independence issued and what did it declare?

6. Who was the author of the document?

7. What are the Articles of Confederation?

8. When was the peace treaty signed?

9. What problems was the USA government facing under the Articles of Confederation?

Exercise 4. Study the following chart.

The passive verb forms are: to be + past participle (pp) of the main verb	Examples
present simple: am/is/are + pp	The office is cleaned twice a week.
present continuous: am/is/are being + pp	The office is being cleaned now.
past simple: was/were + pp	The office was cleaned last week.
past continuous: was/were being + pp	The office was being cleaned when the boss arrived.
present perfect simple: have/has been + pp	The office has not been cleaned yet.
past perfect simple: had been + pp	The office had been cleaned by two o’clock.
future simple: will be + pp	The office will be cleaned tomorrow.
Questions are formed by putting the verb to be before the subject	Is your car being serviced?
Negations are formed with the word not	The furniture has not been delivered yet.
The passive of infinitives is like this: to be + pp	He wants to be told the truth.
The passive of modal verbs is like this: modal verb + be + pp	The roof of the house must be repaired.

Exercise 5. Look through Part I of the text to find passive verb forms. Translate the sentences in which they are used.

Exercise 6. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the passive. Use the verbs in brackets.

1. Budget airlines nowadays ____ often ____ by passengers. (criticize)

2. A few weeks ago, I ____ to join this famous club. (invite)

3. Sorry, but your car ____ until next Monday. (can’t, repair)

4. Since 1990s, many of our toys and games ____ from China. (import)

5. She ____ just ____ for an Oscar. (nominate)

6. As far as I’m concerned, he ____ to prison. (should, send)

7. ____ the results of the survey ____ yet? (announce)

8. Are you sure the staff ____ about the new regulations last week? (inform)

9. We ____ not to use our work computers to send personal emails. (ask)

10. Borders between countries ____ day and night. (guard)

11. We can’t go over the bridge because it ____ at the moment. (repair)

12. Under the Customs regulations, these travelers ____ for failure to declare their currency. (punish)

Exercise 7. Make up 5 sentences with passive verb forms to cover the contents of Part I.

Exercise 8. Read Part II of the text using the dictionary and making notes.

PART II

The story of the United States Customs Service is the story of America itself.

Founded in 1789, July 31, to protect this struggling new Nation from bankruptcy, Customs has come to the aid and protection of the Republic and its people for two centuries. Customs gave America its first source of revenue, became its first Federal law enforcement agency, and has affected and been affected by the Nation’s history from the earliest days to the present.

After declaring independence in 1776, the struggling young Nation found itself on the brink of bankruptcy. During the brief period under the Articles of Confederation, in which each state assessed Customs duties against its neighbors, the Continental Congress learned that the national treasury could not rely upon the states for funds.

When, in 1789, Congress first assembled in New York City to launch this country on its proper course, it had one overriding concern: Money. Where to find it, how to collect it, how to keep it rolling in? Fighting a revolution had left the national cupboard bare: such was the price of liberty.

No less than a guiding light James Madison of Virginia (the 4^th president later on) proposed the scheme that would eventually make this Nation solvent: impose a duty on imports and create a well-managed agency to ensure its due collection. Responding to an urgent need for revenue, the First Congress passed, and President Washington signed, the Tariff Act of July 4, 1789. It established a tariff and a system for collecting duties.

The Act was considered so important that the press of the day hailed it as a “The Second Declaration of Independence.” Customs districts, ports of entry, and the machinery for appointing Customs officers and prescribing their duties were established July 31, 1789 – one day before the Tariff Act took effect. President Washington then nominated 59 Collectors of Customs in the 11 states and more than 40 other officers to staff the new Customs Service.

The entire Service was placed then under the Treasury Department, headed by 32-year-old Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton’s tireless, dedicated commitment to the new Service set an early standard for Customs officials.