Text 1 washington, the capital of the usa

Washington, the capital of the United States since 1800, is situated on the Potomak River in the District of Columbia. One cannot help mentioning that the terms «Washington» and «District of Columbia» are practically synonymous. The federal district is a piece of land of 26 square kilometres, it is neither in the north nor in the south, it doesn’t belong to any of 50 states of the USA.

The District is named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America. The capital owes a great deal to the nation’s first president, George Washington, who succeeded in selecting the site for the District. He laid the cornerstone of the Capitol Building, where Congress meets.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the new capital was called «Wilderness City» and the «City of Streets without Houses». It is not the largest city in the United States, for it cannot compare in size with cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles, which have more than a million inhabitants. In the political sense, however, it is the centre of the republic and the most important city in the United States.

It’s better to start the sightseeing tour of Washington from Washington Monument, which was constructed in honour of the first American president. Its height is 555 feet (over 180 metres), and from it’s top landing one can enjoy seeing the whole panorama of the city. In the very centre of the city rises the Capitol where the Congress of the Unites States sits. One can see the huge dome of the Capitol from this landing.

Washington is the world largest one-industry town. This industry is government. Straight to the west of the Capitol runs Constitutional Avenue where many departments are situated. The White House, residence of the President, is to the northwest of this avenue. Between the Fourth and Seventh Streets along Constitutional Avenue one can see the building of the National Gallery of Art. It is one of the finest collections of painting in the USA.

Washington has many monuments to American presidents

Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Grant Memorial and many others. The Library of Congress contains millions of books, manuscripts, prints and photos.

Washington avenue are wide and long, most of them being called after states, e.g. Pensylvania Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue. Numbered streets run north and south, lettered streets east and west. The leading universities are Georgetown University and George Washington University.

Across the Potomak River one can see a grey five-sided building. That’s the Pentagon, where the headquarters of the Defence Department are located. It has about 6,500,000 square feet of floor space, three times that of the 102-floor Empire State Building. The Defence Department has become the most important department in the government in number of employees and the amount of money spent. In recent years, its annual budget has averaged more than 60 per cent of all expenditures of the government. The Defence Department has over one million of civilian employers, almost one half of all the national civil servants.

LEXICAL EXERCISES

I. Pronounce these words after the teacher:

Washington [wojingtan], Capitol ['kaepitl], Chicago, Los Angeles, Constitution Avenue, Pentagon, Defence Department, Detroit.

II. Define to what part of speech the derivatives of these words belong and translate them.

to employ — employer - employee — unemployed - employment

to expend - expenditure - expensive — inexpensive -expended

to cover — discover - discovery - discovered — discovering

to select — selected — selection — selective - selector

to compare - comparison — comparable — comparative

III. Put all possible questions to these sentences:

1. The Defence Department has become the most important department in government in number of employees and the amount of money spent. 2. The Defence Department has over one million civilian employees. 3. The annual budget of the Defence Department has averaged more than go per cent of all expenditures of the government.

IV. Answer the questions on the text.

1. Is New York the capital of the United States of America? 2. What state does Washington belong to? 3. Where is Washington situated? 4. Who was George Washington? 5. What can one see from the top landing of the Washington memorial? 6. What building does the US Congress sit in? 7. What does the Washington monument look like? 8. Where is the National Gallery of Art situated? 9. What is the annual budget of the Defence Department?

CONVERSATIONAL PRACTICE

I. Getting Around in Town (in Washington)

— Excuse me, is that the way to George Washington University?

- Yes. Go straight ahead for two blocks and then turn right. You can’t miss it.

- Thank you very much.

- It’s nothing.

— Excuse me, can you tell me the way to Dupont Circle?

- I’m sorry. I’m afraid I can’t help you. I’m new here myself.

- Thank you, anyway.

Characters: policeman, Nick

Just a minute, sir. Didn’t you see that signal?

Yes, I did, officer.

Then why did you cross the street?

There weren’t any cars coming, and 1 thought it was safe.

That doesn’t make any difference. «Don’t walk» means «Don’t walk». Even if there’s no traffic coming.

You’re absolutely right, officer. I know that.

Don’t let it happen again. If you do, you may be fined.

I won’t, officer. You can be sure of that.

— Excuse me. Is there a bus from here to the National Gallery?

No, there isn’t. Take bus 60 to Pensylvania Avenue and then transfer to the R2.

Thank you very much.

It’s nothing.

— Excuse me. Does this bus go to the Library of Congress?

No, this bus won’t take you there. You’ll have to change at Dupont Circle. By the way, you can get there by subway. There’s a subway station over there.

Thank you.

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