Washington - the capital of the usa

Washington, the capital of the United States of America, is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district is a piece of land ten miles square and it does not belong to any separate state but to all the states. The district was named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America.

In Washington more than anywhere else the visitor is amidst history. The city was created for a definite purpose — to provide a permanent seat of national government. The capital owes much to the first president of the USA — George Washington, who chose the place for the District and laid in 1790 the corner-stone of the Capitol, where Congress sits. Music sounded and artillery fired salutes as George Washington, wearing an apron embroidered by Mrs. Lafayette, declared the stone "well and truly laid". In 1800 the building was partly completed, and Congress, removing from Philadelphia, met here, for the first time in the new capital. Now the Capitol building dominates all Washington. It stands on the crest of hill rising above the Potomac river. The largest and tallest among the buildings with its great House of Representatives and the Senate chamber, the Capitol is situated not far from the Washington Monument, which looks like a very big pencil. It rises 100 metres and is hollow inside. A special lift brings visitors to the top in 70 seconds from where they can enjoy a wonderful view of the whole city.

The White House is the President's residence. All American Presidents except George Washington (the White House was not yet built at that time), have lived in the White House. It was built in 1799.

The Jefferson Memorial was built in memory of the third President of the USA, Thomas Jefferson, who was the author of the Declaration of Independence. The memorial is surrounded by cherry-trees.

The Lincoln Memorial is devoted to the memory of the 16-th President of the US, the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave freedom to Negro slaves in America.

The Arlington Cemetery lies on the other bank of the Potomac river. Here the President Kennedy was buried. American soldiers and officers, who died in World War I and II are buried there too.

Pentagon, the residence of the US Military department, is situated in the suburbs, to the south of the Potomac river. It has the shape of five huge regular concentric pentagons. It could not be built in the city for its enormous size.

But Washington is not the largest city in the USA. It has a population of 900,000 people. The only industry of this city is government, because the city does not produce any­thing except very much scrap paper. Every day 25 railway carriages leave Washington loaded with scrap paper. The city industry is not well developed, but its main output are laws and government decisions Washington is a large scientific and cultural centre. There are a lot of research institutes, five Universities, the Library of Congress and the National Academy of Sciences.

Word List:

Washington - Вашингтон

to be situated - располагаться, находиться

the Potomac River - река Потомак

the District of Columbia - округ Колумбия

separate - отдельный

to be named in honour - быть названным в честь

amidst - среди

to create - создавать

for a definite purpose - для определенной цели

national government - национальное правительство

to owe much to - быть обязанным многим

the House of Representatives - Палата представителей

the Cenate chamber - Сенат

to rise (rose, risen) - вставать, подниматься

hollow - пустой, полый

to enjoy a wonderful view of - наслаждаться прекрасным видом на

the Declaration of Independence - Декларация независимости

to be surrounded by - быть окруженным

to be devoted to the memory of - быть посвященным памяти

slave - раб

residence - резиденция

suburbs - окраина, предместье

to have a shape of - иметь форму

enormous size - огромный размер, величина

scrap paper - макулатура

to load - загружать, нагружать

output - результат, продукция