Topics%20for%20credit / extra / america
.doc
The United States of America
(USA) are located in North America. There are fifty States in the
USA. Each State has its capital.
Two States are separated from
the others: Alaska is in the northwest of Canada and Hawaii is in
the Pacific Ocean.
The capital city of the USA
is Washington, D. C.
These letters mean "District
of Columbia" and it's another name for the capital.
The capital city doesn't
belong to any State. It is located between the States of Virginia
and Maryland.
You may be surprised but
Washington is also the name of one state!
So if you want to talk about
the capital, you should say: "Washington D.C." or "D.C."
The Capitol – the USA
Government Building – and the White House are in Washington, D.C.
There are also many museums, historical buildings and beautiful
parks all over the city.
The 50 stars on the blue
square represent the 50 states.
New York City is the most
populated city in the USA. More than 8 million people live there.
New York has many world-famous attractions: the Empire State
Building, the Statue of Liberty and Time Square.
New York's nickname is "The
Big Apple".
The first people in the USA
were the "Native Americans" or "American Indians".
In 1492 Christopher Columbus reached America. It took a few more
years until settlers arrived from all over the world and made the
USA their home.
In the 17th
century, slaves were brought from Africa and their descendants are
the African-Americans.
The largest cities in the USA
are New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, San Diego, Detroit, Dallas
and Phoenix.
The US President is elected
every 4 years. Barack Obama is the current President.
Americans love to watch and
play many sports. The most popular sports are baseball and
basketball. Baseball is "the national pastime". The NBA is
the most famous basketball league in the world.
Hamburgers, hot dogs, fried
chicken, pizza and apple pie are very popular in the USA. Immigrants
from all over the world have brought into the USA their traditional
cooking, too. Americans love Italian, Chinese and Mexican dishes.
Fast food is rich in calories
and not so good for your health! Many Americans try to eat healthier
food, and salad bars have become very popular.
Halloween is a festival
celebrated in the USA on October 31st.
Kids
dress up as ghosts, witches, devils or skeletons. They knock on
their neighbors' doors and say: "Trick or Treat!"
The Grand Canyon is located
in the State of Arizona. It is one of the wonders of the world. It
is a deep valley made of red, pink, purple, green and yellow rocks.
The Colorado River runs through it.
Disney World is loved by kids
from all over the world. It is located in Orlando, a city in the
State of Florida.
Disney World is a "magic
land" where you can meet the Disney characters, watch wonderful
shows and go on amazing rides. There is a special park where you can
see great animals too.
Many words are different in
American and British English! Let's look at some words for food:
UK:
biscuit
USA:
cookie
UK:
chips
USA:
fries
UK:
maize
USA:
corn
UK:
aubergine
USA:
eggplant
UK:
sweets
USA:
candy