Immigrants from Europe.

In the 1820s many people in Europe, suffering from poverty, war and discrimination, began emigrating to the United States. They hoped for better opportunities in the United States. During the first half-century, most immigrants came from the countries of north-western Europe – Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Norway.

During these years the United States was expanding into what is now the Midwest. The Midwest had a lot of land good for farming. That’s why many new immigrants became farmers in the Midwest. Even today, German and Scandinavian influence is felt in Midwestern foods and festivals.

Between the 1870s and 1930s many immigrants came to the USA from the countries of southern and eastern Europe – Italy, Greece, Poland and Russia. The United States was now developing into a mainly industrial country. Much of the farmland in the Midwest had been settled, so the new wave of immigrants moved to cities and worked in factories.

Hispanic-Americans.

Hispanics are people whose ancestors were Spanish or Spanish-Americans. Some Hispanics had lived in the areas which were under Spanish control, and found themselves living in the United States when these areas became part of the US (for example California and New Mexico). Many other Hispanics immigrated to the US from many different countries, mostly from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Asian-Americans.

In the 19^th and 20^th centuries many immigrants came to the United States from different Asian countries (China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, India and others). They have settled mostly in California, Hawaii, New York and Texas.

Melting Pots and Mosaics.

For years it was thought that the USA was and should be a “melting pot” – in other words, that people from all over the world would come and adopt the American culture as their own. More recently, some people have compared the US to a mosaics – a picture made by many different pieces. America’s strength, they argue, lies in its diversity and in the contributions made by people of many different cultures. America needs to preserve and encourage this diversity, while making sure that everyone has equal opportunity to succeed.

India [΄indiə] - Индия

Walt Whitman [΄wo:lt΄witmən] – Уолт Уитмен

Asia [΄ei∫ə] - Азия

the Bering Strait [΄beriŋ΄streit] – Берингов пролив

Siberia [sai΄biəriə] - Сибирь

Alaska [ə΄æskə] - Аляска

Columbus [kə΄lΛmbəs] - Колумб

Indians [΄indiənz] - индейцы

the East Indies [΄ist΄indiəz] – Ост-Индия

California [΄kæli΄fo:niə] - Калифорния

Oklahoma [΄ouklə΄houmə] - Оклахома

Arizona [΄æri΄zounə] - Аризона

New Mexico [΄nju:΄meksikou] – Нью Мексико

the Native Americans [΄neitiv ə΄merikənz] – коренные Американцы

Yankee [΄janki] - янки

New England [΄nju:΄iŋglənd] – Новая Англия

The Civil War [΄sivil΄wo:] – Гражданская война

Midwest [΄midwəst] – Средний Запад

Europe [΄juərəp] - Европа

Germany [΄dзə:məni] - Германия

Sweden [΄swi:dən] - Швеция

Norway [΄no:wei] - Норвегия

Scandinavian [΄skændi΄neivjən] – Скандинавский

Greece [gri:s] - Греция

Poland [΄poulənd] - Польша

Hispanics [his΄pænik] - испанский

Spanish [΄spæni∫] - испанский

Japan [dзə΄pæn] - Япония

the Philippines [΄filipinz] – Филиппинские о-ва

Korea [kə΄riə] - Корея

Vietnam [΄vjet΄næm] - Вьетнам