The United States of America

The USA is one of the largest countries in the world. It is situated in the central part of the North American continent. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean & by the Atlantic Ocean. The main rivers of the country are the Mississippi, the Colorado & the Columbia. As the USA is a large country, the climate is different in different parts of the country. It is rather warm on the Pacific coast, but it often rains on the Atlantic one. The region of the Great Lakes between the USA & Canada has changeable weather.

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. The USA is rich in mineral resources, such as aluminium, salt, zink, copper & others. Such industries as machine-building & ship-building are highly developed in the country.

The USA is the greatest capitalistic country in the world. The USA is a federal republic, consisting of 50 states. Each of these states has its own government. Congress is the American Parliament. It has two houses: the House of Representatives & the Senate. The president is the head of the state & the government. There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic party & the Republican party.

The USA has the Academy of Sciences, many scientific institutions, museums, libraries, theatres & other places of interest.

There are many big cities in the USA. They are New York, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles & Washington, the capital of the country. It was named after the first American President George Washington.

I. Complete the sentences.

1. It is washed by…

2. . The USA is rich in …, such as……

3. The president is…

4. The USA has…

5. It was named after…

II. Answer the questions.

1. Where is the USA situated?

2. What is the climate of the USA?

3. What industries are highly developed in the USA?

4. What is a political structure of the USA?

5. What is Congress of America?

III. Retell the text.

Washington

Washington is the capital of the United States of America. It is the residence of the President of the United States. The city was named after the first President George Washington.

There are many libraries, museums, art galleries in the city, for example, you can see one of the finest picture galleries in America The National Gallery of Art. It many art collections by the great masters from the 14-th to the 19-th centuries.

The Capitol is the centre of the city.. It is situated on Capitol Hill, the highest place in the city. The Capitol Dome with the 19-foot bronze statue of Freedom. is so large that you can see it everywhere in Washington. There is a law that forbids to build houses higher than the Capitol. The Capitol is the seat of Congress.

Congress consists of two chambers: The Senate & the House of Representatives. Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs from the Capitol to the White House, is the main business street of the city & the place where all processions & parades are held. The White House is the official residence of the USA presidents. But it is open to the public; anybody can go inside & look around.

There are a lot of sights in Washington. The Lincoln Memorial & Washington Monument are the most famous & nice ones. The Lincoln memorial was dedicated to Memorial Day – May 30, 1922. It has 36 columns & each of them represents the state in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death. The Washington Monument is one of the city’s most impressive sights. It was erected to the memory of the first President of the USA in 1888. It rises 160 meters & is hollow inside. A special lift brings visitors to the top in 70 seconds from where they can enjoy a view of the city.

Washington is a large scientific & cultural centre. There are five universities in Washington. There is no heavy industry in Washington. Most of the people in Washington work at government offices.