U n I t 4 Text a. W a s h I n g t o n

Washington is the capital of the USA. It is situated in the District of Columbia and is like no other city of this country. It’s the world’s largest one-industry city. And that industry is government. The White House, where the President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of Congress, and the Supreme Court, are all here. The population is over 3.4 million. It consists mostly of government employees.

The city was named in memory of George Washington, the first President. He was born in 1732. He distinguished himself as a soldier in campaigns against the French and Indians. When the war with Britain began he was chosen Commander-in-Chief of the American army. After the war he entered politics and was elected President in 1789.

Washington is not in any of 50 states: a special district was created for the capital – the District of Columbia. Washington is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in the US. In the very centre of it rises the huge dome of the Capitol. 535 members of the Congress meet here to discuss the nation’s affairs. Not far from the Capitol is the Library of Congress, the largest in the States. It contains more than 13 million books and over 19 million manuscripts.

The official residence of the President is the White House. It was constructed in 1792 – 1829. It has 132 rooms, among them the Oval Office where the President works. The White House is open for tourists.

One can hardly find a park, a square or an open area in this city without a monument or a memorial: the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial are mostly frequented by tourists. At the National Air and Space Museum they see the history of aviation from the first airplane flown by the Wright brothers to the Apollo spaceship. The National Gallery of Art, a large museum of painting, sculpture and other arts is also situated in the capital. There are 5 universities here.

There are no skyscrapers in this city, because they would hide the monuments from view. No building may be more than 40 meters tall. Buses and trams run along numbered streets – First Street, Second Street, Third Street … The streets running east and west from the centre are lettered – A Street, B Street and so on.

Thousands of tourists visit Washington every day.

Exercise 1.

Memorize the following words and phrases.

to be elected быть избранным

to be named in memory быть названным в честь

Commander-in-Chief главнокомандующий

to contain содержать

to distinguish отличиться

District of Columbia округ Колумбия

employee служащий

government правительство, управление

huge огромный

numbered пронумерованный

official residence официальная резиденция

skyscraper небоскрёб

spaceship космический корабль

Capitol Капитолий

Exercise 2.

Answer the following questions.

1. Where is Washington situated?

2. Is it a typical American city?

3. It’s the world’s largest one-industry city. What kind of industry?

4. What important government buildings are located here?

5. Where does the President live and work?

6. What monuments can you see in the city?

7. What other places of interest here do you know?

8. How many universities are there?

9. Why aren’t there any skyscrapers in this city?

10. How are Washington streets called?

Exercise 3.