тест классы / america
.docAmerican studies
Factfile (1)
The U.S. geography, history, people, political structure, education, culture, welfare system, way of life and language
1. Official name of the country: the United States of America
2. Type of the state: Federal Republic
3. Area: 3.6*106 mls2 or 9.3*106 km2
4. Comparative area: the 4th largest country in the world
5. Administrative division: 50 states, 1 DC (District of Columbia)
6. National holidays are: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, Christmas, etc.
7. Executive branch. The executive branch is headed by President, who is also head of the country. The executive branch administers the laws (sees to it that the laws are carried out, actually rules the country). In addition to the President and the Vice – President, the executive branch consists of departments and agencies. The President appoints the department heads, or advisers, who together make up the President’s Cabinet.
8. The Legislative branch is represented by Congress which consists of 2 parts – the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress’s main function is to make laws. There are 100 senators (2 from each state) and 435 representatives (the number from each state depends on the size of the state’s population).
9. The Judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. The Judicial branch is represented by several levels of federal courts. The Supreme Court is the most important body. It has 9 members, who are appointed for life.
10. The U.S. has 2 main political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. There are other, much smaller, parties, which play little, if any, role. There are no clear differences between the Republican and Democratic party’s. In general, the Republicans tend to be more conservative and to have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend to be more liberal and to have more support among the working class and the poor.
11. The President is elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November of a leap year and takes office at noon on January 20. The President is elected by an Electoral College. The candidates who win the most votes within a state receive all its Electoral College votes. Presidential candidates are selected by their respective party’s national conventions in the summer of each election year.
12. The red-white-and-blue flag of the U.S. is known as “Old glory” or the “Stars and Stripes”. 13 stripes represent the first original American colonies. The stars in the flag white on the deep blue background represent the number of states making up the U.S. Today it has 50 stars, one for each state, and 13 stripes, one for each of the original states. Red stands for courage, white for purity, and blue for justice.
13. Nearly 2 000 000 000 peoples.
14. 98% - white, 11% - African origin, 1% - Chinese, Italians, Europe, etc.
15. Largest city: Los Angeles.
16. Capital: Washington, D.C.
17. Largest state: Texas
18. Smallest state: Rhode Island.
19. Longest river: Mississippi.
20. Highest point: McKinley, 6193m.
21. Climate. A great diversity of climatic conditions can be observed in different parts of the country. The northern part of Pacific coast – moderate climate, the southern part of the Pacific coast – Mediterranean climate, the climate of the Atlantic coast is continental-marine. The plains of the Appalachian Mountains – continental climate. The plateaus and tablelands of the Cordilleras – an extreme continental climate.
22. Natural resources: coal, oil and iron. There are also deposits of silver and gold in California and Texas.
23. Environmental problems: pollution control, acid rains, the quality of air and water, pesticides and agricultural pollution, natural disasters, earthquakes, volcanic activity, permal frost in Alaska, etc.
24. Independence: 4th of July, 1776. The U.S. Constitution, written in 1781, established the country’s political system and is the basis for its laws. The Constitution can be amended. Its basic principles can be applied and interpreted differently at different times.
25. Currency: dollar.
26. Famous politicians: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Regan.
27. American writers, poets: Edgar Allan Poe, James Fenimor Cooper, Mark Twain, Anne Broadstreet, Herman Melville.
28. American artists: Mary Cassatt, Andrew Ugeth.
29. Singers: Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, Bob Dylan.
30. Actors, actresses: James Henry Hackett, Shirley Booth, Kim Bassinger, Barbara Streisand, Sylvester Stallone.
31. Film Directors: Elia Kazan, Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, John Ford, Charlton Heston.
32. Famous inventions/inventors: T.A. Edison – electric light hult.
33. Famous sights: the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Jefferson Memorial.
34. Most favorite holidays: the Independence Day, Christmas, Halloween.
35. President (at present): George Bush the Junior.
36. Vice – President: Richard Cheney.
37. National motto: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; time is money and money is time.
38. National symbol: the bold eagle, the Statue of Liberty.
39. Education system structure:
Nursery school, kindergarten.
Elementary education: Elementary School (1-5)
Secondary education: Senior High School, Junior High School (7-12), High School Diploma.
Higher education: Technical Institute, Private Career School, Junior College.
Undergraduate Studies – Bachelor’s Degree, Graduate Studies – Master’s Degree, Postgraduate Studies – Doctor’s Degree.
40. World known colleges/universities: Boston University, Evergreen State College, Stanford University, the University of California, New York University.
41.Favorite sports: swimming, bowling, exercise walking, basketball, American football, bicycle riding, aerobic.
42. Leisure activities: dancing, picnics, training dogs, making pottery, art, crafts.
43. Popular newspapers, journals, magazines: TV Guide, Glamour, Motorland, the Washington post, the New York Times.
44. TV Companies: NBS, ABC, CBC, Life, CNN, MTV, NASH.
45. Radio channels: ABC, NBC, CBC.
46. American food: hamburger, pizza, hot dog, cheeseburger (all kinds of fast-food).
47. American values: change and progress, time and its control, practicality, equality, individualism, self-help concept. Also they are very informal, action and work – oriented, self-improvement – oriented, materialistic.
48. Customs, traditions: Celebrate Christmas with family, eating roasted turkey on the Thanksgiving Day.
49. Places of interest: Broadway, White House, the Statue of Liberty, the Capitol, the Niagara fall.
50. Americanisms: yup, yep, yeah, vacation, cool, o’k, gee, sweety, goose bumps, sidewalk.