7. Answer the questions:

1. How many states is the USA made up of? 2. What is the District of Columbia? 3. How was Washington, D.C. founded? 4. What is Washington famous for? 5. In what sense is Washington the most important city in the USA? 6. When was New York founded? 7. What is the centre of the city? 8. Why is New York called “modern” Babylon?

8. Translate into English:

1. США состоят из 50 штатов и независимого округа Колумбия. 2. Округ Колумбия имеет собственные законы и нормы. 3. Вашингтон расположен на берегах реки Потомак. 4. Место для Вашингтона было выбрано первым американским президентом Джорджем Вашингтоном. 5. Город получил название в его честь. 6. В Вашингтоне работает правительство США и живут американские президенты. 7. С 1800 года Вашингтон является федеральной столицей. 8. Вашингтон – политический центр США. 9. Остров Манхэттен является деловым и финансовым центром Нью-Йорка. 10. Он был куплен в 1626 году за горсть побрякушек. 11. В многочисленных небоскребах размещаются банки и офисы. 12. Нью-Йорк называют «современным Вавилоном». 13. На рубеже 20 века люди из разных стран въезжали в США через Нью-Йорк, «ворота» Америки.

Dialogue

Read and translate the dialogue. Dramatize it:

Bob: Have you had a good holiday?

Ann: All right, thank you. We went touring round Washington.

Bob: What was it like?

Ann: Not bad. We visited the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court. All are open for tours, as there are a number of other public buildings including the Federal Bureau of Investigations. I’d never realized how interesting it was.

Bob: Yes, I’ve always wanted to go there.

Text 2 Washington, d.C. (District of Columbia)

In the early days the government offices of the USA were located first in the one city, then in another. Finally, in 1790, Congress decided that a capital city should be built.

On a cold spring morning in 1791, George Washington, the first president of the USA, and six other men took a horseback ride to choose the land on which the capital was to be built. They rode through the wilderness, along the Potomac River till they came to a place that looked good for them. They chose a plot of ground partly in Maryland and partly in Virginia.

In 1800 government offices were moved into the young city. Since then the nation’s capital called Washington has kept on growing. Now, the city with beautiful buildings, fine monuments, and green parks is a magnet that draws people from all over the world.

Here are the centers of the government’s three branches: the Capitol, begun in 1793; the White House, home to every president except George Washington; and the Supreme Court, completed in 1935. All are open for tours, as there are a number of other public buildings including the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Washington is not a very large city. There is a law in Washington against building structures higher than the Capitol. So it presents a different appearance from New York with its sky-scrapers. The Capitol, where the Congress meets, is a very beautiful building with white marble columns.

When designed in 1790’s, the streets were planned to reach out in all directions from the Capitol Building – like the spokes of a wheel. The streets were given the names of states. Pennsylvania Avenue runs from the Capitol to the White House. It has been the route of many parades – some sad, some glad. When a new President goes into office, there is always a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue to honour the occasion.

Not far from the Capitol there is the Library of Congress, one of the two largest libraries in the world (Lenin Library in Moscow may be larger). It holds 5 million books.

The White House, the residence of the president, is the oldest public structure in the capital and one of the most beautiful. It is said that in 1812, when England was at war with America, the British captured the city and some buildings including the Capitol and the house of the president were set with fire. In 1814, in order to hide the marks of the fire the brown stone walls of the president’s home were painted white and it has been the “White House” ever since.

Washington is a city of monuments and its most famous ones pay tribute to Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. There is also the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which has become one of the popular city’s monuments since 1982.

Washington is a city of museums as well. These include the National Gallery of Art, which houses one of the nation’s finest collections of paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints; the National Archives, where the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are displayed; the Cocoran Museum, which features an impressive collection of American painting and sculpture; and the Phillips Collection, the first museum of modern art in the country.

Among Washington’s other treasures are Ford’s Theatre, where Lincoln was shot; and the Folger Library, with the world’s largest collection of Shakespeareana. Lots of tourists visit the capital of the USA all year round. The best tour-season, Americans consider, is the early spring when Japanese cherry trees are in bloom. There is too much to see in Washington for just a short stay, and many return again and again to revisit favourite places and discover new ones.

Notes: to take horseback ride – отправиться на лошадях; wilderness – дикая местность; to keep on growing – продолжать расти; to draw – зд. привлекать; except – за исключением; the Federal Bureau of Investigations – Федеральное Бюро Расследования (ФБР); building structures – здания; a different appearance – не похоже; a sky-scraper – небоскреб; marble columns – мраморные колонны; to design – проектировать; to reach out – простираться; the spokes of a wheel – спицы колеса; the route – маршрут; to honour the occasion – в честь данного события; to capture – захватить; to hide the marks of fire – скрывать следы огня; to pay tribute – отдавать дань уважения; dedication – посвящение; to be displayed – демонстрироваться; to feature – отводить важное место; trees in bloom – цветущие деревья; to revisit – посетить еще раз.