7. История возникновения, географическое положение, флаг

The first settlements is hunters, descendants of American Indeans. Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, he thought that it must be India but it was not. It was a new land — a new continent.

The USA territory consists of three separate parts: the US proper (It borders on Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east), Alaska, including a lot of islands in the northwest and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

The United States of America is situated in the temperate and subtropical zones. Alaska lies in the subarctic and arctic zones, Hawaii are situated in tropical zones.

The eastern part of the country is occupied by the Appalachian Mountains. The western part of the USA is Cordillera system.

The main plains are Central Plains, the Great Plains and the Mexico Lowlands.

The main rivers are the Mississippi, Columbia, Missouri, Colorado. The main lakes in the USA are the Great Lakes in the north.

There are fifty states and district of Columbia. The population of the United States is about 300 million people. The capital is Washington DC.

The flag of the USA is called "Stars and Stripes". (1776). The 50stars — white on a blue field — represent the 50 states, 13 stripes represent original English colonies, which in 1776 became independent from England.

Red - courage.

White stripes - liberty.

Blue - loyalty.

8. Education

The USA has 3 levels of basic education.

1.Elementary school to sixth grade

2. Junior high school to 8 th or 9 th grade

3. High school to 12 th grade. There are general and specialized High schools.

About 90 % of children receive education in public school, which is free. About 10 % of children go to private school, which often is associated with religion.

In the USA education is regulated by state government.

After that Americans go on to higher education. American institutions of higher education include: colleges, which offer 2 years programs, universities (4) offering masters or doctoral degree programmes.

Colleges and universities may be public and private, too.

9. Государственное и политическое устройство

The USA is an indirect democracy. The US has federal system. It includes 50 states. The capital is Washington DC. Each states has own government and there is a national government.

The American constitution is the world’s oldest written constitution. The father of constitution is James Madison.

The power is divided among three branches: Legislative, Executive and the Judicial.

The Legislation is represented by Congress, which consists of two parts – the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress makes laws.

The executive branch is headed by the President. Besides the President, it includes departments, agencies and the Vice-President. They administer laws.

The judicial branch is represented Supreme court and 9 federal courts.

Political parties: 2 party system – the Republican and Democrats.