The United States
of America
The United States of America,
popularly called "The States". "U.S.A", "The Land of
Liberty" is a vast country stretching across the middle of North America.
This country which at one time inhabited by Red Indians, is now the home of
"nation of nations". as people from every part of the world have gone
to live in this land of wealth and promise. These settlers met, mingled, and
worked with great enterprise, and as a result of their efforts, the United
States has become one of the most important countries in the world.
In 1620 the; Pilgrim Fathers, a band
of Puritans in England who sought freedom of worship, set forth for America in
the sailing-ship Mayflower. Three months after leaving Plymouth Harbour, they
reached the shores of what is now called new England, and Founded the America
township of Plymouth. Although they often had difficult times with the native
Red Indian tribes, the colony soon prospered and more and more settlers joined
them. The Indians used a new kind of grain, which the settlers called
"Indian corn" (now termed maize) and they ate strange birds called
turkeys. On the fourth Thursday of November the Americans celebrate
Thanksgiving Day with a feast of turkey and Indian corn.
A great many emigrants went from
European countries to America and thirteen colonies were formed, all of them
under English rule. The government in England, however, took little interest in
the American colonies, except from the point of view of trade. When certain
taxes and laws were ordered by the English Parliament, the colonists opposed
them and it gradually led to war. At first the colonists fared badly, but later
they rallied and eventually won final victory, under the able leadership of
George Washington.
Shortly after the discovery of the
New World by Columbus, many Spaniards travelled northward from Mexico and
settled along the western coast of America. That is why many places in this
area such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Santa Barbara have
Spanish names. In 1849 the chance discovery of gold brought many people to
California and numerous mining towns sprang up in a very short time. "The
Golden Gate" (the channel connecting the harbour of San Francisco with the
Pacific Ocean) was so called because many of the seekers of the precious yellow
metal passed this way to and from the rich gold-fields.
In American cities, men have built
huge buildings (skyscrapers) some as many as fifty flats high. The national
capital of the United States is Washington and the White House is the home of
the President. The famous Statue of Liberty in New York harbour was a gift from
France.
While English is the national
language of the country, some immigrants have continued the manners, customs,
and even tongue of their homeland, and newspapers, in all languages, may be
seen in the book-stalls. Here are some common English words, for which the
Americans have different names: sweets-candies, shop-store,
motor-car-automobile, pavement-sidewalk, petrol-gas, lift-elevator, dust-bin,
garbage-can, holiday-vacation, trousers-pants, waistcoat-vest, a jug-pitcher.
There are also differences in the spelling of certain words: colour-color,
honour-honor, programme-program.
The national banner of the United
States of America, commonly known as "The Starts and Stripes" or
"Old Glory", is a flag bearing 50 stars and 13 stripes. Each star
represents a present-day state and each stripe stands for one of the original
colonies. The national anthem is the "Star Sprangled Banner" and the
national emblems are the eagle and the buffalo. The national sport may be said
to be baseball.
Questions
1. What is a popular name for the
United States of America?
2. Who are the natives of the USA?
3. When did the Americans begin to
celebrate Thanksgiving Day?
4. Why are the names of some places
Spanish?
5. What is the national capital of
the United States?
6. What Statue is the symbol of New
York and the United States? Whose gift was it?
7. What other languages do the
Americans speak?
8. What other big cities of the
United States do you know?
9. How many stars are there on the
national banner of the United States of America. What does each star represent?
10. What is the national sport in
the country?
Список литературы
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