The USA is one of the largest countries in the world

                                
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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« THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA». 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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                                                                    Милованова С.О.   

                                   THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

   The USA is one of the largest countries in the world. It is situated in the central part of the North American continent. The area of the USA is over nine million square kilometers. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean and by the Atlantic Ocean. The most northern part of the USA is Alaska, the largest state, separated from the rest of the country by Canada.

   The population of the United States is nearly 250 million people; most of the people live in towns. People of different nationalities live in the USA.

   The official language of the country is English. The capital of the country is Washington. It was named in honour of the first President, George Washington.

   As the USA is a large country, the climate is different in different regions. For example, the Pacific Coast is a region of mild winters and warm, dry summers, but   the eastern continental region has a lot of rainfall. The region around the Great Lakes has changeable weather.

   There are many mountains in the USA. For example, the highest peaks of the Cordilleras in the USA are 6,193 and 4,418 meters.

   The main river of the country is the Mississippi. But there are many other great rivers in the USA: the Colorado in the south and the Columbia in the north-west. There are five Great Lakes between the USA and Canada.

   The USA produces more than 52 per cent of the world's corn ¹, wheat ², cotton, tobacco.

   There are many big cities in the country. They are Washington (the capital of the country), New York (the city of contrasts, financial and business centre of the USA), Boston (there are many colleges and universities in it), Chicago (one of the biggest industrial cities in the USA), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Detroit (one of the biggest centers of the automobile industry).

   The USA has an Academy of Sciences. There are many scientific institutions, museums, libraries, theatres and other interesting places in the country.

   The USA is a highly developed industrial country. The USA is rich in mineral resources, such as aluminum, salt, zinc, copper ³, and others. The country is rich in coal ⁴, natural gas, gold and silver, too. It is one of the world's leading producers of coal, iron⁵ , oil, natural gas. Such industries as machine-building, ship-building are highly developed in the country.

   American agriculture produces a lot of food products: grain ⁶, fruit, and vegetables. The USA is a federal republic, consisting of fifty states. Each of these states has its own government. Congress is the American Parliament which consists of two Chambers.

   The president is the head of the state and the government. He is elected for four years.

   Washington is the capital of the United States of America. The city is on  the left bank of the Potomac River. The city was named after the first President George Washington. The population of the city is nearly three million people.

   There are many beautiful parks and gardens in Washington. It is interesting to see the famous cherry trees. These trees were a gift ⁷ from Japan. They were brought there in 1912.

   There are many libraries, museums and art galleries in the city, for example, you can see the National Gallery of Art. It was opened in 1941. It has a lot of art collections by the great masters from the 14th to the 19th centuries. It is one of the finest picture galleries in America. The NASA Museum is devoted to the US achievements in the exploration ⁸ of space.

   The Capitol is the centre of the city. The Capitol was built according to the plans of William Thornton. He was an amateur ⁹ architect. It was made of stone and marble ¹⁰ and contains 540 rooms. It is situated on Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill is the highest place in the city. Topping the dome is the 19-foot bronze statue of Freedom. There is a law that forbids ¹¹ the building of houses higher than the Capitol.

   The Capitol is the seat of Congress.

   Congress consists of two Chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. From the Capitol to the White House runs Pennsylvania Avenue which is used for all processions and parades. The White House is the place where the President of the USA lives and works. It is the official residence of the USA presidents. This house was first occupied in 1800. George Washington died in 1799 and he did not live there. John Adams was the first President who lived in that House. The White House has 132 rooms.

   The Metro rail system is an up-to-date one in Washington. If you want to go by metro, you have to find the letter "M". The fare ¹² in the metro is connected with the time of day and the distance of your journey.

   There are a lot of sights in Washington. It is difficult to find a park or a square without a monument or a memorial. The Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument are the most famous and best ones.

   The Lincoln memorial was dedicated ¹³ to Memorial Day - May 30, 1922. It was built in the style of a classic Greek temple ¹⁴. It has 36 columns. Each column represents a state in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The dominant feature ¹⁵ of the building is the realistic figure of Lincoln.

   The Washington Monument is one of the city's most impressive sights. It is situated in park near the White House. It was erected ¹⁶ in the memory of the first President of the USA in 1888. It is called "The Pencil," because it is one of the tallest stone constructions in the world and the tallest stone structure in the USA. This monument is over 555 feet high. There is the Pentagon in Washington. This is a building which was built between 1941 and 1943. Now it is the US military centre. A lot of people work there.

   Washington is a city almost without industry.

   One of the main cities of the United States of America is Philadelphia. It is situated in the east of the USA.

   Now Washington is the capital of the USA but Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States of America, from 1790 till 1800. Many people consider that Philadelphia is an important political centre, because the USA constitution was the first written constitution in the world adopted ¹⁷ in this city in 1787.

   Philadelphia is a seaport and a shipping centre, too. It is an important manufacturing centre. Several branches of industry are developed in the city.

   There are many sights in Philadelphia, for example, the Independence National Historical Park. You can see many monuments there. If you want to learn the history of America you have to learn something about the Liberty Bell. Now the Liberty Bell is a symbol of freedom. The sound of this Bell told the people about the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. It was in July, 1776. Philadelphia is one of the cultural centers of the country. The Parkway is the cultural centre of Philadelphia. You can see the Philadelphia Museum of Art (one of the greatest museums of the world), College of Art, Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Fine Arts there.

   There are many hotels, theatres, shops and museums in Philadelphia. There  is  the  Pennsylvania  University  in  Philadelphia.   This  University  has  an interesting and big library.

   Philadelphia is a beautiful city with many skyscrapers.

   The largest and the most important city in the USA is New York. It was founded three hundred years ago at the mouth of the Hudson River. Today New York consists of five boroughs ¹⁸. They are Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Bronx, and Manhattan.

The centre of New York is Manhattan Island. It is the heart of business and commercial life of the country. There are many sky-scrapers which house banks and offices. Broadway begins here; New York Stock Exchange ¹⁹ is located here as well.      

   Very few  people live  in  Manhattan.  Numerous bridges link Manhattan

Island with the opposite shores.

New York is  called "Modem  Babylon"  and  "the  Gateway ²⁰  of America".  It is

inhabited by people of almost all nationalities of the world. Most people entered the

USA through New York. New York is an industrial city. The sea encircles many of the city areas and ships go over and under New York traffic.

   Texas has long been the largest and the most populous state in the Unites States. Texas is located in the American South between the Gulf of Mexico and the           Rio Grande River. Texas is the only state of 1: 6 USA that entered ²¹ the Union by treaty ²². It was officially admitted ²³ to the United States in 1845. In the 19th century Texas was known primarily ²⁴, for its cattle ²⁵ and shepherds ²⁶, the cowboys. Gun was an ultimate argument, and even today many people in Texas  possess weapons.

   In 1918 rich oil deposits were found in Texas, and since then it became the centre of oil production and refining ²⁷. Texas is also known for the Lyndon Johnson Space Centre in Houston.

   The Space Centre is operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Austin is the capital of Texas. The largest cities of Texas are Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. Each of them has a population over 1 million. Overall population of Texas is 22 million. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Glossary:

1. corn - зерно

2. wheat - пшеница

3. cooper - медь

4. coal - уголь

5. iron - железо

6. grain - зерно

7. gift - подарок

8. exploration - исследование

9. amateur - любитель

10. marble - мрамор

11. forbid - запрещать

12. fare - плата за проезд

13. dedicate - посвящать

14. temple - храм

15. feature - особенность

16. erected - устанавливать

17. adopt - принимать

18. boroughs - городки

19. New York Stock Exchange - Нью-Йоркская Фондовая биржа

20. Gateway - ворота

21. enter - вступать

22. treaty - соглашение

23. admit - признать, признавать

24 primarily - прежде всего

25. cattle - рогатый скот

26. shepherds - пастухи

27. refining - очистка