Лингвистическая культура ответы на вопросы, страница 2

The USA Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

1. What is the Policy of Checks and Balances?

The system of checks and balances makes compromise and consensus necessary. Compromise is also a vital aspect of other levels of the US government.

The system of “check and balances” protects against extremes. It means for example, that new presidents cannot radically change governmental policies just as they wish.

1. What are the main political parties?

The US Constitution says nothing about political parties, but over time the US has developed a two-party system: the Democratic and Republican parties. The president-day Democratic Party was founded in 1828 representing Southern planters. The Republican Party, founded in 1854, united industrial and trade bourgeoisie from Northeast.

1. What are the stages of Presidential election in the USA?

The national presidential election consists of two separate campaigns: one is for the nomination of candidates at national party conventions. The other is to win the actual election. The nominating race is a competition between members of the same party. In November of the election year (years divisible by four, e.g. 1988, 1992, 1996, etc.), the voters across the nation go to the polls. If the majority of the popular votes in a state go to the Presidential (and Vice - Presidential) candidate of one party, then that person is supposed to get all of that state’s “electoral votes”. These electoral votes are equal to the number of senators and Representatives each state has in Congress. The candidate with the largest number of these electoral votes wins the election. In January of the following year, in a joint session of Congress, the new President and Vice – President are officially announced.

1. How are laws made in the USA?

The USA Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of Congress. Congress, in its turn, can override a veto by a two-thirds vote in each house. Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President. The President can appoint important officials of his administration, but they must be approved by the Senate. The courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of all acts of Congress and of presidential actions, and to strike down those they find unconstitutional.

The system of checks and balances makes compromise and consensus necessary. Compromise is also a vital aspect of other levels of the US government.

The system of “check and balances” protects against extremes. It means for example, that new presidents cannot radically change governmental policies just as they wish.

Each state has its own state police and its own criminal laws. The same is true with marriage and divorce laws, driving laws and licenses, alcohol laws, voting procedures.

1. What do you remember about John F. Kennedy?

In 1961 a new President John F. Kennedy (1961-3) was elected, the most progressive president since A. Lincoln and F. Roosevelt. He was young, had a good education, energy and keen, quick wit. He told American people that they were facing a “new frontier” with both opportunities and problems. He announced policy of fighting poverty and giving civil rights to black people. He streamlined and pushed through the space program and new laws for pollution treatment, but his main merit was his foreign policy. When J. Kennedy came to the office, foreign problems were numerous.

1. Who was the main reformer of the American English Language?

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson made the first attempts to renovate the English language. Jefferson was fascinated by words and liked to invent the new ones. Benjamin Franklin, who founded the first free public library in the USA, was also interested in the reform of the English language. In 1768, he published a paper entitled “A Scheme for a New Alphabet and a Reformed Mode of Spelling”. His ideas were not adopted, but made a profound influence on further US linguists.

1. Which linguistic reforms did Noah Webster carry on?

Noah Webster is The most famous of all American dictionary-makers. His contribution in the creation of American language is hard to overestimate. His works on linguistics had an enormous influence on American standards of spelling and writing. By including thousands of technical and scientific terms, Webster laid the groundwork for modern lexicography and very many dictionaries published in the USA still bear his name.

1. Why did American English Language become the global language?

The American vocabulary during the 19th and especially 20th and 21 centuries began to be exported abroad due to its economic, political and technological prominence in the world. American movies, radio, television, pop culture have certainly hastened the process.

In recent years Americanisms have been introduced into international usage. Hundreds of new business buzz-words are used, reflecting the birth of global markets and the take-over boom. Americans invented a lot of new words connected with new technology, computers and internet: a notebook, a laptop computer, download, upload, online, offline, website, to hack, software, know-how, the dotcom economy, screensaver, trackpad, thumbnail, footprint, gridlocked, cyber pet, a techno-wizard, a cybercafé and many others of computer-related terms are increasingly invading the daily life. A lot of politically correct terminology also appeared. A lot of abbreviations and acronyms appeared, especially often used in media and ads ( advertisements): NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) , UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), IMF (International Monetary Fund), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), Call (Computer Assisted Language Learning), ZIP code (for Zone Improvement Plan), etc.

1. What do you remember about American media?

American newspapers get much of their news from the two US largest news agencies AP (Associated Press) and UPI (United Press International). It is estimated that altogether, around 2 billion people get most of their news directly or indirectly through AP and UPI.

Quite a few have “daughter” editions in other countries. Among such internationals are Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, Reader’s Digest, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Newsweek, and Psychology Today. The best known professional periodicals The Atlantic Monthly, Harvard Educational Review, Saturday Review, National Geographic, Smithsonian (published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.), Scientific American have a huge readership both in the USA and abroad.

There are many different types and varieties of American radio and television: commercial, non-commercial, individual, etc. There is also a great variety among television stations. The majority of commercial television stations buy most of their programming, roughly 70 %, from the three commercial networks: ABC (American Broadcasting Company), CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), and NBC (National Broadcasting Company).

1. Is there any national press in the USA?

It is often said that there is no “national press” in the United States as there is in Great Britain. In one sense this is true. Most daily newspapers are distributed locally or regionally. There have been attempts to publish truly national newspapers, e.g. The USA Today. But it still has only a circulation of 1.2 million, which is not enough in a country where state, city, and local news and political developments most deeply affect readers and are therefore especially interesting to them.

1. What groups are American higher institutions divided into?

(In the USA there is no clear definition of the term "institution of higher

education". The institutions, which provide higher education, do not constitute

any coordinate system and are not controlled by any centralized national authority

In principle, any educational institution offering further training after leaving

high school, the so-called "post-secondary educational institution” may be

referred to as Higher Educational Institution. The only criterion to determine

the nature of any U.S. institution may be a qualitative level of it.)

Junior Colleges

Colleges of Liberal Arts

Specialized Institutions

A University

(+ Private universities? )

1. What are different student groups in the USA?

Students are classified as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. A

freshmen is a first year student, a sophomore, a second year student, a junior, a

third year student, and a senior, a fourth year student.

1. Tell about the American scientists you know.

John Forbes Nash, Jr. (born June 13, 1928) is an American mathematician whose works in game theory are used in market economics, computing, evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, accounting, politics and military theory. He awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

Norbert Wiener (November 26, 1894 – March 18, 1964) was an American mathematician and philosopher. He was Professor of Mathematics at MIT. Wiener is considered the originator of cybernetics, a formalization of the notion of feedback, with implications for engineering, systems control, computer science, biology, neuroscience, philosophy, and the organization of society.

Alan Curtis Kay (born May 17, 1940) is an American computer scientist. He is best known for his pioneering work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface design

1. Tell about your favorite American writer.

2. What is American character in comparison with the British one?

One of the most important features of the American character is emphasis on individual personality rather than collective identity or responsibility. Another distinctive American characteristic is pragmatism. This means that emphasis on achievement and success is understood first of all as material prosperity. Americans are fond of common sense; they are not particularly interested in theory, abstract reasoning, or philosophy. Generally speaking, Americans are open and friendly people. The public behavior of Americans is less reserved than that of English, e.g. It is normal for Americans to speak loudly, joke and laugh in public. Americans tend to be informal and unceremonious in both their public or private lives, although they are not absolutely uniform in their outward behavior. Like the British, Americans have love for the intricate practical joke, the pun, and the understated quip (clever remark).

1. Give examples of American pop culture?

For example, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley are outstanding representatives of American pop culture.

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music and dance made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.

Elvis Aaron Presley(January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King".

1. Do you know the history of American cinema industry?

Originally American cinema was born in the East, when in 1903 a cameraman Edwin S. Porter turned out a short film. The first “Patent Cinema Company” was formed in 1908 in Chicago. Soon the number of film companies, producers, actors, technical staff grew up there and the first film studio was founded in 1911 in Hollywood. By the middle of the 20s Hollywood had modern financial and technical basis of film production and the professional stuff.

The first “talking” movies appeared in the 30s.

The years before the Second World War and after it became “the golden age” of Hollywood. During that period 7500 full-length films were shot there.

At our time gradually Hollywood transformed beyond recognition. Generations have grown up watching American films. A lot of copies are made for VCR and sold all over the world. Film companies spent hundreds million dollars on the film production and almost the same money on their advertisements. The films by famous directors and producers Steven Spielberg, Kevin Kostner, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Verkhoven, Lucas receive the most attention. The most highly paid actors Sylvestor Stallone, Jack Nicolson, Demy Moor, Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone and others receive a lot of prestigious prizes and awards at the leading international film festivals.