N. Kryazheva - The United States and the United Kingdom. Past and Present (pdf)

The United States and the United Kingdom:Past and Presentauthors: N.Kryazheva V.Oleinik Zh.KhramushinaPREFACEThis book attempts to present a picture of the British country and the United States of America as they are at the present period.The main objective is to convey information about political, social and cultural life in the above mentionedcountries. History is kept to a minimum. The emphasis is mainly on the featuresof life which seem to be distinctive or characteristic or which seem to be of specialinterest to observers from outside. It is not our purpose to praise or to blame, toattack existing order of things or to defend them.The life of these countries has its difficulties and irrationalities.

We have assumed a fair knowledge of ordinary literary English.Texts are not adapted. We have tried to use language understandable for the first and second year students of the technicaluniversity.Texts are intended for class and out-of-class reading and for communication. Grammar is easy. There are almost no lexicaldifficulties. All unknown words are given. We hope the book will be useful for students who are learning English at higher schoolsand want to have definite knowledge about Great Britain and the United States of America and form communication skills.PART ITHE UNITED STATESThe United States of America, commonly called the United States or simply America is a federal republic comprising 50 statesand the district of Columbia - a federal area on the Potomac River, coextensive with the federal capital Washington, D.C., governedby Congress, and six territories and dependencies.

The part of the country constituting the order 48 states and the district ofColumbia is collectively referred to as the conterminous United States; the conterminous United States and the state Alaska arecollectively referred to as the continental United States.The USA came into being on July 4, 1776, when 13 British colonies had won their independence in America from Great Britain.The 13 colonies became the first states of the US. They are represented on the American flag, which is called the "Stars and Stripeand Old Glory" with 13 horizontal stripes alternately red and white with a blue background marked with 50 white stars representingthe 50 states existing today. The national anthem of the USA is the Star- Spangled Banner.The US is a big highly developed industrial country.

It holds the leading position in the capitalist world and has been called the"Land of Opportunities", the "Melting Pot", the "Salad Bowl", "God's Country", and the "Pizza" and is referred to as by advocates ofcapitalism as a land of superlatives "the richest", "the greatest", "the most", but it is not the largest country in the world. The USA isthe 4th largest country in the world with a population 309,794,000 ml. It is a very urbanized population, with 81% residing in citiesand suburbs as of mid-2005 (the worldwide urban rate was 49%).

California and Texas are the most populous states, as the meancenter of United States population has consistently shifted westward and southward.The United States is one of the few countries that has no "official" national language, or languages. English is the commonlanguage by use, but it is not the national language by law. The Americans are really a nation of nations, and the USA is the countrywhere all the principal languages are spoken.The United States has often been called "a nation of immigrants." There are two main reasons for this.

Firstly, the country wassettled, built, and developed by generations of immigrants and their children. Secondly, even today America continues to take inmore immigrants than any other country in the world. It is not surprising, therefore, that the United States is counted among themost heterogeneous societies in the world. Many different cultural traditions, ethnic sympathies, national origins, racial groups, andreligious affiliations make up "we, the people".This country like any other one now faces urgent and serious problems: crimes, urban and racial conflicts, unemployment anddrugs. In the United States as elsewhere, the causes of serious crime are hotly debated and many reasons for it suggested.

Amongthese are unemployment, drug abuse, poverty, inadequate police enforcement, ineffective courts, racial discrimination,consumerism, television, and "a general decline in middle class values".The Statue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a 225-ton, steel female figure, 152 ft in height, facing the ocean from LibertyIsland in New York Harbour.The statue was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi as a gift to the United States from the people ofFrance.The Statue of Liberty is more than a monument.

It is a beloved friend, the symbol of freedom to millionsaround the world.The woman is holding up a torch in her right hand and represents freedom.The words written at the base of the statue are famous and well-known to most Americans. These wordsare:Give me your tired, your poor,Your haddled masses yearning to breath free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send this, the homeless tempest - tossed to me!I lift my lamb beside the golden door.Words and Phrases:to refer to as - называтьto come into being - возникатьto represent - представлятьrepresentative - представительcrime - преступлениеblue background - голубой фонcoextensive - сосуществующийheterogeneous - разнородныйdrugs - наркотикиdrug abuse - злоупотребление наркотикамиto face problems - стоять перед проблемамиto win (won, won) independence - завоевывать независимостьconterminous - имеющий общую границу, смежныйto spangle- блестеть, украшатьto constitute - составлятьconstitution - конституцияconstitutional - конституционныйurgent problems - насущные проблемыenforcement - давлениеto count - считатьto mark - отмечатьaffiliation - принадлежностьsuperlative - превосходная степеньTasks:1.

Make up a plan of the text.2. Ask your group-mate whether he(she) knows:a. anything about the history of the country;b. what the District of Columbia is;c. anything about the US flag.3. Speak about the "national language" of the US.4. Ask your group-mate whether he(she) knows:a. what the capital of the US is;b. anything about the Americans as "nation of nations";c. what serious problems this country faces.5.

Imagine that you are to make a report about the country, write down themost important sentences from the text.THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENTThe USA is a bourgeois republic. There are three levels of government in the US - federal, state, and local ones. All of these areelected by the people of the country. The federal government is made up of the Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court.Within the national government power is divided among three branches, namely the legislative, executive and judicial ones.The legislative branch consists of the Congress, which is made up of the House of Representatives and Senate.The Congress's main function is to make laws and to finance the operations of the Government.

There are 100 senators (twofrom each state) and 435 representatives (the number from each state depends on the size of the state's population).The executive branch, which includes the President, Vice-president andsident's Cabinet is responsible for administering and executing the laws.

The President's Cabinet consists of 10-12 members.The President is the head of the executive branch and the country. In addition to the President, the Vice-president, and theirstaffs, the executive branch consists of departments and agencies.There are now 14 departments. Each department has different responsibilities. The President appoints the department heads,who together make up the President's Cabinet, or advisers. The agencies regulate specific areas.The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. There are severallevels of federal courts. The US Supreme Court is the highest tribunal in the US. It is appointed by the President and approved bySenate. It has nine members, who are appointed for life.The system of checks and balances, established by the Constitution, is aimed to prevent any branch from having too muchpower.