Questions

1. Where is the USA situated?

2. What’s the total area of the country?

3. What countries does the USA border on?

4. How many states does the USA consist of?

5. What is the capital of the country?

6. Can you name any other cities in the USA?

7. What is the population of the United States?

8. What mountains in the USA do you know?

9. What are the largest rivers?

10. What can you say about the climate of the country?

11. What does the USA produce?

12. According to the US Constitution the powers of the government are divided into 3 branches. What are they?

13. How many chambers does the Congress of the USA consist?

14. What are the main political parties in the USA?

15. Who is the President now?

Washington, dc

Washington is the capital of the United States of America. It’s situated in the District of Columbia and is like no other city in the USA. It’s the world’s largest one-industry city. And that industry is government. The White House, where the US President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of the US Congress, and the Supreme Court, are all in Washington.

Washington was named after the first US President George Washington. He selected the place for the capital and Pierre L’Enfant, a French engineer, designed the city.

Washington was first settled in 1790 and since 1800 it has been the federal capital.

Washington is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in the United States. In the very centre of it rises the huge dome of the Capitol -–a big white dome standing on a circle of pillars. The 535 members of the Congress meet here to discuss the nation’s affairs. It’s easy to get lost in this huge building, full of paintings and statues.

Not far from the Capitol is the Library of Congress, the largest library in the States. It contains more than 13 million books, more than 19 million manuscripts, including the personal papers of the US presidents.

The White House is the official residence of the US President. He works in the Oval Office.

One can hardly find a park, a square or an open area in Washington without a monument or a memorial. The most impressive and the best-known ones are the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

There are some important museums in Washington where you can see all kinds of things: famous paintings and sculptures, the dresses of Presidents’s wives, the original of the Declaration of Independence, the largest blue diamond in the world, etc.

There are 5 universities in Washington.

There are no skyscrapers in Washington, because they would hide the city’s many monuments from view. No building in the city may be more than 40 metres tall.

Thousands of tourists visit Washington every day. People from all parts of the United States come to see their capital.

Questions

1. Where is Washington situated?

2. Is Washington a typical America city?

3. It’s the world’s largest one-industry city, isn’t it? What kind of industry is it?

4. What important government buildings are situated in Washington?

5. Where does the US president live and work?

6. Who selected the place for the capital of the USA?

7. Is there a monument to George Washington in the city?

8. When was Washington first settled?

9. Who designed the capital of the USA?

10. What places of interest in Washington do you know?

11. How many universities are there in Washington?

12. Why aren’t there any skyscrapers in Washington?