8. Ознакомьтесь с содержанием данного текстового материала и ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. What information in the text" The United States of America" was new for you?

2. Is this material actual and up-to-date? Give your comments.

3. Why do you think that it is important for a student to know additional material?

The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal district for the capital of the country. The largest state is Alaska, while the Rhode Island is the smallest one. Hawaii became the fiftieth and last state in 1959.

On July 4, thirteen North American colonies declared their independence; they finally gained independence from Britain in1783. They formed the United States of America. In 1789 the American democratic government was established and George Washington was elected the first president of the USA. There is no state church in the USA, and there is a strict separation of church and state. But the freedom of religion became a basic right in America, according to the First Amendment to the Constitution (1791).

WASHINGTON (D.C.)

Washington is the capital of the USA. It is situated in the District of Columbia. A special district, named after Christopher Columbus, was created for the American capital. The city was named so in the memory of George Washington, the first president of the USA. Washington is also called as ‘one-industry city’, because it is the home of the federal 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 situated in Washington. The largest library of the USA, the Library of Congress, is also there. International organisations such as the Organisation of American States and the World Bank are in Washington too.

There are several universities in Washington; the oldest one is Georgetown University. It is private. Washington has a subway and public buses but private cars are the most important means of transport.

Выпишите слова, имеющие интернациональное значение. Переведите их.

Заполните таблицу.

verb	noun (person)	noun (thing, concept)	participle or adjective
declare
form
elect
separate

TEXT 9

The USA Symbols

9. Ознакомьтесь с содержанием данного текстового материала и ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. What information in the text "The Flag of the United States" was new for you?

2. Is this material actual and up-to-date? Give your comments.

3. Why do you think that it is important for a student to know additional material?

The Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America, often simply referred to as the American flag, consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white,five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the50 states of the United States of America and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from Kingdom of Great Britain and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include the "Stars and Stripes", "Old |Glory" and "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The modern meaning of the flag started in December 1860 when Major Robert Anderson acting without orders, moved the U.S. garrison from to Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, in defiance of the power of the new Confederate States of America. Before that day, the flag had served mostly as a military ensign or a convenient marking of American territory, flown from forts, embassies, and ships, and displayed on special occasions like the Fourth of July. But in the weeks after Major Anderson's surprising stand, it became something different. Suddenly the Stars and Stripes flew—from houses, from storefronts, from churches; above the villages and towns. As the long winter of 1861 turned into spring, that old flag meant something new. The abstraction of the Union cause was transfigured into a physical thing: strips of cloth that millions of people would fight for, and many thousands die for.

The United States Coat of Arms is on front of the United States Passport. The coat of arms is used by itself by the United States Government, on letterheads, license plates, as an element of numerous other departmental seals of the United States Government, and perhaps most noticeably on the cover of the Passport of the United States

The flag of the United States is one of the nation's most widely recognized symbols. Within the United States, flags are frequently displayed not only on public buildings but on private residences. The flag is a common motif on decals for car windows, and clothing ornaments such as badges and lapel pins. Throughout the world the flag has been used in public discourse to refer to the United States, not only as a nation, state, government, and set of policies, but also as a set of ideals^[The flag has become a powerful symbol of Americanism, and is proudly flown on many occasions, with giant outdoor flags used by retail outlets to draw customers. Desecration of the flag is considered a public outrage. In worldwide comparison it is known that the United States is not unique in adoring its banner, for in Scandinavian countries their flags are also "beloved, domesticated, commercialized and sacramental objects".

TEXT 10

Flag Etiquette