Lesson 6.The usa / сша.

Exercise 1: Read and translate the text, learn the active vocabulary:

The USA

The USA is the third largest country in the world in population and it is the fourth largest country in area.

The USA, commonly called the US or simply America, lies in the central part of the North American continent with the Atlantic Ocean to the East, the Pacific to the West, Canada to the North and Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the South. It also includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The USA covers an area of 3,618,780 square miles and has a population of more than 349,6 mln. Some parts of the country are crowded with people, while other areas are deserted.

The USA is so big that parts of it are in different time zones. The clocks go back one hour for each zone you cross going west. So when it is 9 a.m. in New York, it is only 6 a.m. in Los Angeles.

The USA has several different climatic regions. The coldest regions are in the north and north-east. The south has a subtropical climate. The climate of Alaska is arctic; the climate of the central part is continental. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often brings typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast. Humidity is higher in the East than in the West. West coast winters are mild and rainy except in southern California, where they are mild but drier. In central and eastern regions the weather is very changeable in winter. It may rain in the morning and snow in the evening when the north wind begins blowing. Summer temperatures also vary from region to region. In many places in southern Arizona and California the average daily temperature is above 40 degrees Centigrade. Summers are very hot and humid on the eastern coast; they are dry and hot in most continental areas and cool along the western coast.

There are many valleys, hills and mountains in the country. The highest and the most important mountains are the Rockies in the west and the Appalachian Mountains in the east, the Cordillera and the Sierra Nevada. The highest peak is Mount McKinley which is located in Alaska.

The United States is a land of rivers and lakes. The northern state of Minnesota is the land of 1000 lakes. The longest rivers in the USA are the Mississippi with its tributories the Missouri and the Ohio, the Rio Grande and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the largest and the deepest in the USA. They are the Ontario, the Superior, the Erie, the Huron and the Michigan.

Grassland and scrub dominate the western part of the country, forest covers the eastern part.

The United States is rich in natural and mineral resources: coal, oil, iron ore, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, salt, gas, etc. It is a highly-developed industrial and agricultural coun­try. Farmers grow wheat, oats, cotton, tobacco, all kinds of ve­getables and fruit. The USA holds the leading position in the production of aircraft, ships, automobiles, machine-tools, farm and household machinery, electronic devices, textiles, armaments, furniture, paper industries and other goods.

The largest cities of the USA are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, and others. The national capital is Washington, D.C.

The USA is divided into 50 states and the District of Colum­bia, (the territory under the capital Washington), the seat of the national government.

It is important to recognize that political power in the United States can be viewed as consisting of three levels, each of them having executive, legislative and judicial branches.

First of all there is the Federal government which is located in Washington D.C. and consists of the President and the Congress and the Federal Court. These bodies create Federal legislation. Federal government is structured by the U.S.A. constitution ado­pted in 1787. According to this Constitution the legislative power belongs to the Congress which consists of the Senate and the Ho­use of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 100 members, two from each state who are elected for a term of six years. One thi­rd of the Senate is elected every two years.

The House of Representatives comprises 435 members elected for a two year term. The number of Representatives from each sta­te is determined by population, but every state must have at le­ast one Representative in the House. Both the Senators and Repre­sentatives must be residents of the state from which they are cho­sen. The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice President. The House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker.

The work of preparing and considering legislation is done by Committees of both Houses of the Congress. There are 15 standing Committees in the Senate and 19 in the House of Representatives. The Congress assembles at least once a year.

The President may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses or either of them. The executive power belongs to the President of' the USA, he holds his office during the term of four years, together with the Vice President nominated with the President. The President is also the head of Cabinet - the executive body of the Government. The Cabinet is composed of the heads of the ten executive departments - the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of Defence and others.

The judicial branch of the Government is headed by the Suprene Court which settles disputes between states. The Supreme Court may veto any law passed by the Congress if it contradicts the Constitution of the USA.

The second level of government in the USA lies within the 50 states. Each state differs in terms of their legislature and the executive power which is held by the Governor of the state. Each state also has its own judicial system and has its own con­stitution. In addition each state has its own law enforcement agency such as the police.

The third level consists of the government of cities and towns and also the government of counties.

As the example of this tripartite division there are federal taxes, state taxes and local taxes in the USA. Also reflecting the three divisions there are elections in the US at the Federal level (for President and members of Congress), at the state level (for state officers) and at the local level there are elections for local officials (town, city and county) and sometimes voting for or against issues that affect the community.

Elections in the US are based primarily on a two-party system: Democrats and Republicans. From time to time other parties have appeared but rarely have they had a permanent influence in the political system.

The US national flag - Stars and Stripes - is red, white and blue. Thirteen stripes represent the original 13 states of the USA the 50 stars represent the current number of states.