My college

I study at the College of electronic devices. It was established in 1987. There are several departments at our college:

– the economic;

– the TV and radio-apparatus building;

– the exploitation of equipment for production of electronic techniques;

– the programming of electronic systems; the service of computers, robot technical systems;

– the bookkeeping;

– the service of computers and intellectual systems.

I study at the programming of electronic systems department. I have chosen this specialty because I like working with computers and my parents wanted to give me a good education.

The Collage trains specialists in many specialized fields. Its numerous laboratories are equipped with modern computers and instrument to provide a high level of training. Here the students make experiments, work at computer.

There is a large library at the disposal of the students which provides them with textbooks, instructions and literature on special subjects.

Any boy or girl who has secondary education or finished the ninth form of secondary school may enter our College. There are students for which the education is free and those who pay for it.

The academic year begins on the first of September and ends on the first of July. It is divided into two terms. During the year students attend lectures and classes and do laboratory works. At the end of each term they take tests and exams.

Three foreign languages are taught at the College: English, German and French. I study English. My favorite subjects are English, World Literature and History.

Washington

Washington, the capital of the United States of America, is situa­ted on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district is a piece of land ten miles square and it is outside the jurisdiction of any state and subjects only to the control of the Federal Congress. Wa­shington is the seat of the Federal Government of the United States. The district is named in honor of Columbus, the discoverer of Ame­rica.

The capital owes much to the first President of the USA—George Washington. It was G. Washington, who chose the place for the Di­strict and laid in 1790 the corner-stone of the Capitol, where Con­gress sits.

Washington is not the largest city in the USA. It has a population of 900,000 people. Washington is a one-industry town. That industry is government. It does not produce anything except very much scrap paper. Every day 25 railway cars leave Washington loaded with scrap paper.

Washington has many historical places. The largest and tallest among the buildings is the Capitol with its great House of Represent­atives and the Senate chamber. There are no sky-scrapers in Washing­ton because no other building must be taller than the Capitol.

The White House is the President's residence. All American pres­idents except George Washington (the White House was not yet built in his time), have lived in the White House. It was built in 1799. It is a two-storeyed, white building.

Not far from the Capitol is the Washington Monument, which looks like a very big pencil. It rises 160 meters and is hollow inside. A special lift brings visitors to the top in 70 seconds from where they can enjoy a wonderful view of the whole city.

The Jefferson Memorial was built m memory of the third Presi­dent of the IJSA, Thomas Jefferson, who was also the author of the Declaration of Independence. The memorial is surrounded by cherry-trees.

The Lincoln Memorial is devoted to the memory of the 16th Pre­sident of the US, the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave freedom to Negro slaves in America. On the other bank of the Potomac lies the Arlington National Cemetery where President Kennedy was buried. American soldiers and officers, who died in World Wars 1 and fl arc buried there, too.

Washington D.C. has nothing characteristically American in it, as its conception is purely French. It has long wide avenues, gardens, beautiful parks and no skyscrapers at all.

Washington is a large scientific and cultural centre, where there are many research institutes, five universities, the National Academy of Science and the Library of Congress.

There is one more well-known building in Washington — Penta­gon, the residence of the US Military department. It is situated in the suburbs to the south of the Potomac.

Washington is one of the least industrialized metropolises in the world. However, in many ways it's a typical American city. Washing­ton often rates as «dangerous» on the scale of air pollution. The air is periodically toxic from

exhaust fumes. The water in Potomac is pol­luted. There are traffic jams in rush hours in its streets. Washington is often called the city of underprivileged and poor blacks.

In spite of all its problems, Washington has another nickname — the American Paris. The major attractions for tourists are in the heart of Washington. Among them the National Museum of History, the National Museum of Natural History! The National Gallery of Art exhibits thousands of the world's finest canvases.

The Library of Congress is the younger rival of the London Li­brary of the British Museum. It contains a lot of books, prints and photos. There's hardly a park, a square or an open area in the capital without monument or a memorial. Most of Washington's broad and long streets are called after states — Pennsylvania Avenue, Connecti­cut Avenue.