The United States of America

After 350 years of development the United States of America still holds the leading position in the western world. The USA is the most powerful and highly developed country of the world. The United States of America lies in the central part of North American continent. Its western coast is washed by the Pacific Ocean. Its eastern coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The USA consists of three separate parts. They are the Hawaiian Islands, Alaska and the rest major part of the USA. There are fifty states and districts of Columbia. The states differ very much in size, population and economical development. The population of the United States is about 250 million people.

What makes the USA the leader of the western world is its economical, political and military dominance over other countries.

The United States is a federal republic. The Government is divided into three branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court).

There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic and the Republican.

The flag of the USA is called "Stars and Stripes". The 50 stars — white on a blue field — represent the 50 states, 18 stripes represent 13 original English colonies, which in 1776 became independent of England.

The capital of the United States is Washington. It was named in honour of the first president whose name was George Washington. The biggest cities of the USA are New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and others.

VI. Письменно ответьте на вопросы:

1. Where is the US situated?

2. What are the major political parties?

3. Who is the US president now?

4. How many States are there in the country?

5. What is the US population?

6. What is the political structure in the country?

7. What is the capital of the USA?

8. What is the name of American flag?

ВАРИАНТ V