Three Branches of Government

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The USA is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada and China). It occupies the southern part of North America and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The climate of the country varies greatly from arctic to subtropical.

The USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. It also has a sea-boarder with Russia.

The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington DC, is situated. The capital was named after the first president George Washington. The largest cities are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San-Francisco and others.

The population of the country is about 300 million people. The Americans are very sociable. With this sociability goes overwhelming hospitality. The Americans show the keenest interest in your affairs and ask you to let them know if they can help. All citizens of this country are proud of America. Since childhood they are taught to be great patriots, love their motherland, and believe in the ‘American dream’.

If we look at the map of the USA, we can see lowlands and mountains. The highest mountains are The Rocky Mountains, the Cordillera and the Sierra Nevada. The highest peak is Mount McKinley which is located in Alaska.

America's largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the largest and deepest in the USA.

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It is the world's leading producer of copper and oil and the world^’s second producer of iron ore and coal. Among the most; important manufacturing industries are aircraft, cars, textiles, radio, and television sets, armaments, furniture and paper.

The United States is a federal republic. Each state has its own government. The seat of the central government is Washington, DC.

Three Branches of Government

Within the national government, power is di­vided among three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The legislative branch consists of Con­gress, which has two parts — the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress's main function is to make laws. There are 100 senators (two from each state) and 435 representatives (the number from each state depends on the size of the state's population). The President is the head of the executive branch and the country. The executive branch administers the laws (decides how the laws should be carried out). In addition to the Pres­ident, the Vice-President, and their staffs, the executive branch consists of departments and agencies.

There are now 14 departments, including Treasury, State, Defense, and Health and Hu­man Services. Each department has different responsibilities. For example, the Treasury Department manages the nation's money. The President appoints the department heads, who together make up the President's Cabinet, or advisers. The agencies regulate specific areas. For example, the Environmen­tal Protection Agency tries to control pol­lution, while the Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the stock markets.

The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. There are several levels of federal courts. The Supreme Court is the most important. It has nine members, who are appointed for life.

The system of checks and balances, es­tablished by the Constitution, is meant to pre­vent any branch from having too much power. Each branch has certain controls over the other blanches. For example, Congress makes the laws but the president can veto, or reject, a law and the Supreme Court can decide a law is unconstitutional. American politics is based on two-party system. There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and the Democratic.

WASHINGTON, DC

Washington DC is the capital city of the United States. "D. C." stands for District of Columbia. These letters are always added not to mix with the state of Washington. Washington DC is located on the north bank of the Potomac River.

George Washington, the first President of the USA, after whom the city was named, selected an area for the capital. A hundred square miles were taken from states of Maryland and Virginia. It was called the District of Columbia. The city is divided into four sections: NW, NE, SW, and SE. Numbered streets run north and south: First Street, Second Street … Lettered streets such as A-street, B-street run east and west.

Washington is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in the United States. It has little industry, and only one million people. No building in the city may be more than 40 metres tall. There are no skyscrapers, because they would hide the city's many monuments from view. One can easily find a park, a square or an open area there.

The heart of Washington is the Capitol - a big white dome standing on a circle of pillars. The members of the Congress meet here to discuss the nation's affairs.

Not far from the Capitol is the Library of Congress - the largest library in the United States, it contains millions of books and manuscripts, including the personal papers of the US presidents.

The Capitol is connected with the White House by Pennsylvania Avenue. The White House is the official residence of the US President.

There are many monuments in Washington. The most impressive and the best-known ones are the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

The Washington Monument, the tallest stone structure in the USA, is in the Potomac River. It is 555 feet tall, is called the "Pencil" because of its shape. There is an elevator, which will carry you to 500-foot level observation windows.

The Lincoln Memorial is designed like a Greek temple. The dominant figure is the realistic figure of Abraham Lincoln seated in the centre of the open temple. People are also interested in the Washington Cathedral and the Arlington National Cemetery. The famous Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is visited by millions of people every year.

There are some important museums in Washington where you can see all kinds of things: famous paintings and sculptures, the dresses of Presidents' wives, the original of the Declaration of Independence, the largest blue diamond in the world, etc. One of the most visited mu­seums in the world — is the National Air and Space Museum. The museum has aircraft and spacecraft that were important in aviation his­tory.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1239