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Cambridge University

Cambridge is a university town; it is situated at a distance of 70 miles from London. Cambridge is one of the loveliest towns of England and a well-known University. Newton, Byron, Darwin, Rutherford and many other scientists and writers were educated at Cambridge. In Cambridge everything centres on the University and its colleges.

The oldest college is Peterhouse, which was founded in 1284. The most recent is Robinson College, which was opened in 1977. The most famous is probably King’s, because of its magnificent chapel. Its choir of boys and undergraduates is also very well known.

The University was exclusively for men until 1871 when the first women’s college was opened. Another was opened two years later and a third in 1954. In the 1970s, most colleges opened their doors to both men and women. Almost all colleges now are mixed, but it will be many years before there are equal numbers of both sexes. Until today there are more than twenty colleges in Cambridge.

There is a close connection between the University and colleges, though they are quite separate in theory and practice.

Each college has its own building, its own internal organization, its own staff and students. In order to enter the university, one must first apply to a college and become a member of the university through the college. The colleges are not connected with any particular study. Students studying literature, for example, and those trained for physics may belong to one and the same college.

However the fact is that one is to be a member of a college in order to be a member of the University. The colleges are governed by twenty or thirty “fellows”. Fellows of a college are “tutors” (teachers, often called “dons”). Each tutor has 10 – 12 students studying under his guidance. Tutors teach their own subject to those students in the college who are studying it, and they are responsible for their progress.

Every college is governed by a dean. Discipline is looked after by proctors’ and numerous minor officials called “bulldogs”.

The University is like a federation of colleges. It arranges the courses, the lectures and the examinations, and grants the degrees.

A college is a group of buildings forming a square with a green lawn in the centre. An old tradition does not allow the students to walk on the grass: this is the privilege of professors and head students only. Most of the colleges, however, allow visitors to enter the grounds and courtyards. The most popular place from which to view them is from the Backs, where the college grounds go down to the river Cam.

Students study at the University for four years, three terms a year. Long vacation lasts about three months. There are many libraries at Cambridge; some of them have rare collections of books. In one of them among the earliest books by Shakespeare and other great writes one may see an early description of Russia by an Englishman on diplomatic service there (in 1591) and a Russian reading book of the seventeenth century.



 

THE USA

The United States of America 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 total area of the country is about nine and a half million square kilometers. The USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. It also has a sea border with Russia.

The USA is made up 50 states and the District of Columbia where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The population of the country is about 309,205,000 people. Fifty states have joined to make one nation. The United States did not always have fifty states. At first there were thirteen. As the United States grew, more states joined the union. The last two states to join were Alaska and Hawaii. They both joined in 1959.

The history of the USA dates back only to the 15th century. In the 15th century there was no USA at all. The present territory of the USA was divided among some countries. In the 15th — 16th centuries some territory of the USA belonged to Great Britain (northern and western lands); southern parts (California, Florida, New Mexico, Texas) belonged to Spain, then — to Mexico; the central part, the territory was called Louisiana — to France; Alaska was possessed by Russia; some territories remained to be under Indians control.

In 18th century there were only thirteen Britain's American colonies and they broke with Great Britain in 1776 and later were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America, following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th"and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded their frontiers across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions.

There were three most dramatic experiences in the nation's history: the Civil War (1861-1865), the Great Depression of the 1930s and Vietnam War of the 1960s — 70s. After its victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the USA remains the world's most powerful state. The USA is a highly developed industrial country. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and great advances in technology. The USA is the leading producer of copper and oil and the world’s second of iron ore and coal. On the industrial enterprises of the country they produce aircrafts, cars, textiles, radio and television sets, weapon, furniture and paper.

The area of the USA covers every type of land. There are forests, deserts, mountains and flat land. The area of the USA also covers every type of climate. The size of each state is different too. Alaska is the biggest state. Rhode Island is the smallest one. The people of the USA come from all over the world. People often name new cities after those where they come from. For example, in the USA you will find Paris, Rome, Delhi and Frankfurt. The state with the highest population is California. The state with the lowest population is Alaska. Each state has its name. More than a half of the states have names of American Indian origin. Each state also has a flag with colours that have a special meaning for the state. The flag is the emblem, or the symbol, of the state. There are such symbols as state flowers, trees and birds.

If you 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 climate of the country varies greatly. The coldest regions are in the north. The climate of Alaska is arctic. The climate of the central part of the country is continental. The south has subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf Mexico often bring typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast.

Though mainly European and African in origin, the Americans are made up from nearly all races and nations, including the Chinese and the native Americans – Indians.

The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, and others.

The United States is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, each of which has its own government. The President is the head of the state. He lives and works in the White House. The President is elected every 4 years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of a leap year and takes office at noon on January 20, and can be re-elected for only one more term. Before 1951 the law was different. In fact, Franklin Roosevelt was President for twelve years. No one was President longer than he was. President of the USA earns $200,000 a year and also gets $50,000 for expenses, tax-free. He has a limousine, jet and housekeepers, all free. He lives rent free in the White House in Washington, D.C. Presidents of the USA were people of very different professions. Twenty-two were lawyers, four – soldiers, four – farmers, four – teachers, two – writers, two – businessmen, one – engineer, one – tailor, and one – actor. Eight of them did not have a college education!

The seat of the central (federal) government is Washington, D.C. According to the Constitution of the USA, the powers of the government are divided into three main branches: the executive, headed by the President, the legislative, exercised by the Congress, and the judicial. The Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and the Democratic.


Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1550


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