Untitled

КИЇВСЬКИЙ НАЦІОНАЛЬНИЙ УНІВЕРСИТЕТ
ІМЕНІ ТАРАСА ШЕВЧЕНКА

ІНСТИТУТ ФІЛОЛОГІЇ
ПРАКТИКУМ
«ЛІНГВОКРАЇНОЗНАВСТВО
СПОЛУЧЕНИХ ШТАТІВ АМЕРИКИ»
для студентів Інституту філології КНУ імені Тараса Шевченка

спеціальності «Філологія», спеціалізацій «Мова і література
(західноєвропейські мови)» та «Переклад»,
які вивчають англійську мову як другу іноземну
КИЇВ – 2020
Рецензенти:
Коваленко Л.І., канд. філол. наук, доцент кафедри англійської філології та

міжкультурної комунікації Інституту філології
Смовженко Л.Г., канд. пед. наук, доцент кафедри
методики викладання української та іноземних мов і літератур
Інституту філології
Радзієвська Т. В., д.філол.наук, професор (Інститут мовознавства імені
О.О. Потебні НАН України)
Рекомендовано Вченою Радою Інституту філології

(протокол № ____10_____від __29 квітня___ 2020__ року)
Практикум «Лінгвокраїнознавство Сполучених Штатів Америки» / Укл.:

Шелякіна А.В. – К.: PrintTo, 2020. – 116 с.
Пропонований практикум «Лінгвокраїнознавство Сполучених

Штатів Америки» призначений для студентів Інституту філології КНУ
імені Тараса Шевченка спеціальності «Філологія», спеціалізацій
«Мова і література (західноєвропейські мови)» та «Переклад», які
вивчають англійську мову як другу іноземну, і розроблений на основі
робочих навчальних програм з дисципліни «Лінгвокраїнознавство
країн другої іноземної мови» відповідно до навчального плану
Інституту філології Київського національного університету імені
Тараса Шевченка.
Практикум розроблений для самостійної та аудиторної роботи.
Його метою є ознайомити студентів з різними аспектами життя,
історією, державним устроєм США, а також розвинути мовну
компетенцію студентів щодо вживання культурно-специфічної
лексики.
1
Вступ 3
THE USA. FACTFILE 5
Unit 1 NATIONAL IDENTITY AND NATIONAL DIVERSITY 9
OF THE UNITED STATES
Unit 2 REGIONAL VARIETY 20
Unit 3 BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH 34
Unit 4 HOW IT ALL STARTED 45
Unit 5 DOCUMENTS THAT SHAPED THE UNITED STATES 56
Unit 6 SEPARATING CHURCH AND STATE 67
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Unit 7 EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES 77
Unit 8 AMERICAN HOLIDAYS AND SELEBRATIONS 91
ONE HUNDRED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 100
ABOUT THE USA
U.S. HISTORY TIMELINE 109
LITERATURE 114
2
ВСТУП
Практикум «Лінгвокраїнознавство Сполучених Штатів Америки»
призначений для студентів Інституту філології КНУ імені Тараса
Шевченка спеціальності «Філологія» спеціалізацій «Мова і література
(західноєвропейські мови)» та «Переклад», які вивчають англійську мову
як другу іноземну, і розроблений на основі робочої навчальної програми з
дисципліни «Лінгвокраїнознавство англомовних країн» відповідно до
навчального плану Інституту філології Київського національного
університету імені Тараса Шевченка.
Актуальність цієї розробки зумовлена необхідністю забезпечити
викладання дисципліни «Лінгвокраїнознавство англомовних країн»,
зокрема тематичного розділу «Лінгвокраїнознавство Сполучених Штатів
Америки», навчальною-методичною літературою, надати рекомендації
студентам щодо підготовки до аудиторних занять та організації
самостійної роботи. Для цього в практикумі поряд з типовими завданнями
(читання, анотування/реферування тематичних текстів, відповіді на
запитання тощо) пропонуються завдання пошукового характеру, як от
підготовка доповіді на запропоновану тему, написання творчих робіт. З
метою організації самостійної роботи студентів в практикумі
запропоновані завдання та розділи для самоопрацювання, як от The USA.
Factfile та U.S. History Timeline, а також розділ для самоперевірки One
Hundred Questions and Answers about the USA.
Метою розробки є ознайомити студентів з різними аспектами життя,
історією, державним устроєм США, а також розвинути мовну компетенцію
студентів щодо вживання культурно-специфічної лексики для
забезпечення ефективної міжкультурної комунікації через адекватне
сприйняття співрозмовника та розуміння оригінальних англомовних
текстів.
Практикум складається зі Вступу, частини The USA. Factfile, 8
тематичних розділів, заключної частини для самоперевірки One Hundred
3
Questions and Answers about the USA, а також розділу для самостійного
опраціювання U.S. History Timeline.
У частині The USA. Factfile представлена коротка інформація про
політичний устрій, столицю та найбільші/найменші міста й штати,
національні символи, адміністративний розподіл США тощо.
Основна частина складається з 8 тематичних розділів, які
відповідають змісту навчальної програми курсу. Кожен розділ містить
аутентичні тексти та завдання до них.
Частина One Hundred Questions and Answers about the USA містить
питання та відповіді на них для самоперевірки якості засвоєння матеріалу
курсу.
Заключна частина U.S. History Timeline, в якій зазначені
найважливіші історичні події, що мали місце в США, призначена для
самостійного опрацювання студентами.
Закінчується практикум списком літератури.
4
THE USA
FACTFILE
Official name of the country:
The United States of America
Type of the state:
federal presidential constitutional republic
Capital:
Washington, D.C.
Flag:
The Stars and Stripes; Red, Old Glory; The Star-Spangled Banner.
It consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating
with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton (referred to specifically as the
"union") bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset
horizontal rows, where rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternate with rows of
five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of
America, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared
independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and became the first states in
the U.S.
Motto:
“In God We Trust”
Anthem:
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
National emblem: Bald Eagle
Coat of Arms: The obverse of the Great Seal

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Nickname: Uncle Sam
Area:
9 834 000 square km
Population (2017)
325,365,189
Administrative divisions:
50 states and 1 district (District of Columbia)
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Official languages:
None at federal level
National language:
English
Native people:
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Native Americans (̴ 1,2%)
Religions:
70.6% Christian
22.8% Unaffiliated
1.9% Jewish
0.9% Muslim
0.7% Buddhist
0.7% Hindu
1.8% Other faiths
Ethnic groups:
White people (also called Caucasians)
African Americans
Hispanic people (also called Latino)
Asian Americans
Native Americans
Independence from Great Britain:
• Declaration July 4, 1776
• Confederation March 1, 1781
• Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783
• Constitution June 21, 1788
Legislative branch:
Congress
• Upper house Senate
• Lower house House of Representatives
Executive branch:
President, Vice President, Cabinet
Judicial branch:
Federal District Courts, Courts of Appeal, Supreme Court
Political parties:
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Two major national parties – Republican (its symbol is elephant), and
Democratic (its symbol is donkey).
Largest city:
New York
Largest state:
Alaska
Smallest State:
Rhode Island
Largest river:
The Mississippi
Highest point:
Mount McKinley, Alaska (6.198 m)
Currency:
American dollar
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UNIT 1
NATIONAL IDENTITY AND NATIONAL DIVERSITY
OF THE UNITED STATES
PRE-READING TASKS
Task 1. Answer the following questions:
1. How do you understand the word identity?
2. How can we identify a person?
3. What is the most important in defining a person: a hometown, a country, a
language, a nationality or something else?
4. What is national identity?
5. Can we speak about national identity in a multicultural society?
Task 2. Match the definitions with the words below. Give an example of the
situation in which these words can be used.
Identity, national identity, stereotypes, national stereotypes, nation,
character.
1. __________Overgeneralised characteristics ascribed to groups of people
involving gender, race, national origin and other factors.
2. __________ The person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to
one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's
citizenship status.
3. ___________ A community of people who share a common language,
culture, ethnicity, descent, or history.
4. ___________ A system of culture-specific beliefs connected with the
nationality of a person. This system includes beliefs concerning those properties
of human beings that may vary across nations, such as appearance, language,
food, habits, psychological traits, attitudes, values etc.
5. ___________ Who or what sb/sth is.
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6. ___________ The combination of qualities that makes someone a particular
kind of person, for example a good or bad, honest or dishonest person.
Task 3. Discuss the following. Then complete the table using your own ideas.
1. What do you think of when you hear the term “immigration”? Give five
words or ideas as they come into your mind.
2. Why is the United States called “a nation of immigrants”?
3. Have you ever heard about any restrictions of immigration to the U.S.? If yes,
list them. What were the consequences?
4. What cultural metaphors for the United States do you know? What do they
mean?
5. What are the strong and weak points of a multicultural society?
Reasons for Positive Effects of Negative Effects of
Immigration Immigration Immigration
READING 1
Task 4. Skim the article by Washington Post Staff Writer William Booth to get
the general idea.
The story of the American people is the story of immigrants. The United
States has welcomed more immigrants than any other country of the world. More
than 75 percent of all people who ever moved from their homeland settled in the
United States.
In the past, Americans used to think of the United States as a “melting pot” of
immigrants. A “melting pot” meant that as immigrants from many different
cultures came to the United States, their old ways melted away an they became
part of a completely new culture. The United States was likened to a big pot of
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soup, which had bits of flavour from each different culture. All of the different
cultures were so well blended together that it formed its own new flavour.
Today, Americans realize that the simple “melting pot” theory is less true. In
reality, there are a few lumps left in the soup. Different groups of people keep
many of their old customs. Often groups of Americans from the same culture band
together.
One Nation, Indivisible: Is It History?
(Abridged)
At the beginning of the XX-th century, as steamers poured into American
ports, their steerages filled with European immigrants, a Jew from England
named Israel Zangwill penned a play whose story line has long been forgotten,
but whose central theme has not. His production was entitled "The Melting Pot"
and its message still holds a tremendous power on the national imagination – the
promise that all immigrants can be transformed into Americans, a new alloy
forged in a crucible of democracy, freedom and civic responsibility. In 1908,
when the play opened in Washington, the United States was in the middle of
absorbing the largest influx of immigrants in its history – Irish and Germans,
followed by Italians and East Europeans, Catholics and Jews – some 18 million
new citizens between 1890 and 1920.
Today, the United States is experiencing its third great wave of
immigration, a movement of people that has profound implications for a society
that by tradition pays homage to its immigrant roots at the same time it confronts
complex and deeply ingrained ethnic and racial divisions. The immigrants of
today come not from Europe but overwhelmingly from the still developing
world of Asia and Latin America. They are driving a demographic shift so rapid
that within the lifetimes of today's teenagers, no one ethnic group – including
whites of European descent – will comprise a majority of the nation's
population. This shift, according to social historians, demographers and others
studying the trends, will severely test the premise of the fabled melting pot, the
idea, so central to national identity, that this country can transform people of
every color and background into "one America." Just as possible, they say, is
11
that the nation will continue to fracture into many separate, disconnected
communities with no shared sense of commonality or purpose. Or perhaps it will
evolve into something in between, a pluralistic society that will hold on to some
core ideas about citizenship and capitalism, but with little meaningful interaction
among groups.
The demographic changes raise other questions about political and
economic power. Will that power, now held disproportionately by whites, be
shared in the new America? What will happen when Hispanics overtake blacks
as the nation's single largest minority? "I do not think that most Americans
really understand the historic changes happening before their very eyes," said
Peter Salins, an immigration scholar who is provost of the State Universities of
New York. "What are we going to become? Who are we? How do the
newcomers fit in – and how do the natives handle it – this is the great unknown."
Fear of strangers, of course, is nothing new in American history. The last
great immigration wave produced a bitter backlash, epitomized by the Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882 and the return, in the 1920s, of the Ku Klux Klan, which
not only targeted blacks, but Catholics, Jews and immigrants as well.
But despite this strife, many historians argue that there was a greater
consensus in the past on what it meant to be an American, a yearning for a
common language and culture, and a desire – encouraged, if not coerced by
members of the dominant white Protestant culture – to assimilate. Today, they
say, there is more emphasis on preserving one's ethnic identity, of finding ways
to highlight and defend one's cultural roots.
(Booth W. One Nation, Indivisible: Is It History? [Electronic Resource] / W.
Booth // Washington Post. – Sunday, February 22, 1998. — Режим доступу
: http: // www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
srv/national/longterm/meltingpot/melt0222.htm)
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CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION
Task 5. Answer the following questions. Substantiate your point of view using
the information from the text.
1. What idea does the “melting pot” suggest?
2. Who was the author of the term?
3. What consequences may the influx of people to the U.S. have?
4. What questions about political and economic power do the demographic
changes raise?
5. What did the last great immigration wave produce? Why?
6. In what way has the idea of the “melting pot” been re-thought?
7. What figures does the scheme on U.S. population present?
13
Task 6. Match the definitions with the words from the text. Look them up in
the dictionary to check their meaning if necessary.
Immigration, assimilation, immigrant roots, ethnic group, racial division,
descent, demographic shift, ethnic identity, commonality, citizenship, “melting
pot”, pluralistic society.
…………... 1) the movement of non-native people into a country in order to
settle there
…………... 2) a concept used to describe the assimilation of immigrants to
the United States
…………... 3) language, customs and traditions shared by the representatives
of one nation
………….. 4) the process whereby a minority group gradually adopts the
customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture.
…………… 5) a socially defined category based on common cultural
heritage, shared ancestry, history, homeland, language or dialect,
and possibly other aspects such as religion, mythology and ritual,
cuisine, dressing style, physical appearance, etc.
…………… 6) an important part of understanding who you are and where you
came from.
…………… 7) a classification system used to categorize humans into large
and distinct groups by anatomical, cultural, ethnic, genetic,
geographical, historical, linguistic, religious, or social affiliation
…………… 8) transition in a population from an old demographic situation to
a modern one
…………… 9) hereditary derivation; lineage
…………… 10) a sharing of features or characteristics in common;
manifestation of common attributes and attitudes
…………… 11) the condition or status of a citizen, with its rights and duties
……………. 12) any society in which citizens can legally and publicly hold
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multiple competing ethical views and are allowed to choose for
themselves what ethical beliefs if any they wish to hold.
Task 7. Make a summary of the text.
READING 2
Task 8. Before reading the text, answer the following questions.
1. Do you believe that nationality stereotypes give people a true version of other
nations?
2. Do such factors as history and geography influence shaping the national
character and nationality stereotypes?
3. What are the most typical traits characterizing the English and Americans?
Do you know anything from the history of these countries that can account for
them?
4. What traits of character do they have in common?
5. Are there any negative stereotypes about Americans/the English? Are they
quite true?
Task 9. Read the text.

Stereotypes are a part of human life though they may present one-sided,
exaggerated and even prejudicial views of religious, racial, ethnic groups of
people, as well as of classes of people. Nationality stereotypes are often
described in anecdotes, humorous stories, private diaries.
Americans as They Are

American Traits
The great American novelist and humorist Mark Twain described the
typical Englishman or –woman as a “person who does things because they have
been done before” and the typical American as “a person who does things
15
because they haven’t been done before.” Americans love to try something new
out of curiosity and a belief that newer may be better.
Understanding immigration helps to explain some of the traits of the
American people. The U.S. has had a continual influx of people with a
pioneering spirit, with the courage to make major changes in their lives. For
example, immigrants move to the United States because they are looking for a
better life. It takes a lot of courage to leave behind everything that is familiar
and come to a new country. Since before the independence of the United States,
Americans have been a people willing to take risks and try new things. This
willingness to strike out for the unknown takes an independence and an
optimism that also is thought to be a characteristic of the American people
today. Americans are a people who are quick to learn and are open to new
experiences. They have to be. Immigrants both today and in the past have a
whole new world to learn about. They often have to learn everything from a new
language to new social customs and new ways to make a living.
Love of change is closely tied to faith in improvement. Americans have
always been optimistic, believing in the perfectibility of people, the basic
goodness of their country, and the ability of American ingenuity to improve the
quality of life.
Immigrants also come to the United States because they differ from the
majority of people surrounding them and because Americans also are known to
be generally accepting of people with different ideas.
Immigrants also believe in the dream of the United States. They believe that
by working hard and obeying the laws, they can have a better life. Often,
Americans who have been here longer become less acutely aware of the rights
and advantages that they have.
Immigrants help native-born Americans to appreciate the good things to be
found in the United States.
John F. Kennedy, who was president during the early 1960s, was the
grandson of an Irish immigrant. Kennedy once said that the United States was “a
16
society of immigrants, each of whom had begun life anew, on an equal footing.
This is the secret of America: a nation of people with the fresh memory of old
traditions who dare to explore new frontiers…”
Typical American Behaviour and Values
Watching Americans in action, foreigners sometimes see behaviour that
seems rude, misguided, or just plain silly. The following traits are
characteristically, but certainly not exclusively, American.
Hurry, Hurry, Hurry. Almost every American wears a watch, and, in nearly
every room in an American home, there’s a clock. “Be on time.” “Don’t waste
time.” “Time is money.” “Time waits for no one.” All these familiar sayings
reflect the American obsession with promptness and efficiency. This desire to
get the most out of every minute often makes Americans impatient when they
have to wait. The pressure to make every moment count sometimes makes it
difficult for Americans to relax.
The desire to save time and do work more quickly and easily leads
Americans to buy many kinds of machines.
The Importance of Money. Americans are often accused of being
materialistic, of valuing wealth and possessions above all else. Money is valued
both as a symbol of success and also for a more obvious reason – its purchasing
power. Yes, Americans love to make a lot of money and spend it on themselves
– to buy things that save time, give them pleasure, or serve as status symbol.
However, Americans are also very generous and very willing to donate money
to good causes. The American character includes a strong sense of obligation to
help those in need.
Say What You Mean, and Mean What You Say. Americans believe that
”honesty is the best policy.” They are direct and assertive. They ask for what
they want. In many cultures, respect for those in position of authority keeps
people from expressing their true feelings or intentions. In the U.S.A., however,
children often argue with their parents and citizens express opposition to action
of the government. If the soup is cold or the meat is tough, the diner can
17
complain to the waiter. If a teacher is wrong or confusing, a student may say so.
If the boss makes a mistake, an employee may politely point it out. Assertive
behaviour sometimes seems improper to foreigners, but it works well for
Americans. In fact, assertiveness is almost a necessity in the business world.
The Need to Win. The extremely competitive nature of Americans is often
criticized. Of course, competition is not always bad. In fact, it promotes
excellence by encouraging individuals (and businesses) to try to do their best.
But the desire to get ahead of others sometimes causes people to do things that
are unkind and even dishonest.
The Practical Outlook. Americans admire what is practical, fast, efficient,
and new. Sometimes they fail to appreciate cultures hat prefer more traditional,
leisurely ways of doing things. Conversely, people from other cultures may
dislike the practical, hectic American lifestyle.
Despite these traits, which many foreigners may view as faults, Americans
are usually considered very likable. Most are friendly, kind-hearted, and eager to
help visitors and immigrants. In this nation of immigrants, the foreigner does not
remain an outsider for long.
Regional Differences
Regional variations also add diversity to the American character. Travel
around the country and you will notice differences in language, diet, recreation,
and even regional character. For example, New Englanders are commonly
described as serious and self –reliant, Southerners as gracious and leisurely, and
Westerners as casual and friendly. Californians are said to be eager to try new
fads. Midwesterners are considered more conservative than Californians and less
sophisticated than New Yorkers. Of course, many residents of a particular
region do not fit these generalizations.
(Tiersky E., Tiersky M. The U.S.A. Customs and Institutions [Теxt] :
4-th edition / E. Tiersky, M. Tiersky. – Longman, 2004. – P. 3 – 6.)
18
Task 10. Read the text again and answer the questions. Prove your point of
view using the information from the text. Discuss your answers in pairs.
1. Do you think that the size of a country can have a profound effect on the
national character of its people? Why? Why not?
2. What are the key words (or expressions) that describe in a concise form the
most important feature of the American nation?
3. What are the most typical stereotypes about Americans? Is there anything
in the country’s history that can account for them?
4. Do you know any examples of the American pioneering spirit?
5. Are there any negative stereotypes about Americans? Are they quite true?
Task 11. Using the information from the text, fill in the table bellow.
Positive stereotypes about Americans Negative stereotypes about Americans
OVER TO YOU
Task 12. Comment on the statements:
• “Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America.” (Thomas
Paine)
• The steady stream of people coming to America’s shore has had a
profound effect on the American character.
• “Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are
descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
Task 13. Prepare a short presentation. Select any topic from the list below:
• The Melting Pot: pros and cons
• U.S. human geography
19
• Attitude to immigration in different historical periods
• Religion in the United States
• Ethnic diversity in the United States
• Little known facts about national symbols of the United States
Task 14. Write down at least five Americanisms related to the topic and make
cultural comments.
UNIT 2
REGIONAL VARIETY
PRE-READING TASKS
1. How do you understand the term “regional variety”?
2. What U.S. regions do you know?
3. How many time zones are there in the U.S.?
4. Which American state was the last to acquire the “state” status?
5. Which state do the highest trees in the world grow in? How are they called?
6. What is the name of the first national park? Which state is it located in?
7. Which mounting is the national memorial with the faces of four American
Presidents? Which state is it located in?
8. What is the smallest U.S. state? Which region is it located in?
9. What is the largest U.S. state? Which region is it located in?
Task 2. Using the maps in the text “From Sea to Shining Sea”, complete the
table. Write down full names of the U.S. states and their abbreviations.
Six Regions U.S. States

New England
The Middle Atlantic
The South
20
The Midwest
The Southwest
The West
READING 1
Task 3. Skim the text to get the general idea.
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

(Abridged from U.S. State Department IIP publications and other U.S. government materials)
Americans often speak of their country as one of several large regions.

These regions are cultural units rather than governmental units – formed by
history and geography and shaped by the economics, literature and folkways
that all the parts of a region share. What makes one region different from
another? A region's multicultural heritage as well as distinct demographic
characteristics like age and occupation make regions different and special.
Within several regions, language is used differently and there are strong
dialects. There are also differences in outlook and attitude based on
geography.
The French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss has written of the "mental
click" he feels when arriving in the United States: an adjustment to the
enormous landscapes and skylines. The so-called lower 48 states (all but Alaska
and Hawaii) sprawl across 4,500 kilometers and four time zones. A car trip from
coast to coast typically takes a minimum of five days – and that's with almost no
stops to look around. It is not unusual for the gap between the warmest and
coldest high temperatures on a given day in the United States to reach 70
degrees Fahrenheit (about 40 degrees Celsius).
The United States owes much of its national character – and its wealth –
to its good fortune in having such a large and varied landmass to inhabit and
cultivate. Yet the country still exhibits marks of regional identity, and one way
Americans cope with the size of their country is to think of themselves as linked
21
geographically by certain traits, such as New England self-reliance, southern
hospitality, midwestern wholesomeness, western mellowness.
This text examines American geography, history, and customs through the filters
of six main regions:
• New England, made up of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
• The Middle Atlantic, comprising New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, and Maryland.
• The South, which runs from Virginia south to Florida and west as far as
central Texas. This region also includes West Virginia, Kentucky,
Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and parts of Missouri and Oklahoma.
• The Midwest, a broad collection of states sweeping westward from Ohio
to Nebraska and including Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Minnesota, Iowa, parts of Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas,
and eastern Colorado.
• The Southwest, made up of western Texas, portions of Oklahoma, New
Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and the southern interior part of California.
• The West, comprising Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, California,
Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.
New England
New England has played a dominant role in American history. Until well
into the 19th century, New England was the country's cultural and economic
center. The earliest European settlers of New England were English Protestants
who came in search of religious liberty. They gave the region its distinctive
political format – town meetings (an outgrowth of meetings held by church
elders) in which citizens gathered to discuss issues of the day. Town meetings
still function in many New England communities today and have been revived
as a form of dialogue in the national political arena. New England is also
important for the cultural contribution it has made to the nation. The critic Van
22
Wyck Brooks called the creation of a distinctive American literature, in the first
half of the 19th century, "the flowering of New England." Education is another
of the region's strongest legacies. The cluster of top-ranking universities and
colleges in New England – including Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth,
Wellesley, Smith, Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan – is unequaled by any
other region. America's first college, Harvard, was founded at Cambridge,
Massachusetts in 1636. Without, however, large expanses of rich farmland or a
mild climate, generations of exasperated New England farmers declared that the
chief product of their land was stones. By 1750, many settlers had turned from
farming to other pursuits.
In their business dealings, New Englanders gained a reputation for hard
work, shrewdness, thrift, and ingenuity.
23
Mid-Atlantic
If New England provided the brains and dollars for 19th century
American expansion, the Mid-Atlantic states provided the muscle. The
region's largest states, New York and Pennsylvania, became centers of heavy
industry (iron, glass, and steel). The Mid-Atlantic region was settled by a
wider range of people than New England. Into this area of industry, came
millions of Europeans who made of it what became known as the "melting
pot." As heavy industry spread throughout the region, rivers such as the
Hudson and Delaware were transformed into vital shipping lanes. Cities on
waterways – New York on the Hudson, Philadelphia on the Delaware,
Baltimore on Chesapeake Bay – grew dramatically. New York is still the
nation's largest city, its financial hub, and its cultural center. But even today,
the visitor who expects only factories and crowded cities is surprised. In the
Mid-Atlantic, there are more wooded hills than factory chimneys, more fields
than concrete roads, and more farmhouses than office buildings.
24
The South
The South is perhaps the most distinctive region of the United States
region. The American Civil War (1861-65) devastated the Old South socially
and economically. Slavery was the issue that divided North and South. To
northerners, it was immoral; to southerners, it was integral to their way of life
and their plantation system of agriculture. The scars left by the war took decades
to heal. The abolition of slavery failed to provide African Americans with
political or economic equality; and it took a long, concerted effort to end
segregation. The "New South" has evolved into a manufacturing region and
high-rise buildings crowd the skylines of such cities as Atlanta and Little Rock.
The South could also point with pride to a 20th-century regional outpouring of
literature by, among others, William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Robert Penn
Warren, Katherine Anne Porter, Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, and
Flannery O'Connor. The region however still has many landscapes to delight the
human sense of poetry and wonder. The region is blessed with plentiful rainfall
and a mild climate. Crops grow easily in its soil and can be grown without frost
for at least six months of the year. Owing to its mild weather, the South has
become a mecca for retirees from other regions.
25
The Midwest
The Midwest is known as the nation's "breadbasket." The fertile soil of the
region makes it possible for farmers to produce abundant harvests of cereal
crops such as wheat, oats, and corn. Corn is the most important of all American
crops, as basic to American agriculture as iron is to American industry. The
annual crop is greater than the nation's yield of wheat, rice and other grains
combined. On hot, still midsummer nights in the Corn Belt, farmers insist they
can hear the corn growing.
Farms are normally located separate from each other, close to the fields,
and often beyond the sight of its neighbors. The village or town is principally a
place where the farm family travels to buy supplies, to attend church and to go
for entertainment or political, social or business meetings.
The Mississippi River has acted as a regional lifeline, moving settlers to
new homes and foodstuffs to market. The river inspired two classic American
books, both written by a native Missourian, Samuel Clemens, who took the
pseudonym Mark Twain: Life on the Mississippi and Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn.
Midwesterners are praised as being open, friendly, and straightforward.
Their politics tend to be cautious, but the caution is sometimes peppered with
protest.
26
The Southwest
The Southwest is drier than the adjoining Midwest in weather. The
population is less dense and, with strong Spanish-American and Native-
American components, more ethnically varied than neighboring areas. Outside
the cities, the region is a land of open spaces, much of which is desert. The
magnificent Grand Canyon is located in this region, as is Monument Valley, the
starkly beautiful backdrop for many western movies. Monument Valley is
within the Navajo Reservation, home of the most populous American Indian
tribe. To the south and east, lie dozens of other Indian reservations, including
those of the Hopi, Zuni, and Apache tribes. Parts of the Southwest once
belonged to Mexico. The United States obtained this land following the
Mexican-American War of 1846–48.
The population in the region is growing rapidly. Arizona, for example,
now rivals the southern states as a destination for retired Americans in search of
a warm climate. Since the last third of the 19th century, the immense stretch of
barren American desert has been growing smaller. In the 1860s, the wasteland
extended from the Mississippi Valley almost to the Pacific Coast. But settlers
learned that the prairies could grow corn and that the grasslands could feed
cattle and sheep or yield wheat. As they continued to cultivate the desert, its
size decreased. Dams on the Colorado and other rivers and aqueducts have
brought water to the once small towns of Las Vegas, Nevada, Phoenix, Arizona,
and Albuquerque, New Mexico, allowing them to become metropolises.
27
The West
Americans have long regarded the West as the last frontier. Yet California
has a history of European settlement older than that of most midwestern states.
Spanish priests founded missions along the California coast a few years before
the outbreak of the American Revolution. In the 19th century, California and
Oregon entered the Union ahead of many states to the east.
The West is a region of scenic beauty on a grand scale. In much of the
West, the population is sparse and the federal government owns and manages
millions of hectares of undeveloped land. Americans use these areas for
recreational and commercial activities, such as fishing, camping, hiking,
boating, grazing, lumbering, and mining. In recent years, some local residents
who earn their livelihoods on federal property have come into conflict with the
government agencies, which are charged with keeping land use within
environmentally acceptable limits.
Hawaii is the only state in the union in which Asian Americans are the
largest ethnic group. Beginning in the 1980s, large numbers of Asians have also
settled in California. Los Angeles – and Southern California as a whole – bears
the stamp of its large Mexican-American population. Now the second largest
city in the nation, Los Angeles is best known as the home of the Hollywood film
industry. Fueled by the growth of Los Angeles and the "Silicon Valley" area
near San Jose, California has become the most populous of all the states.
Perhaps because so many westerners have moved there from other regions to
make a new start, Western cities are known for their tolerance and a very strong
"live-and-let-live" attitude.
28
(From Sea to Shining Sea// Portrait of the USA [Електронний ресурс] /
[M. Christopher, A. Cusack, M. Cusack et al.]. – Washington : The USIA, 1997.
– P. 4–10. – Режим доступу : http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/factover/ch4.htm)

Task 4. Study the table and write down the appropriate name of the U.S.
region. Refer to the text if necessary. Then describe each region in brief.
No U.S. Region Characteristics
1. hospitality, four of the first five presidents, raising and
selling cotton and tobacco, slavery, racial segregation
2. mellowness, the last frontier, Cascade range,
Hollywood, Silicon Valley
3. Grand Canyon, the Navajo Reservation, Mexican
heritage, dams and air conditioners, Las Vegas
29
4. self-reliance, English Protestants, town meetings,
Boston, top-ranking universities
5. Quakers, Philadelphia, the Continental Congress, the
U.S. Constitution, the Hudson
6. wholesomeness, a cultural crossroads, the nation’s
“breadbasket”, Samuel Clemens, Chicago
Task 5. Find the odd one out of these words. Give your reasons.
1. Harvard, Yale, Brown, Hollywood
2. Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Louisiana
3. the Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S.
Constitution, Los Angeles
4. Santa Fe, gambling, painting, culture, opera
5. Hawaii, Spanish heritage, the Mexican-American War, the Southwest
READING 2
Task 6. Answer the following questions.
1. How would you name a new place you happen to live in?
2. Do you know the main sources of the state name etymologies of the United
States?
3. Why are there so many place names with the word new as a prefix in the
U.S.?
4. Why do people write the name of the state when addressing letters?
Task 7. Read the information about the state name etymologies of the United
States.
Everybody knows the United States of America, and almost everybody
knows most of the States by name. Even the citizens of other nations will often
be familiar with the names of the 50 U.S states because they all feature so
prominently in popular culture - in the movies of Hollywood, the classic titles of
30
novels and American songs, and even the names of real people and fictional
characters.
But where do the names of the states come from? They clearly have
varied origins, some being taken straight from the language of Spanish explorers
or from the English Motherland of much of modern America, while some owing
their names to the native tribes and languages.
In general, the names of American States can be divided into 4 groups by
etymological characteristics.
I. Names appeared on the base of already existed geographical names,
transmitted from the countries of the Old World:
• Maine – the name of the French province;
• New Hampshire – a county in England;
• New Jersey – Jersey is an island off the coast of England;
• New York – York is a city in England
II. Names appeared on the base of European languages:
• California – as hot as a stove (Sp.);
• Colorado – a colorful country (Sp.);
• Montana – the country of mountains (Sp.);
• Nevada – covered with snow (Sp.);
• Vermont – the country of green mountains ( Fr.);
• Indiana – the country of Indians (Eng.);
• Florida – a blooming country (Sp.)
III. Names dedicated to the famous people:
• Columbia – in honor of Columbus
• Louisiana – in honor of King of France Louis 14
• Carolina – in honor of King of England Charles I
• Washington – in honor of George Washington
• Virginia – in honor of Queen of England Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen)
IV. Names borrowed from the Indian people:
• Alaska – the big land;
31
• Arizona – a small stream;
• Arkansas – the name of the tribe;
• Iowa – grey snow;
• Michigan – the name of the tribe;
• Minnesota – sky-blue water;
• Nebraska – a wide river;
• Oklahoma – red people;
• Texas – allies;
• Utah – the name of the tribe.

Task 8. Complete the table using the information above. Then add at least five
state names and their origins.
Group by Etymological Name of a State Meaning
Characteristics
Task 9. Name the U.S. states that have these nicknames. Give your reasons.
What other nicknames do you know?
1. The Garden State 6. The Bay State
2. The Empire State 7. The Salt Lake State
3. Little Rhody 8. The Silver State
4. The Last Frontier 9. The Grand Canyon State
5. The Sunshine State 10. The Constitution State
32
OVER TO YOU
• One way Americans cope with the size of their country is to think of
themselves as linked geographically by certain traits.
• If New England provided the brains and dollars for 19th century
American expansion, the Mid-Atlantic states provided the muscle.
• Americans have long regarded the West as the last frontier.
• Origins of American place names
• Geographical Americanisms
• Nicknames of American cities and towns
• American natural wonders
• American national parks
WRITING
A PERSON WORTH WRITING ABOUT
Task 12. Carefully read the list of facts about a native Missourian, Samuel
Clemens, who took the pseudonym Mark Twain, the author of ‘Life on the
Mississippi’ and ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’. Write an essay about
him.
• was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer;
• worked as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River;
• spent some time as a miner in California;
• worked as a journalist for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise;
• first success as a writer came when his humorous tall tale "The Celebrated
Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in 1865;
• Roughing It (1872); The Gilded Age (1873); The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer (1876); The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884); Following
the Equator (1897); The Mysterious Stranger (1916); Eve's Diary (1906);
33
• was called the "greatest humorist the country has produced", and "the
father of American literature";
cultural comments.
UNIT 3
BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
PRE-READING TASKS
1. When did British English and American English diverge? Why did it
happen?
2. How many families of English do you know?
3. Why is dialect of North America most distinctive on the East Cost of the
continent?
4. What were the primary sources of the American English vocabulary?
5. What is General American Pronunciation?
6. What are the major regional dialects in the U.S.? What are the main
differences in them? Which dialect is most distinctive?
7. What is an Americanism?
Task 2. Complete the table. Give your reasons.

English has been exported to all four corners of the globe as the British
Empire was expanding dramatically, and during the 17-18th centuries British
English established footholds in America, parts of Africa, in India, Australia
and New Zealand.
Today there are two families of English, one stemming from linguistic
contact with Britain, the other from contact with the U.S.
34
The English Language (native speakers only)
American English Family British English Family
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
READING 1
Developments in American English
Since Elizabethan Times
American English begins in Elizabethan times, around the year 1600
when English-speaking settlers began to live on the Atlantic coast of the
American continent. These first settlers had grown up in England; they had
learnt as children to speak and write English. The English they took with them
to learn new lands must have been the language of Shakespeare and of Queen
Elizabeth I.
Some expressions that the British call "Americanisms" are in fact original
British expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in
Britain (for example trash for rubbish, loan as a verb instead of lend, and fall for
autumn).
Similarly, the distinction between past tense got and past participle gotten
still exists in American English but has been lost in most dialects of the UK.
In some cases older forms of pronunciation were retained — the way most
Americans pronounce the <r> sound after a vowel in words like start, letter, etc.
is probably very similar to pronunciation in 17th century England.
The reason why American English is generally rhotic is that during the
colonization period many parts of England were rhotic, for example, the South
West. Also many settlers came from Ireland and Scotland which were also
rhotic.
35
The Puritans settled in New England and other settlers - in Virginia.
Those who settled New England mostly came from the South East of England
and the London area and were from the middle and lower classes.
The settlers in Virginia were mostly from the upper classes. Both these
groups were in touch with England and had non-rhotic accents.
At the end of the nineteenth century non-rhotic accents were common in
the Eastern U.S. and in the South along the Gulf Coast. This trend reversed
during the mid 20th century, in large part due to the influence of television, as
well as the increasing political influence of states to the west. Non-rhotic
pronunciations have increasingly been seen as foreign with rhotic accents
increasingly seen as American.
English has experienced several influences that make it different from
British English.
1. American Indian influence
In the earliest colonial period the first task for English in America was the
need to find names for talking about places, plants, animals and customs which
existed in America but had no equivalents in Britain: igloo, kayak, moose,
totem, wigwam, etc.
2. French influence: рrairie, pumpkin, rapids, depot, attorney, avenue, council,
etc.
3. Spanish influence: bonanza, lasso, patio, plaza, ranch, sierra, sombrero, etc.
4. Dutch influence: boss, dope, cruise, iceberg, luck, Santa Claus, wagon,
walrus, waffle, etc.
5. African influence: gumbo, hoodoo, voodoo, etc.
6. German influence: hamburger (from Hamburg), noodle, poker, schnitzel,
semester, seminar, etc.
7. Italian influence: bravo, balcony, graffiti, villa, pasta, risotto, spaghetti, etc.
8. Rapid growth of new and special institutions in America after political
independence was achieved: Congress, congressman, President, Vice-
President, Senate, senator, representative (equivalent to M.P.), etc.
36
9. Growth of technologies and inventions: elevator, power cord, parking lot,
automated teller machine (ATM), smart card, movie, etc.
Today American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng), also known as United
States English or U.S. English, is a set of dialects of the English language used
mostly in the United States.
English is the most widely spoken language in the United States. It is the
common language used by the federal government, considered the de facto
language of the country because of its widespread use. English has been given
official status by 30 of the 50 state governments.
(English language prevalence in the United States. Darker shades indicate higher concentrations of
native English speakers in the corresponding states.)
General American English Pronunciation (GAEP) is a kind of standard

pronunciation found in American dictionaries. It is the name given to any
American accent that is relatively free of noticeable regional influences. GAEP
is used by most TV network announcers. It is closest to being a standard.
We should not confuse Standard (General) American English
Pronunciation with Standard American English. The latter is the name for the
grammar and vocabulary of the written and spoken variety generally used in the
fields of education, law and government.
37
The main dialect groups are: the Northern, the Southern, the Midland, the
Western.
Northern dialects spread west from New York and Boston. New England has
its own accent. In Boston people speak Bostonian accent which is very close to
Britain’s RP.
Midland dialects developed after settlers moved west from Philadelphia.
There are two subdivisions – North Midland and South Midland.
Southern dialects are most distinctive. They contain old words that are not
used in other American dialects: kinsfolk for ‘relatives’, hand for farm-worker,
grits, etc. French, Spanish, Native American added to Southern dialects. Since
slaves were taken to the South, Black English and Southern dialect have much in
common. The accent is southern drawl.
The west was the last area in the U.S. to be reached during the westward
expansion of English-speaking settlement and its history shows considerable
mixing of the linguistic patterns of other regions. As the settlement populations
are relatively young when compared with other regions, Western American
English is a dialect area in formation.
(based on Strevens P. British and American English / P. Strevens. – London:
Collier-Macmillan, 1997. – 105 p.)

Task 4. Answer the following questions. Substantiate your point of view using
the information from the text.
1. When did American English begin? Who brought it to the continent?
2. What is the source of rhotic pronunciation in American English?
3. What changes in pronunciation happened during the mid 20th century? What
was the result?
4. What languages influenced American English? Add your own examples to
the list mentioned.
5. What are the other sources of influence?
38
6. What is the official language of the USA?
Task 5. In your own words restate the main idea of the text.
READING 2
1. What are the main differences between British and American English?
2. How is American English phonology different from that of British English?
3. What spelling differences from British English does American English have?
4. Who wrote the first American English dictionary and when? How did it
influence the spelling changes?
5. What are the main grammatical differences between American English and
British English?
Task 7. Read the information about some differences in Present-day British

and American English.
Present-day British and
American English Compared
1. Some differences in American English phonology
• Most North American speech is rhotic. Any ‘r’ is usually pronounced, e.g.
card /kɑːrd/, guard /ɡɑːrd/.
• The vowel /æ / rather than /ɑ / is used in words like path /pæθ/, banana
/bə'nænə/ .
• Cot and caught are usually both pronounced /kɑːt/; bother is usually
pronounced as/bɑː.ðɚ/.
• In some words ending in –ile /ə/ is used rather than /aɪ/:
• fertile - /’fɜːtaɪl/ and /’fɝːt̬əl/
• hostile - /’hɒstaɪl/ and /’hɒːstəl/
39
• mobile - /’məʊbaɪl/ and /’moʊbəl/.
• The sound /j/ drops after alveolar consonants so that new, duke, Tuesday,
suit are pronounced /nu:/, /du:k/, /’tu:zdeɪ/, /su:t/.
• Differences in stress:
• adult - /’ædʌlt/ and /ə’dʌlt/
• ballet - /’bæleɪ/ and /bæl’eɪ/
• garage - /’ɡær.ɑːʒ/ /-ɪdʒ/ and /ɡə'rɑːʒ/
2. Some differences in American English spelling

The American spelling changes were not driven by government, but by
textbook writers and dictionary makers. The first American dictionary ‘An
American Dictionary of the English language’ was written by Noah Webster in
1828. He wanted to show that the U.S. as a relatively new country spoke a
different dialect from Britain, and so he wrote a dictionary with many spelling
differences from the standard.
• -or instead of –our in words like color (BrE colour), favor (BrE favour);
• -er instead of –re in words like center (BrE centre), theater (BrE theatre);
• -in instead of –en in words like inquire (BrE enquire), inclose (BrE
enclose);
• -dgment instead of –dgement in words like judgment (BrE judgement);
• -se instead of –ce in words like defense (BrE defence), offense (BrE
offence);
• -ize instead of –ise in words like apologize (BrE apologise);
• -x instead of –ct in words like inflexion (BrE inflection);
• single consonant instead of double consonant in words like traveling (BrE
travelling), worshiping (BrE worshipping);
• double –ll- instead of single –l- in words like installment (BrE
instalment), fulfillment (BrE fulfilment)
3. Some differences in American English grammar
40
Speakers of American English generally use the Present Perfect tense
(have/has + past participle) far less than speakers of British English. In spoken
American English it is very common to use the Simple Past tense as an
alternative.
American English / British English
• Jenny feels ill. She ate too much. / Jenny feels ill. She's eaten too much.
• I can't find my keys. Did you see them anywhere?/I can't find my keys.
Have you seen them anywhere?
In sentences which contain the words already, just or yet:
American English / British English
• A: Are they going to the show tonight?
B: No. They already saw it./ No. They've already seen it.
• A: Is Samantha here?
B: No, she just left. / No, she's just left.
• A: Can I borrow your book?
B: No, I didn't read it yet. / No, I haven't read it yet.
In American English collective nouns are always followed by a singular
verb, so an American would usually say:
• Which team is losing?
Whereas in British English both plural and singular forms of the verb are
possible, as in:
• Which team is/are losing?
In British English, shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk
about the future, e.g.:
• I shall/will be there later.
In American English, shall is unusual and will is normally used.
In British English shall I / we is often used to ask for advice or an opinion:
• Shall we ask him to come with us?
In American English should is often used instead of shal, e.g l:
• Should we ask him to come with us?
41
The use of prepositions is also different.
In British English, at is used with many time expressions, e.g.: at
Christmas/five o' clock; at the weekend
In American English, on is always used when talking about the weekend,
not at, e.g.:
• She'll be coming home on weekends.
In British English, at is often used when talking about universities or other
institutions, e.g.:
• She studied chemistry at university.
In American English, in is often used, e.g.:
• She studied French in high school.
In American English a number of irregular verbs have become regularized:
• dreamed (BrE dreamt)
• learned (BrE learnt)
• burned (BrE burnt), etc.
(based on Strevens P. British and American English / P. Strevens. – London: Collier-
Macmillan, 1997. – 105 p.)
Task 8. Make a summary of the text and give your own examples of
differences. Use a dictionary if necessary.
Task 9. Complete the table below. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Lexical differences between British and American English are also
obvious. Sometimes, words are used in different ways to name the same thing,
such as for the American ‘railroad tie’ and the British ‘railway sweeper’.
Sometimes, two different words are used but their meaning is quite obvious,
such as for the American ‘luggage’ and the British ‘baggage’. In other cases,
some words that are common in one place are rare in the other, such as the
words ‘soppy’ or ‘row’: although they are listed in American dictionaries, they
42
are very uncommon in American speech but they are quite well known in the
UK. Some words retained in Great Britain have been dropped by Americans,
such as ‘fortnight’ and ‘constable’ and many no longer used in British are
retained in American, such as ‘mad’ (in the sense of angry), ‘fall’, ‘sick’, etc.
1. Same word, different meaning
Example AmE meaning BrE meaning
2. Same word, additional meaning in one variety
Additional meaning in AmE Meaning in common
Meaning in common Additional meaning in BrE
3. Same word, different in style, connotation, frequency of use
AmE usage BrE usage
4. Same concept or item, different word
AmE BrE
OVER TO YOU
• English as spoken and written in America acquired a character of its own,
reflecting the growth and history of the American community.
• The real and important differences between British and American English
lie not in the language itself but in the societies which use the one or the
other.
43
• As the quantity of English being communicated increases, so the mixture
of British and American varieties also becomes greater.
• “Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to
learn English or leave the country.” (Theodore Roosevelt)
• No country has a closer association with the language of Old England

than the USA.
• English: a Language for All the World
• Problems of the Learner and the Teacher of American English
• Facts and Prejudices about American English
• Interactions between British and American English
WRITING
Task 12. Carefully read the list of facts about Noah Webster, the author of the
first American dictionary ‘An American Dictionary of the English language’
written in 1828. Write an essay about him.
• was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language
spelling reformer, political writer, and editor, and prolific author;
• was called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education";
• his blue-backed speller books taught five generations of American
children how to spell and read. Webster's name has become synonymous
with "dictionary" in the United States;
• born in West Hartford, Connecticut;
• graduated from Yale College in 1778;
• In 1793 became an editor for a Federalist Party newspaper;
44
• founded the Connecticut Society for the Abolition of Slavery in 1791;
• was also influential in establishing the Copyright Act of 1831;
• in 1806 published his first dictionary, A Compendious Dictionary of the

English Language;
UNIT 4
HOW IT ALL STARTED
PRE-READING TASKS
Task 1. Read the paragraph then answer the questions below:
The date of the start of the history of the United States is a subject of
debate among historians. Older textbooks start with the arrival of Christopher
Columbus on October 12, 1492 and emphasize the European background of the
colonization of the Americas, or they start around 1600 and emphasize the
American frontier. In recent decades American schools and universities typically
have shifted back in time to include more on the colonial period and much more
on the prehistory of the Native Americans.
1. What date can we consider the start of the history of the United States?
2. Do you know the names of famous explorers of America?
3. What do you know about the origin of America’s name?
4. Who were North America’s first settlers?
5. Where did the ancestors of the Indians come from?
READING 1
The question of who colonized the Americas, and when, has long been
hotly debated. Traditionally, Native Americans are believed to have descended
from northeast Asia, arriving over a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska
some 12,000 years ago and then migrating across North and South America.
45
But recent research, including the Baja California study, indicates that the
initial settlement of the continent was instead driven by Southeast Asians who
occupied Australia 60,000 years ago and then expanded into the Americas about
13,500 years ago, prior to Mongoloid people arriving from northeast Asia.
The new study is reported in the science journal Nature, and could further
fuel the controversy surrounding the origins of the first Americans, which is a
controversial issue for American Indians in particular.
The America that greeted the first Europeans was, thus, far from an empty
wilderness. It is now thought that as many people lived in the Western
Hemisphere as in Western Europe at that time — about 40 million. Estimates of
the number of Native Americans living in what is now the United States at the
onset of European colonization ranged from two to 18 million, with most
historians tending toward the lower figure.
America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer and
navigator, who made 4 voyages to this land beginning in 1497. He realized that
it was a new unknown land (unlike Columbus who believed he had discovered a
new part of Asia) and called the continent the “New World”.
46
Vespucci wrote a lot of letters to his friends describing the New World.
These letters were published in several languages and sold across Europe.
In 1507 German map makers proposed that the continent that Vespucci had
explored should be named “America,” a feminized version of Vespucci’s first
name. They wrote, “We see no reason why anyone should object to calling this
part ... America, after Amerigo [Vespucci], its discoverer, a man of great
ability.” The name America was at first applied to Brazil, later to South
America, and later still to the whole of the New World.
This 1507 map was the first to use the word "America." Other map
makers followed this example and America was born.
47
The first successful British colony was founded in 1607 in Virginia,
Jamestown named after James I. It was founded as a trading post.
Jamestown, however, was profitable for a reason that nobody had foreseen.
The settlers noticed a strange plant that was cultivated, its leaves were dried out
in the sun, rolled up and then squeezed into a pipe and smoked.
The Indians had shown Europeans the pipe and tobacco. Virginian settlers
found an immense market for this plant back in England.
During the next 125 years, Britain established twelve more colonies along
the east coast of North America. Thirteen English colonies, with 1.3 million
settlers, stretched along the Atlantic from New Hampshire to Georgia.
48
(based on Who were the first Americans? [Electronic Resource]. — Режим
доступу : http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/ and Amerigo Vespucci:
Facts, Biography & Naming of America[Electronic Resource]. — Режим
доступу :https://www.livescience.com/)
SKILL REVIEW: SCANNING

Task 4. Scan the chart to answer the questions below it. Then look at the map
again to see where the thirteen original colonies were located.
COLONY CHART
COLONY DATE FOUNDED REASON
FOUNDED
The New England Colonies
Massachusetts 1620 Religious freedom for
Protestants
49
New Hampshire 1630 Political, religious, and
economic freedom
Connecticut 1636 Religious freedom
Rhode Island 1636 Religious freedom
The Middle Colonies
New York 1626 Trade

Maryland 1634 Religious freedom for
Catholics
Delaware 1638 Trade
New Jersey 1664 Trade
Pennsylvania 1681 Religious freedom for
Quakers
The Southern Colonies
Virginia 1607 Trade

North Carolina 1653 Trade
South Carolina 1670 Trade
Georgia 1733 Colony for people who
had debts
1. Which was the first British colony founded in America?

2. Which colony was founded in order to give religious freedom to Catholics?
3. Which colony was founded in 1733?
4. How many colonies were founded for the purpose of trade?
5. Which colony was founded for people who had debts?
6. Why was New Hampshire founded?
READING 2
1. Who were called “Indians” and why?
2. Do you know any names of Indian tribes? Do they exist in the U.S.A. today?
3. What happened to Native American tribes with the influx of European
people?
4. What did Europeans learn from Native Americans?
50
5. What are the names of the states which derived from Indian words?
Task 6. Read the text below and check your answers.
Native American inhabitants were incorrectly called Indians by early

European explorers who mistakenly believed that they had reached India.
Unfortunately, the mistake persists to this day, and many people still refer to all
Native Americans as Indians.
The terms Native American and Indian are both misleading, as they suggest
a homogeneous population. The original inhabitants of the United States at the
time of the European invasion were composed of hundreds of different tribes.
Many of the tribes did not share a common language or similar culture. In fact,
some of the tribes were constantly at war with each other. Perhaps that is why
many Native Americans today do not call themselves Indians or Native
Americans, but prefer to say for example, "We are the Lakota people. Some call
us the Sioux."
During the next 200 years after Columbus “had discovered” America,
people from several European countries followed him across the Atlantic Ocean
to explore America and set up trading posts and colonies. Native Americans
suffered greatly from the influx of Europeans. The transfer of land from Indian
to European — and later American — hands was accomplished through treaties,
wars, and coercion, with Indians constantly giving way as the newcomers
moved west. In the 19th century, the government's preferred solution to the
Indian "problem" was to force tribes to inhabit specific plots of land called
reservations. Some tribes fought to keep from giving up land they had
traditionally used. In many cases the reservation land was of poor quality, and
Indians became depend on government assistance.
The territorial wars, along with Old World diseases to which Indians had no
built-up immunity, sent their population plummeting to a low of 350,000 in
1920. Some tribes disappeared altogether – among them were the Mandans of
North Dakota, who had helped Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in
51
exploring America's unsettled northwestern wilderness in 1804-06. Other tribes
lost their languages and most of their culture. The darkest hour of the American
Indians was at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1890, when 200 Sioux were
shot.
Another event got the name the Trial of Tears. The Cherokees were one of
the largest and most important Native American tribes in the United States at the
beginning of the eighteenth century. For hundreds of years, they had lived and
farmed on land in northern Georgia. Then, in 1830, the Indian Removal Act was
passed, which gave the U.S. government the right to relocate several Native
American tribes and give their land to white people. In 1838 president Andrew
Jackson ordered the Cherokees to move off their homelands. Jackson sent
military troops to gather Cherokee men, women, and children from Georgia and
move them to Oklahoma. Although it was a bitterly cold winter, the Cherokees
were forced to march over 1,200 miles. More than 4,000 Cherokees died from
hardships — hunger, exposure, and disease. This sad time in history is now
called the Trail of Tears — a translation from the Cherokee for the 'Trail Where
They Cried”.
Nonetheless, Native Americans have proved to be resilient. Today they
number about two million (0.8 percent of the total U.S. population). The most
important Indian tribes still live in reservations:
• Navajo Nation Reservation – 169,321 people (Arizona, New Mexico,
Utah)
• Pine Ridge Reservation – 16,906 people (South Dakota)
• Fort Apache Reservation - 13,014 people (Arizona)
Native American contribution to the U.S. is really enormous. They have
influenced many areas of the American way of life, from art and music, to law
and government.
1. Indians served as guides in the early exploration of this hemisphere. Their
trails became the roads and railroads over which the settlers advanced in search
of new homes.
52
2. The log cabin was an adaptation of the Indian log or longhouse.
3. Sites of Indian villages advantageously located on waterways and trails
became trading posts, then villages. Later they became the modern cities of
Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Pocatello, and countless
others.
4. Fur traders visited Indian villages and held rendezvous. They encouraged
adventurous people to move farther and farther inland.
5. The Indians assisted the English, French, Spanish and peoples of other
European countries in the struggle for control of the new country.
6. The Indian culture has been immortalized in song, painting, art and sculpture.
7. Symbols such as the totem pole, thunderbird, sun and tepees, as well as the
Indian’s love for color have had a prominent place in developing modern design.
8. Indian knowledge of areas where fine clays, used in making pottery and
china, has been passed to the white man and this was the beginning of the
manufacturing of fine porcelain ware.
9. Indians cultivated and developed many plants that are very important in the
world today. Some of them are white and sweet potatoes, corn, beans, tobacco,
chocolate, peanuts, cotton, rubber and gum. Plants were also used for dyes,
medicines, soap, clothes, shelters and baskets.
10. Many places in the United States have names of Indian origin.
Approximately half of our states have Indian names.
11. Countless Indian words have become a part of the English language. Some
sample words are: chipmunk, moose, opossum, potato, skunk, toboggan and
woodchuck, etc.
12. Indians also have contributed a great deal to farming methods. The white
settlers in colonial America might have starved if they had not copied Indian
farming methods. At least one tribe, the Pima, had a well- developed irrigation
system.
13. Benjamin Franklin said that the idea of the federal government, in which
certain powers are conferred on a central government, and all other powers
53
reserved to the states, was borrowed from the system of government of the
Iroquoian League.
(based on “Native American Indians”. – [Електронний ресурс]. – Режим
доступу : http://www.usatourist.com/english/culture/nativeamericans/native-
american-indians-main.html
and https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS)

Task 7. Complete the table. Use the information from the text and your own
ideas.
Sphere of Life Native Americans’ Contributions
Task 8. Use a dictionary. Find as many state names of Indian derivation as

you can. Then complete the table below. Look at the example.
State Name Derivation and Meaning

1. Alabama From the Alibamu, the name of a tribe, meaning “those
who clear land for agricultural purposes.”
2.
OVER TO YOU
• The Native Americans lived in harmony with nature and did not abuse
the natural world. Native Americans were ecologists long before they were ever
used.
• Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honored by posterity
because he was the last to discover America.
54
• This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we
make it a good place for all of us to live in.
• The first Europeans to arrive in North America
• Town meeting – a form of democracy in colonial America
• The universities established in colonial times
WRITING
Task 11. Carefully read the list of facts about Boudinot Elias, one of the
famous representatives of Native Americans. Write an essay about him.
• political leader in the American Revolution
• a lawyer of Elizabethtown
• took an active part in anti-British activities
• a member of the Continental Congress (a president of it from 1782 to
1783)
• ardently supported the U.S. Constitution
• helped secure the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by New Jersey
• served in Congress (1789–1795)
• a director of the U.S. mint (1795–1805)
• First president of the American Bible Society (1816–1821)
cultural comments.
55
UNIT 5
DOCUMENTS THAT SHAPED THE UNITED STATES
PRE-READING TASKS
1. What are the most important documents that shaped the U.S.?
2. When were they adopted?
3. What do you know about the historical events which preceded and caused the
Revolutionary War?
4. What did it result in?
READING 1
Task 2. Skim the information below to get the general idea.
From 1756 to 1763 the colonies were involved in the Seven Years’ War. It
was the war between the great powers of the time – Britain, France and Spain,
resulting from overlapping interests in their colonial and trade empires.
After the end of the War England and the colonies were in conflict,
because England wanted to defray the cost of fighting. It imposed heavy taxes.
The colonists insisted that they could be taxed only by their colonial
governments that were poorly represented in the distant British Parliament. The
colonial leaders saw that fact as a denial of their rights as Englishmen, and
therefore laws taxing the colonists and other laws applying only to the colonies,
were unconstitutional. They put forward a slogan “No taxation without
representation”. As a result all the taxes, except one on tea, were removed.
In 1773 a group of patriots organised so called the Boston Tea Party. They
boarded English merchant ships and dumped 342 crates of tea into Boston
harbor. As a result the harbor was closed to shipping. The Boston Tea Party
was one of the major causes of the American Revolution.
The colonial leaders convened the First Continental Congress in 1774 to
discuss the colonies' opposition to British rule. In 1775 the Revolutionary War
56
broke out and on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration
of Independence.
At first the Revolutionary War went badly for the Americans. With few
provisions and little training, American troops were outnumbered and
overpowered by the British. The turning point in the war came in 1777 when
American soldiers defeated the British Army at Saratoga, New York. France had
secretly been aiding the Americans, but was reluctant to ally itself openly until
they had proved themselves in battle. Following the Americans' victory at
Saratoga, France and America signed treaties of alliance, and France provided
the Americans with troops and warships.
The last major battle of the American Revolution took place at Yorktown,
Virginia, in 1781. A combined force of American and French troops surrounded
the British and forced their surrender. Fighting continued in some areas for two
more years, and the war officially ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, by
which England recognized America’s independence.
(based on ttps://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/capsule_history)

Task 3. Answer the questions.
1. What was the main reason of the disagreement between the colonies and
Great Britain?
2. What event caused the Boston Tea Party?
3. What was the purpose of the First Continental Congress?
4. When did the war break?
5. Did the proclamation of independence stop the war?
6. When did the turning point in the war come?
7. What was the role of France in the war?
8. What did France and America sign?
9. When did the last major battle of the American Revolution take place?
57
READING 2
Task 4. Read about three documents that were very important to the creation
and development of the United States. Knowing the basic ideas in these
documents will help you understand the ideals that the founders wanted for the
new country and the kinds of laws and government that they wanted to pass on to
future generations.
The Declaration of Independence (July 4,1776)

On July 4, 1776 the colonists broke all their ties with England by issuing
their Declaration of Independence. The thirteen colonies immediately became
thirteen American states. The main author of the Declaration of Independence
was Thomas Jefferson, a lawyer and farmer from Virginia who later became the
third president. Two of the most important ideas expressed In the Declaration of
Independence are that "all men are created equal" and that they are entitled to
"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The belief in equality for all is central
to the Idea of democracy in the United States. Although not everyone in the
United States has always enjoyed equal rights, the idea of equality stated in the
Declaration of Independence has inspired generations of people to fight for their
rights and be tolerant of others.
The Constitution of the United States (1788)
After the United States won its independence from Britain, Americans faced
a new challenge. The thirteen new states needed to find a way to work together as
one country. The states had to:
- enforce law and order,
- collect taxes,
- regulate trade among themselves,
- deal with Indian tribes,
- negotiate with other governments, etc.
58
Using principles from the Declaration of Independence, the Founding
Fathers wrote the document that still forms the basis of the U.S. government —
the Constitution. The Constitution describes the organization of the national
government. It divides the government into three branches: the legislative
branch, the executive branch and the judicial branch.
This division is called "separation of powers“, it gives each branch certain
duties and substantial independence from the others. It also gives each branch some
authority over the others through a system of "checks and balances (стримання і
противаг)."
Here are a few examples of how checks and balances work in practice.
• If Congress passes a proposed law, or "bill," that the president considers
unwise, he can veto it. That means that the bill is dead unless two-thirds of the
members of both the House and the Senate vote to enact it despite the president's
veto.
• If Congress passes, and the president signs, a law that is challenged in the
federal courts as contrary to the Constitution, the courts can nullify that law.
• The president has the power to make treaties with other nations and to
make appointments to federal positions. The Senate, however, must approve all
treaties and confirm the appointments before they can go into effect.
Legislative Branch
The legislative branch — the Congress — is made up of elected

representatives from each of the 50 states. It is the only branch of government
that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes, declare war, and put foreign
treaties into effect.
Members of the House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms.
Each member represents a district in his or her home state. The number of
districts is determined by a census, which is conducted every 10 years. The most
populous states are allowed more representatives than the smaller ones, some of
which have only one. In all, there are 435 representatives in the House.
59
Senators are elected to six-year terms. Each state has two senators,
regardless of population. Senators' terms are staggered, so that one-third of the
Senate stands for election every two years. There are 100 senators.
To become a law, a bill must pass both the House and the Senate. After the
bill is introduced in either body, it is studied by one or more committees, amended,
voted, and discussed in the chamber of the House or the Senate. If passed by one
body, it goes to the other for consideration. Once both bodies have passed the same
version of a bill, it goes to the President for approval.
The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Executive Branch
The chief executive of the United States is the president, who together
with the vice president is elected to a four-year term. As a result of a
constitutional amendment that went into effect in 1951, a president may be
elected to only two terms. Other than succeeding a president who dies or is
disabled, the vice president's only official duty is presiding over the Senate. The
vice president may vote in the Senate only to break a tie.
The president's powers are formidable but not unlimited. As the chief
formulator of national policy, the president proposes legislation to Congress. As
mentioned previously, the president may veto any bill passed by Congress. The
president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president has the
authority to appoint federal judges as vacancies occur, including justices of the
Supreme Court. As head of his political party, with ready access to the news
media, the president can easily influence public opinion.
Within the executive branch, the president has broad powers to issue
regulations and directives carrying out the work of the federal government's
departments and agencies. The president appoints the heads and senior officials
of those departments and agencies. Heads of the major departments, called
"secretaries," are part of the president's cabinet. The majority of federal workers,
however, are selected on the basis of merit, not politics.
60
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the
President of the United States, located in Washington D.C.
Judicial Branch
The judicial branch is headed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is the
only court specifically created by the Constitution. In addition, Congress has
established 13 federal courts of appeals and, below them, about 95 federal
district courts. The Supreme Court meets in Washington, D.C., and the other
federal courts are located in cities throughout the United States. Federal judges
are appointed for life or until they retire voluntarily – they can be removed from
office only via a laborious process of impeachment and trial in the Congress.
The federal courts hear cases arising out of the Constitution and federal
laws and treaties, maritime cases, cases involving foreign citizens or
governments, and cases in which the federal government is itself a party.
The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices.
With minor exceptions, cases come to the Supreme Court on appeal from lower
federal or state courts. Most of these cases involve disputes over the
interpretation and constitutionality of actions taken by the executive branch and
of laws passed by Congress or the states (like federal laws, state laws must be
consistent with the U.S. Constitution).
The Bill of Rights (1791)

After the Constitution was approved, many citizens were concerned that it
created a strong national government but did not protect the basic rights of people.
As a result, ten amendments, or additions, were added to the Constitution. "These
amendments are called the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees personal
rights such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and a
fair trial in court. The rights protected in the first Amendment form the cornerstone
of American democracy. This was the first time that a country wrote a
constitution that promised to protect the individual civil and political rights of all
61
its free citizens. At that time, however, citizens referred only to white males. Women
and blacks, for example, were not considered citizens.
(based on http://www..gov/topics/government.php)

Task 5. Answer the questions below.
1. What does the Declaration of Independence proclaim?
2. Who was the main writer of that document? When was it adopted?
3. When was the U.S. Constitution created and ratified?
4. What is the structure of the U.S. Constitution?
5. What is the Bill of Rights? What does it guarantee?
6. How many changes to the U.S. Constitution are there? What do they call
them?
7. What do they mean by the system of “checks and balances”? How does it
work in practice?
Task 6. Now complete the table. Use the information from the text and your
own ideas.
Branch of Government Legislative Executive Judicial
1. What does it consist of?
2. What are its responsibilities?
3. What powers does it have under the
system of checks and balances?
Task 7. Split the Americanisms into three groups to match with the
appropriate branch of power. Make cultural comments.
The White House, the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. President, Senator, the
Senate, the Supreme Court of the U.S., the Chief Justice of the U.S. , the Vice
President of the U.S., U.S. Departments, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S.
Department of State, U.S. Agencies, U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. Federal
62
Courts, the U.S. Congress, Secretary, Secretary of State, Representative, the
Cabinet, the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Speaker
of the House, the U.S. Supreme Court Building
Task 8. Read the definition and guess what Americanism is meant. Use a
dictionary if necessary. Give other examples of social and political
Americanisms.
1. The first constitution of the United States, adopted by the thirteen original
colonies in 1781, which was replaced by the present Constitution in 1788.
2. The meeting of leaders from each state in Philadelphia in 1878 when the
Constitution was written.
3. A basic principle in the American Constitution which separates national
political power into three branches of government.
4. A system in which each branch of government has a certain amount of control
over the other branches, creating a balance of power.
5. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
6. The men who wrote the U.S. Constitution.
7. The body of electors who formally elect the United States president and vice
president.
8. An organized effort that promoted equality, political rights, and fair treatment
for all Americans, no matter what their skin color was.
9. The Senator who, when the Vice President is not present, presides over the
Senate.
10. A preliminary election in which the registered voters of a political party
nominate candidates for office.
TALK ABOUT IT
Task 9. Read the situations below. Be ready to discuss.
63
You have read that the Supreme Court interprets the laws that Congress passes
and decides whether or not they agree with the Constitution. Sometimes the decisions
of the Supreme Court are controversial. Read about the legal cases and decide
whether or not you agree with the decision the Supreme Court made.
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, even speech that
some people find offensive. This means Americans must sometimes accept
unpopular speech in order to preserve the spirit of the freedom. The Supreme
Court determines what types of speech are covered by the First Amendment.
It defined "speech" to be both spoken words and symbolic speech.
In the 1960s, some people began burning the American flag as an
expression of protest against the government. This angered people who felt that
the flag is a symbol of the United States and should be protected. In response,
Congress passed the Flag Protection Act in 1989, which made it illegal to burn or
destroy a U.S. flag. However, in 1990, the Court ruled that the Flag Protection
Act was unconstitutional. It decided that the burning of the American flag is an
example of "symbolic speech" and is therefore protected by the First
Amendment. What do you think?
The Internet has caused much controversy on the subject of free
speech. In the 1990s, many people became angry about the amount of
material on the Internet that is not appropriate for children. As a result,
Congress passed a law that made it illegal to send or show inappropriate
material to people under the age of eighteen. In 1997, the Supreme Court
ruled that the law was unconstitutional. The Court said that freedom of
speech applies to the Internet, and since it is impossible to tell the age of
people using the Internet, the law would violate the rights of adults on the
Internet. What do you think?
Task 10. Scan the information about Benjamin Franklin. Then read some of
the proverbs from Poor Richard's Almanack and consider the meanings of the
64
proverbs. Do you have any proverbs with similar meaning in the Ukrainian
language?
Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. who signed
the Declaration of Independence, and it was Franklin who persuaded the
French to help the colonists in the American Revolution. Franklin also started the
first public library, the first fire department, and the first insurance company. He is
also known for the collection of proverbs he wrote and published, Poor Richard's
Almanack. Poor Richard's Almanack reflects Franklin's philosophy that thrift and
hard work are the keys to success. Poor Richard's Almanack was one of the most
popular books available and greatly influenced American thought both before
and after the Revolutionary War.
1. Lost time is never found.
2. God helps those who help themselves.
3. Haste makes waste.
4. A penny saved is a penny earned.
5. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
6. Fish and guests stink after three days.
7. Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead.
8. If you cannot follow, you cannot lead.
9. Be careful of your money; a small leak will sink a big ship.
OVER TO YOU
Task 11. Read and comment on the statements:
• “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (1st amendment to
the Constitution of the U.S.A.)
• "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within
65
the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." (13th
amendment to the Constitution of the U.S.A.)
• Famous U.S. Presidents
• History of the United States Congress
• National versus State Government
• Separation of powers and the democratic process
• The strangest laws across America
WRITING
Task 13. Carefully read the list of facts about George Washington, the first
president of the United States. Write an essay about him.
• remembered as "Father of His Country"
• born in 1732 in Virginia
• attended only seven years of school
• was one of the most important leaders in U.S. history
• played important role in gaining independence for the American colonies
• created the Continental Army, which fought and won the American
Revolution
• was unanimously elected the first president of the United States in 1789
• helped write the Constitution
• laid down the guidelines for future presidents
• was known for his honesty and strong character
• died in 1799
cultural comments.
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UNIT 6
SEPARATING CHURCH AND STATE

FREEDOM OF RELIGION
PRE-READING TASKS
1. Do you consider the United States to be one of the most religious countries in
the world? Why? Why not?
2. What major religions are there in the United States?
3. Is there any established or government-favored church in the U.S.?
4. What part of American population believes in God compared to European
countries?
Task 2. Now skim the information below and check whether your ideas were
correct .
America is a highly religious country, and has been since its earliest days.
Nearly every religion in the world has adherents or organized institutions in the
United States. American religious institutions are large, powerful and influential
in social and political life. Even Americans who are members of no established
religion are likely to believe in God. According to a Gallup opinion survey,
nearly all Americans, 98% of them, believe in a higher power, compared to 84%
in Switzerland, 73% in France and 60% in Sweden.
Americans also tend to believe in life after death: 73% compared to 50%
in Switzerland and only 38% in Great Britain. About 60% of Americans are
members of a church, synagogue or other religious group, though many more
identify with various religions because of their birth or upbringing. About 40%
of Americans attend religious services regularly, compared to only 20% in Great
Britain.
Today the major religions in the U.S. are:
Protestant 54 %
Roman Catholic 25 %
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‘none’ 10 %
Eastern Orthodoxy 3%
Jewish 2.8 %
Mormon 2%
Muslim 1.9%
Task 3. Read the forecast made by the researcher for Business Insider
Michael B. Kelley. Do you agree or disagree with him? Give your reasons.
The demographics of religion will change dramatically over the next four
decades, and countries across the world will transform with them.
Pew research suggests Christianity will be on the decline from 2010 to
2050, and this map — which is based on the 2010 census data — provides a
snapshot of the religious fabric of America.
A few observations:
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church,
seems to have heeded Mark Twain's advice: "Buy land, they're not making it
anymore." In November 2013, the Mormon Church bought 2% of Florida.
• The Bible Belt, comprised mostly of Southern Baptists, is on full display
and informs the strong social conservative strain that runs through American
politics.
• Catholics barely beat out the Southern Baptists for the highest number of
counties with the most adherents. Catholicism's nationwide reach is reminiscent
of widespread support of the Notre Dame football team: "Millions of Catholics
— whether Irish, Italian, German or Pole — lived vicariously through the wins
and losses of Notre Dame’s football teams. For that vastly immigrant population
Notre Dame football symbolized the triumphs of an ostracized people. It also
reflected the ascendancy of U.S. Catholics into the nation’s mainstream."
Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and West Virginia appear to have the most
diversity when it comes to dominant religious groups. On the other side is
Vermont and New Hampshire, which are considered the Godless states.
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The religiously unaffiliated (atheists, agnostics) are expected to see the
largest net gains from switching out of Christianity, adding more than 61 million
followers from 2010 to 2050. But it will be hard to remove the dominant
religions in local communities. So perhaps the map will stay largely the same,
with some counties dominated by the unaffiliated popping up.
(based on https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections)
TALK ABOUT IT
Task 4. Skim the information below. Be ready to discuss.
You have read that the Supreme Court interprets the laws that Congress passes
and decides whether or not they agree with the Constitution. Sometimes the decisions
of the Supreme Court are controversial. Read about the legal cases and decide
whether or not you agree with the decision the Supreme Court made.
The First Amendment also states that religion and the government
must be separated. However, for many years schoolchildren began each day
with a prayer. In fact, in some states a prayer was required by law. In 1961, a
group of parents in New York sued the Department of Education because
they thought it was unfair to make students say a prayer in school. The
lower courts ruled against the parents and said it was legal for New York to
allow prayer in school as long as no student was forced to participate. The
question then came before the Supreme Court: Does a voluntary prayer said
in public schools violate the First Amendment's separation of religion and
government? The Supreme Court decided that all prayer, even voluntary
prayer, in public schools was unconstitutional. What do you think?
READING 1
Task 5. Read the text to get the general idea.
Interpreting the First Amendment
Early in their history, Americans rejected the concept of the established or
government-favored religion that had dominated and divided so many European
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countries. Separation of church and state was ordained by the First Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, which provides in part that "Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof...."
The First Amendment sounds straightforward, but at times it is difficult
even for American constitutional scholars to draw a distinct line between
government and religion in the United States. Students in public schools may
not pray publicly as part of the school day, yet sessions of the U.S. Congress
regularly begin with a prayer by a minister. Cities may not display a Christmas
créche on public property, but the slogan "In God We Trust" appears on U.S.
currency, and money given to religious institutions can be deducted from one's
income for tax purposes. Students who attend church-affiliated colleges may
receive federal loans like other students, but their younger siblings may not
receive federal monies specifically to attend religious elementary or secondary
schools.
It may never be possible to resolve these apparent inconsistencies. They
derive, in fact, from a tension built into the First Amendment itself, which tells
Congress neither to establish nor to interfere with religion. Trying to steer a
clear course between those two dictates is one of the most delicate exercises
required of American public officials.
One of the first permanent settlements in what became the North American
colonies was founded by English Puritans, Calvinists who had been outsiders in
their homeland, where the Church of England was established. The Puritans
settled in Massachusetts, where they grew and prospered. They hoped to build a
“city upon a hill” – an ideal community a worthy model for other nations to
follow. They believed that the government should enforce God’s morality, and
strictly punished heretics, drunks and violators of the Sabbath (Holy Sunday), as
well as those who disagreed with their religious ideas.
When in 1663 the colony's leaders forced out one of their members, Roger
Williams, for disagreeing with the clergy, Williams responded by founding a
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separate colony, which became the state of Rhode Island based on the principles
of religious freedom and separation of church and state. These two ideas were
later adopted by the framers of the Constitution. Two other states originated as
havens for people being persecuted for their religious beliefs: Maryland as a
refuge for Catholics and Pennsylvania for the Society of Friends (Quakers), a
Protestant group whose members espouse plain living and pacifism.
Even after the adoption of the Constitution in 1787 and the Bill of Rights
(which includes the First Amendment) in 1791, Protestantism continued to enjoy
a favored status in some states. Massachusetts, for example, did not cut its last
ties between church and state until 1833. (As written, the First Amendment
applies only to the federal government, not to the states. The Fourteenth
Amendment, ratified in 1868, forbids states to "deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law." This clause has been
interpreted to mean that the states must protect the rights – including freedom of
religion – that are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.)
In the 20th century, the relationship between church and state reached a
new stage of conflict – that between civic duty and individual conscience. The
broad outlines of an approach to that conflict took shape in a number of
Supreme Court rulings.
Perhaps the most noteworthy of these was West Virginia State Board of
Education v. Barnette (1943). The suit stemmed from the refusal of certain
members of the Jehovah's Witness religion to salute the American flag during
the school day, as commanded by state law. Because their creed forbade such
pledges of loyalty, the Witnesses argued, they were being forced to violate their
consciences. Three years earlier, the Supreme Court had upheld a nearly
identical law – a decision that had been roundly criticized. In the 1943 case, the
Court in effect overruled itself by invoking a different clause in the First
Amendment, the one guaranteeing freedom of speech. Saluting the flag was held
to be a form of speech, which the state could not force its citizens to perform.
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Since then the Supreme Court has carved out other exceptions to laws on
behalf of certain religious groups. There remains, however, a distinction
between matters of private conscience and actions that adversely affect other
people. Thus, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
(Mormons) were jailed in the 19th century for practicing polygamy
(subsequently the Mormon Church withdrew its sanction of polygamy). More
recently, parents have been convicted of criminal negligence for refusing to
obtain medical help for their ailing children, who went on to die, even though
the parents' religious beliefs dictated that they refuse treatment because faith
would provide a cure.
(Interpreting the First Amendment // Portrait of the USA [Електронний ресурс]
/ [M. Christopher, A. Cusack, M. Cusack et al.]. – Washington : The USIA,
1997. – P. 4–10. – Режим доступу :
http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/factover/ch4.htm)

Task 6. Answer the questions. Substantiate your point of view using the
information from the text. Discuss your answers in pairs.
1. What does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provide?
2. What does it tell about the relations between the U.S. government and
religion?
3. What decisions were made by the U.S. court to solve the controversy
between the U.S. government and religion?
Task 7. Read the definition and guess what term is meant then complete the
table. Use a dictionary if necessary. Give other examples of Americanisms
related to the topic.
1)…………… a member or follower of any of the Western Christian
Churches that are separate from the Roman Catholic Church in
accordance with the principles of the Reformation, including
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the Baptist and Lutheran Churches.
2)…………….. belonging or relating to the Christian church that is led by the
pope
3)…………….. member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a
religion founded in the U.S. in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr.
4)…………… members of a strict Mennonite sect founded by the Swiss
preacher Jakob Amman (or Amen) , now living mainly in
Pennsylvania and Ohio.
5)……………. a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons
6)……………. a document which guarantees freedoms concerning religion,
expression, assembly, and the right to petition
7)……………. a state of the northeast United States on the Atlantic Ocean,
one of the original Thirteen Colonies settled by religious exiles
from Massachusetts
8)……………. the Religious Society of Friends
READING 2
Task 9. Read the information below to get the general idea. Then prepare five
questions to answer and discuss.
Today there is a rapid rate of intermarriage among people of different
faiths in the United States. Estimates are that 50 percent of Jewish men and
women intermarry. Several articles about the Catholic Church have pointed out
that many young people have left the Church and have intermarried. These facts
are indicative of the high degree of assimilation and tolerance that is practiced
in this country. This is taken as evidence of the declining role of faith and
religious identity in the minds of many young Americans.
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Interfaith marriage is common in U.S.,
particularly among the recently wed
Marrying within the faith is still common in the United States, with nearly
seven-in-ten married people (69%) saying that their spouse shares their religion,
according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. But a comparison of recent
and older marriages shows that having a spouse of the same religion may be less
important to many Americans today than it was decades ago.
Our Religious Landscape Study found that almost four-in-ten Americans
(39%) who have married since 2010 have a spouse who is in a different religious
group. By contrast, only 19% of those who wed before 1960 report being in a
religious intermarriage.
Many of these recent interfaith marriages are between Christians and the
religiously unaffiliated (sometimes called “nones”). Of all U.S. adults married
since 2010, almost one-in-five (18%) are in marriages between a Christian and a
religiously unaffiliated spouse. This is true for only 5% of those who married
before 1960.
Some research suggests that marriages between members of the same
religious group may be more durable than intermarriages. If this is true, the rise
in religious intermarriage over time may not be as pronounced as it appears,
since the Religious Landscape Study measures only marriages intact today (i.e.,
it is possible there were more intermarriages before 1960 that have since ended
in divorce).
In any case, interfaith relationships are even more common today among
unmarried people living with a romantic partner than among those who are
married. Nearly half (49%) of unmarried couples are living with someone of a
different faith.
The survey also shows that members of certain religious groups are more
likely than others to be with someone of their faith, whether they are married or
living together in a romantic relationship. For example, more than three-quarters
of U.S. Hindus (91%), Mormons (82%) and Muslims (79%) who are married or
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living with a partner are with someone of the same religion. This is somewhat
less common among Jews (65%), mainline Protestants (59%) and religiously
unaffiliated people (56%).
( Murphy C. Interfaith marriage is common in U.S.,
particularly among the recently wed. – [Електронний ресурс]. – Режим
доступу : http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/02/interfaith-marriage/)
OVER TO YOU
• By the 21st century the U.S. was one of the most strongly Christian of all
major nations.
• Frequency of religious service attendance remains a strong predictor of
how people will vote in elections.
• For a marriage to succeed, the young couple must psychologically and
emotionally separate from their families of childhood. If the in-laws are
against intermarriage, the stage is set for conflict, bitterness and
misunderstanding, with damaging and long-lasting consequences for these
relationships.
• Indigenous Religions in the U.S.
• Pilgrims and Puritans: Who are they?
• Religious Holidays in the U.S.
• Importance of Religion in American Society
WRITING
Task 12. Carefully read the list of facts about Roger Williams, a Puritan, the
9th President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Write an essay about him.
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• was born in London around 1603; however, the exact date has not been
established by scholars because his birth records were destroyed in the
Great Fire of London of 1666;
• graduated from Cambridge;
• joined the second wave of immigration to the New World with Puritan
leaders;
• in 1631, the Boston church invited him to become its Teacher minister;
• in 1636 was expelled by the Puritan leaders from the colony of
Massachusetts because local officials thought that he was spreading "new
and dangerous ideas";
• 1638 founder of the First Baptist Church in America, also known as the
First Baptist Church of Providence;
• was an early advocate for fair dealings with American Indians;
• one of the first abolitionists in North America, having organized the first
attempt to prohibit slavery in any of the British American colonies;
• the originator of the principle of separation of church and state
Task 13. Write down at least five Americanisms related to the topic and
make cultural comments.
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UNIT 7
EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES
PRE-READING TASKS
Task 1. Look at the photo. How do you understand the heading? Do you
agree or disagree? Why?

1. Do you think that education in the United States is better than in Europe?
Why? Why not?
2. What are the strong and weak points of the U.S. educational system?
3. Could you list some prestigious U.S. universities? Are they public or private?
4. Would you like to study in the United States? Why or why not? If yes, where?

Task 3. Scan the scheme. Give a brief characteristic of U.S. system of
education. Then read the article below to check if your ideas were correct.
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( from https://www.ushstudent.com/blog/structure-of-the-u-s-education-system/)
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READING 1
Task 3. Skim the article by Susan E. Hume, Ph.D., Associate Professor for
Southern Illinois University to get the general idea.
The American Education System

To begin, because the country has a federal system of government that has
historically valued local governance, no country-level education system or
curriculum exists in the United States. The federal government does not operate
public schools. Each of the fifty states has its own Department of Education that
sets guidelines for the schools of that state. Public schools also receive funding
from the individual state, and also from local property taxes. Public colleges and
universities receive funding from the state in which they are located. Each state's
legislative body decides how many tax dollars will be given to public colleges
and universities. Students in grades 1-12 do not pay tuition. College and
university students do pay tuition, but many earn scholarships or receive loans.
Much of the control of American public schools lies in the hands of each
local school district. Each school district is governed by a school board; a small
committee of people elected by the local community or appointed by the local
government. The school board sets general policies for the school district and
insures that state guidelines are met.
Generally, school districts are divided into elementary schools, middle
schools, and high schools. Elementary schools are composed of students in
kindergarten and grades 1-5. Most children attend kindergarten when they are
five-years-old. Children begin 1st grade at age six. Middle school is composed
of students in grades 6-8 and high school contains grades 9-12.
High school students are required to take a wide variety of courses in
English, mathematics, science, and social science. They may also be required to
take foreign language or physical education, and they may elect to take music,
art, or theatre courses. Many high schools also offer vocational training courses.
A course can be one semester or two semesters in length. The academic year
generally begins in mid August and ends in early June.
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In the United States, education is compulsory for all students until ages
sixteen to eighteen depending on the individual state. According to the 2010
U.S. Census, 87.1% of people over the age of 25 were high school graduates.
Most high school students graduate at the age of seventeen. A student graduates
after he or she has successfully passed all of the required courses. Grades are
given to students for each course at the end of each semester. The grading scale
is A (excellent), B (above average), C (average), D (below average), and F
(failing). A student who fails a required course must repeat the course.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 66.2% of 2012 high school
graduates were enrolled in college in October 2012. Students have the option of
attending a two-year community college (also known as a junior college) before
applying to a four-year university. Admission to community college is easier,
tuition is lower, and class sizes are often smaller than in a university.
Community college students can earn an Associate's degree and transfer up to
two years of course credits to a university.
Admission to a University
Although admission policies vary from one university to the next, most
determine admission based on several criteria, including a student's high school
course of study, high school Grade Point Average (GPA), participation in
extracurricular activities, SAT or ACT exam scores, a written essay, and
possibly a personal interview:
• The university admissions office considers whether a student has taken
courses in high school that have prepared him/her for more difficult coursework.
A student's high school GPA is also considered. A GPA is a quantitative figure
representing a student's accumulated grades. Each letter grade is assigned a
number of points: A = 4 points, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1 and F = 0 points. A GPA is
calculated by adding all of the points earned for each course grade and dividing
the total points by the total number of courses taken. For example, a GPA of 3.0
is a "B" average for all of the courses taken.
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• University admissions officers like to see applications from high school
students who have participated in extracurricular activities, such as scholastic
clubs, athletic teams, student government, and philanthropic clubs. Voluntary
participation in these kinds of activities is an indication that students have
learned valuable life lessons, such as teamwork, leadership, or civic
responsibility.
• Most students in the United States take the SAT Reasoning Text
(formerly known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (formerly known
as American College Testing) during their final year of high school. Each
university sets a minimum SAT or ACT score that a student must achieve in
order to gain admission. These are standardized quantitative examinations. The
SAT tests critical reading, mathematics, and writing skills. The ACT tests
English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning, and includes an optional
writing test.
• Universities often require students to write an essay as part of the
application process. Each admissions office determines the length and content of
the essay. The applicant also may be required to have a personal interview with
a representative from the admissions office.
At the University:
University students pursuing a Bachelor's degree are called
"undergraduates," whereas students pursuing a Master's or Doctoral degree are
called "graduate students." American undergraduate students will say they are
"going to school" or "going to college," which means they are attending
university. A common question one student asks another is, "What is your
major?" This means, "What is your major field of study?"
Most universities give undergraduate students a liberal education, which
means students are required to take courses across several disciplines before
they specialize in a major field of study. Graduate and professional (such as
medicine or law) programs are specialized.
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At the university level, most courses are only one semester long. Each
course is assigned a number of credit hours. Credit hours are usually based on
how much time is spent in class each week. Most courses are 3 credits.
However, some courses may be 1, 2, 4 or 5 credits. All degree programs require
students to complete a minimum number of credit hours before graduation. Most
Bachelor's degree programs in the United States do not require students to write
a final thesis.
Selection for admission to a graduate program is based on several criteria.
These include completion of a Bachelor's degree, the student's undergraduate
coursework, and their GPA. Students are also expected to write an essay as part
of their application or submit a writing sample. Most Master's programs require
students to have a minimum score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE),
which tests verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and
analytical writing skills.
Students continue to take courses at the graduate level. A final thesis is
required for most Master's programs. Doctoral students take courses until they
have earned enough credit hours to attempt their qualifying examinations, which
are usually taken over several days and often include both a written and oral
component. After doctoral students pass their qualifying exams, they are
advanced to candidacy and can begin writing their dissertation. Before the
degree is given, the completed dissertation must be orally defended before the
candidate's faculty committee.
Because degree requirements can be very complex and vary from one
university and department to another, all students should check with their
university and department advisors to make sure they are meeting their
educational requirements.
(Hume S. The American Education System. – [Електронний ресурс]. –
Режим доступу : http://www.internationalstudentguidetotheusa.com/article)
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1. What is the general pattern of education in the U.S.?
2. What are the sources of funding for public schools, colleges and universities
in the U.S.?
3. Who controls American public schools?
4. What is the grading scale in the U.S.?
5. What criteria is admission to a university based on?
6. What is a two-year community college? What are the advantages and
disadvantages of it?
9. What are the peculiarities of studying at the university?
Task 5. Complete the table, using the information from the text.
Elementary School Middle School High school
Task 6. Read the definition and guess what word or expression is meant then
complete the table. Give other examples of the terms related to the topic?
1……………. A secondary school that usually includes 10, 11, and 12, and
sometimes grade 9, and that offers academic or vocational
subjects.
2…………….. Any of the divisions in a school curriculum usually equal to
one year.
3……………. A junior college established to serve a certain community and
sometimes supported by it, often emphasizing career, rather
than academic programmes.
4…………….. A field of a study in which a student specializes and receives a
degree.
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5…………… The lowest school at which children receive formal teaching
during six or eight years.
6……………. A body elected by the citizens of a community to run the public
schools of the area.
7……………. A free elementary or secondary school supported by taxes.
8………….... The amount of money paid by a student for instruction,
especially at a college, university, or private school.
9……………. An undergraduate degree given by a college or university to a
person who has completed a four-year programme or its
equivalent.
10………… A measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or
university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade
points received by the total number attempted.
11………… is an examination which is often taken by students who wish to
enter a college or university (Scholastic Aptitude Test)
12…………. is a standardized test for high school achievement and college
admissions in the United States (American College Testing)
TALK ABOUT IT
Task 8. For many Americans, a college degree is a stepping-stone to achieving
the American Dream. However, it’s an expensive stepping-stone. According to
student support organization College Board, published tuition fees for 2014/15
at state colleges are an average of US $9,139 for state residents, and $22,958
for everyone else. This compares to an average of $31,231 at private non-profit
colleges. The cheapest options of all, however, are public-sector two-year
colleges – also known as community, technical or city colleges – where average
fees for 2014/15 are just $3,347.
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Admittedly, you can’t complete a full degree at a two-year college, but
you can gain an associate’s degree. This counts as the first half of a bachelor’s
degree, which can then be completed by transferring to a university for an
additional two or three years.
Average fees at U.S. universities, 2016-17

Public two- Public four- Public four- Private non-
year colleges year colleges year colleges profit four-
(in-state fees) (out-of-state year colleges
fees)
Tuition and $3,520 $9,650 $24,930 $33,480
other fees
Room and $8,060 $10,440 $10,440 $11,890
board
Total (per year) $11,580 $20,090 $35,370 $45,370
How does the typical American family pay for college? These are the top
six sources:
Percent Source
32% Parent income and savings
30% Scholarships and grants
16% Student borrowing
11% Student income and savings
6% Parent borrowing
5% Relatives and friends

As we can see from the table, student income makes up 11% and means
that students are employed year-round (as opposed to working on spring break,
during summer months, etc.) and responsible for helping to pay their college
costs .
• Do you agree or disagree that students should work while studying?
Why? Why not?
• Should universities support students from low-income families? What
has already been done?
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READING 2
Task 9. Read the article by Sunday Review Staff Writer Frank Bruni to get the
general idea. Then prepare five questions to answer and discuss.
An Admissions Surprise from the Ivy League

As the country struggles to address extreme income inequality and
inadequate social mobility, the most venerated colleges are increasingly
examining their piece of that puzzle: How can they better identify and enroll
gifted, promising students from low-income families, lessening the degree to
which campuses perpetuate privilege and making them better engines of
advancement?
That discussion just took an interesting turn.
About three weeks ago, a group of more than 80 colleges — including all
eight in the Ivy League and many other highly selective private and public ones
— announced that they were developing a free website and set of online tools
that would, among other things, inform ninth and 10th graders without savvy
college advisers about the kind of secondary-school preparation that best
positions them for admission.
What’s more, these colleges plan to use the website for an application
process, in place by next fall, that would be separate from, and competitive with,
the “Common App,” a single form students can submit to any of more than 600
schools. If colleges in the new group — which calls itself the Coalition for
Access, Affordability and Success — have been taking the Common App, they
would continue to, but would clearly be encouraging students to explore this
alternate route.
If you know anything about the frenzied, freaked-out world of college
admissions these days, you can imagine how much commotion this development
generated among obsessed parents, overburdened guidance counselors and
others caught up in the whorl. It was something to behold. It also revealed
curious logic at the pinnacles of higher education.
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Unlike many of this new coalition’s harshest critics, I trust that the
schools involved really do want to diversify their student bodies, which don’t
reflect American society.
But like those critics, I wonder how the new application process will
accomplish this and whether it would be more effective to adopt less
complicated, confusing strategies.
First, some context, along with details about what the coalition is
proposing: As it stands now, the country’s most selective colleges are dominated
by students from affluent backgrounds. As my Times colleague David
Leonhardt noted: “For every student from the entire bottom half of the nation’s
income distribution at Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton, Yale and more than a few
other colleges, there appear to be roughly two students from just the top 5
percent (which means they come from families making at least $200,000).”
During the 2013-14 academic year, the most recent time period for which
figures were available, 38 percent of undergraduates nationally received federal
grants, reserved for students from low-income families.
In the Ivy League, the percentage ranged from 12 (Yale) to 21
(Columbia), according to the National Center for Education Statistics. While 31
percent of students at the University of California, Berkeley, received grants,
just 13 percent at the University of Virginia did.
Such low percentages largely reflect the flawed education and support
systems that too many underprivileged kids in this country encounter. These
children don’t have the academic grounding, transcripts and test scores that their
wealthier counterparts do, frequently because they haven’t attended schools of
commensurate quality.
From preschool through 12th grade, we’ve failed them. We can hardly
expect higher education to rush in belatedly and save the day.
At the same time, there’s evidence that talented kids from low-income
families who could handle the work at leading colleges and get ample financial
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aid often don’t realize it. And there are aspects of those colleges’ admissions
processes that work against them.
Members of the new coalition say that they are trying to change that and
to “unlock some of the mystery of what it means to apply to any institution.”
They said that the new online tools are meant to be one-stop shopping for
information about financial aid, application requirements and more. Students
could also use this online platform to interact with top schools, sending inquiries
and receiving answers.
The platform would include a so-called “locker” for creative work —
essays, videos, drawings — that students would be encouraged to begin filling in
the ninth grade, as a reminder that college is on the horizon.
They could share those lockers with mentors. And come application time,
they could upload its contents for admissions officers.
The platform would additionally serve as an application portal to colleges
in the coalition, which would be able to customize their individual demands
more easily than they do with any supplements to the Common App that they
currently require.
If you’re asking how this makes applying to college easier for poor kids,
you’re right to, and you’re in a mind meld with many confused and skeptical
college counselors and higher-education experts.
They predicted that privileged kids with hovering parents would interpret
the coalition’s suggestion about beginning to fill a locker in the ninth grade as
yet another reason to turn the entire high school experience into a calculated,
pragmatic audition for college admissions officers.
Meanwhile, underprivileged kids, lacking the necessary guidance and
awareness, might never take advantage of the platform.
“We have to make sure we give them the resources,” said Emmanuel Moses, the
senior manager of college guidance at the Opportunity Network.
Whatever the case, there’s much about their admissions criteria that runs
counter to the enrollment of underprivileged children, and it’s unclear if the new
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online platform and application process would really fix that. High scores on the
SAT or ACT correlate with high family income, in part because performance on
these tests can be improved with the special classes and private tutoring that
money buys. That was one reason cited by Hampshire College when it
announced last year that it would stop collecting applicants’ scores and would
go unranked by U.S. News & World Report, which factors in those numbers.
A transcript brimming with Advanced Placement classes is a testament to
the applicant, yes — but also to the resources of the secondary school that
offered a broad menu of such classes. And students from certain backgrounds
and school districts are more likely than those from others to have hands-on help
rounding up the perfect letters of recommendation, orchestrating an attention-
getting extracurricular dossier and even writing impressive essays.
Regarding essays, Jeremiah Quinlan, the dean of undergraduate
admissions at Yale, conceded his concern that “there’s a lot of work being done
on personal statements that’s decreasing their value in the admissions process.”
If the locker and other features of the new platform wind up giving
disadvantaged kids additional, untraditional ways to show their mettle, it may
turn out to be a step in the right direction. But the schools in the coalition need a
more detailed plan than they’ve articulated for making sure that those kids know
about the platform and how it can benefit them.
Any rethinking of the status quo of admissions is terrific. The same goes
for any spotlight on the dearth of diversity at many exclusive schools. I just hope
the members of the coalition accomplish more, in the end, than merely
illuminating education’s inequities.
( by Frank Bruni, SundayReview
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/opinion/sunday/)
OVER TO YOU
• “What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not
knowledge in pursuit of the child.” (George Bernard Shaw)
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• "Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learnt at
school" (Albert Einstein)
• “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
(Mark Twain)
• “Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.”
(Martin Luther King Jr.)
• “The whole educational and professional training system is a very
elaborate filter, which just weeds out people who are too independent, and
who think for themselves, and who don't know how to be submissive, and
so on – because they're dysfunctional to the institutions.”
(Noam Chomsky)
• “In America’s whole history education has been the major hope for
improving the individual and society” (Gunnar Myrdal)
• Colonial Universities in the U.S.
• Control of Education in the U.S.
• Standards of education in the U.S.
• Adult and continuing education ion the U.S.
• Liberal or vocational education?
WRITING
Task 12. Carefully read the list of facts about John Dewey, an American
philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been
influential in education and social reform. Write an essay about him.
• Dewey's educational theories were presented in My Pedagogic Creed
(1897), The School and Society (1900), The Child and the Curriculum
(1902), Democracy and Education (1916) and Experience and
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Education (1938).
• Dewey considered two fundamental elements—schools and civil
society — to be major topics needing attention and reconstruction to
encourage experimental intelligence and plurality.
• Dewey became one of the most famous proponents of hands-on
learning or experiential education.
• Dewey about a role of a teacher: "The business of the teacher is to
produce a higher standard of intelligence in the community, and the
object of the public school system is to make as large as possible the
number of those who possess this intelligence. Skill, ability to act
wisely and effectively in a great variety of occupations and situations,
is a sign and a criterion of the degree of civilization that a society has
reached. It is the business of teachers to help in producing the many
kinds of skill needed in contemporary life. If teachers are up to their
work, they also aid in production of character.”
cultural comments.
UNIT 8
AMERICAN HOLIDAYS AND SELEBRATIONS
PRE-READING TASK
Task 1. Discuss these questions.
1. What holidays do Americans share with other countries?
2. What uniquely American holidays do you know?
3. What holidays are most commonly celebrated?
Task 2. Scan the table below presenting five most celebrated holidays in the
U.S. and check if your ideas were correct.
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№ Date Holiday % of
Ameri USD sales Music
cans (in billions) symbolic of Remarks
celebr holiday
ating
Many Christmas celebrations are
Christmas evidenced by decorations which
carols and give off light and exchanging of
songs, gifts between family members
including and friends. Most popular based
Decem 92% – $630.5 "Silent on greeting card sales. About 6.5
1. ber 25 Christmas Night" and billion cards per year or $8
(Fixed) 96%
"Jingle billion annual sales. Also known
Bells" for having the second highest
church attendance. Major
symbols of this holiday are the
Christmas tree and Christmas
music. Christmas is the
celebration of Jesus Christ's
birth.
2. Novem Thanksgivi 87%– (part of One sixth of all turkeys eaten
ber Christmas annually happens around
ng 90%[
sales) Thanksgiving. Holiday accounts
22–28 for 46 million turkeys, compared
(Floating with 22 million consumed on
Thursday Christmas and 19 million on
) Easter. Reduced turkey prices
usually occur around
Thanksgiving.
3. May Mother's 84% $19.9 Known for having the strongest
restaurant sales, even compared
8–15 Day
with Valentine's Day. It is also
(Floating known for high church
Sunday) attendance after Easter and
Christmas.
4. March Easter 80%– Many Highest church attendance
23 – 81% Christian happens on Easter.
April $16.4
24
hymns
(Floating
Sunday)
5. July 4 Independe 78%– $68.0 Many Holiday is best known for
(Fixed) nce Day 79% American fireworks and barbecues. 45% of
patriotic American celebrate the 4th of
songs, July with fireworks, accounting
including for about $675 million in
"The Star- fireworks sales.
Spangled
Banner", etc.
READING 1
Task 3. Read the text below to get the general idea.
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Americans share three national holidays with many countries: Easter
Sunday, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
Easter, which falls on a spring Sunday that varies from year to year,
celebrates the Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Christians,
Easter is a day of religious services and the gathering of family. Many
Americans follow old traditions of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving children
baskets of candy. On the next day, Easter Monday, the president of the United
States holds an annual Easter egg hunt on the White House lawn for young
children.
Christmas Day, December 25, is another Christian holiday; it marks the
birth of the Christ Child. Decorating houses and yards with lights, putting up
Christmas trees, giving gifts, and sending greeting cards have become traditions
even for many non-Christian Americans.
New Year's Day, of course, is January 1. The celebration of this holiday
begins the night before, when Americans gather to wish each other a happy and
prosperous coming year.
UNIQUELY AMERICAN HOLIDAYS
Eight other holidays are uniquely American (although some of them have
counterparts in other nations). For most Americans, two of these stand out above
the others as occasions to cherish national origins: Thanksgiving and the Fourth
of July.
Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November, but many
Americans take a day of vacation on the following Friday to make a four-day
weekend, during which they may travel long distances to visit family and
friends. The holiday dates back to 1621, the year after the Puritans arrived in
Massachusetts, determined to practice their dissenting religion without
interference.
After a rough winter, in which about half of them died, they turned for
help to neighboring Indians, who taught them how to plant corn and other crops.
The next fall's bountiful harvest inspired the Pilgrims to give thanks by holding
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a feast. The Thanksgiving feast became a national tradition – not only because
so many other Americans have found prosperity but also because the Pilgrims'
sacrifices for their freedom still captivate the imagination. To this day,
Thanksgiving dinner almost always includes some of the foods served at the first
feast: roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, pumpkin pie. Before the meal
begins, families or friends usually pause to give thanks for their blessings,
including the joy of being united for the occasion.
The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, honors the nation's birthday -
- the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It is a day of
picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks. The flying of the
American flag (which also occurs on Memorial Day and other holidays) is
widespread. On July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence was marked by grand festivals across the nation.
Besides Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, there are six other uniquely
American holidays.
Martin Luther King Day: The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., an African-
American clergyman, is considered a great American because of his tireless
efforts to win civil rights for all people through nonviolent means. Since his
assassination in 1968, memorial services have marked his birthday on January
15. In 1986, that day was replaced by the third Monday of January, which was
declared a national holiday.
Presidents' Day: Until the mid-1970s, the February 22 birthday of
George Washington, hero of the Revolutionary War and first president of the
United States, was a national holiday. In addition, the February 12 birthday of
Abraham Lincoln, the president during the Civil War, was a holiday in most
states. The two days have been joined, and the holiday has been expanded to
embrace all past presidents. It is celebrated on the third Monday in February.
Memorial Day: Celebrated on the fourth Monday of May, this holiday
honors the dead. Although it originated in the aftermath of the Civil War, it has
become a day on which the dead of all wars, and the dead generally, are
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remembered in special programs held in cemeteries, churches, and other public
meeting places.
Labor Day: The first Monday of September, this holiday honors the
nation's working people, typically with parades. For most Americans it marks
the end of the summer vacation season, and for many students the opening of the
school year.
Columbus Day: On October 12, 1492, Italian navigator Christopher
Columbus landed in the New World. Although most other nations of the
Americas observe this holiday on October 12, in the United States it takes place
on the second Monday in October.
Veterans Day: Originally called Armistice Day, this holiday was
established to honor Americans who had served in World War I. It falls on
November 11, the day when that war ended in 1918, but it now honors veterans
of all wars in which the United States has fought. Veterans' organizations hold
parades, and the president customarily places a wreath on the Tomb of the
Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from
Washington, D.C.
OTHER CELEBRATIONS
While not holidays, two other days of the year inspire colorful
celebrations in the United States. On February 14, Valentine's Day, (named
after an early Christian martyr), Americans give presents, usually candy or
flowers, to the ones they love. On October 31, Halloween (the evening before
All Saints or All Hallows Day), American children dress up in funny or scary
costumes and go "trick or treating": knocking on doors in their neighborhood.
The neighbors are expected to respond by giving them small gifts of candy or
money. Adults may also dress in costume for Halloween parties.
Various ethnic groups in America celebrate days with special meaning to
them even though these are not national holidays. Jews, for example, observe
their high holy days in September, and most employers show consideration by
allowing them to take these days off. Irish Americans celebrate the old country's
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patron saint, St. Patrick, on March 17; this is a high-spirited day on which many
Americans wear green clothing in honor of the "Emerald Isle." The celebration
of Mardi Gras -- the day before the Christian season of Lent begins in late
winter -- is a big occasion in New Orleans, Louisiana, where huge parades and
wild revels take place. As its French name implies (Mardi Gras means "Fat
Tuesday," the last day of hearty eating before the penitential season of Lent), the
tradition goes back to the city's settlement by French immigrants. There are
many other such ethnic celebrations, and New York City is particularly rich in
them.
It should be noted that, with the many levels of American government,
confusion can arise as to what public and private facilities are open on a given
holiday. The daily newspaper is a good source of general information, but
visitors who are in doubt should call for information ahead of time.
(National Celebrations// Portrait of the USA [Електронний ресурс] /
– P. 4–10. – Режим доступу : http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/factover/ch4.htm)

Task 4. Match the items in the two columns. Give your reasons.
1. Valentine’s Day a) New Orleans
2. Halloween b) love
3. Jews c) Irish Americans
4. St. Patrick d) high holy days in September
5. Mardi Grass e) trick or treat
6. Puritans f) Fat Tuesday
7. The Fourth of July g) Ireland
8. Memorial Day h) Pilgrims
9. Veterans Day i) Decoration Day
10. Emerald Isle j) Independence Day
11. Mardi Gras k) Armistice Day
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Task 5. Read the definitions and guess what the word or expression is.
1. Another name for the Fourth of July.
2. A legal holiday in the U.S. which serves the memory of the harvest feast
celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621.
3. A legal holiday in the U.S. which originally was called Armistice Day.
4. The 40 day from Ash Wednesday to Easter, the most serious period in the
Christian year during which Christians do not eat meat or rich foods.
5. A popular U.S. carnival held in New Orleans during the week before the first
day of Lent.
Task 6. Find the odd one out of these words.
1. Pilgrims, Massachusetts, Independence Day, 1621.
2. Arlington national Cemetery, roast turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie.
3. Memorial Day, the Civil War, May, St. Patrick.
4. Halloween, the Tomb of Unknowns, trick or treat, October 31.
5. Christmas, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, an annual egg hunt, the White
House.
OVER TO YOU
• "Labor Day is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or
nation." ( Samuel Gompers)
• “July is an intensely warm month in the States, and by some
weather-freak, the fourth, of all days, is the very fiercest.” (Henry
Howard Paul, "Fourth of July in the United States," 1851)
• "New Year's Day is every man's birthday." ( Charles Lamb)
• "Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be
careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude."
(E.P. Powell)
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• Thanksgiving Day: its history and traditions
• Groundhog Day
• Religious Celebrations: Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, Epiphany, Purim,
etc.
• Flag Day
• Kwanzaa
Task 9. Do the crossword below devoted to Thanksgiving Day.
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Across
5 The month of Thanksgiving.
6 A large orange vegetable.
7 Have a ________ of pumpkin pie for desert.
10 ________ the table before dinner.
11 A festival with bands, people wearing costumes, and floats
marching down the street.
12 Families _________ together on Thanksgiving.
14 A yellow vegetable that was grown by Native Americans.
16 A long journey over the ocean.
18 Another way to say for thankful.
21 A place where things are baked.
22 The people on board the Mayflower.
23 A large bird eaten on Thanksgiving.
Down
1 The evening meal.
2 Use a knife to ________ a turkey.
3 An odd shaped vegetable that resembles a pumpkin.
4 ________ a pie in the oven.
8 Americans __________ Thanksgiving in the Autumn.
9 ________ a turkey in the oven.
10 Something cooked inside the turkey and served at dinner.
12 A sauce that is poured over the turkey.
13 Gather the crops.
15 The ship that pilgrims came to America on.
17 ________ thanks for the food we eat.
19 The nut of an oak tree.
20 A large dinner celebration.
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ONE HUNDRED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
ABOUT THE USA
1. What type of state is the United States of America?
(federal presidential constitutional republic)
2. What is the capital of the U.S.?
(Washington, D.C.)
3. What metaphors are used to describe a multicultural American society?
(melting pot, salad bowl, tomato soup, etc)
4. What does the idea of the melting pot suggest?
(The idea of the “melting pot” meant that as immigrants from many different
cultures came to the United States, their old ways melted away an they became
part of a completely new culture.)
5. Which five ethnic groups do Americans belong to?
(White people (also called Caucasians), African Americans, Hispanic people
(also called Latino), Asian Americans, Native Americans)
6. What are the major religions in the U.S.?
(Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu)
7. How many branches of power are there in the U.S.?
(three branches: legislative, executive, judicial)
8. What are the major political parties in the U.S.?
(Republican (its symbol is elephant), and Democratic (its symbol is donkey)
9. What is the largest city in the U.S.?
(New York)
10. Which is the largest state?
(Alaska)
11. Which is the smallest state?
(Rhode Island)
12. What is the largest river in the U.S.?
( the Mississippi)
13.What is the highest point in the U.S.?
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(Mount McKinley, Alaska (6.198 m)
14. What do the stars and stripes of the American flag mean?
(The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of America,
and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared
independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and became the first states in
the U.S.)
15. What is the national symbol of the U.S.?
(Bald Eagle)
16. What is the coat of arms of the U.S.?
(the obverse of the Great Seal)
17. What national mottos do you know?
(In God We Trust, Out of Many One)
18. Who are indigenous people of the U.S.?
(Indian people)
20. How many regions is the U.S. divided into?
(Six main regions: New England, the Middle Atlantic, the South, the Midwest,
the Southwest, the West)
21. What are the main sources of the state name etymologies of the United
States?
(Names appeared on the base of already existed geographical names, transmitted
from the countries of the Old World; names appeared on the base of European
languages; Names dedicated to the famous people; names borrowed from the
Indian people)
22. How many families of English do you know?
(British English family and American English family)
23. What pronunciation do they call General American Pronunciation?
(It is a kind of standard pronunciation found in American dictionaries. It is the
name given to any American accent that is relatively free of noticeable regional
influences. GAEP is used by most TV network announcers. It is closest to being
a standard.)
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24. Why is American English generally rhotic?
(Because during the colonization period many parts of England were rhotic, for
example, the South West. Also many settlers came from Ireland and Scotland
which were also rhotic.)
25. How many states gave official status to the English language?
(30 states)
26. What are the main dialect groups?
(the Northern, the Southern, the Midland, the Western)
27. Who wrote the first American English dictionary?
(Noah Webster, in 1828)
28. What is the origin of America’s name?
(America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer and navigator,
who made 4 voyages to it and realized that it was a new unknown land (unlike
Columbus who believed he had discovered a new part of Asia) and called the
continent the “New World”.)
29. When and where was the first successful British colony founded?
(in 1607, Virginia, Jamestown)
30. What British colonies were founded in North America?
(Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Virginia)
31. What are the most important documents that shaped the U.S.? When were
they adopted?
(the Declaration of Independence (July 4,1776 ), the Constitution of the U.S.
(1788 ), the Bill of Rights (1791)
32. What was the main reason of the disagreement between the colonies and
Great Britain that led to the American Revolution?
(The colonists insisted that their colonial governments were poorly represented
in the distant British Parliament. The colonial leaders saw that fact as a denial of
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their rights as Englishmen, and therefore laws applying only to the colonies,
were considered by them as unconstitutional.)
33. Who was the main author of the Declaration of Independence?
(Thomas Jefferson)
34. What ideas were expressed in the Declaration of Independence?
("All men are created equal", and they are entitled to "life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.")
35. Who were the Founding Fathers of the United States?
(Within this group there are two key subsets – the Signers (who signed the
Declaration of Independence in 1776) and the Framers (who took part in framing
or drafting the proposed Constitution of the United States). The Founding Fathers
are the following seven key figures: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington,
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton.)
36. What does the Bill of Rights guarantee?

(The Bill of Rights guarantees personal rights such as freedom of religion, freedom
of speech, freedom of the press, and a fair trial in court.)
37. What does a system of “checks and balances” mean?
(A system in which each branch of government has a certain amount of control
over the other branches, creating a balance of power.)
38. Who was the first president of the U.S.?
(George Washington)
39. What document was separation of church and state ordained by?
(the First Amendment to the Constitution of the U.S.)
40. Who founded the first English permanent settlements in North America?
(English Puritans)
41. Who was Roger Williams? Which colony did he found?
(He was a Puritan who was forced out from Massachusetts for disagreeing with
the clergy. He founded the colony of Rhode Island
42. What principles was the colony of Rhode Island based on?
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(It was based on the principles of religious freedom and separation of church and
state.)
43. What document were the principles of religious freedom and separation of
church and state included in?
(in the Constitution of the U.S.)
44. Does the USA have a national system of education?
(No it does not. Each of the fifty states has its own Department of Education that
sets guidelines for the schools of that state.)
45. What do they call a school that usually includes 10, 11, and 12, and
sometimes grade 9, and that offers academic or vocational subjects?
(high school)
46. What is the name of any of the divisions in a school curriculum usually
equal to one year?
( a term)
47. What is the name of a junior college established to serve a certain
community and sometimes supported by it, often emphasizing career, rather than
academic programmes?
(community college)
48. What is the grading scale in the USA schools?
(The grading scale is A (excellent), B (above average), C (average), D (below
average), and F (failing).)
49. What do they call a field of a study in which a student specializes and
receives a degree?
(major)
50. What do they call the lowest school at which children receive formal
teaching during six or eight years?
(elementary or Primary school)
51. What is the name of a body elected by the citizens of a community to run
the public schools of the area?
(a school board)
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52. What is the name of a free elementary or secondary school supported by
taxes?
(state or public school)
53. What degree is given by a college or university to a person who has
completed a four-year programme or its equivalent?
(Bachelor's degree)
54. What is GPA?
(A measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university;
calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total
number attempted.)
55. What examination is often taken by students who wish to enter a college or
university?
(Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT)
56. What is the name of a standardized test for high school achievement and
college admissions in the United States?
(American College Testing or ACT)
57. What holidays do Americans share with other countries?
(Easter Sunday, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day)
58. What holidays are uniquely American?
(Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’
Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day)
59. What celebration is named after an early Christian martyr?
(Valentine’s Day)
60. What is the name of the evening before All Hallows Day?
(Halloween)
61. What holiday do Irish Americans celebrate?
(St. Patrick)
62. What is another name for Mardi Gras?
(Fat Tuesday)
63. Which five holidays are most commonly celebrated in the U.S.?
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(Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, Independence Day, Easter)
64. What does the traditional Thanksgiving dinner include?
(roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, pumpkin pie)
65. What tradition do Americans follow on Easter Monday?
(The President of the U.S. holds an annual Easter egg hunt on the White House
lawn)
66. Which holiday originated in the aftermath of the Civil War?
(Memorial Day)
67. Which holiday do Americans celebrate on the first Monday of September?
(Labor Day)
68. Which holiday was established to honour Americans who served in World
War I?
(Veterans Day)
69. Where did Britain establish its thirteen colonies?
(along the east coast of North America)
70. What was the dominant ethnic group among early settlers who came to
North America?
(the English)
71. What year was Rhode Island founded in?
(1636)
72. Which colony was founded in order to give religious freedom to Catholics?
(Maryland)
73. How many colonies were founded for the purpose of trade? List them.
(6 – New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina)
74. Which colony was founded in order to give religious freedom to Quakers?
(Pennsylvania)
75. Why was New Hampshire founded?
(Political, religious, and economic freedom)
76. Why are the terms Native American and Indian misleading?
(They suggest a homogeneous population. The original inhabitants of the United
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States at the time of the European invasion were composed of hundreds of
different tribes.)
77. What was the government's preferred solution to the Indian "problem" in the
19th century?
(to force tribes to inhabit specific plots of land called reservations)
78. What do they call a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints?
(a Mormon)
79. What do they call members of a strict Mennonite sect founded by the Swiss
preacher Jakob Amman (or Amen), now living mainly in Pennsylvania and
Ohio?
(the Amish)
80. What do they call a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious
reasons?
(a Pilgrim)
81. What do they call the Religious Society of Friends?
(Quakers)
82. What is the name of the first national park? Which state is it located in?
(Yellowstone National Park, 1872)
83. Which mounting is the national memorial with the faces of four American
Presidents? Which state is it located in?
(Rushmore mountain, South Dakota)
84. Where was America's first college, Harvard, founded?
(at Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636)
85. What event devastated the Old South in 1861-1865?
(the American Civil War)
86. Which region is known as the nation's "breadbasket"?
(the Midwest)
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87. What is the name of a native Missourian, who took the pseudonym Mark
Twain and wrote two classic American books Life on the Mississippi and
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
(Samuel Clemens)
88. Which region has strong Spanish-American and Native-American
components? (Southwest)
89. Which region is the magnificent Grand Canyon located in? (Southwest)
90. Which part of the Colorado Plateau is the home to Navajo Reservation, the
most populous American Indian tribe? (Monument Valley)
91. Which state has the largest Asian Americans population?
(Hawaii)
92. What city is best known as the home of the Hollywood film industry?
(Los Angeles)
93. Which state has become the most populous of all the states?
(California)
94. Which state do they call the Great Land?
(Alaska)
95. Which state do they call the Evergreen State?
(Washington)
96. Which state do they call the Golden State?
(California)
97. Which state do they call the Beaver State?
(Oregon)
98. Which state do they call the Lake State?
(Michigan)
99. Where does the U.S. Congress meet?
( in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.)
100. What do they call the heads of the major departments that are part of the
president's cabinet?
(secretaries)
108
U.S. HISTORY TIMELINE
1607 Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, is
established by the London Company in southeast Virginia
1619 The House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in America,
meets for the first time in Virginia (July 30 o.s.). The first African
slaves are brought to Jamestown
1620 The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims
from England (Dec. 11 o.s.). Before disembarking from their ship, the
Mayflower, 41 male passengers sign the Mayflower Compact, an
agreement that forms the basis of the colony's government.
1754– French and Indian War: Final conflict in the ongoing struggle
between the British and French for control of eastern North America.
1763
The British win a decisive victory over the French on the Plains of
Abraham outside Quebec (Sept. 13, 1759) and, by the Treaty of Paris
(signed Feb. 10, 1763), formally gain control of Canada and all the
French possessions east of the Mississippi.
1770 Boston Massacre: British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and
leading to intense public protests (March 5).
1773 Boston Tea Party: Group of colonial patriots disguised as Mohawk
Indians board three ships in Boston harbor and dump more than 300
crates of tea overboard as a protest against the British tea tax (Dec.
16).
1774 First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, with 56 delegates
representing every colony except Georgia. Delegates include Patrick
Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams (Sept. 5–Oct. 26).
1775– American Revolution: War of independence fought between Great
Britain and the 13 British colonies on the eastern seaboard of North
1783
America. Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the
British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war
(April 19, 1775). Battle-weary and destitute Continental army spends
brutally cold winter and following spring at Valley Forge, Pa. (Dec.
19, 1777–June 19, 1778). British general Charles Cornwallis
surrenders to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va. (Oct. 19,
1781). Great Britain formally acknowledges American independence
in the Treaty of Paris, which officially brings the war to a close (Sept.
3, 1783).
1776 Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in
Philadelphia
1777 Continental Congress approves the first official flag of the United
States (June 14). Continental Congress adopts the Articles of
Confederation, the first U.S. constitution (Nov. 15).
1787 Constitutional Convention, made up of delegates from 12 of the
original 13 colonies, meets in Philadelphia to draft the U.S.
Constitution (May–Sept.).
109
1789 George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United
States in a vote by state electors (Feb. 4). U.S. Constitution goes into
effect, having been ratified by nine states (March 4). U.S. Congress
meets for the first time at Federal Hall in New York City (March 4).
Washington is inaugurated as president at Federal Hall in New York
City (April 30).
1790 U.S. Supreme Court meets for the first time at the Merchants
Exchange Building in New York City (Feb. 2). The court, made up of
one chief justice and five associate justices, hears its first case in
1792. The nation's first census shows that the population has climbed
to nearly 4 million.
1791 First ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights,
are ratified (Dec. 15).
1800 The U.S. capital is moved from Philadelphia to Washington, DC
(June 15). U.S. Congress meets in Washington, DC, for the first time
(Nov. 17).
1860 Abraham Lincoln is elected president (Nov. 6). South Carolina
secedes from the Union (Dec. 20).
1861 Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana secede (Jan.).
Confederate States of America is established (Feb. 8). Jefferson
Davis is elected president of the Confederacy (Feb. 9). Texas secedes
(March 2). Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th president
(March 4).
1861– Civil War: Conflict between the North (the Union) and the South (the
Confederacy) over the expansion of slavery into western states.
1865
Confederates attack Ft. Sumter in Charleston, S.C., marking the start
of the war (April 12, 1861). Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and
Tennessee secede (April–June). Emancipation Proclamation is
issued, freeing slaves in the Confederate states (Jan. 1, 1863).
Lincoln's second inauguration (March 4, 1865). Gen. Ulysses S.
Grant captures Richmond, Va., the capital of the Confederacy (April
3). Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant
at Appomattox Courthouse, Va., (April 9).
1865 Lincoln is assassinated (April 14) by John Wilkes Booth in
Washington, DC, and is succeeded by his vice president, Andrew
Johnson. Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified,
prohibiting slavery (Dec. 6).
1867 U.S. acquires Alaska from Russia for the sum of $7.2 million (treaty
concluded March 30).
1870 Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the
right to vote (Feb. 3).
1886 Statue of Liberty is dedicated (Oct. 28). American Federation of
Labor is organized (Dec.).
1914– World War I: U.S. enters World War I, declaring war on Germany
110
1918 (April 6, 1917) and Austria-Hungary (Dec. 7, 1917) three years after
conflict began in 1914. Armistice ending World War I is signed (Nov.
11, 1918).
1915 First long distance telephone service, between New York and San
Francisco, is demonstrated (Jan. 25).
1919 League of Nations meets for the first time; U.S. is not represented
(Jan. 13). Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified,
prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor (Jan.
16). It is later repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933.
Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, granting
women the right to vote (Aug. 18). President Wilson suffers a stroke
(Sept. 26). Treaty of Versailles, outlining terms for peace at the end
of World War I, is rejected by the Senate (Nov. 19).
1929 Herbert Hoover is inaugurated as the 31st president (March 4). Stock
market crash precipitates the Great Depression
1931 The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the national anthem .
1933 Franklin Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd president (March 4).
New Deal recovery measures are enacted by Congress (March 9–
June 16). Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution is ratified,
repealing Prohibition (Dec. 5).
1935 Social Security Act is passed (Aug. 14).
1939– World War II: U.S. declares its neutrality in European conflict (Sept.
5, 1939). F. Roosevelt's third inauguration (Jan. 20, 1941). He is the
1945
first and only president elected to a third term. Japan attacks Hawaii,
Guam, and the Philippines (Dec. 7, 1941). U.S. declares war on Japan
(Dec. 8). Germany and Italy declare war on the United States; U.S.
reciprocates by declaring war on both countries (Dec. 11). Allies
invade North Africa (Oct.–Dec. 1942) and Italy (Sept.–Dec. 1943).
Allies invade France on D-Day (June 6, 1944). F. Roosevelt's fourth
inauguration (Jan. 20, 1945). President Roosevelt, Churchill, and
Stalin meet at Yalta in the USSR to discuss postwar occupation of
Germany (Feb. 4–11). President Roosevelt dies of a stroke (April 12)
and is succeeded by his vice president, Harry Truman. Germany
surrenders unconditionally (May 7). First atomic bomb is detonated
at Alamogordo, N.M. (July 16). President Truman, Churchill, and
Stalin meet at Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, to demand Japan's
unconditional surrender and to discuss plans for postwar Europe (July
17–Aug. 2). U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan (Aug. 6).
U.S. drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan (Aug. 9). Japan agrees to
unconditional surrender (Aug. 14). Japanese envoys sign surrender
terms aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo harbor (Sept. 2).
1945 United Nations is established (Oct. 24).
111
1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is established (April 4).
1950– Korean War
1953
1950– Vietnam War
1975
1958 Explorer I, first American satellite, is launched (Jan. 31).
1963 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech
before a crowd of 200,000 during the civil rights march on
Washington, DC (Aug. 28). President Kennedy is assassinated in
Dallas, Tex. (Nov. 22).
1968 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tenn.
(April 4).
1969 Richard Nixon is inaugurated as the 37th president (Jan. 20).
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., become the first
men to land on the Moon (July 20).
1970 Four students are shot to death by National Guardsmen during an
antiwar protest at Kent State University (May 1).
1972 Nixon makes historic visit to Communist China (Feb. 21–27). U.S.
and Soviet Union sign strategic arms control agreement known as
SALT I (May 26). Five men, all employees of Nixon's reelection
campaign, are caught breaking into rival Democratic headquarters at
the Watergate complex in Washington, DC (June 17).
1974 House Judiciary Committee recommends to full House that Nixon be
impeached on grounds of obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and
contempt of Congress (July 27–30). Nixon resigns.
1986 Space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all
seven crew members (Jan. 28). It is the worst accident in the history
of the U.S. space program.
1991 Persian Gulf War: U.S. leads international coalition in military
operation (code named “Desert Storm”) to drive Iraqis out of Kuwait
(Jan. 16–Feb. 28). Iraq accepts terms of UN ceasefire, marking an
end of the war (April 6).
1991 U.S. and Soviet Union sign START I treaty, agreeing to further
reduce strategic nuclear arms (July 31).
1992 Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in Dec. 1991, President
Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin meet at Camp David and
formally declare an end to the cold war (Feb. 1).
1995 President Clinton sends first 8,000 of 20,000 U.S. troops to Bosnia for
12-month peacekeeping mission (Dec.).
1998 President Clinton denies having had a sexual relationship with a
White House intern named Monica Lewinsky (Jan. 17). House of
112
Representatives votes to impeach President Clinton on charges of
perjury and obstruction of justice (Dec. 19).
1999 Senate acquits Clinton of impeachment charges (Feb. 12). NATO
wages air campaign against Yugoslavia over killing and deportation
of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo (March 24–June 10).
2001 Two hijacked jetliners ram twin towers of World Trade Center in
worst terrorist attack against U.S.; a third hijacked plane flies into the
Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in rural Pennsylvania. More than 3,000
people die in the attacks (Sept. 11). U.S. and Britain launch air
attacks against targets in Afghanistan after Taliban government fails
to hand over Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden, the suspected
mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks (Oct. 7).
2002 In his first State of the Union address, President Bush labels Iran,
Iraq, and North Korea an “axis of evil” and declares that U.S. will
wage war against states that develop weapons of mass destruction
(Jan. 29). President Bush signs legislation creating a new cabinet
department of Homeland Security. (Nov. 25).
2005 Hurricane Katrina wreaks catastrophic damage on Mississippi and
Louisiana; 80% of New Orleans is flooded (Aug. 29–30).
2008 Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected
President, with 52.8% of the vote.
(based on https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-16759233 )
113
Literature Used and Recommended
1. Коваленко Л. І. Лінгвокраїнознавство Британії та США : Ч. IІ : [навч.
посібник] / Л. І. Коваленко, А. В. Шелякіна. – К. : КНУ ім. Т. Шевченка,
2009. –119 c.
2. Томахин Г. Д. Америка через американизмы / Г. Д. Томахин. – М. :
Высшая школа, 1999. – 256 с.
3. Шевченко Н. Б. Навчальні завдання з лінгвокраїнознавства США / Тема:
“Тhe Geographical, Ethnic and Cultural Multiplicities of the U.S.A” /
Н. Б. Шевченко, О. В. Яшенкова.– К. : “Київський університет”, 1998.–34 c.
4. Шевченко Н. Б. American English / Н. Б. Шевченко : [навч. посібник]. –
К. : Інститут філології, 2004. – 65 с.
5. Шевченко Н. Б. Контрольні завдання з лінгвокраїнознавства США /
Н. Б. Шевченко. – К. : “Київський університет”, 2011. – 61 с.
6. Шевченко Н. Б. Історія США / Н. Б. Шевченко : [навч. посібник]. – К. :
Інститут філології, 2004. – 65 с.
7. Яшенкова О. В. Лінгвокраїнознавство США / О. В. Яшенкова : [навч.
посібник]. – К. : ВПЦ “Київський університет”, 2004. – 140 c.
8. About America. How the United States is Governed / ed. by J. L. Arnold. –
Braddock Communications, Inc. : Virginia, 2004. – 36 p.
9. Algeo J. British or American English / J. Algeo. – N.Y.: Cambridge. – 2009.
10. An Outline of U.S. History / ed. by G. Clack, M. S. Neely, A. Humby. –
N.Y. : Nova Science Publishers, 2009. – 367 p.
11. Booth W. One Nation, Indivisible: Is It History? [Electronic Resource] / W.
Booth // Washington Post. – Sunday, February 22, 1998. — Режим доступу :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/meltingpot
12. British and American English?// Cambridge Dictionaries Online
[Електронний ресурс] – Режим доступу : http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ru
13. Crystal D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language /
D. Crystal. – [2nd ed.] – Cambridge : CUP, 2003. – P. 145.
114
14. Devies C. Divided by a Common Language: a Guide to British and
American English / C. Devies. – N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company. – 2005.
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– P. 10–19. – Режим доступу : http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/factover/ch4.htm
16. Наponiv A., Vozna M. Лінгвокраїнознавство (англійська мова) / Наponiv
A., Vozna M. – Vinnytsya: Nova Knyha, 2005. – 464 р.
17. Hume S. The American Education System. – [Електронний ресурс]. –
Режим доступу : http://www.internationalstudentguidetotheusa.com/article.
18. Kirn, E. About the USA / E. Kirn. – Washington : The USIA, 1989. – P. 5–
12, 28–43.
19. Knowles G. A Cultural History of the English Language / G. Knowles . –
L./N.Y. : Arnold, 1997. – 180 p.
20. Maur S. English to English: the A to Z British-American translations / S.
Maur. – Great Britain: Bookshaker. – 2012.
21. Murphy C. Interfaith marriage is common in U.S., particularly among the
recently wed. – [Електронний ресурс]. – Режим доступу :
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/02/interfaith-marriage/.
22. Oxford Guide to British and American Culture / ed. by J. Crowther. –
Oxford: OUP, 1999. – 600 p.
23. Stevenson D. K. American Life and Institutions / D. K. Stevenson. –
Stuttgart : Ernst Klett Verlag, 1998. – 176 p.
24. Strevens P. British and American English / P. Strevens. – London: Collier-
Macmillan, 1997. – 105 p.
25. Tiersky E., Tiersky M. The U.S.A. Customs and Institutions [Теxt] : 4-th
edition / E. Tiersky, M. Tiersky. – Longman, 2004.
http://usinfo.org/enus/life/life_people.html
http://www.census.gov/people/
http://www.loc.gov/topics/content.php?cat=8
http://www.loc.gov/topics/content.php?cat=11
115
http://www.loc.gov/topics/government.php
http://www.nashua.edu/novakc/regions/region.htm
http://usa.usembassy.de/travel-regions.htm
http://www.50states.com/city/regions.htm
Sources of Illustrative Materials
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+new+england+usa&sxsrf
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of++middle+atlantic++usa&tbm
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+the+south+usa&tbm=isch&ved
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+the+south+west++usa&tbm
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+the+midwest+usa&tbm=isch&ved
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+the+west+usa&tbm=isch&ved
http://static.hlt.bme.hu/semantics/external/pages/jokuc
https://www.google.com/search?q=photo+of+amerigo+vespucci&sxsrf
https://br.pinterest.com/pin/323203710750433668/
https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/colonies.htm
116

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КИЇВСЬКИЙ НАЦІОНАЛЬНИЙ УНІВЕРСИТЕТ

ІМЕНІ ТАРАСА ШЕВЧЕНКА

для студентів Інституту філології КНУ імені Тараса Шевченка

Коваленко Л.І., канд. філол. наук, доцент кафедри англійської філології та

Рекомендовано Вченою Радою Інституту філології

Практикум «Лінгвокраїнознавство Сполучених Штатів Америки» / Укл.:

Пропонований практикум «Лінгвокраїнознавство Сполучених

Coat of Arms: The obverse of the Great Seal

Task 7. Make a summary of the text.

Task 9. Read the text.

Americans as They Are

Six Regions U.S. States

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

Americans often speak of their country as one of several large regions.

CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION

CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION

Task 2. Complete the table. Give your reasons.

General American English Pronunciation (GAEP) is a kind of standard

CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION

Task 7. Read the information about some differences in Present-day British

• In some words ending in –ile /ə/ is used rather than /aɪ/:

• fertile - /’fɜːtaɪl/ and /’fɝːt̬əl/

• hostile - /’hɒstaɪl/ and /’hɒːstəl/

• ballet - /’bæleɪ/ and /bæl’eɪ/

• garage - /’ɡær.ɑːʒ/ /-ɪdʒ/ and /ɡə'rɑːʒ/

2. Some differences in American English spelling

Task 9. Complete the table below. Use a dictionary if necessary.

1. Same word, different meaning

Example AmE meaning BrE meaning

2. Same word, additional meaning in one variety

Additional meaning in AmE Meaning in common

Meaning in common Additional meaning in BrE

3. Same word, different in style, connotation, frequency of use

AmE usage BrE usage

4. Same concept or item, different word

• No country has a closer association with the language of Old England

• English: a Language for All the World

• Problems of the Learner and the Teacher of American English

• Facts and Prejudices about American English

• Interactions between British and American English

• was also influential in establishing the Copyright Act of 1831;

• in 1806 published his first dictionary, A Compendious Dictionary of the

SKILL REVIEW: SCANNING

The Middle Colonies

New York 1626 Trade

The Southern Colonies

Virginia 1607 Trade

1. Which was the first British colony founded in America?

Task 6. Read the text below and check your answers.

Native American inhabitants were incorrectly called Indians by early

CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION

Sphere of Life Native Americans’ Contributions

Task 8. Use a dictionary. Find as many state names of Indian derivation as

State Name Derivation and Meaning

DOCUMENTS THAT SHAPED THE UNITED STATES

CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION

The Declaration of Independence (July 4,1776)

The Constitution of the United States (1788)

The legislative branch — the Congress — is made up of elected

The Bill of Rights (1791)

CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION

SEPARATING CHURCH AND STATE

CHECK YOUR COMPREHENSION

Task 8. Make a summary of the text.