Author: Халилова Л.А.
Tags: общие вопросы лингвистики, литературы и филологии хрестоматии книги для чтения адаптированные издания география английский язык политика сша история сша сша страноведение
ISBN: 5-7836-0201-9
Year: 1999
1ДЛ ICO ЛЬ НАЛ ЛЮ^А1/исА Intermediate Английский клуб Людмила Халилова США: ИСТОРИЯ И СОВРЕМЕННОСТЬ Книга для чтения на английском языке в старших классах средних школ лицеев, гимназий, 9-10 классах школ с углубленным изучением английского языка, на II-III курсах неязыковых вузов АЙРИС ПРЕСС РОЛЬФ Москва
ББК 81.2Англ-93 УДК 802(075) Х17 Серия «Английский клуб» включает книги и учеб¬ ные пособия, рассчитанные на три этапа изучения английского языка: Elementary (для начинающих), Intermediate (для продолжающих) и Advanced (для со¬ вершенствующихся) . Серийное оформление А. Драгового Халилова JI. А. Х17 США: История и современность. - М.: Рольф, 1999. - 256 с., силл. — (Английский клуб). ^ (Школьная моза¬ ика). ISBN 5-7836-0201-9 Книга для чтения предназначена для использования на уроках анг¬ лийского языка и страноведения, факультативных занятиях в старших классах средних школ, лицеев, гимназий, 9"-10 классах школ с углуб¬ ленным изучением английского языка, на II—III курсах неязыковых вузов, а также абитуриентами. Пособие содержит тексты по географии, истории, политическому устройству и культуре Соединенных Штатов Америки, снабженные лингвострановедческим комментарием, транскрипцией, тематическим словарем, а также предтекстовыми и послетекстовыми упражнениями, обучающими работе с текстом и устному общению. ISBN 5-7836-0201-9 © Рольф, 1999. Предисловие Пособие “The USA: History and the Present” (США: Исто¬ рия и современность) представляет собой книгу для чтения по страноведению США (на английском языке). Книга предназначена для учащихся старших классов сред¬ них школ, лицеев и гимназий, 9—10 классов школ с^углублен¬ ным изучением английского языка, а также для студентов И—III курсов неязыковых вузов. Пособие может быть использовано как для аудиторной, так и для факультативной и самостоятельной работы. Лексико-грамматический и страноведческий материал подобран с учетом программы вступительных экзаменов в веду¬ щие вузы России, что дает возможность абитуриентам использо¬ вать пособие в качестве сборника экзаменационных тем. Материал сборника — это аутентичные тексты страно¬ ведческой направленности, обладающие высокой степенью ин¬ формативности, создающие достаточно полную картину жиз¬ ни современной Америки. Цель пособия — развитие у обучаемых коммуникативных способностей в целях достижения лингвистической и социо¬ культурной компетенции. Особенностью пособия, отличающей его от других подоб¬ ных изданий, является особый подбор языкового инструмента¬ рия, дающего возможность его интеграции в общий курс ино¬ странного языка любого среднего или неязыкового высшего учебного заведения. Другая отличительная черта — учебная на¬ правленность сборника: тексты являются не только источни¬ ком лингвистического (лексического, грамматического) и куль¬ турологического материала, они обучают учащегося разным видам работы с/над текстом (изучающему, ознакомительно¬ му, поисковому, просмотровому типам чтения). И, наконец, фактологический материал подбирался с учетом интереса уча¬ щихся к определенным аспектам США. Структура пособия представлена 19 тематическими уро¬ ками, каждый из которых состоит из нескольких текстов гео¬ графической, исторической, политической и культурологичес¬ кой направленности (“The Land”, “The People”, “Historical Background”, “The System of Government”, “Elections and Political Parties”, “Outstanding Presidents”, “Religion”, “The Media”, “The Welfare State”, “Work and Money”, “Transport”, “Arts and Science”, 3
“Educating the Nation”, “Sports, Leisure and Entertainment”, “Music and Literature”, “Cities and Towns”, “The Symbols”, “Traditions and Ways”, “Americans about America”). Тексты уро¬ ков взаимосвязаны и являются языковым и логическим расши¬ рением друг друга. Тем не менее, каждый текст — это само¬ стоятельная единица, содержащая достаточную информацию для понимания той или иной реалии. Тексты могут быть ис¬ пользованы как для языкового анализа, так и для изучения в рамках спецкурса «Соединенные Штаты Америки». Тексты снабжены лингвострановедческим комментарием; включенные в него единицы даны в соответствии с транскрип¬ ционным стандартом. После каждого текста выделяется темати¬ ческий словарь. Упражнения носят коммуникативный харак¬ тер. Тексты и задания повышенной степени сложности для дан¬ ной ступени обучения помечены звездочкой (*). Пособие иллюстрировано. Unit I THE LAND ГП Read the text. The Country The United States of America has an area of 3,615,122 square miles (9,4 mln square kilometers) almost all of which is on the American continent. Its overseas possessions are mainly small Pacific Islands (Guam, Samoa, etc.) plus Puerto Rico. There are 50 states and one Federal District, ^created as a site for the Federal Capital, Washington, and known as the District of Columbia. The USA is considered to be the fourth largest country in the world. The, 48 conterminous states extend from latitude 25° N to 50° N and longitude 125° W to 67° W. From New York in the East to San Francisco or Los Angeles in the West, i.e. from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast, you have to travel more than 4,500 km 5
and leave behind four time zones. The other two states, Alaska and Hawaii, are situated respectively near the Arctic circle and in the tropical part of the Pacific Ocean (3,200 km from the mainland). Thanks to these geographical extremes, different parts of the country range front moist rain forest areas to arid desert regions and bald mountain peaks. Mount McKinley in Alaska of 20,320 feet (6,194 meters) above sea level is the highest point in the USA, while part of Death Valley in California is 282 feet (89 meters) below sea level. The West is an extensive mountain area occupying approximately one-third of the United States and is a region of tremendous variety, which can be subdivided into various other areas. It consists of high ranges of the Cordillera parallel to the Pacific Coast culminating on its eastern border in the Rocky Mountains (a high, discontinuous chain of mountains with peaks of 13,000 and 14,000 feet), which, in their turn, stretch from mountainous Alaska down to Mexico. These mountains are rich in resources such as gold, lead and uranium. Among high mountains at the western edge of the Cordillera Ш the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades and the Coastal Ranges — there are broad, fertile valleys and large plateau regions with canyons, cliffs and basins that contain many important metals, oil and natural gas. The heart of the United States is a vast plain, which extends from Central Canada southwards to Mexico and from the Cordillera eastwards to the Appalachian Mountains. These interior plains, which rise gradually like a saucer to higher land on all sides, are divided into two major parts: the eastern portion is called the Central Plains and the western portion — the Great Plains, both of which have good soil. The Appalachian Mountains — a chain of low, almost unbroken mountains — are extremely rich in coal and iron. These mountains are at the western edge of the Atlantic coastal plain, which is a long, gently rolling lowland area. These coastal plains are very flat: nowhere in Florida, for example, is more than 350 feet above sea level. The soil is very poor, except in the fertile southern part — the Cotton Belt of the Old South and the citrus country of Central Florida. Hawaii is a chain of twenty islands, only seven of which are inhabited. The mountainous islands were formed by volcanic activity and there are still a number of active volcanoes. 6 Notes and Commentary the District of Columbia (D. С.) — федеральный округ Ко¬ лумбия, названный в честь открывателя Америки Христо¬ фора Колумба; эта территория на реке Потомак была специ¬ ально выделена штатом Мэриленд для возведения столицы нации w 25° N (25 degrees north; 25 degrees of latitude north of the equator) — 25 градусов северной широты 125° W (125 degrees west; 125 degrees of longitude west of the zero meridian) — 125 градусов западной долготы foot — фут; равен 30,48 см Death Valley — Долина смерти печально знаменита как место, где разыгрывалась драма «золотой лихорадки» 1849 года the Cotton Belt — «хлопковый пояс»; включает те районы США, где выращивают хлопок Geographical Names Pacific Ocean [pa'sifik 'ouJ(3)n] Guam [gwom] Samoa [s3'mo(u)3] Puerto Rico [/pwa:to(u) /ri:ko(u)] Washington f'wDfirjtan] District of Columbia (DC.) [ko'Lvmbia] New York fnju: jo:k] San Francisco [,saen frsn'siskou] Los Angeles [las' 'aend3ebs] the Atlantic Ocean [dt'laentik 'ои/(э)п] Alaska [a'laeska] Hawaii [hct:'wci:(i)i] McKinley [ms'kinli] Death Valley ['de0 'vseli] California fkaeli'fomja] Canada fkaenads] Тихий океан о-в Гуам о-ва Самоа Пуэрто-Рико г. Вашингтон округ Колумбия г. Нью-Йорк г. Сан-Франциско г. Лос-Анджелес Атлантический океан Аляска (штат) Гавайи (штат) Мак-Кинли (гора) Долина смерти (межгорная впа¬ дина) Калифорния (штат) Канада 7
the Cordillera [.kordi'ljeara] the Rocky Mountains, Rockies ['roki 'mauntinz], [ rokiz] Mexico ['meksikou] the Sierra Nevada [si'era ne'vtrdo] the Cascades [kaes'keids] the Coastal Ranges ['koustal 'reind3iz] the Central Plains ['central 'pleinz] the Great Plains ['greit 'pleinz] the Appalachian Mountains [sepo'laetjian 'mauntinz] Florida [ florida] Кордильеры ( горн массив) Скалистые горы Мексика Сьерра-Невада (,хребет) Каскадные горы Береговые хребты Центральное плоскогорье Великое плоскогорье Аппалачи ( горный массив) Флорида (штат) Vocabulary overseas possession district site conterminous to extend latitude longitude coast mainland extreme arid lead fertile plateau basin southward(s) eastward(s) заморский владение, собственность район, округ место; местоположение имеющий общую границу, смеж¬ ный простираться широта долгота побережье материк крайность засушливый свинец плодородный плато бассейн к югу, на юг, в южно^1 направ¬ лении к востоку, на восток, в вос¬ точном направлении soil volcano почва вулкан Assignment Comprehension Supply answers to the following questions. 1) Where is the United States of America situated? 2) What parts does the country consist of? 3 ) What makes the USA the fourth largest country in the world? 4 ) Why is the United States called a country of geographical extremes? 5) How can the physical features of the West be characterized? 6) What part of the USA is compared with a saucer? Why? 7) What region is rich in coal and iron? 8) What is special about Hawaii? Discussion 1. Using the text, account for the poetic description of the USA as the'country of “mountain majesties above the fruited plain”. 2. How do you understand “brotherhood from sea to shining sea”? 3. Using your background knowledge, tell your friends everything you know about the geographical position of the USA. 4. Compare the physical features of the USA and Russia. Ш Read the text and pick out the facts you did not know before. Rivers The United States has several immensely long rivers. There are a large number of rivers in the eastern part of the country, the 9
longest of which is the Missouri (4,740 km), a tributary of the Mississippi (3,950 km). The Mississippi-Missouri system extends for over 6,000 km before entering the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans. Two other tributaries of the Mississippi — the Ohio and Tennessee — are more than 1,500 km long. The river Mississippi in Iowa In the West the Rio Grande, which forms part of the United States-Mexico border, flows for 3,016 km and only the Colorado (2,320 km), Columbia (2,240 km) and the San Joaquin-Sacramento river systems reach the Pacific. Geographical Names the Missouri [mi'zuqn] the Mississippi [,misi'sipi] the Gulf of Mexico ['gxlf av 'meksikou] New Orleans [nju: 'odianz] the Ohio [o(u)'haiou] the Tennessee [,tena'si:] the Rio Grande ['ri:o(u) 'graendi] the Colorado [,kola'ra:dou] (the) Columbia [ka'Lvmbia] the San Joaquin [,saen wa'ki:n] the Sacramento [,saekra'mentou] p. Миссури p. Миссисипи Мексиканский залив г. Новый Орлеан р. Огайо р. Теннесси р. Рио-Гранде р. Колорадо р. Колумбия р. Сан-Хоакин р. Сакраменто ю tributary Vocabulary приток ш Read the text. Say whether it is connected with the preceding texts of the Unit or not. And if it is, then in what way? Weather and Climate Virtually every type of climate can be found somewhere in the United States — from arctic in Alaska to subtropical in Florida. The climate is not generally temperate, despite the latitude, because the tremendous size of the North American land mass heightens the extreme variations in temperature and precipitation, especially in the central regions (in Dakota temperatures have reached a maximum of 49 °C and a minimum of —60 °C). Most of the country has a humid continental climate with hot summers and cold winters, while the lack of natural barriers either to the north or south allows cold, dry air to flow south from Canada and warm, humid air north from the Gulf of Mexico, giving rise to spectacular weather of every possible type in the Great Plains and Midwest. Summers are hot and very humid in this region and rainfall decreases to the west as a result of the rain shadow created by the West Pacific Range and the Sierra Nevada. The southwest portion of the Great Plains is the hottest and most arid region of the United States, with precipitation, mostly in the form of summer showers, averaging less than 250 mm a year. The Pacific coast is almost rainless in the summer, although there is often fog. In winter there is frequent drizzle, but the climate remains generally warm and dry, especially in California. The eastern part of the country is moderately rainy, with the precipitation fairly well distributed throughout the year. Summers tend to be extremely humid, especially along the coast of Texas and Florida. Notes and Commentary 49 °C (49 degrees Celsius) — 49 градусов по ЦельСию 11
Geographical Names Dakota [da'kouta] Midwest [, mid'west] the West Pacific Range ['west pa'sifik 'reind3] Texas ['teksas] temperate precipitation to average drizzle Дакота {штат) Средний Запад {часть террито¬ рии США) Западно-Тихоокеанская гряда гор Техас {штат) Vocabulary умеренный осадки составлять в среднем моросящий дождь СиЭ Read the text. Is there any new information here as compared with the information of the text “The Country”? Natural Resources The United States possesses vast non-fuel natural resources. The major resource is iron, three quarters of which comes from the Lake Superior region of the Great Lakes. Other basic metals and minerals mined on a large scale are zinc, copper, silver and phosphate rock (used for fertilizers). This wealth is distributed throughout most of the country, but Texas and the West (especially California) are the most important mineral-producing areas. Mining and quarrying account for only about 2 % of GNP. The United States produces one quarter of the world’s coal and one seventh of its petroleum, with sufficient coal reserves to last for hundreds of years. About half of the nation’s electric power comes from coal-fired power stations, while natural and manufactured gas supply more than 33 % of the nation’s power. The main gas fields are found near the main oil fields in Texas, Louisiana and Alaska. Nuclear power is also used in many places, using uranium mined in New Mexico and Wyoming, and produces over 10 % of the nation’s energy output. 12 Notes and Commentary the Great Lakes — Великие озера: Верхнее, Гурон, Мичиган, Эри и Онтарио; расположены на северо-востоке Соединенных Штатов Америки на границе с Канадой GNP (Gross National Product) — ВНП (валовой национальный продукт) Geographical Names Lake Superior ['leik sjir'piaris] о. Верхнее Louisiana [1и:,ш'эепэ] Луизиана {штат) Wyoming [wai'oumirj] Вайоминг Vocabulary copper phosphate rock to quarry to account (for) output медь фосфориты добывать карьерным способом зд. составлять производство ш Read the text. National Parks No nation had ever done anything like that. Indeed, the very idea of the Federal Government’s setting aside a portion of the public domain in the Rocky Mountains for use as a national “pleasuring ground” instead of for private exploitation by farmers, ranchers, or miners had a faintly improper ring, particularly in the “robber baron” era of unbridled private enterprise following the Civil War. Nevertheless, depictions by artists and photographers, and the reports of official survey teams all pointed to one inevitable conclusion: that the Yellowstone region of the Rockies was of such exceptional beauty, such awe-aspiring dimensions, that this sublime 13
gift of nature was a national treasure, far too valuable for private development, and that it must belong in perpetuity to the entire American people. Accordingly, Congress passed and President Grant signed legislation establishing Yellowstone National Park, which over the years has been extended to take in 2.2 million acres of breathtakingly beautiful country in^Idaho, Montana, and — mainly — Wyoming. Yellowstone became the first reserve of its kind in the world and the model for US national park system. Almost two decades passed before new national parks were created, and then, in 1890, Sequoia and Yosemite were both established in California. Subsequently, the pace quickened, particularly during Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation-minded administration (1901— 1909), when eight new national parks were established. Today there are 38 national parks, most of them in the West, covering more than 14 million acres. Additional millions of acres have been set aside as national monuments, national recreation areas, national forests and national seashores. Within those sanctuaries millions of vacationing Americans each year enjoy days or weeks of relaxation amid nature’s most impressive splendours — preserved by man for posterity. Notes and Commentary national park, national monument, national recreation area, national forest, national seashore — разнообразные типы национальных заповедников в Соединенных Штатах Америки, первым из ко¬ торых был Национальный парк в Йеллоустоуне. Он был от¬ крыт в 1872 году после тщательного обследования специально созданной в 1871 году экспедицией, в состав которой вошли не только ученые, но также фотографы и художники, чьи снимки и зарисовки, запечатлевшие красоту и величие Большого Кань¬ она и прилегающей местности, поразили конгрессменов и по¬ служили убедительным доказательством необходимости созда¬ ния заповедника. the very idea ... had a faintly improper ring ... — сама идея ... была несколько неуместной in the “robber baron” era — в период хищнического обогащения магнатов-стяжателей 14 the Civil War — гражданская война (1861—1865) между Севе¬ ром (Союзом штатов) во главе с Федеральным правитель¬ ством и Югом (Конфедерацией южных штатов). Хотя граж¬ данская война и привела к уничтожению рабства, основной причиной начала гражданской войны историки склонны счи¬ тать не столько желание северян отменить рабовладение, сколь¬ ко выход южных штатов из состава Союза. 15 апреля *1861 года президент Авраам Линкольн объявил южные штаты мятеж¬ ными и призвал в армию 75 тысяч добровольцев; столица Вир¬ гинии, Ричмонд, на период гражданской войны стала и сто¬ лицей конфедератов; война завершилась победой федеральных сил. Grant, Ulysses ['grant 'julisirz] — Грант Улисс (1822—1885), глав¬ нокомандующий союзной армией в годы гражданской войны с марта 1864 года, 18-й президент Соединенных Штатов Амери¬ ки (1869-1877) acre — акр, равен 0,405 гектара Sequoia [si'kwoia], Yosemite [jou'semati:] — Секвойя, Йосемит- ский парк, национальные парки в Калифорнии Geographical Names Idaho j'aidahou] Montana [mon'taena; -’tana] Айдахо (штат) Монтана (штат) Vocabulary to set (aside) domain unbridled enterprise survey inevitable awe-aspiring dimensions sublime откладывать, приберегать владение, собственность разнузданный предпринимательство обследование, анализ, осмотр, съемка неизбежный благоговейный размеры, величина величественный, грандиозный, возвышенный 15
in perpetuity навсегда, навечно to pass принимать (закон) legislation закон, законодательство breathtakingly поразительно, захватывающе sanctuary , святилище splendour великолепие, роскошь posterity потомки, потомство Assignment ^ Comprehension Supply answers to the following questions. 1) For what purpose was a portion of the public domain in the Rockies set aside? 2) What provided eloquent testimony that the Yellowstone region was a national treasure? 3) How was Yellowstone National Park established? 4) Why is Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency called conservation-minded? 5) How many national parks are there in the USA now? 6) What are different national reserves called? Discussion 1. Point out the main stages in establishing US national conservation areas. 2. Do you agree that no other nation has ever done anything like that? 3. Do you care about nature? 4. What is, in your opinion, environmental protection? Do you consider it to be important? Ш Read the text. Prove with the help of it that: 1) Massachusetts occupies a special place in the history of the USA; 2) fishing was and is an important industry; 3) the State is a student area. 16 The Northeast: Massachusetts It is one of New Englaftd States with a coastline on the Atlantic. The interior is hilly, rising to over 30,000 feet. The Merrimack and Connecticut are the chief rivers. Boston is the capital and largest city. The State became one of the original 13 States. Almost everyone knows at least a little about the early days of Massachusetts. The names of Plymouth, Boston, Cape Cod, Salem, Concord and Lexington are' also familiar. Plymouth is the very place where the Pilgrim Fathers on board the “Mayflower” landed in 1620 to found the Plymouth Colony. It is in Lexington that the American Revolution began. This town is matched historically with its Revolutionary twin, Concord. The “shot heard round the world” was fired in Concord. From earliest colonial days, the Massachusetts men were fishermen. Fish, lobsters, and clams certainly saved some of the settlers from starvation. Fishing is still a big industry. Until the middle of the 19th century Massachusetts sent whaling vessels on voyages to the Pacific Ocean. Part of Massachusetts is a good farming country. The Connecticut Valley produces general crops, including potatoes, but its successful tobacco farms are more famous. One of the best known specialities of the State is its cranberry crop, grown at the landward end of the Cape Cod. Early Massachusetts was well forested, and every port had a shipyard where fishing boats were built, and also wooden trading vessels which were sailed by the Massachusetts men to the ports of Europe, Asia and Africa, and to domestic ports farther south on the Atlantic coast. The traders brought back raw materials that gave Massachusetts an early start in manufacturing. Cotton from the South was the basis of the textile industry in which Massachusetts was a leader until the 20th century. Then the South became the center of cotton manufacture but Massachusetts still has many textile mills, as well as a wide variety of other manufacturing industries. Now Massachusetts is a highly industrial State. Electrical machinery, including electronics and communications equipment, has become the State’s leading product. Massachusetts has many famous universities and colleges. Across 17 2—1870
the Charles River, close to Boston, stands Caimbridge, where the cultural history of America has developed side by side with the history of Harvard University (the country’s oldest). Named after John Harvard, a clergyman, who at his death in 1638 left the institution a few hundred books and half his estate, Harvard has turned into one of the largest, richest, and best universities in the world. Notes and Commentary New England States — Новая Англия; северо-восток США был назван «новой Англией» в отличие от «старой Англии», выход¬ цами которой были первые поселенцы этих мест; в состав шта¬ тов Новой Англии входят: Мэн, Вермонт, Нью-Гемпшир, Мас¬ сачусетс, Род-Айленд, Коннектикут the original 13 States — первые тринадцать колоний, которые в 1776 году стали штатамй: Делавэр, Пенсильвания, Нью-Джер¬ си, Джорджия, Коннектикут, Массачусетс, Мэриленд, Юж¬ ная Каролина, Нью-Гемпшир, Виргиния, Нью-Йорк, Север¬ ная Каролина, Род-Айленд Concord, Lexington — два города, исторически связанные друг с другом; именно здесь проходили первые ожесточенные схват¬ ки американских повстанцев с регулярными частями англий¬ ской армии в апреле 1775 года the Pilgrim Fathers, the “Mayflower” — английские колонисты, прибывшие в Новый Свет на корабле «Мейфлауэр», основали колонию Плимут; позже этих поселенцев назовут «пуритане», «пилигримы», «отцы-пилигримы» Harvard University — Гарвардский университет, старейший уни¬ верситет США; основан в 1636 году английским священнослу¬ жителем Джоном Гарвардом; был изначально университетом со значительным религиозным уклоном; впоследствии универси¬ тет приобретает светский характер, о чем свидетельствует от¬ крытие факультетов медицины и права (в 1782 и 1817 году со¬ ответственно); один из частных университетов СЦ1А (наряду со знаменитыми Йельским университетом, Стенфордским уни¬ верситетом, Массачусетским технологическим институтом, Бо¬ стонским университетом и др.) 18 Geographical Names Massachusetts [, maeso'tfusets] the Merrimack ['merimaek] (the) Connecticut [ks'nektikot] Boston [boston] Plymouth ['plimoG] Cape Cod ['keip 'kod] Salem ['seilom] Concord ['korjkod] Lexington ['leksipton] the Charles River ['tjculz 'rivo] Cambridge ['keimbrid3] Массачусетс (штат) p. Меримек p. Коннектикут г. Бостон г. Плимут п-ов Кейп-Код г. Сейлем г. Конкорд г. Лексингтон р. Чарльз Ривер г. Кембридж Vocabulary lobster clam whaling vessel crop cranberry landward омар съедобный морской моллюск китобойный судно, корабль культура, урожай клюква зд. материковый ш Look through the following texts and say what unites them and what distinguishes. - The South: Florida The State is completely different from all other southern States. It consists mainly of a peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The entire State is flat, with only a very few hills in the interior. In the south there is a swampy region. Agriculture is the chief industry, and sugar, rice, cotton, tobacco and tropical fruits are grown. Fishing is important, and there are valuable forest reserves. Cattle raising is gaining importance. 2* 19
Florida was chosen by NASA as a perfect launching place. At Cape Kennedy, formerly Canaveral, is the US Missile Test Center from which satellites are sent into manned space and orbital flights. Although an agricultural State by geography, inclination and climate, it has been developed primarily as a resort area. The shorelines are sandy, with miles of fine white bathing beaches. So the State’s leading business activity is tourism. Tallahassee is the capital but Jacksonville and Tampa are larger. Miami is a famous resort on the southeast coast. Other resort towns are Palm Beach, Key West, Venice. Florida was discovered in 1513 and was bought by the USA from Spain in 1819, becoming a State in 1849. Notes and Commentary NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) — HACA (Национальное управление по аэронавтике и исследованию кос¬ мического пространства) mile — миля; одна уставная миля равна 1,609 км; одна морская миля равна 1,852 км Geographical Names Tallahassee [ДаеЬЪзевэ] г. Таллахасси Jacksonville ['d3aeksnvil] г. Джэксонвиль Tampa [Чэетрэ] г. Тампа Miami [mai'semi] г. Майами,( Venice f'venis] г. Венеция Vocabulary swampy болотистый cattle крупный рогатый скот missile («крылатая») ракета test center зд. испытательный полигон 20 inclination (пред)расположенность, склон¬ ность The Southwest: Texas It is the largest and most southern state on the Mexican border with a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. The chief rivers are the Rio Grande and the Colorado. Much of the central part of the State is flat prairie land. Cattle raising and poultry are major activities. Texas is also an important agricultural state. Agriculture products include cotton, corn, vegetables, grains, and cereals. Minerals include petroleum and cement. The State’s leading manufactures are chemicals, oil and gas, wood products and leather. Cotton fields in Texas Austin is the capital, but Houston, Dallas and San Antonio are much larger. The Capitol at Austin, built in 1888 of red granite, covers three acres and is 311 feet to the top of its dome; it is the largest of the States’ Capitols. There are more than 600 airports in Texas, including about 60 major US Air Force bases. 21
Texas has more than 130 higher educational institutions, the most famous being the University of Texas at Austin. Texas became independent in 1836, and entered the Union in 1846. Texas is the only State that was an independent republic recognized by the United States before annexation. Geographical Names Austin ['o(:)stin] г. Остин Houston ['hjusten] г. Хьюстон Dallas ['daelasj г. Даллас San Antonio [,sasn an'touniou] г. Сан-Антонио Vocabulary домашняя птица зерно злаки химикалии кожа Военно-воздушные силы присоединение, аннексия The Central Northwest: Colorado Colorado is the State in the Rocky Mountains. Being the highest State in the country, it contains some of the highest peaks as well. А1Гin all, there are 52 peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation. Numerous rivers rise in the mountains, the chief being the Colorado and the Arkansas. Coal, gold, silver, copper, lead and petroleum are mined. Agriculture is becoming important, sugar-beet, wheat, maize and oats being the chief crops. There are several National Parks. Denver is the capital and largest town; others are Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Colorado became a State in 1876. poultry grain cereals chemicals leather Air Force annexation 22 Geographical Names the Arkansas ['atkanso:] p. Арканзас Denver ['denva] г. Денвер Pueblo [pjir'eblou] г. Пуэбло Colorado Springs [,kola'ra:dou г. Колорадо-Спрингс 'sprnjz] Vocabulary сахарная свекла пшеница маис, кукуруза овес |Щ Read the text and say what Arizona is especially famous for. The Southwest: Arizona The natural features of this State are the Colorado River with its extensive deserts and famous canyons among which is the world known Grand Canyon. The soil is not fertile; cattle and sheep are reared, but the chief products are minerals. Phoenix is the capital. The Grand Canyon of Arizona has sometimes been called the greatest of the world’s wonders. It is, in fact, the world’s most spectacular illustration of erosion, being the result of the combined action of a great river, of rain, wind and of frost. The Grand Canyon is a gigantic chasm, 247 miles long, 4 to 14 miles wide and 1 mile deep. At the bottom is the mighty Colorado River that rushes to the sea and carries an average of nearly half a million tons of silt through the Canyon every day. Rising from the depths of the Canyon are ranges of mountains. According to geologists’ estimates, it has taken 7 to 9 million years to cut the Grand Canyon. Rocks from the first era of geological history are exposed on the Canyon’s walls. More than sugar-beet wheat maize oats 23
6,000 prehistoric sites have been found in Grand Canyon National Park. The colors of the Canyon change through the day. One cannot describe its beauty, and the Grand Canyon is always mysterious. Geographical Names Arizona Lan'zouna] Аризона (штат) the Grand Canyon ['grand Гранд-Каньон (Большой Кань- 'kaenjan] он) Phoenix [ frniks] г. Финикс Vocabulary chasm расселина, бездна, пропасть silt ид estimate оценка, подсчет to expose обнажать, выставлять напоказ mysterious таинственный to rear разводить, выращивать ш Look through the text. Using the material of the text, make up an advertisement inviting tourists to visit California. The Far West: California This State lies north of the Mexican border and has a long Pacific coastline. Except for the south, where there is the California Desert, there are three distinct geographical divisions: the Sierra Nevada, which runs the length of the state and rises to 14,500 feet in Mount Whitney; the Coast Range, a series of ranges; and the,great California Valley, containing the Sacramento and San-Joaquin rivers, which unite and flow through the Golden Gate into San Francisco Bay. Gold, silver, copper, lead and petroleum are produced. The film industry is important. 24 Sacramento is the geographical capital, but Los Angeles and San Francisco are very important. Los Angeles is the motion picture capital, with major studios in Hollywood, and San Francisco is the biggest Pacific Coast port, a major banking, communications, financial, and industrial center. California was part of Mexico from its discovery until 1846, when it was claimed by the USA. It became a State in 1850, following the increase in population and property caused by the “gold rush” of 1849. California is nicknamed the Golden State. The emblem of the State is a golden poppy, and the entrance to its finest harbor is called the Golden Gate. The glamour of Hollywood, a romantic past, snow-topped mountains, rushing streams, the sparkling blue Pacific, mysterious deserts, warm winters — all these make California very attractive for the people who dream of it. California has about 200 higher educational institutions. Among the world famous are the University of California, Stanford University, University of Southern California, and California Institute of Technology. Notes and Commentary the Golden Gate — Золотые Ворота; это имя лучшая гавань Ка¬ лифорнии получила как в связи с очень удачным географиче¬ ским положением, так и с тем, что она считалась «воротами рая» во времена «золотой лихорадки» Geographical Names the Sierra Nevada [si'era Сьерра-Невада {горный хребет) na'vaeda, -'va:-] Mount Whitney ['maunt 'witni] Маунт Уитни {гора) Vocabulary poppy glamour мак чары, обаяние 25
Revision Assignment Write a composition on one of the topics. 1) “America, the beautiful”. j 2) US nature reservation programs. 3) Each State is a diamond in the US crown. 4) The USA: its fauna and flora. Unit II THE PEOPLE Ы Read the text. Population With more than 245,000,000 inhabitants, the United States is the fourth country in the world in terms of population. About 75 % of the population live in urban areas and there are 170 cities of more than 100,000 inhabitants, 24 of which have populations of oyer 500,000. Most of these urban centers lie along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. The most populous area is the relatively small Northeast, which accounts for nearly one fourth of the nation’s population. In 1990 the US Bureau of the Census conducted a new census of the American people. The Census counted 245,837,683 people in the USA. But the figures might be incorrect. One of the Governors, referring to his state’s smaller-than-expected growth, said, “Do you 21
honestly believe that everybody who should be counted has been counted?” “What then is the American, this new man?” One of enthusiastic French visitors first posed the question in 1782. Even in his day his answer — that an American was “either a European or the descendant of a European” — was inadequate to describe a variegated people that already included Indians and Africans. America’s population remains richly diverse. Statistics tell part of the story. 87.5 per cent are classified as white by the US Bureau of the Census. The vast majority of the population was WASP until about 1860. Between 1860 and 1920 almost 30 million immigrants arrived from central and southeastern Europe in particular. These mainly Italian, Russian, Polish and Hungarian immigrants quickly formed their own culturally homogeneous neighborhoods (“Little Italys”, for example) and became a second economic class behind the WASPs. So now the majority, fully 65 per cent, are other than “Anglo-Saxon”. Almost 12 per cent of the population that are black are bottom of the economic and educational table, with far higher unemployment than whites, especially as a result of racial dis¬ crimination. The most rapidly growing ethnic group is the Hispanics (almost 7 % of the Americans), who still continue to use Spanish in their homes even though the vast majority were born in the United States. Like the blacks, they have a generally lower economic and educational level than the rest of the population and are also isolated in ghetto areas. There are almost 2 million generally prosperous Oriental Americans (predominantly from Japan, China and the Philippines), who are concentrated mainly in California. The 1.5 million Native Americans live mainly in reserves in the southwestern states in usually deep poverty and there has been little or no integration into American society. Notes and Commentary WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) [wasp], [wasp] — потомок английских поселенцев, которые, в основном, были протес¬ тантами 28 Hispanic [his'paenik] — гражданин Соединенных Штатов Амери¬ ки испаноязычного происхождения Native Americans — коренные жители Америки — индейцы Geographical Names Венгрия Япония Китай Филиппины Vocabulary городской густонаселенный сравнительно, относительно перепись населения ссылаться зд. задавать (вопрос) потомок недостаточный пестрый, разнообразный разный, разнообразный однородный зд. община процветающий восточный в основном зд. резервация Assignment ^ Comprehension Supply answers to the following questions. 1) What place does the United States occupy in the world in terms of population and why? urban populous relatively census to refer to pose descendant inadequate variegated diverse homogeneous neighborhood prosperous oriental predominantly reserve Hungary ['Илддэп] Japan [d3a'paen] China [Ч/атэ] the Philippines ['filipfcnz] 29
2) What are the most populous areas? 3) Can we call an American “a descendant of a European”? 4) Which layers of the US population have a lower economic and educational level? 5) Are there any Native Americans left in the United States? $ Discussion 1. Why do you think some people are bottom of the general level of life? 2. Do you agree that in the course of a census many people who should be 'counted are not counted? 3. Is the population of Russia diverse? How many nationalities are there in this country? ffl Look through the text and be ready; 1) to give the difference between “a melting pot” and “a salad bowl”; 2) to speak about some Presidents’ attempts to improve the situation of Afro-American people; 3) to explain to your fellow-student what the phrase “Here, it is not asked what or who was your father, but ... what are you?” means. The Society While most of US minorities maintain their individual cultural identity, any gains that are made by one group serve to help them all. It was once widely believed that the US was a “melting pot”, fueled by the clash of immigrant cultures. In recent years the interest of America’s myriad ethnic minorities in the customs and traditions of the lands from which their fathers came has grown, sparked in part by a new sense of self-esteem. More accurate than “melting pot” might be the metaphor “salad bowl”, implying that each ingredient makes its contribution and adds flavor 4p the whole. Since there are different ethnic groups in the United States, the civil right issue has always dominated American politics. It became very urgent in the 1950s and 1960s. Numerous Presidents attempted to improve the situation of 30 black people and other minorities in American society. President Truman appointed the first black judge in the Federal Court system and some progress was made towards racial integration in schools, restaurants and transportation in the South by Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson, despite congressional opposition. The blacks them¬ selves, led by peoplelike the Reverend Martin Luther King, became increasingly active in attempting to improve their status; and numerous non-violent protests began in 1960 to speed up the end of segregation. In the mid-1960s these mass demonstrations often degenerated into violent clashes, as the militant Black Power movements replaced the non-violent organizations. Much has changed for the better since then, though substantial segments of American population are still excluded from the American dream of equal opportunity for all. America has not solved all her social problems yet, but an unprecedented national awareness of their existence gives hope that the basis has already been laid for a better spreading of the good life. Once mostly English and Dutch, then one-fifth slave, then host to immigrants from a hundred lands, the American people have grown increasingly diverse as they have prospered. The national character has been immeasurably enriched by the special skills and outlooks each successive wave of newcomers has included in its ethnic luggage. Despite sporadic setbacks and slowdowns, America continues to inch toward full realization of the ideal first expressed almost two centuries ago: “Here, it is not asked what or who was your father, but ... what are you?” Notes and Commentary “Melting pot” — тигель, плавильный горшок, «сосуд с кипя¬ щей в нем массой»; в переносном смысле означает огромное количество и разнообразие национальностей, населяющих Со¬ единенные Штаты Америки. Впервые фраза была использова¬ на в 1908 году английским драматургом Израилом Зангвилом, который написал пьесу об эмиграции и назвал ее “The Melting Pot”. Truman, Harry [Чга:тэп Ъэеп] — Трумэн Гарри (1884—1972), 33-й президент США 31
Federal Court system — система федеральных судов, судебная система США Eisenhower, Dwight ['aizenhaua 'dwait] — Эйзенхауэр Дуайт (1890—1969), 34-й президент США Kennedy, John ['kenadi 'бзэп] — Кеннеди Джон (1917—1963), 35-й президент США; был убит выстрелом 22 ноября 1963 года в г. Даллас, штат Техас; в истории США самый молодой пре¬ зидент (в момент избрания) и самый молодой из умерших во время президентства Johnson, Lyndon fd3onsan 'lindan] — Джонсон Линдон (1908— 1973), 36-й президент США Martin Luther King ['matin '1и:0э kip] — Кинг Мартин Лютер (1929-1968), священнослужитель, лидер движения за граж¬ данские права негров, великий гуманист; убит выстрелом 4 ап¬ реля 1968 года. Начиная с 1986 года третий понедельник янва¬ ря отмечается в США как национальный праздник — день рож¬ дения Мартина Лютера Кинга. Black Power movements — различные движения за гражданские права негров Vocabulary minority национальное меньшинство to maintain зд. сохранять identity зд. индивидуальность self-esteem чувство собственного достоин¬ ства, самоуважение to imply подразумевать, предполагать Reverend преподобный (i священни¬ ка) violent яростный, неистовый, отчаян^ ный; насильственный unprecedented беспрецедентный, беспример¬ ный awareness осознание, понимание, зна¬ ние Dutch голландский sporadic случайный, единичный, спо- радический 32 setback slowdown препятствие, задержка замедление, снижение темпа ш Before doing the text, read the title and try to guess what the text is about. Then look through the text and say if there is* any new information, which adds to what you have already said. Speak about each wave of migration in detail. Explain the use of the word “saga”. The Story of the People: the Saga of Migration The American continent was peopled by four great migrations. First to come were prehistoric hunters from the steppes of Asia who, most anthropologists believe, crossed a bridge of land that then extended across the Bering Sea and Strait. Their descendants, the American Indians, developed scores of complex and colorful cultures before the arrival of the white man in the early 17th century. The British and Western European settlers came to America seeking riches, land, and sanctuary. They conquered the wilderness, established the Thirteen Original Colonies, and eventually launched a new nation. With the white settlers came a massive and unwilling immigration of Negro slaves from West Africa. The natural talents of those Negroes and their extraordinary powers of endurance enabled them to survive the horrors of slavery and to make incalculable contributions to American civilization. Finally, in increasing numbers throughout the 19th century and well into the 20th, came the outpouring of immigrants from almost everywhere that made a reality of poet Walt Whitman’s vision of America as “not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations” . Since the birth of the United States, some 44 million immigrants have flocked to this country in search of opportunities denied them in their native lands. Among them have been men and women of every sort — seekers after land and freedom, religious and political dissidents searching for sanctuary, adventurers and misfits, merchants and artists. But most of these people have been unlettered farmers from Europe’s peasant heart, ordinary people with strong backs, hope, and a will to succeed. Through unshakable optimism, hard work, and grit, most have made a go of it. They have carved homes from —1870 33
America’s wilderness, peopled cities and towns, transformed her politics, and manned her farms and factories. The saga of the immigrants’ struggle to fashion a new life in a foreign and often unfriendly land is among the most stirring “pages” in America’s history. Notes and Commentary Walt Whitman ['wo:lt'witmsn] — Уитмен Уолт (1819—1892), изве¬ стный американский поэт Geographical Names the Bering Sea ['benr) 'si:] the Bering Strait ['benri 'streit] Берингово море Берингов пролив Vocabulary saga steppe scores to conquer wilderness endurance incalculable teeming to flock misfit unlettered grit to make a go of it to man to fashion stirring сага, сказание степь много завоевывать дикая местность, пустыня выносливость, стойкость, тер¬ пение неисчислимый многолюдный; кишащий, изо¬ билующий стекаться, скапливаться, дер¬ жаться толпой неудачник неграмотный, необразованный твердость характера, выдержка добиться успеха, преуспеть снабжать людьми, укомплекто¬ вывать моделировать волнующий 34 03 Read the text. Ellis Island: Gateway to America From across New York Bay, Ellis Island lies in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. Today its handsome buildings may be unfamiliar to some onlookers from shore; however, Ellis Island “occupies a permanent place in America’s history. It stands as a constant reminder of American nation’s immigrant saga. Located just a few hundred yards north of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, Ellis Island is a monument to the great traditions of freedom and opportunity in America. Ellis Island was a major federal immigration facility in America. Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million immigrants were processed at Ellis Island, which means that more than half of the immigrants entering the United States between those years passed through its gates. Today more than 40 per cent, or over 100 million, of all living Americans can trace their roots to an ancestor who came through Ellis Island. The immigrants arrived with little money, but a wealth of hopes and dreams. They dreamed of a better life for themselves and for their children. Immigrants await processing at Ellis Island 35
While mass examination of immigrants at Ellis Island ended in 1924, it continued to be used as a detention center for immigrants whose status in the country was questioned. In 1954, the island was permanently closed as an active immigration station. In 1965, however, it was added by Presidential Proclamation to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and was opened for public tours in 1976. In 1984, Ellis Island was closed for a restoration. The restoration of Ellis Island cost approximately $160 million and was the largest restoration project of its kind in American history. Ellis Island reopened to the public on September 10, 1990 with new exhibits, films, and programs and it is once again receiving millions of visitors from around the world. The new Ellis Island Immigration Museum tells the inspiring story of the largest human migration in modem history . The museum is located in the 200,000-square-foot Main Building — the most historically significant structure on Ellis Island. It was here, in various rooms of the building, where new arrivals — many fearful of rejection — were inspected and ultimately granted permission to enter the country. It offers visitors a fascinating complete look at the total immigrant experience, using innovative displays that feature historic artifacts and photos, interactive devices, computers and taped reminiscences of the immigrants themselves. One of the unique exhibits is the American Immigrant Wall of Honor, which is devoted solely to the display of thousands of names of immigrants. Many Americans think that in years to come , children who visit Ellis Island will be proud to find the name of their grandparent or great-grandparent recorded with others who came and built America. They also think that the Wall is a way to make sure that the values and ideals symbolized by Ellis Island — tolerance, opportunity and freedom— are transmitted to their children. Notes and Commentary the Statue of Liberty — Статуя Свободы, подарок французского народа, была установлена на острове Бедлоу (ныне, остров Сво¬ боды, расположен рядом с островом Эллис) в 1886 году; работа скульптора Фредерика Бартольди; основание выполнено Гюс¬ тавом Эйфелем yard — ярд; равен 91,44 см 36 Geographical Names New York Bay ['nju: 'jo:k 'bei] Нью-Йоркский залив Ellis Island [ elis 'aibnd] о-в Эллис Vocabulary onlooker случайный зритель, свидетель reminder напоминание to process подвергать обработке ancestor предок detention center карантинный лагерь approximately приблизительно inspiring вдохновляющий rejection отказ, отклонение ultimately в конечном счете, в конце кон¬ цов to grant предоставлять, допускать, доз¬ волять to feature показывать, демонстрировать artifact экспонат reminiscence воспоминание unique уникальный solely исключительно tolerance терпимость Assignment K. Comprehension 1. Select the main points of the history of the Ellis Island Federal Immigration Facility. 2. Is Ellis Island still an immigration station? 3. What story does the Ellis Island Immigration Museum tell? 4. What is the Wall of Honor devoted to? Discussion 1. Explain why Ellis Island is called “a gateway to America”. 37
2. How do you imagine an immigrant arriving in the United States? Give his (her) description. 3 . Why do you think Ellis Island stopped being an immigration station? 4. Can you agree with Americans that the Immigrant Wall of Honor symbolizes tolerance, opportunity and freedom? 5. If you were a descendant of American immigrants, would you like the name of your predecessors to be mentioned on the Wall of Honor? Give you reasons. Ш Read the text and describe the procedure of processing immigrants at the Ellis Island Immigration station. What information does this text add to that of the previous one? J If You Don’t Keep Their Names Alive... Who Will? Suppose for the moment, that we could return to Ellis Island when it teemed with immigrants and share the experience of an immigrant’s progress. “When I first arrived in this country I was filled with so many hopes, dreams and tears. One of the greatest fears was of a place known as Ellis Island, but called by us the ‘Island of Tears’. “In my village I had heard of this place to be inspected and may be, it was said, sent home if you did not pass; ‘Sent home to what? To where?’, I worried. I tried to convince myself that America would never send me home once I had reached her doors. “I will never forget the joy I felt when I saw the tall buildings of New York and the Statue of Liberty after so many dark days on board that crowded ship. There was the symbol of all my dreams — freedom to start out in a new life. Then came Ellis Island. “When I landed the noise and commotion were unbelievable. There were so many languages being spoken. The shouting and pushing guards calling out the big numbers on the tags attached to our coats created more noise and confusion. Surely, I felt, the noise surrounding the Tower of Babel could not have been worse. “We were told ‘keep moving’ and ‘hurry up’ as my group was pushed along one of the dozens of metal railings which divided the room into several passageways. Immigrants walked along those 38 passageways until they reached the first medical inspector who looked at face, hair, neck and hands. Interpreters asked, ‘What is your age?’, ‘What work do you do?’ “I walked on to where a doctor inspected me for diseases. Again I moved to another doctor, the ‘eye man’ about whom I had heard so many terrible rumors. I passed inspection but the man in front was marked with an ‘E’ in chalk on his coat and sent te another area. I had heard that an ‘E’ meant deportation. “For a long time I sat on a bench in the main part of the great hall waiting for the final test. I talked anxiously with those around me and rehearsed the answers to questions I might be asked about jobs, money and relatives. Some people said it was best to answer as fully as possible; others said it was best to say just ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. “Finally, I went before a tired, stern looking official who checked my name against the ship’s passenger list and quickly fired questions at me: ‘Can you read and write?’, ‘Do you have a job waiting for you?’, ‘Who paid your passage?’, ‘Have you ever been in prison?’, ‘How much money do you have?’, ‘Let me see it now’. On and on went the questions until I got more and more confused. “Suddenly I was handed a landing card. It was hard to believe the ordeal was over in an afternoon. My fears were unfounded, the Statue in the harbor had not turned her back on me. America had accepted me”. The island is empty of immigrants now and it may be hard to imagine their laughter and tears echoing throughout the buildings. By listening hard, however, we may still hear the sound of many languages they spoke decades ago on the “Island of Tears” . Notes and Commentary the Tower of Babel ['beib(a)l] — Вавилонская башня, в строитель¬ стве которой, согласно библейскому преданию, принимало уча¬ стие несметное количество людей. Заставив их говорить на раз¬ ных языках, Бог не позволил людям построить башню до неба. Vocabulary to convince убеждать 39
commotion волнение, смятение, суматоха tag ярлык, метка railing ограда, перила rumor слух anxiously с беспокойством, озабоченно to rehearse репетировать stern строгий, суровый", неумоли¬ мый passage переезд, проезд landing card декларация ordeal тяжелое испытание to accept принимать ш Read the text. The Involuntary Immigrants Thomas Jefferson, the author of the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, which boldly recognized that “all men are created equal”, was himself a prosperous slave-owner. The nation that first proclaimed the essential dignity of man also officially sanctioned the ownership of one man by another. Of all America’s immigrant peoples, only the Africans came in chains. Although slavery had a long, bitter history in America, it never took root in the North, mostly because Northern farms and factories were initially too small to require large labor forces such as those provided by slaves. It must be said that Northern disapproval of slavery and slave-owning rarely came into play when a profit was at stake. So, many New England fortunes rested on the shipment and sale of slaves to buyers in Southern ports. Even in the South, however, white servants outnumbered black slaves in every Colony until 1700. But gradually the South developed great plantations of rice, sugar, and tobacco, which demanded large numbers of workers. Consequently slavery became the very foundation of the Southern economy. No one knows how many African men, women, and children were shipped to the New World aboard slave vessels, but estimates range as high as 24 million. Perhaps one of every four died on the 40 10-week voyage. Shackled below deck in foul-smelling, tight-packed rows, they subsided on stagnant water and stale provisions. Those who fell ill were thrown overboard. Many went mad or died struggling with their captors or by throwing themselves into the sea. By 1776 there were some 500 thousand slaves in the Colonies. The sudden demand for Southern cotton turned slave trading into an enormously profitable industry. Once ashore, the slaves were at the mercy of their masters’ whims. The best they could expect was unremitting toil; the worst was cruelty and even death. Although all Northern States had barred slavery by 1804, it was maintained in the South until the end of the Civil War. By 1860 there were well over 4 million slaves in the United States. Those black Africans and their descendants proved an astonishingly resilient and resourceful people. Forced to work long hours, kept even from learning to read the Bible for fear they would be inspired to rebel, they managed to establish their own clandestine churches, develop their own African-tinged music and folklore, and express in myriad ways their longing to be free. Slave revolts were rare. The few that did develop were brutally crushed. The conflict over slavery and States rights eventually came to dominate American politics and finally drove the Nation to a terrible and bloody Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation and the Union Army — with the aid of some 186,000 black volunteers — finally freed the slaves and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution made their freedom official. The 14th Amendment granted blacks citizenship and the 15th Amendment gave them the right to vote. Notes and Commentary Thomas Jefferson ['tomss 'd3ef3san] — Джефферсон Томас (1743— 1826), государственный деятель, активный участник Амери¬ канской революции, автор Декларации независимости; 3-й пре¬ зидент США the Declaration of Independence — Декларация независимости, объявившая свободными от господства Великобритании пер¬ вые тринадцать колоний. Традиционно считается, что Декла¬ рация была принята и подписана 4 июля 1776 года. 41
the Emancipation Proclamation — Декларация эмансипации, до¬ кумент, подписанный 22 сентября 1862 года президентом Ав¬ раамом Линкольном, 16-м президентом США (1809-1865), об эмансипации негритянского населения в пределах тех юэкных территорий, которые все еще назывались Конфедерацией. Это решение сыграло огромную роль? во-первых, иностранные дер¬ жавы после опубликования документа уже не могли выступить на стороне рабовладельческого Юга; во-вторых, освобожден¬ ные рабы сотнями тысяч присоединялись к войскам Севера и внесли свой вклад в победу Севера Над Югом, the Union Army -- армия Союза северных штатов во время Граж¬ данской войны (1861—1865); главнокомандующим Союзными войсками был Улисс Грант, Конфедеративными — Эдвард Ро¬ берт Ли Amendments to the Constitution — поправки к Конституции США, внесение которых в текст предусмотрено самой Конституцией Vocabulary involuntary непроизвольный,' невольный boldly решительно^ смело prosperous процветающий, богатый essential неотъемлемый, существенный dignity достоинство to take root укорениться disapproval неодобрение to come into play действовать, иметь значение to be at stake быть поставленным на карту to outnumber превосходить численно consequently в результате этого to shackle заковывать в кандалы foul-smelling отвратительно пахнущий to subside зд. жить, кормиться stagnant стоячий, тухлый stale несвежий overboard за борт captor захвативший в плен ashore на берегу at the mercy во власти, на милость 42 прихоть, каприз беспрестанный тяжелый труд запрещать несгибаемый восставать тайный t* окрашивать, придавать оттенок страстное желание мятеж, восстание доброволец Assignment fp Discussion 1. Enlarge upon the phrase: ‘'.„Northern disapproval of slavery and slave-owning rarely came into play when a profit was at stake”. 2. Why are the Africans called “involuntary” immigrants? Can you compare the way they came to the US with the way other immigrants arrived? 3. Using your background knowledge, prove that black Africans are resilient and resourceful people. whim unremitting toil to bar resilient to rebel clandestine to tinge longing revolt volunteer Look through and compare the poem and the text. Say which of the ideas of the poem find their realization in the text. Afro-American Migration (1915-1940) I am fed up With Jim Crow laws, People who are cruel And afraid, Who lynch and run, Who are scared of me And me of them. I pick up my life And take it away On a one-way ticket —* Gone up North, Gone out West, Gone! Langston Hughes 43
Between 1915 and 1940, hundreds of thousands of black Americans left the South and migrated to the cities of the North. This “Great Migration” changed both the lives of the Afro-American migrants and the racial status quo in much of the North. The national impact of this crucial period in Afro-American and American history was immense. The Great Migration altered the very structure of American society and thrust the question of the “colour line” onto the national agenda. Newcomers, faced with an existence far different from their lives in the South, helped to create a new, more aggressive Afro-American community in the large, predominantly black neighbourhoods that emerged in northern cities. Black ghettos in major cities became centers of a vibrant Afro- American culture in spite of the poverty, prejudice, crime, crowding, and disease that accompanied their growth. Despite the odds, increasing numbers of blacks worked their way into the professions, while others became prominent in sports and entertainment. Black Americans have had a lasting influence on the Nation’s cultural and artistic life, while millions of Negroes in more prosaic Callings — men and women, slave and free — have played an important role in building the economy. Notes and Commentary Jim Crow laws ['d3im 'krou 'b:z] — законы Джима Кроу. Практика дискриминации и сегрегации чернокожего населения США (осо¬ бенно на территории бывшей Конфедерации) получила название «Джим Кроу» и происходит от популярной в XIX веке песни. Фраза «законы Джима Кроу» используется для обозначения при¬ нятых после Гражданской войны Конгрессом США законов, обес¬ печивающих превосходство белого населения над чернокожим. Vocabulary impact влияние, воздействие crucial ' решающий, критический immense огромный, чрезвычайный to alter изменять, переделывать to thrust толкать, проталкивать agenda повестка дня to emerge возникать, появляться, всплы¬ вать 44 vibrant живой, полный жизни prejudice предубеждение, предрассудок odds неравенство calling призвание, профессия ш *Scan the text for the information which will enable you to speak on civil liberties and civil rights. Use a dictionary whenever necessary. The Search for Equality America in the 1950s was beset by controversies over civil liberties and civil rights. Negroes, particularly those who had moved to the north, were at last beginning to demand some economic independence. Wartime jobs had provided many with new opportunities to learn skills and gain promotion. Blacks were also gaining some political leverage; voting in blocks in such large cities as Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland, they often held the balance of power in elections. But while there was some progress, it was partial and erratic. Blacks, however, began to find unexpected allies and make strong gains among concerned religious groups, in the growing influence of biratial organizations, and, most importantly, in the courts. Slowly but surely legal barriers to equality in everything from education and voting rights to sitting in bus terminals were declared unconstitutional. Gradually school districts in the South began complying fully with Federal Court desegregation orders. But although segregation was no longer sanctioned by law, many schools in both the North and South remained segregated in fact, because they were located in all-white or all-black neighbourhoods. Negroes by this time had taken many of the issues into their own hands. A crucial step forward was the 1955—56 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, led by a young Baptist minister, Martin Luther King. Although Dr. King and other ministers were thrown into jail for a brief time, segregated seating in Montgomery buses and, later, in all forms of transportation was ended, and a new era in nonviolent resistance to discrimination was begun. Such organizations as King’s Southern Christian Leadership 45
Conference and the Congress of Racial Equality organized scores of blacks and whites, many of them college students, to participate in demonstrations, Sit-ins, and freedom rides. All were efforts to force businessmen — storekeepers, hotel managers, and bus line owners — to end discrimination. In some cases the reaction of Southern whites was positive, and a number of chain stores, hotels, and eating places stopped segregation practices. In many instances, however, the demonstrators were booed, spat on, and even physically harmed. In the mid-1960s the problems of bettering the lot of the disadvantaged outran the progress achieved. Some angry young black activists turned away from the nonviolent methods and joined various militant separatist groups. In many places there was violence. In the long, hot summer of 1965, rioting broke out in Los Angeles. Buildings were burnt, stores looted, and blacks and whites alike were killed. Two years later violence started in the black ghettos of Newark, New Jersey, and Detroit, Michigan, and spread to some 20 other communities. In 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated (for motives never satisfactory explained) as he stood on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray, a white southerner, pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to a 99-year prison term. By the mid-1970s, although much had been made in the battle for improvement, the social evils of discrimination against minority groups and the poor, lack of opportunity, unequal education and health care, unemployment, hunger, and slum living remained ugly realities in the eyes of all who cared to look. It was obvious that city, State, and national agencies were failing to cope with the growing problems. There was general agreement on what to do, but most Americans had at least become aware that finding workable solutions was a matter of urgency and worthy of their utmost efforts. Notes and Commentary Federal Court (Supreme Court, High Court) — Верховный суд, главное звено юридической системы США; состоит из 9-ти су¬ дей; его решения окончательны и подлежат исполнению всеми юридическими органами. В последние десятилетия федеральные 46 судебные власти оказывают большое влияние и на законода¬ тельную структуру. Montgomery, Alabama [тэп(1)'длтэп] [,эе1э'Ьэетэ] — город Монт¬ гомери, штат Алабама. После географического названия горо¬ да в США обычно употребляется название штата во избежание путаницы с одноименными городами Великобритании и других стран. Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality — известные общественные организации США, создан¬ ные для борьбы негритянского населения за свой гражданские права Geographical Names Detroit [di'troit] г. Детройт Chicago [fi'kargou] г. Чикаго Cleveland ['klirvbndj г. Кливленд Newark ['nju(:)9k] г. Ньюарк New Jersey ['nju; 'd33:zi] Нью-Джерси (штат) Michigan ['mifigan] Мичиган (штат) Memphis ['memfis] г. Мемфис Assignment Comprehension Make up a list of topical vocabulary. Discussion Why do you think it became possible to maintain segregation and racial discrimination? Revision Assignment 1. Answer the question of one of the inquisitive Frenchmen: “What is then the American, this new man?” 47
Your friend thinks that the US is a “melting pot fueled by the clash of immigrant cultures”. You have a different viewpoint. Explain your reasons. Do you think we can define the history of the Russian people as “the saga of migration”? Ethnic minorities in Russia: problems and perspectives. Ш Read the text. Pre-Colonial America Before Europeans set foot on the American continent, complex cultures flourished in different parts of the Americas. Those peoples varied enormously, ranging from poor nomadic food gatherers of the interior plains of North America to opulent fishing societies of the Pacific North-West, from the woodland hunting tribes of what is now the northern United States to the wealthy and powerful peoples of Central America. Together they constituted somewhere between fifty and one hundred million people, of which about ten million lived in North America. Many areas in the western hemisphere contained denser populations than regions of Western Europe in the age of Christopher Columbus. America was not “a vacant wasteland” awaiting the arrival of “civilized Europeans”. Unit III HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 4—1870
Across the continent, from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic seaboard, lived groups of interrelated cultures. Speaking such languages as Siouxan, Algonquian, and Iroquoisan, they formed complicated societies that often differed markedly from one another. Relying upon agriculture, as well as on fishing, hunting and trapping, the peoples of the Eastern Woodlands built stable villages, some of them with as many as five thousand inhabitants. Living either in birch- covered wigwams or in re'ctangular longhouses, they usually palisaded their villages with long stockades. They also possessed, in their light birch-bark canoes, a reliable means of commerce and communication with other tribes. The chiefdoms of the Pacific Northwest were blessed with an incredibly rich environment based on the vast stock of fish, especially salmon, and abundant edible plants. The large succulent fish annually made their way upstream to spawn and then return to the sea, and the indigenous peoples learned to make nets and weirs to harvest this crop. The natives of the region also developed techniques to preserve their fish, thus assuring sufficient food in seasons of scarcity. The natural abundance encouraged the formation of a sedentary society even though agriculture remained generally undeveloped in this region. Notes and Commentary Siouxan, Algonquian, Iroquoisan ['sirzan] [ael'gor)k(w)i3n] ['irakwoizan] — языки сиу, алгонкинский, ирокезский были языками индейцев разных племен — коренных жителей Аме¬ рики Vocabulary nomadic кочевой opulent обильный, богатый tribe племя, род hemisphere полушарие dense густонаселенный wasteland зд. пустующая земля birch береза 50 rectangular прямоугольный longhouse длинный вигвам у ирокезов и других индейских племен, используемый для обществен¬ ных нужд stockade частокол bark кора (дерева) means средство, способ chiefdotn территория племени abundant изобилующий, обильный, бо¬ гатый edible съедобный succulent зд. крупный to spawn метать икру indigenous туземный, местный weir запруда, плотина scarcity нехватка, недостаток sedentary оседлый обществе) Assignment ■Js- Comprehension Supply answers to the following questions. 1) What flourished in different parts of the Americas? 2) Was America a “vacant wasteland”? 3) What kind of people lived on the territory of the would- be United States? 4) How can you describe the environment in which Native Americans lived? t!? Discussion 1. Find the sentences (sentence) which fully correspond (corresponds) to the title and account for your choice. 2. Compress the text to four sentences. Write down the summary. 51
ш Read the text. Consult the dictionary if needed. How It All Started Although intrepid Norsemen skirted the New World’s Northern shore about A. D, 1000, the news of their discovery remained veiled in the mist of Viking sagas for centuries. The Americas were not visited again until 1492, when Christopher Columbus reached the Bahamas. North America was at first considered nothing but a vast, maddening obstacle between spice-hungry Europe and the riches of the Orient. For 150 years it remained largely unsettled by Europeans. During that time, however, Spanish adventurers roamed Florida, the gulf coast, and the Southwest in a vain search for treasure. French voyagcurs braved the Canadian wilderness in pursuit of furs, and Dutch and Swedish traders established small outposts on the Northeast coast in present-day New York and Delaware. The English, too; came looking for easy riches. In December 1606, a London Company sent a group of settlers on board three shi ps to colonize the North American territory called Virginia. They reached the New World in May 1607 and founded Jamestown, which became the first permanent English settlement on the American continent. The most well-described in all history books is probably the landing of the “Mayflower” in November 1620. Instead of reaching the mouth of the Hudson River, battered off course by Atlantic storms, the sturdy little ship approached the Massachusetts coast and anchored in Plymouth harbor. The leaders (part of a religious group later called Pilgrims) resolved to land anyhow. The 102 passengers founded New England’s first Colony, and it was the Mayflower Compact (a number of rules and regulations) that kept the Colony united till 1691, when Plymouth became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The British proved more adaptable than their rivals and readier to see the possibilities of colonization. Between 1607, when the first ill-equipped settlers landed at Jamestown, and 1733, when a shipload of British debtors went ashore to found Georgia, Britain managed to establish a dozen bustling Colonies. By the 1770s Britain had eliminated — almost completely— its chief competitor, France, from the North American Continent. The British Colonies, scattered along the Atlantic seaboard, varied widely. They could even be called the different worlds of colonial America. The regional variations can be presented in the following way. 52 New England Colonies Massachusetts Puritans spread inland and along the coast to people this region’s stony soil. Most became small farmers or artisans, dwelt in villages, and fiercely insisted on self-government. Others depended on the sea: they fished, built or manned ships, or traded with England. Busy ports, such as Boston and Newport, were havens for merchants who slyly evaded British attempts to tax and regulate their trade with French and Dutch colonies. Middle Colonies New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, first settled by Dutch and Swedish traders, and Pennsylvania were the most cosmopolitan of the English Colonies. Most residents were prosperous farmers, but numbers of tradesmen, mechanics, and shippers clustered around Philadelphia and New York. More genial and tolerant than New England, more energetic than, the South, the Middle Colonies best represented the creative ferment of classes and cultures that would characterize America after the Revolution. Southern Colonies Agriculture was the heart of Southern life, and the tidal rivers were its arteries. Along their banks flourished vast, self-sufficient plantations that shipped their crops to foreign markets from their own wharves. Because plantations were scattered and isolated, development of the South lagged behind that of the other Colonies; Charleston was its only real city until after the Revolution. Along the Appalachian Frontier independent woodsmen cultivated small farms. From the above description one can see that some Colonies were divided into hundreds of small farms; others had a few sprawling plantations intermingled with smaller holdings; yet others traded and shipped. But all Colonies had something in common — they drew sustenance from the production of agricultural and other raw materials for the mother country. The Colonies often quarreled among themselves, but loyalty to the King and faith in parliamentary self-government were common to all. As long as the distant rulers kept their hands off local affairs, relations were generally friendly. It was only after 1763, when London sought closer control over their affairs without consulting them, that the colonists rebelled. 53
Notes and Commentary A. D. ['ei 'di:] (anno Domini) — лат. нашей эры Geographical Names the Bahamas [ba'haimaz] Delaware ['debweaj Virginia [уэ'ёзгщэ] Jamestown ['d3eimztaun] the Hudson River ['ludsan 'rivaj Georgia ['d3o:d3ia] Newport ['nju:po:tj Pennsylvania [(pensil'veinja] Charleston ['tjcdstan] Assignment 7s. Comprehension Make up a list of topical vocabulary. ft? Discussion 1. Speak about the most important events in the history of British settlement in the New World. 2. Prove that the British Colonies, scattered along the Atlantic coast, varied widely at the end of the 18th century. Ш Read the text. The Making of a People By the end of the 18th century, the whole of the Eastern coast of North America had been colonized. The entirely separate Colonies differed widely, and their differences generated almost Багамские о-ва Делавер {штат) Виргиния {штат) г. Джеймстаун р. Гудзон Джорджия {штат) г. Ньюпорт Пенсильвания {штат) г. Чарльстон 54 constant sectional friction. There were bitter inter-colonial squabbles over religion, trade and boundaries. Within the Colonies, too, there were disagreements between factions, in some cases resulting in civil wars. “Fire and Water are not more heterogeneous than the different Colonies in N6rth America”, wrote one early visitor, and until 1754 even repeated threats of annihilation by France and its allies failed to produce unity. Yet, despite their differences, the colonists were slowly transformed into one quarrelsome but distinctive people. Several factors contributed to this process. Perhaps the most important was t)ie fact that the colonists were overwhelmingly Protestant and English. They shared the English language, they believed in British customs and traditions of parliamentary self-government and trial by jury, and they were loyal to the British King. Their rich colonial culture — their books and buildings, fabrics and furnishings, portraits and poetry — was solidly based on British models. They saw themselves as transplanted Englishmen and called England “home”, though after the first generation most had never been there. Major exceptions to this early homogeneity were the Dutch of New Netherland, Germans and Scotch-Irish on the backwoods frontier, and large numbers of African slaves. The very fact of leaving the settled life of the Old World for the uncertainties of the New one bespoke a profound independence of mind and spirit. The vast majority of the colonists were farmers who owned and worked their land. They were all animated with the spirit of an industry which was unrestrained because each person worked for himself without any part being claimed by a despotic prince, a rich abbot or a mighty lord. Such self-employment bred self-reliance and the determination to succeed. Notes and Commentary New Netherland ['nju: 'netblsndj — Новые Нидерланды. К 1626 году голландские купцы расселились на берегах реки Гудзон и назва¬ ли свою колонию Новыми Нидерландами; спустя девять лет англичане захватили эту территорию и переименовали в Нью- Йорк. 55
Vocabulary friction squabble faction heterogeneous annihilation overwhelmingly trial by jury to bespeak to be animated unrestrained конфликт, трения ссора из-за пустяков фракция, группа разнородный уничтожение в подавляющем большин¬ стве суд присяжных свидетельствовать быть воодушевленным зд. несдерживаемый Assignment Comprehension Prove with the help of the text that: 1) there were inner- and inter-colonial squabbles at the turn of the century. 2) several factors contributed to the colonists’ transformation into one quarrelsome but distinctive people. 3) the colonists were people with independent mind and spirit. \k Discussion 1. Compare the text above with the text “How it all started”. Can you point out common elements (ideas, problems, etc.) which unite both texts? 2. How do you understand the words of one early visitor who compared the Colonies to Fire and Water? 3. Do you support the author’s idea that the very fact of the colonists’ working for themselves meant a lot? ..Give your reasons. 4. Using the text and any other source of information, say what the first colonists of New England were like. 56 SB Read the text. Britain and the Colonies Whatever their private wishes, the King and his ministers could maintain only minimal control over their far-off possessions, separated from them by some 3,000 miles of open sea. For the colonists, the great thing about this empire, apart from the sheer pride of belonging to it, was that it let you alone. Some colonists lived a lifetime without ever encountering a royal official, and they had far more control of their own government than their compatriots in Britain had. Only in matters of trade did England have a consistent imperial policy. The Colonies were expected to supply the mother country with raw and semi-finished materials, including furs, fish, rice,, tobacco and timber. In exchange they received a host of manufactured goods from the homeland. Both sides profited handsomely. Special Acts of the British Parliament required that all American goods should be carried in British or colonial vessels and sold only to British buyers. Those Acts discouraged American manufacturing so as to protect British firms from competition. American trade with other nations or their colonies was officially forbidden. And even in this situation, favorable for itself, the Crown decided to tighten the grip on the Colonies. Since Britain’s treasury was almost empty after different wars, Parliament asked the colonists to contribute towards the cost of maintaining the British army through centrally-raised taxes. But there was serious opposition to this “taxation without representation” (the British Parliament did not contain any American-elected members). After the taxes had been repealed, there was relative peace everywhere except Boston, but when Parliament freed the tea of the nearly bankrupt British East India Company from import duties, numerous merchants throughout the colonies were threatened with bankruptcy, and colonial opinion united against the British. So, when the first cargoes of this tea arrived in Boston harbor, the American Patriots boarded the three ships on the night of the 16th of December 1773 and threw the tea into the sea. It was the famous Boston Tea Party. The British Parliament reacted to this “act of vandalism” by 57
closing Boston harbor. In return to this, representatives from every colony, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia in the First Continental Congress in September 1774 and replied by imposing a trade embargo on Britain. For 15 months Britain’s North American Colonies had been in revolt. Gradually, the daring word “independence” was on everyone’s lips, and a cause, thought radical only a few months earlier, had achieved an astounding degree of respectability. In early June 1776, representatives of American Colonies met in Philadelphia in the Second Continental Congress to formalize their rebellion by adopting a Declaration of Independence. They chose Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration. On July 4, 1776, after having made several revisions in Jefferson’s text, the Congress adopted the Declaration. One delegation, New York, abstained. No man among those present at the Congress could, on that day, foresee the outcome; yet each well knew that before peace was restored, he and his countrymen would have to endure a long period of privation and strife. The United States of America was born, but its survival remained to be determined by the uncertain fortunes of war. Notes and Commentary the British East India Company — британская компания, через которую проходила основная торговля Великобритании с Ин¬ дией; в 1773 году оказалась в трудном финансовом положе¬ нии American Patriots — члены революционной организации «Сыны свободы», которая возникла в связи с тем, что Англия попы¬ талась установить более строгий режим в своих американских колониях the Boston Tea Party — так называемое Бостонское чаепитие; явилось результатом попытки введения британскими властями налогов на потребительские товары и услуги (согласно закону о Гербовом сборе “Stamp Act” и «чайному» закону “Tea Act”) Geographical Names Philadelphia [.fild'delfio] г. Филадельфия . 58 Vocabulary to encounter timber treasury to repeal duty to impose an embargo daring astounding to abstain to foresee the outcome to endure privation strife survival встретйть(ся) лесоматериал, строевой лес зд. казна отменять, аннулировать пошлина, гербовый сбор»* ввести эмбарго дерзкий, смелый изумляющий, поражающий воздержаться предвидеть результат (исход) выдерживать, терпеть, выно¬ сить лишение, нужда борьба выживание Assignment "S. Comprehension Supply answers to the following questions. 1) Why could the Crown maintain only minimal control over its New World Colonies? 2) How can you describe the trade policy of England? 3) What was the main reason for tightening Britain’s grip on the Colonies? 4) Why did the famous Boston Tea Party take place? 5) What was the reaction of the British Parliament to this “act of vandalism”? 6) What happened in early June 1776? ’б’ Discussion 1. In logical order, enumerate the events that preceded the Second Continental Congress. Define the importance of each event. 2. Give another title to the text and explain you choice. 59
Ш Read the first passage and say what the whole text will be about. Then read the remaining passages and compare the given information with your prediction. The Declaration: History of Creation In the summer of 1776, when it occurred to the delegates assembled in Philadelphia that they needed a document to spell out the grounds of their dissatisfaction with Britain, the task was handed to Thomas Jefferson. To us, he seems the obvious choice. He was not. In 1776 Thomas Jefferson was a fairly obscure figure, even in his own Virginia. Aged just thirty three, he was the second youngest of the delegates and one of the least experienced. The Second Continental Congress was in fact his first exposure to a wider world of affairs beyond those of his native Colony. He had not been selected to attend the First Continental Congress and should not have been at the Second. He was called only as a late replacement for Payton Randolph, who had been summoned home to Virginia. Jefferson’s reputation rested almost entirely on one of his essays, written two years earlier, advising the British on how they ought to conduct themselves in their principal overseas possession. Although the essay had gained him some attention as a writer, to his fellow Virginia delegates he was known as a dilettante and admired for the breadth of his reading in an age when that truly meant something. He was adept at seven languages; By no means, however, did he have what might be called a national standing. Nor did he display any evidence of desiring one. He showed a distinct lack of keenness to get to Philadelphia: on his way there he stopped to shop for books and to buy a horse, and once there he said almost nothing. “During the whole time I sat with him I never heard him utter three sentences together”, John Adams later marveled. Moreover, Jefferson went home to Virginia in December 1776, in the midst of debates, and did not return for nearly five months. Had he been able, he would gladly have abandoned the Congress altogether, leaving the drafting of the Declaration of Independence to someone else in order to take part in drawing up a new constitution for Virginia, a matter much closer to his heart. 60 Nonetheless, because he showed a “peculiar felicity for expression”, in John Adams’s words, he was one of five men chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston were the others — and this Committee of Five in turn selected him to come up with a working draft. The purpose, as Jefferson saw it, was“not to find out n6V principles, or new arguments, never before thought of, not merely to say things which had never been said before; but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent”. But of course the Declaration of Independence is much more than that. As one politician has written, it stands as “perhaps the only piece of practical politics that is also theoretical politics and also great literature”. The signing of the Declaration of Independence The first adopted form of the Declaration was given the title “A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress Assembled” It was the first time the country had been officially designated the United States of America, though in fact until 1778 the formal title was the United States of North 61
America. Even after the Declaration, “united” was often left lower case, as if to emphasize it was merely descriptive, and the country was variously referred to throughout the Civil War as “the Colonies”, “the united Colonies”, the “United Colonies of America” or “the United Colonies of North America”. The last two are the forms under which officers were commissioned into the army. Notes and Commentary Payton Randolph ['peitan 'raendalf] — Пейтон Рандольф, главный кандидат от Виргинии на второй Континентальный Конгресс dilettante [,dili'taenti] — дилетант. Это слово, заимствованное в английский язык из итальянского, во времена Американской революции еще не приобрело отрицательных коннотаций и при¬ менялось для описания человека, который восхищался богат¬ ством человеческих возможностей. John Adams ['бзэп 'aedamz] — Адамс Джон (1735—1826), государ¬ ственный деятель, активный участник Американской револю¬ ции; 2-й президент США Benjamin Franklin [Ъепбзэтт 'frasnklin] — Франклин Бенджа¬ мин (1706—1790), государственный деятель, ученый, изобре¬ татель, писатель, активный участник Американской револю¬ ций Roger Sherman ['гэбзэ 'Jaman], Robert R. Livingston ['robat a: 'livirjstan] — Шерман Роджер, Ливингстон Роберт, государствен¬ ные деятели, участники Американской революции Vocabulary to spell out the grounds изложить основные причины obscure неизвестный, незаметный, не¬ понятный to summon вызывать breadth широта (кругозора) to be adept знать, владеть standing положение, вес (в обществе) felicity способность (к языку), мет¬ кость (выражения) 62 to command smb’s assent зд. добиться чьей-либо благо¬ склонности lower case строчная буква to commission призывать Assignment t* f}’ Discussion 1. Using the facts from the text, explain to your fellow- students the way you understand the words: “...the task was handed to Thomas Jefferson. To us, he seems the obvious choice. He was not.” 2. From the text select the statement which best expresses its main idea. 3. Make up a plan of the text. Discuss its points with your fellow-students. 4. Give a brief history of the Russian Constitution. Present it in written form. Ш Read the text. Another Mystery That the signing of the Declaration of Independence is celebrated on July 4 is one of American history’s most singular mistakes. America did not declare independence on July 4, 1776. That had happened two days earlier, when the proposal was adopted. The proceedings on July 4 were a mere formality endorsing the form of words that were to be used to announce this breach. Most people had no doubt that July 2 was the day that would ring through the ages. “The second day of July, 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha in the History of America”, John Adams wrote to his wife on July 3. John Dunlap, a Philadelphia printer, hastily ran off an apparently unknown number of copies. Dunlap’s version was dated July 4, and it was this, evidently, that persuaded the nation to make 63
that the day of revelry. The next year, at any rate, the great event was being celebrated on the fourth, and so it has stayed ever since. It was celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other”, in John Adams’s words. The first anniversary saw the entrance of a new word into the language: “fireworks”. Fireworks themselves were not new, but previously they had been called “rockets”. Until recently only twenty four of Dunlap’s copies were thought to have survived — two in private hands and the rest lodged with institutions. But in 1992 a shopper at a flea market in Philadelphia found a copy folded into the back of a picture frame, apparently as padding. It was estimated to be worth up to $3 million. So, July 4, 1776, was not Independence Day. Still less was the Declaration signed on that day, except by the president of the proceedings, John Hancock, and the secretary, Charles Thomson. It was not signed on July 4 because it had first to be transcribed on to parchment. The official signing did not begin until August 2 and was not concluded until 1781 when Thomas McKean of Delaware, the last of the signatories, finally put his name to it. Such was the fear of reprisal that the names of the signers were not released until January 1777, six months after the Declaration’s adoption. Equally mistaken is the idea that adoption of the Declaration of Independence was announced to a breathless Philadelphia on July 4 by the ringing of the Liberty Bell. For one thing, the Declaration was not read out in Philadelphia until July 8, and there is no record of any bells being rung. Indeed, though the Liberty Bell was there, it was not so called until 1847 when the whole inspiring episode was recounted in a book titled “Washington and His Generals”, written by one George Lippard, whose previous literary efforts had been confined almost exclusively to producing third-rate novels. He made the whole thing up. Notes and Commentary John Dunlap ['d3on 'dxntap] — Данлэп Джон, издатеЛь, опубли¬ ковавший Декларацию 4 июля и тем самым повлиявший на неправильное установление даты Дня независимости США 64 John Hancock [%)п Ъэепкэк], Charles Thomson ['tjculz 'tomsan] — Хэнкок Джон, Томсон Чарльз, делегаты второго Континен¬ тального Конгресса, первыми подписавшие Декларацию неза¬ висимости Thomas McKean ['tomas m(a)'ki:n] — Маккин Томас, делегат вто¬ рого Континентального Конгресса, последним подписавший Декларацию George Lippard ['d3o:d3 'lipad] — Липпард Джордж, писатель, со¬ гласно версии которого подписание Декларации сопровожда¬ лось звоном Колокола независимости Vocabulary зд. заседание подтверждать разрыв лат. поворотный пункт, пере¬ ломный момент напечатать пир, пиршество, праздник редк. зрелища, шоу блошиный рынок подкладка пергамент репрессия рассказывать ограничиваться Assignment "Js. Comprehension Say what is wrong here. 1) America declared independence on July 4, 1776. 2) John Dunlap published his version of the Declaration on July 4, 1776. 3) John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. 65 proceedings to endorse breach epocha to run off revelry shew (= show) flea market padding parchment reprisal to recount to be confined (to) 5—1870
4) The signing of the Declaration was greeted by the ringing of the Liberty Bell. 5) The copy of the Declaration which was found at a flea market in Philadelphia was of no importance. Ф Discussion 1. From the text pick out the information that was new to you. 2. Do you think Americans should change the date of their Independence Day? 3. Tell your friend everything you know about our In¬ dependence Day. РЦ Read the text. . Struggle for Independence The members of the Second Continental Congress belonged to the elite of colonial society. They were men of status and wealth, men who in normal circumstances might be expected to shrink from the yery word “rebellion” and seek shelter under the comforting mantle of established authority. Yet in July 1776 those men— successful lawyers, merchants, ministers, plantation owners, and artisans — signed their names to one of the most revolutionary documents of modem times in which they pledged to each other “our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor” in the cause of American independence and the seemingly quixotic ideal that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. The American War of Independence — with George Washington as Commander-in-Chief— lasted for about six years. American troops4 most of them undermanned, ill-trained, and poorly equipped, harassed and stung British forces that were often overwhelmingly superior in numbers and weapons: Occasionally the Americans advanced, but more often they retreated; and often their cause seemed hopeless. 66 After the American victory in the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777, the French entered the war, providing decisive military and economic assistance. The fighting ended when Washington, aided by the French army and navy, surrounded the British forces at Yorktown in October 1781. The peace settlement, signed two years later, recognized the independence, freedom and sovereignty of the thirteen Colonies. But at that time the United States of America was not a real Nationr it was a loosely knit confederation brought together by common dissatisfaction and shared aspirations. Notes and Commentary Saratoga [.saere'touga] — Саратога, населенный пункт в восточ¬ ной части штата Нью-Йорк, где в период революции амери¬ канскими войсками была одержана решающая победа над анг¬ лийской армией Yorktown [jo:ktaun] — Йорктаун, город в Виргинии, где 17 ок¬ тября 1781 года британская армия потерпела сокрушительное поражение Vocabulary to shrink mantle artisan to pledge sacred quixotic to endow Creator unalienable pursuit undermanned to harass зд. избегать покров ремесленник торжественно обещать, пору¬ чать, ручаться, давать сло¬ во священный донкихотский даровать, наделять Создатель, Бог неотъемлемый поиск, стремление (к) имеющий некомплект личного состава, численно слабый изнурять, изматывать 67
to sting жалить, наносить точный удар loosely слабо to knit соединять, объединять, связы¬ вать aspiration стремление, желание Assignment Ф Discussion 1. Characterize the leaders of the American Revolution. 2. Do you agree with one of the ideals of the Revolution according to which “all men are created equal”? Does the author consider it to be quixotic? Щ Read the text. Make use of a dictionary. The US Constitution The American Revolution was a rare historical event. Unlike other successful uprisings it was not nationalistic: thirteen quarrelsome Colonies were united by their common history, language and customs; by their common sense of betrayal as British subjects; and by their common suspicion of remote and centralized power. The hard-fought conflict brought them together as Americans, but once peace was won, the new States swiftly reverted to their old and independent ways. The Nation of almost 4 million was threatening to break apart even before it emerged from infancy. George Washington wondered if the Revolution he had led had been worth all the blood and effort. “We are either a united people under one head, for Federal purposes”, he wrote, “or we are thirteen independent sovereignties, eternally counteracting each other”. ^ When the Thirteen Colonies began their revolution in 1775, the leaders of the Nation had only the vaguest notion of what kind of a united government would emerge once victory was won. Because of the history of uneasy relations with England’s monarch, most 68 , Americans believed that the broad form should be that of a republic. But they were wary of granting great power to a central government, even one of their own making. It took 5 years of debate for all the States to approve the Articles of Confederation, America’s short-lived first constitution, which went into effect on March 1, 1781. The Articles established a Congress which could make war, negotiate peace, condtfct foreign relations, control the currency, borrow money, settle boundaries, and oversee relations with the Indian tribes. But Congress lacked the power to tax, to regulate commerce, or to enforce its own measures. There was no national judiciary and no chief executive. By 1787 the States themselves saw the need for greater Federal strength, and a few influential men already envisioned an entirely new constitution. So in 1787 the States sent 55 delegates to Philadelphia to the Constitutional Convention. Among those people were George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. Thomas Jefferson hailed the 55 delegates as an assembly of demigods. Certainly they were an extraordinary group of citizens- statesmen. They were remarkably young — average age 43. For 16 weeks (May 25 — September 17, 1787) they debated the Nation’s future behind closed doors. What emerged from the Philadelphia Convention was a document — now the world’s oldest written constitution — that kept the new Nation from splitting into as many as a dozen tiny ones; safeguarded its independence and republicanism against attack from both within and without; and struck a shrewd balance between State and Federal power. There were many opponents to the Constitution, and even some supporters had their doubts. “I consent to this Constitution”, wrote Benjamin Franklin, “because I expect no better, and because I am not Sure that it is not the best”. And yet, the Constitution turned out to be an extraordinary document by which America still abides more than two centuries later. One of the secrets of the Constitution^ longevity lies in the flexible ambiguity its authors built into it. The Founding Fathers wisely avoided the temptation to solve every foreseeable problem on paper. Instead, they arranged that this document should be adaptable to inevitable changes. So the Constitution may well be what John Adams called it in 1787: “The greatest single effort of 69
national deliberation that the world has ever seen”. It was, indeed, a work of collective genius that still commands the Nation’s utmost respect. Article V allowed for amendments to be made to the Constitution (once passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and then ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states). The Constitution, finally ratified by all thirteen states in 1791, already contained ten amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights (the freedoms of religion, speech and the press, etc.), to protect the citizen against possible tyranny by the federal government. So far only twenty six amendments have been made to the Constitution. Notes and Commentary the Articles of Confederation — Устав Конфедерации. Хотя Дек¬ ларация независимости и заложила основы зарождающегося еди¬ ного государства, этого было недостаточно: власть центрально¬ го органа федерации — Континентального Конгресса — над три¬ надцатью независимыми колониями была ничтожно мала. 12 июля 1776 года Конгресс предложил Устав Конфедерации, согласно которому устанавливался слабый контроль над штата¬ ми; но штаты сопротивлялись принятию даже такого докумен¬ та, подписали его только 27 февраля 1781 года, а Конгресс ратифицировал Устав через два дня. George Washington [^30:63'wqfir)tan] — Вашингтон Джордж (1732— 1799), государственный деятель, главнокомандующий Конти¬ нентальной армией в период Американской революции; 1-й пре¬ зидент США Alexander Hamilton [,selig'za-nda 'haemiltan] — Гамильтон Алек¬ сандр (1757—1804), государственный деятель, видный участ¬ ник Американской революции; министр финансов в кабинете Джорджа Вашингтона James Madison ['d3eimz 'maedisn] — Мэдисон Джеймс (1751 — 1836), государственный деятель, видный участник Американ¬ ской революции; 4-й президент США the Founding Fathers — «отцы — основатели нации*», известные государственные деятели, активные участники Американской революции, внесшие огромный вклад в создание Декларации 70 Независимости и Конституции США (Вашингтон, Джеффер¬ сон, Франклин, Мэдисон, Адамс, Гамильтон и др.) both houses of Congress — имеются в виду две палаты Конг¬ ресса Assignment >* Comprehension 1. Make up a list of topical vocabulary. 2. Supply answers to the following questions. 1) Why did the American Revolution differ from other revolutions? 2) What made George Washington pronounce those bitter words? 3) In what form of power did the leaders of the Nation believe and why? 4) What document is considered to be the first American constitution? Describe how this important document defined the role of the Congress. 5) What was the result of the Constitutional Convention? 6) When was the Constitution finally ratified? 7) What does Article V allow for? Ф Discussion 1. Describe the relationship between the States and the Federal power after the Revolution. Was it really so urgent to hold the Constitutional Convention? 2. Why do you think Thomas Jefferson called the delegates “demigods”? When characterizing the participants, use the information of the previous texts,, the notes and your background knowledge. 3. What meaning did Benjamin Franklin put into his words? 4. Do you consider it important that there is a special article in the US Constitution that allows for amendments to be made to the original text? Give your reasons. ■ 5. Point out the most obvious differences between the US Constitution and the Constitution of the Russian Federation. 71
щ Read the text and say what you have learned about: 1) the relationship between the Federal Government and an individual; 2) the freedoms which are basic to the American way of life. Human Liberties Shared by All For all the genius of that remarkable document, the Constitution of the United States, it had a glaring defect, according to many critics. They deplored the absence of articles specifically prohibiting the Federal Government from invading an individual’s rights of life, liberty, and property. But the consensus at the Constitutional Convention was that no Federal bill of rights was needed because the States guaranteed individual rights in their constitutions. However, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York made their ratification of the Constitution contingent upon the adoption of a Federal bill of rights. When the newly established Congress met in 1789, one of its first priorities was to amend the Constitution, provided for in Article V. James Madison proposed a series of amendments, and 12 of them were adopted by Congress. In 1791, 10 of the 12 amendments were ratified by the States. The articles, commonly known as the Bill of Rights^ have stood the test of time, but the exact meaning of some is still debated. For example, should the second amendment’s right “to keep and bear Arms” to maintain a “Militia” be interpreted as an all-inclusive right to keep firearms? Where do the modern forms of electronic eavesdropping stand in relation to the fourth amendment’s stricture against “unreasonable searches and seizures”? In the light of the eighth amendment’s statement on “cruel and unusual punishments” how should the death penalty be considered? Judicial interpretation will continue to shade their precise meaning, but the freedoms bestowed by these articles, as indicated below, are basic to the American way of life. At Home and in the Community We are exempt from: We are to: Unreasonable or unwarranted Worship as we please searches and seizures of persons, houses, papers, and effects Speak freely 72 The taking of property for public Publish the truth : use without just compensation Assemble peaceably The quartering of soldiers in our homes Keep and bear arms In a Court of Law ■ We are exempt from: We are entitled to: Being tried twice for the same Petition for redress of grievances offense Due process of law regarding life, Bearing witness against ourselves liberty, and property Excessive bail Speedy public trial by impartial jury Be informed of the nature and Excessive fines cause of an accusation Infliction of cruel and unusual Confront any witnesses against us punishments Obtain witnesses in our favour Assistance of counsel for defense Geograp Maryland ['meribnd] Мэриленд {штат) Vocabulary glaring to deplore to prohibit contingent (upon, on) to stand the test of time all-inclusive eavesdropping явный, очевидный считать предосудительным, осуждать запрещать зависимый (от) выдержать проверку временем всеобщий, включающий всех подслушивание 73
stricture to bestow to be exempt from to be entitled to unwarranted search to be tried twice for the same offense redress of grievances to bear witness due impartial jury excessive bail infliction punishment accusation counsel for defense строгость, точность (не допус¬ кающая отклонений) давать, дарить не подлежать иметь право обыск без ордера быть судимым дважды за одно и то же преступление зд. возмещение убытков свидетельствовать надлежащий, должный беспристрастные присяжные чрезмерный залог наложение, причинение наказание обвинение адвокат Assignment Discussion 1. Comment on any right that the Federal Government guarantees at home and in the community. 2. Which of the freedoms in a court of law do you consider to be the most important one? Give reasons for your choice. 3. Speak about the shortcomings of the Bill of Rights. Read the text. In each paragraph try to find the word (or the phrase) which could serve as a title for this paragraph. 19Ih-Century Expansion The American Revolution was achieved by the “original 13 states” on the eastern seaboard. The Treaty of 1783, which ended 74 (he war with Britain, gave another huge area of land, further to (he west, to the new country, and over the next fifty years the whole of the American mainland was brought under the US control. Some of that land was acquired by treaty, such as Florida; some by purchase, such as Louisiana (the Mid-West) which was sold to the US by Napoleon in 1803; and some by war, such as Texas and California, which were ceded by Mexico in the war of 1845—1847. c* Having gained control of the continent, the Americans began to expand across it, continually pushing westwards from their original settlements, forming new farmsteads, villages and towns in the wilds, and displacing and dispossessing the Native Americans in the process. By the end of the century this form of continuous colonizing or “pioneering” had led to the settlement of the entire United States from the east coast to the west. For most of the pioneers, life was a constant struggle against the Indians and the land itself, which had to be laboriously cleared before it could be planted. Religion was very important in the settlers’ lives. Camp meetings provided solace and hope as well as a reason for widely scattered neighbours to congregate and enjoy each other’s company. Vocabulary уступать, сдавать (территорию) на запад хозяйство, усадьба вытеснять лишать собственности, права владения усердно, старательно утешение Assignment Discussion 1. Comment on the ways the United States acquire^, different lands. to cede westwards farmstead to displace to dispossess laborously solace
2. The author only mentions the role of religion in the pioneers’ lives. Could you enlarge upon the problem using your background knowledge? Ш Read the last paragraph of the text and say what information you expect to find in the whole text. Then read the remaining paragraphs and compare this information with what you have predicted. Say if you were a success in guessing the main facts of the text. The Trail of Tears For the Indians of the United States, the American dream of gaining control of as much land as possible has been nothing less than a nightmare. From the landing of the first settlers, the Indians have been the victims of almost unrelieved woe. Those tribes that escaped annihilation by the white man’s bullets and diseases suffered instead something close to cultural genocide. At the root of the centuries-long confrontation between red man and white was one inescapable fact: the Indians inhabited vast territories that the whites had to have in order to fulfil their destiny to develop the continent. It mattered little what precautions the Indians took to preserve their lands, what alliances they formed, what concessions they made, what solemn treaties they secured from the settlers: the story was always the same. Whenever the white moved west he displaced the Indian by force of arms, by destroying his hunting grounds, or by fraudulent treaties in which the uncomprehending red man often exchanged his patrimony for glittering trinkets. Some Indian tribes met the onrush of white civilization by adopting Christianity as well as the whiteN man’s dress and mannerisms, and turning to a wholly agricultural lifestyle. One such, the most renowned of the so called Five Civilized Tribes, was the Cherokee Nation of western Georgia, which even had its own written constitution. But the Cherokees’ assimilation proved no protection against expulsion when white settlers began to claim for their lands. Although the Cherokee holdings were guaranteed by a 1791 treaty between the tribe and the Federal Government, the 76 administration of President Andrew Jackson supported the efforts of I he Georgia government to force the Indians off their land. Finally, In 1838, Jackson’s successor ordered his troops to expel the Cherokees and transport them to newly established Indian territory In distant Oklahoma. One soldier, sickened by his task, described an all too common scene that year: “I saw the helpless Cherokees arrested and dragged from their homes... In the chill rairf*I saw them loaded like cattle or sheep into wagons and started toward the west”. The trek to Oklahoma, called by the Cherokees Trail of Tears, took a tragic toll: many of them fell ill, and thousands died from expose, disease, and starvation and were buried in unmarked graves. Notes and Co the Five Civilized Tribes — пять Цивилизованных Племен, пле¬ мена, перешедшие на оседлый образ жизни; надеялись даже создать свой штат на территории Оклахомы. Среди этих племен особо выделялось племя чероки. the Cherokee Nation [.tfera'ki: 'neifnj — племя чероки Andrew Jackson ['aendru:'dsseksn] — Джексон Эндрю (1767—1845), государственный деятель; 7-й президент США Geographical Names Oklahoma [,оик1эЪоитэ] Оклахома Vocab trail тропа unrelieved тяжелый, постоянный woe горе, скорбь to escape избежать precaution предосторожность to make concessions идти на уступки to secure получать, добиваться 77
fraudulent uncomprehending patrimony trinket onrush renowned expulsion successor to expel to drag trek toll to die from expose starvation обманный, мошеннический, жульнический ничего не подозревающий, ни¬ чего не понимающий место обитания, вотчина безделушка натиск, нападение, атака знаменитый изгнание преемник выгонять тащйть, волочить, вытаски¬ вать путешествие, переселение ( бенно в фургонах, запряжен¬ ных волами) перен. дань; потери умирать, будучи брошенными на произвол судьбы голод, истощение Assignment 2». Comprehension Arrange the points of the plan in logical order (i.e. the way they are given in the text). 1) Christianity and expulsion. 2) The tragic toll of the trek to Oklahoma. 3) The victims of unrelieved woe. 4) The Cherokees and the Federal Government. 5) The whites and the Indian territories. $ Discussion 1. Say whether you agree or disagree with the author’s point of view expressed in the sentence: “From the landing of the first settlers, the Indians have been the victims of almost unrelieved woe”. 78 2. Why do you think nothing has helped the Indians of the United States to preserve their lands? Expand upon the problem. Ш Read the text. The Civil War (1861-1865) Expansion brought problems, not least because of the very different societies of the North and the South. The problem of slavery was first raised over the status of Missouri when it was admitted into the Union in 1821. The anti-slavery movement gained tremendous support after publication of a book called “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher- Stowe, atnd political divisions over slavery in the Whig and Democratic parties led to the formation of the.Republican Party, whose main principle was opposition to the extension of slavery. When the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, was elected President in 1860, South Carolina announced that its union with all other states was dissolved and was immediately followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama; Georgia, Louisiana and Texas, which together formed a Confederacy with a constitution based on slavery. The Northerner did not want war, and Lincoln in his opening speech as President declared that he would not interfere with slavery in the Southern states, but merely affirmed the constitutional right of the Union to determine the status of new states. Lincoln refused to allow secession to disrupt the Union, however, and, as civil war became inevitable, Virginia also seceded on the constitutional grounds that every state in the Union enjoyed sovereign rights; Nebraska, North Carolina and Tennessee quickly followed. The twenty three states of the industrial North, with a population of 22,000,000, were, therefore, opposed by eleven Southern states, almost 4,000,000 of whose 9,000,000 inhabitants were slaves. The three main theaters of action when a war broke out in 1861 were the sea, the Mississippi Valley and the Eastern seaboard states. Although the Union had naval superiority, it was unable to 79 /
establish an efficient blockade until 1863. In the Mississippi Valley in the west, General Grant and his forces gradually split the Confederacy in two, while in Virginia, Union forces suffered numerous defeats against the two brilliant Southern generals, Robert L. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. But the South was unable to obtain the decisive victory it needed to gain foreign recognition. The war became a lost cause for the South after the battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, although it heroically fought on until April 1865, when Lee and his army were forced to surrender at Appomattox, Virginia. The war had cost the lives of 618,000 men — over half from disease. Notes and Commentary Harriet Beecher-Stowe ['haerist 'bi:tjh 'stou] — Бичер-Стоу Гарриет (1811—1896), известная американская писательница, ярый по¬ борник освобождения цз рабства негритянского населения Юга. Ее роман «Хижина дяди Тома» сыграл немаловажную роль в усилении антирасистских настроений. the Whig Party ['wig 'pa:tij — политическая партия Вигов была создана (1834—1855) как оппонент Демократической партии; в историческом плане явилась промежуточным звеном между Фе¬ дералистской партией (1789—1820) и Республиканской партией (1853 — до настоящего времени) the Democratic Party — Демократическая партия; существует с 1828 года; ее предшественницей является Демократическая-Рес- публиканская партия (1796-1828) Abraham Lincoln ['eibrahaem 'linkan] — Линкольн Абрахам (1809- 1865), государственный деятель, один из «отцов — основате¬ лей нации»; 16-й президент США; был убит Thomas Jackson ['tomas 'd3aeksnj — Джексон Томас Джонатан (1824-1863), военный деятель, генерал, войск Конфедерации; за смелость его называли «Каменной стеной»; разбил Союзные войска при местечке Бул Ран (Bull Run) в 1861 году; погиб в бою Gettysburg ['getizbag] — Геттисбург, город в южной ДТенсильва- нии, место битвы, выигранной Союзной армией над Конфе¬ деративными войсками генерала Ли. Эта битва, одка из круп¬ нейших и важнейших битв Гражданской войны, происходила 1—3 июля 1863 года. 80 Appomattox ['aepa'mastaks] — Апоматокс, город в центральной Ниргинии, где генерал Роберт Ли сдался генералу Улиссу Гран¬ ту 9 апреля 1865 г., что явилось логическим концом Гражданс¬ кой войны Geographical Names Nebraska [ni'braeska] Небраска {штат) South Carolina ['sau6 Южная Каролина 1 ,каегэ'1атэ] North Carolina ['по:0 Северная Каролина {штат) t ,к8егэ'1атэ] Vocabulary not least lo dissolve secession to disrupt to secede efficient to split не в последнюю очередь расторгать, распускать раскол, отпадение, сепаратизм разрывать отделяться, откалываться действенный, эффективный, продуктивный отделяться, откалываться Assignment Comprehension 1. From the text choose the sentences that convey the most valuable information. 2. Make up a plan of the text. Discussion 1. Are there any facts in the text about the Civil War that you have not known before? 2. Explain what is meant by the following: “... the South 81 (. -1870
was unable to obtain the decisive victory it needed to gain foreign recognition”. 3. If you have read any book or you have seen any film about this period of American history, share your opinion with your fellow-students. Say what information should be added to the text to present a full picture of the Civil War in the US. НЛП Read the text. Find examples to prove that: 1) very many people were obsessed with the idea of becoming rich; 2) there were several gold discoveries; 3) there were different ways of making a lot of money in that situation. The Rush for Wealth The cry was “Gold!” and within a year of its discovery in 1848 on the south fork of the American River, the word spread near and far. From Oregon and New England, from Turkey and China, from France and Australia, men converged on California by the tens of thousands. At roaring gold camps, with names like Red Dog, Hangtown, and Rich Bar, they built huts and pitched tents and set about the business of panning the waters of the American or San Joaquin rivers or scratching in nearby hills in hopes that fortune would favor them. By the late 1850s the California Gold Rush was over. Four decades later another major trek to new gold-fields began. This time Eldorado was in the North. Overnight, a remote region long scorned as a valueless icebox became the focus of feverish activity. Thousands of people, heedless of biting winds and subzero cold, streamed into Canada’s Yukon Territory, following the discovery of gold in Klondike. Many who missed the Klondike rush headed west, into Alaska where gold discoveries precipitated another rush. Indeed, some of the gold seekers were lucky, fabulously lucky. There were stories, some of them true, of men literally picking handfuls of gold rich pebbles off the ground. Others made fortunes by supplying gold seekers with necessities. For most, however, weeks of backbreaking labor yielded virtually nothing. 82 Notes and Commentary Ked Dog, Hangtown, Rich Bar—- экзотические названия, кото¬ рые золотоискатели давали своим поселениям Eldorado [.eldo'rcrdouj — исп.Эльдорадо, страна сказочных бо¬ гатств Geographical Names Turkey l'ta:ki] China ['t/ашэ] France [fra:ns] Australia [as'treilja] Yukon ['jirkon] Klondike ['klondaik] Турция Китай Франция Австралия Юкон {территория Клондайк ( территоприле¬ гающая к реке Юкон на Аляс¬ ке) Vocabulary Rush (Gold Rush, Gold Fever) fork to converge to pitch to pan (off) to scratch to scorn heedless of to precipitate fabulously pebble to yield virtually «золотая лихорадка» рукав (реки) стекаться, собираться устанавливать, ставить (палат¬ ки); разбивать (лагерь) промывать золотоносный пе¬ сок «прочесывать», искать презирать не обращая внимания на ускорять, торопить баснословно, невероятно галька, голыш приносить, давать (плоды, до¬ ход, урожай); «еден, возда¬ вать фактически 83
Assignment ft Discussion 1. In written form present a portrait of a gold-miner and the surroundings in which he worked and lived. Use the material of the text and other sources of information. 2. What does the word “Eldorado” mean to you? Can it denote not only material but also spiritual wealth? Ш Read the text, divide it into logical parts and give them titles. Industrialization In less than fifty years, between the Civil War and the First World War, the United States was transformed from a rural republic into an urban state. The nation’s economic progress, based on iron, steam and electric power, was speeded up by thousands of inventions like the telephone and typewriter, but the terrible working and living conditions, and the unfair monopolies that characterized the industrial revolution in Britain, were repeated on an even bigger scale. An important factor was continuous and unrestricted immi¬ gration from Europe. While many of the 5 million immigrants who had come over between 1850 and 1870 had been able to obtain cheap land in the west, this was no longer possible/for the 20 million people who poured into the country between 1870 and 1910 (mainly from southern and eastern Europe) and who were eager to work at almost any wages and under almost any conditions. The often better educated blacks, who had left the South in search of work, became the object of violent racial discrimination, particularly on the part of the newly arrived white immigrants, and were forced into ghettoes. Virtual monopolies were created in every sector through metgers and takeovers, and the great captains of industry like Rockefeller in oil and Carnegie in steel, with their enormous economic ahd political power, were the representative figures of the age. While such monopolies enabled the United States to invade 84 Europe with its manufactures and brought the benefits of large- scale production to almost every American home, legislative changes were needed to control the power of these trusts. President Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, began a social crusade in 1901 with the help of the progressive members in both Democratic and Republican parties. The activities of trusts were regulated and legislative reforms were introduced to improve general living and working conditions (such as an eight-hour working day). Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, added even more profound reforms. Protective tariffs were substantially reduced, a new anti-trust law was introduced and other important reforms were carried out in the field of agriculture and labor. Notes and Commentary Rockefeller, John Davison [.roka'feb 'dpn 'daevisan], Carnegie, Andrew ['ktcnagi: 'sendru:] — Рокфеллер Джон Дэвисон (1839— 1937), Карнеги Эндрю (1835—1919), крупные американские промышленники Teddy Roosevelt ['tedi'ru:z(a)velt] — Рузвельт Тедди (Теодор) (1858—1919), государственный деятель; 26-й президент США Woodrow Wilson ['wu:drou 'wilsn] — Вильсон Вудро (1856—1924), государственный деятель; 28-й президент США Vocabulary rural on a bigger scale i virtual monopolies merger takeover trust crusade profound protective tariff substantially сельский в большем масштабе естественные монополии слияние, объединение захват контроля (над предпри¬ ятием) трест, монополия «крестовый поход», кампа¬ ния глубокий покровительственный тариф значительно, основательно 85
Assignment "Js.' Comprehension 1. In the text find the words or phrases very closely related to the topic of industrialization. 2. Find the part of the text related to the decisive measures taken by the Federal Government. $ Discussion 1. Convey the gist of the text in the form of a thesis. 2. Compare the period of industrialization in the United States with the 1990s in Russia. Are there any similar features?.' • yfaMkhto Ш ш *Read the text. Make up a list of words that can be joined under the headline “Prohibition”. Prohibition: Crusade for Abstinence During its 13-year span, the 18th Amendment to the Consti¬ tution stood as a monument to the grim crusade for abstinence, which, from modest American beginnings in the mid-19th century, had slowly gathered force until in 1920 it became the law of the land. Touted by the Anti-Saloon League of America and other reform groups as a near panacea for just about everything that ailed the US — crime, .marital discord, poverty, unemployment, child labor — the Prohibition Amendment was passed by Congress in 1917. “They out it over on us while the boys were away at war”, its enemies said. The required 36 states had ratified the amendiftent by January 16, 1919, and it went into effect a year later. Besides, Congress in October 1919 passed a special Act, which set up the^machinery for enforcing national Prohibition. Under the terms of this Act, Federal agents were empowered to raid speakeasies, smash barrels of the then illegal liquor, and search for the bootleggers who trafficked it in. 86 Today the 1920s are often remembered with amused nostalgia as the heyday of peephole speakeasies, bathtub gin, and colourful bootleggers. On the darker side were the innumerable painful deaths, blindnesses inflicted by poisonous brews, the; rise of organized crime and gangsterism as the underworld took charge of providing the citizenry with illegal booze, and the inadequacy of the undermanned and frequently corrupt enforcement agencies. Federal agents were empowered to smash illegal liquor In 1929 President Herbert Hoover appointed a commission to investigate how well the Prohibition law was being enforced. Columnist Franklin P. Adams summed up the commission’s report in the following jingle: Prohibition is an awful flop, We like it. It can’t stop what it’s meant to stop. We like it. 87
It’s left a trail of graft and slime, It don’t prohibit worth a dime, It’s filled our land with vice and crime. Nevertheless, we’re for it. By the 1930s the people had had enough of this unenforceable law. The 21st Amendment, repealing the 18th, was speedily passed by Congress and ratified by the States in 1933. Alcoholic beverages returned legally to American life, subject only to the jurisdiction of individual States, all of which had abandoned statewide prohibition by 1966. The collapse of this attempt to impose abstinence on the American people demonstrated the difficulty of controlling moral conduct by law in the face of popular opposition. Notes and Commentary the Anti-Saloon League ['aenti sa'lum 'li:g] of America — одна из многочисленных организаций в США, выступавших за закры¬ тие питейных заведений — салунов, баров, таверн the Prohibition Amendment [,proui'bifn a'mendmant] — поправка о «сухом законе» speakeasy ['spi:'ki:zi:]— подпольный магазин по продаже спирт¬ ных напитков или подпольное питейное заведение во время «сухого закона» Assignment Discussion 1. From the text select the statements which best express its main idea. Give your reasons. 2. Make up a plan of the text. Discuss its points with your fellow-students. 3. How do you understand the poem? 4. Render Franklin P. Adams’ verse into an ordinary prose report of the Presidential Commission. Present it in written form. 88 Ш Read the text. The Great Depression and the New Deal The 1920s were a decade of conservatism and insecurely founded prosperity, in which tariffs were brought to their highest ever levels and taxes were drastically reduced. This remarkably rise in living Standards, which caused the decade to be called the Roaring Twenties, ended suddenly in October 1929 with the Wall Street crash — the result of a long period of over-production by the nation’s factories and farms, and speculative mania among the middle and wealthy Classes. This crash marked the beginning of the worst depression in American history, commonly referred to as the Great Depression. The period was full of contrasts. There was widespread fear following the Russian Revolution that communists would overthrow the government (the Red Scare), which led to the persecution of all left-wing groups. There was briefly mass support (four million members in 1925) for the Ku Klux Klan, which, in addition to blacks, now attacked Catholics, Jews and all those not born in America. Besides, restrictions were imposed on immigration, not only with regard to the number but also the countries of origin. Moreover, this was the period of prohibition by the Eighteenth Amendment (1919) to manufacture, transport or sell intoxicating liquors (when it ended in 1933, only eight states stayed “dry”). Franklin D. Roosevelt blamed the Depression on basic faults in the American economy and promised a “new deal” for the “forgotten man”. He won the 1932 presidential election with an unprecedented majority and set about remedying the worsening situation with his New Deal in 1933. This was the first administration to introduce government planning into the economy. Over the next two years millions of the unemployed were given jobs in public works projects, and emergency relief was provided for others in order to create greater internal demand for American products. Numerous measures were also taken to help the farmers, as a result of which their incomes more than doubled between 1932 and 1939. The Second New Deal (1935-1939) aimed at providing security against unemployment, illness and old age, to prevent the terrible hardships of the Depression being repeated. 89
Notes and Commentary the Red Scare ['red 'skea] — «красный психоз» the Ku Юих fflan (KKK) ['kju: 'klxks 'klsen] — Ку-Клукс-Клан; расистская организация, основной целью которой было уста¬ новление превосходства белого человека на всей территории США the New Deal — новая экономическая политика, новый поли¬ тический курс президента Франклина Делано Рузвельта по вы¬ ходу из кризиса («великой депрессии») Vocabulary insecurely ненадежно, непрочно drastically значительно, намного to refer to ссылаться persecution гонение, преследование restriction ограничение intoxicating алкогольный liquor напиток to set about начинать to remedy лечить; изменять к лучшему relief пособие по безработице Assignment "S. Comprehension 1. Define the topic sentence of Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2. 2. Make up questions about the main facts of the text. Answer these questions in detail. $ Discussion 1. What is your understanding of the Great Depression and the New Deal? 2. Speak about the persecution of all left-wing groups at that period. Use additional sources of information. 90 3. Enlarge upon the way the Roosevelt Administration differed from all previous administrations. Revision Assignment 11 Tell your friend everything you know about different stages in the historical development of the United States. Give a detailed analysis of one of the stages which you consider to be the most interesting and important. 2. The period of two wars — World War II and “the Cold War” — has deliberately been excluded from the book because one can find quite a lot of information about it in different sources. Use those documents and prepare a 10- minute report on any of the wars. 3 . Expand on the idea according to which “one of the secrets of the US Constitution’s longevity lies in the flexible ambiguity its authors built into it”. 4. Speak about the Constitution of the Russian Federation. 5. Compare the Bill of Rights with the Constitution of Russia. Are there any freedoms which are similar (or v6ry much alike) in both texts? Speak about them.
Unit IV THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT Ш Read the text. Separation of Powers The American Constitution is based on the doctrine of the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judiciary. The respective government institutions — the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court and other federal courts — were given limited and specific powers. A series of checks and balances, whereby each branch of government has certain authority over the others, were also included to make sure these powers were not abused. Government power was further limited by means of a dual system of government, in which the federal government was only given the powers and responsibilities to deal with problems facing the nation as a whole (foreign affairs, trade, control of thte army and navy, etc.). The remaining responsibilities and duties of government were reserved to the individual State governments. 92 The System of Checks Executive Branch President May check the Judicial Branch by Granting pardons to those who are convicted offederal crimes May check Congress by Vetoing bills passed by Congress Sending messages to Congress Appealing to the people Legislative Branch Congress May check the President by Impeaching the President Overriding a veto Refusing to approve presidential appointments Approving or failing to approve treaties May check the Judicial Branch by Impeaching judges Changing the number of justices on the Supreme Court Proposing an amendment to the Constitution if the Supreme Court finds a law unconstitutional The Judicial Branch Supreme Court May check the President by Interpreting laws and, treaties Ruling that laws and executive acts are unconstitutional May check Congress by Interpreting laws and treaties Declaring laws unconstitutional Vocabulary ' system of government система государственного уп¬ равления (the) executive исполнительная власть 93
(the) legislative (the) judiciary (the) Presidency checks and balances branch (of government) authority to abuse to grant pardons (to) to be convicted (of) to override a veto appointment justice to rule (that) to interpret законодательная власть судебная власть президентство, институт пре¬ зидентства принцип взаимозависимости и взаимоограничения законо¬ дательной, исполнительной и судебной власти ветвь власти, власть власть злоупотреблять (властью) помиловать быть осужденным, быть при¬ знанным виновным преодолеть вето назначение (на должность) судья постановлять толковать, объяснять Assignment ^ Comprehension 1. Say what topic, touched upon in the text, is missing here. a) The basis of the American Constitution. b) A dual system of government. 2. Draw lines between different branches of government to show their interdependence. Discussion Speak about the system of checks and balances and the way you understand it. ы Read the text and select information about: 1) the President and his role, duties and responsibilities; 94 2) the Cabinet; 3) the Vice President. The White House The President (any natural-born citizen over 34) is elected for a term of four years and can only be re-elected for out more term (according to the Twenty Second Amendment, adopted after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four successive terms). The President was originally intended to be little more than a ceremonial Head of State, as well as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, but the Federal Government’s increasing involvement in the Nation’s economic life and its prominent role in international affairs, where secrecy and speed are often essential, has increased the importance of the Presidency over Congress. The President now proposes a full legislative program to Congress, although the President, the Cabinet and staff are not, and cannot be, members of Congress. This means that the various bills must be introduced into the House of Representatives or Senate by their members. The President is consequently completely powerless when faced by an uncooperative Congress. Given also the difficulties in ensuring that the laws passed are effectively implemented by the federal bureaucracy, it has been said that the President’s only real power is the power to persuade. The President is assisted by the members of the Cabinet who administer 11 major departments: State, Defense, Justice, Treasury, Commerce, Labor, Health, Education and Welfare, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Agriculture and Transportation. Though they rank as the President’s chief advisers, in recent decades members of President’s administration have generally more influence on him. The role of the Vice President is not very well defined by the Constitution, which gives him or her no other task than presiding over the debates in the Senate, where he may only vote in the case of a tie. Yet the Vice President takes over from the President in case of death, resignation, or sickness, which has already happened on eight occasions. To try and attract able men to this otherwise unimportant, mainly ceremonial post, Vice Presidents have recently been given more important tasks, especially in foreign affairs. , 95
The residence of the Administration is the White House. Inaugurations of Presidents and Vice Presidents take place on January 20 of every year following a national election. These ceremonies are held on a platform erected over the great steps on the East front of the Capitol Building. The oath of office is administered by the Chief Justice of the United States. Notes and Commentary the Capitol (Building) — здание Капитолия в Вашингтоне, мес¬ то заседаний Конгресса США Vocabulary the White House to intend Commander-in-Chief involvement (the) Cabinet to ensure uncooperative to implement bureaucracy to persuade State (Department) Defense Justice Treasury Commerce Labor Health • Education and Welfare перен. правительство США, пре¬ зидентская власть; Белый дом (резиденция президента США) намереваться главнокомандующий вовлечение, занятие, занятость кабинет министров обеспечивать, гарантировать не склонный к сотрудничеству выполнять, внедрять бюрократия, государственные чиновники убеждать, склонять (к) Госдепартамент министерство обороны министерство юстиции министерство финансов министерство торговли министерство труда^ занятос¬ ти ■ \ ' . министерство здравоохранения министерство образования и социального обеспечения 96 Housing and Urban Development Interior Agriculture and Transportation Vice President to preside (over) tie to take (over from) resignation inauguration to erect (the) oath of office to administer (the) Chief Justice министерство жилищного стро¬ ительства и городского раз¬ вития министерство внутренних дел министерство сельского хозяй¬ ства и транспорта вице-президент председательствовать зд. равное количество голосов принимать (должность от), брать на себя (обязанности) отставка торжественное вступление в должность сооружать, воздвигать присяга при вступлении в дол¬ жность отправлять (обряды), управлять председатель Верховного суда США Assignment Ф Discussion В' Enlarge upon the phrase: “...the President’s real power is the { power to persuade”. Ш Look through the text and give a description of each component of the legislative. Make use of the active vocabulary. The Legislative Branch The symbol of government is the white marble dome of the Capitol which dominates the city of Washington, D. C. The building has grown with the country: although George Washington laid the cornerstone in 1793, the dome was not finished until 1863, and ?—1870 97
many changes have since been made. Home to both House and Senate, the Capitol was once hailed as “the center and heart of America”. Congress The legislative branch of national government, Congress, consists of two houses — the Senate and the House of Representatives, each with a different role, different powers arid a different electoral procedure. The two branches of Congress are responsible for enacting the nation’s laws. Though these days most major bills originate in the White House, all must be approved, disapproved, or amended by both Houses, and no measure becomes law until it has been passed by a majority in each House. The President may then sign or veto the bill, but a two-thirds vote in each House can override a veto. Although Congress can legislate, its most important task has become that of scrutinizing the policies and actions of the executive, and upholding the interests of States and districts. Indeed, since Representatives and Senators depend on the voters in their various States or constituencies for re-election, they tend to satisfy the particular interests of constituents and special groups rather than tackle the problems of the nation as a whole. Congress also controls the nation’s finances and its permanent specialist staff helps Congress to consider and change the budget presented each year by the President. The House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the dynamic institution of the federal government. The States are represented on a population basis and are divided into congressional districts or constituencies of roughly equal size (around 520,000 people). There are currently 435 members, who are elected every two years. All States must by law adopt the system of single-member constituencies with a simple majority vote. Vacancies arising from death, resignation, etc., are filled by by-elections. The chairmen of the House of Representatives, the Speaker, is elected by the House and has important responsibilities, giving him considerable influence over the President. Moreover, should the President and Vice President die before the end of their terms, it is the Speaker who becomes President. 98 The Senate The Senate is the conservative counterweight to the more populist House of Representatives. Each State has two senators who, since 1913 (the Seventeenth Amendment) have been chosen directly by the electorate in the way decided by the state legislature in each state. Senators are elected every six years, but the elections are Staggered so that one-third of the Senate is elected every twb years. A vacancy caused by death or resignation is filled until the next congressional elections by the nomination of the State Governor. There are currently 100 senators. The Senate has the special privilege of unlimited debate to safeguard the rights of minorities, but this can enable a small group of Senators to prevent the passage of a bill (filibustering). Vocabulary marble dome to lay the cornerstone to hail (the) House of Representatives electoral procedure to enact to pass by a majority to vote to legislate to scrutinize to uphold (the interests) constituency re-election to tackle (a problem) congressional district мраморный купол заложить первый камень (осно¬ вание) провозглашать палата представителей ( палата Конгресса США) система (процедура) выборов принимать, вводить в действие принимать большинством голо¬ сов голосовать заниматься законотворчеством, издавать законы тщательно изучать, рассматри¬ вать, исследовать поддерживать (интересы) избирательный округ, избира¬ тели перевыборы решать (проблему) избирательный участок по вы¬ борам в Конгресс 99
roughly currently single-member with a simple majority vote by-elections counterweight (the) electorate legislature to stagger nomination to safeguard minority to filibuster приблизительно в настоящее время одномандатный простым большинством голо¬ сов промежуточные выборы противовес электорат, избиратели законодательный орган, зако¬ нодательная власть распределять, располагать (в определенном порядке) назначение (на должность), вы¬ ставление (кандидата на вы¬ борах) защищать, охранять (национальное) меньшинство устраивать обструкцию в зако¬ нодательном органе, затяги¬ вать обсуждение законопро¬ екта Ш Read the text. Draw a chart showing the hierarchy of the US Federal Judiciary system and the interdependence of all types of courts mentioned in the text. Characterize each kind of court and give a detailed description of its functions. Federal Judiciary The Supreme Court stands at the apex of the Nation’s Federal Judiciary system and hears cases on appeal from lower courts — the Federal District Courts and the US Courts of Appeals. There are eight Associate Justices and the Chief Justice in the Supreme Court, and Congress may alter this number. 'All these High Court judges are nominated for fife by the President after being approved by the Senate. Though the primary function of the Supreme Court is to decide matters of law, rather than fact, the High Court’s power to declare 100 acts of the President, Congress, State legislatures, and city councils unconstitutional can drastically alter the nation’s practices, as when the Supreme Court branded school segregation unconstitutional in 1954. So, although not explicitly given the power to decide whether the actions of the branches of government violate the Constitution, this is the important role that the Supreme Court has developed in the legal system. * In the federal system there are 90 District Courts (presided over by a district judge), which hear criminal cases involving breaches of federal law and civil cases on federal matters (disputes between States, non-payment of federal taxes, etc.). Appeals can be made to the United States Court of Appeals, where an appeal is heard by three judges, although in very important cases all nine appeal judges sit together. In the vast majority of cases this court’s decision is final and sets a precedent for future cases, although this precedent is not always binding on the Supreme Court. Vocabulary apex case on appeal Federal District Court Court of Appeal Associate Justice city council to brand explicitly to violate legal District Court criminal case civil case tax вершина, верхушка апелляция, дело по обжалова¬ нию (судебного решения или приговора) первая инстанция Федерально¬ го суда по гражданским де¬ лам апелляционный суд (по граж¬ данским делам) судья (член Верховного суда) муниципалитет заклеймить открыто, ясно, точно нарушать юридический окружной суд уголовное дело гражданское дело налог 101
to set a precedent binding создать прецедент обязывающий, обязательный щ Look through the following extracts and: 1) select information which is new to you; 2) draw a parallel between federal and local administration. Local Administration ■' V 1 / % State Government There is very little in the Constitution about State government — the Tenth Amendment (1791) merely says that those powers not specially delegated to the federal government are reserved for States. While the fifty State constitutions differ widely, they all include the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances, and share the underlying American belief that government should be kept to a minimum. Each State has a Governor, a Legislature and a State Judiciary. This means that each State parallels the governmental forms of the Federal system. The Governor is elected directly in a state-wide election. All the states except Nebraska have bicameral legislatures, normally called the Senate and House of Representatives. The judicial systems of the States vary greatly in structure and procedures. Generally speaking, however, at the lowest level there are Courts, which deal with the majority of civil and criminal cases. Appeals go to the District Court of Appeals, while the State Supreme Court has the same role as the United States Supreme Court in the federal system. All States have the right to levy taxes; and many services — such as education, health, welfare, and police — are supported either entirely or in large measure by State, rather than Federal, funds. The sovereignty of State governments has, however, been steadily eroded. Functions such as education, unemployment relief, public works, and the like — once considered entirely within State jurisdiction — are now matters of Federal concern as well. County and City Governments These governments are solely the creations of the States, and 102 the powers of such jurisdictions vary greatly from one State to the next. In Connecticut, for example, there are no county governments, while next door in New York, some counties, such as Nassau, have significant powers of taxation. The same is true for city governments, all of which derive their powers from the States. In some States the power of city governments to tax, to educate, and to operate broad-scale social services is great, while in other States the cities are virtually impotent in many areas. But, as befits American system, the balance can always be shifted. Nassau ['naeso:J Geographical Names г. Нассау Vocabulary State government underlying governor state-wide election bicameral to levy (taxes) entirely sovereignty steadily to erode unemployment relief concern county to derive to operate social services impotent to befit to shift система управления в штатах, правительство штата лежащий в основе, основной губернатор выборы, которые проводятся во всем nrrafe состоящий из двух палат взимать (налоги) всецело, совершенно суверенитет, независимость постоянно нарушать; перен. подрывать пособие по безработице забота округ получать осуществлять, управлять меры по социальному обеспе¬ чению бессильный годиться, подходить, позволять сдвигать(ся), перемещать(ся) 103
Revision Assignment 1. Summarize everything you have learned about the system of government in the USA (in written form). 2. Consult special sources of information to find out: 1) if the Russian Constitution is based on the doctrine of the separation of powers (and if it is, speak in detail about the executive, legislative and judiciary); 2) whether or not there is any system of checks and balances in Russian government. 3. List some similarities and differences between the US system of government and that of this country. Unit V ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES Ш Read the text. Presidential Election Presidential candidates are selected by their respective party’s national conventions in the summer of each election year. The delegates attending that convention are associated with a particular candidate and are normally chosen either at State conventions of party members (the caucus system) or at State primary elections held in the months preceding presidential elections. In a closed primary only registered party members can vote, while in an open primary any voter can participate (obviously voting in only one party’s primary election). The President is elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of a leap year and takes office at noon on January 20. The President is not elected directly, but by an Electoral College. The electors who actually choose the President are now 105
completely pledged in advance to one person and their names have almost entirely disappeared from the ballot papers to be replaced by the names of the candidates themselves. The candidates who win the most votes within a State receive all its Electoral College votes (equal to the number of senators and representatives from that State), no matter how small the majority. Each US State is free to determine its own electoral laws, subject to certain limitations imposed by the Constitution, national legislation and the Supreme Court. This has enabled many states, particularly in the South, to prevent blacks and different minorities from voting by such means as poll taxes and literacy tests. After the 1965 Voting Act (giving federal government officials the job of registering voters in States where literacy tests are used) and the abolition of poll taxes (24th Amendment), black voters are now proportionally only 10 % fewer than white voters, Notes and Commentary the caucus system — система проведения секретных совещаний партийных лидеров в целях достижения договоренности о кан¬ дидатах, заключения компромиссов и т. д. primary (elections) — предварительные выборы, голосование (сторонников какой-либо партии) для выставления кандидат тов на выборах closed primary — закрытые предварительные выборы с провер¬ кой права голосующих на участие в них open primary — открытые предварительные выборы Electoral College —, коллегия выборщиков на президентских вы¬ борах Vocabulary convention съезд партии leap year високосный год jjr to take office приступать к исполнению обя¬ занностей elector зд. избиратель, член коллегии выборщиков 106 to be pledged (to) ballot paper to be subject (to) to impose poll tax literacy test . Voting Act abolition выступать за, быть привержен¬ цем избирательный бюллетень подчиненный, подвластный, подлежащий налагать, предписывать, навя¬ зывать V* подушный налог образовательный ценз закон о выборах отмена, упразднение Assignment Is. Comprehension 1. Using the information from the text, say whether the following statements are true or not. 1) The President in the United States is elected directly. ! 2) Those who attend their party’s national convention are thought to support a particular person. 3) The President is elected every 5 years. 4) Electoral laws are common to all the 50 States. 5) There are almost as many black voters nowadays as white voters. 2. Make up questions about the text and answer them. ^ Discussion 1. Speak about Presidential elections in the US. Make use both of the text and the information given in the Notes and Commentary. 2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the US elec¬ toral system. Ш Scan the following text. Divide it into logically connected parts and give them titles. Tell your friend everything you know about the political parties in the USA. 107
Political Parties Political parties or “factions” were not mentioned in the original Constitution. Differences over the role of the federal government led to the first national parties — the Federalists and the Republicans. Since then two major parties have dominated political life. The Democratic Party has existed in one form or another since the beginning of the 1800s and has been opposed in successive eras by the Federalist, Whig and Republican parties. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 and was originally the anti-slavery party. There is little ideological difference between the Democratic and Republican parties, as both parties defend the free-enterprise capitalist system, accepted by almost all Americans as the basis of American society. The Democrats, unlike the Republicans, fend to favor some Government intervention, but both parties have liberal and conservative wings, and in Congress the liberal and conservative wings of the two parties often side with each other against the other wing. It is broadly possible to say that poor people vote for the Democrats and wealthy people for the Republicans. American politics are the politics of pragmatism and a party will always alter its platform to try and catch the mood of the nation, the middle ground. On the same day as the electors vote for the President, they also vote for Senators, members of the House of Representatives, State governors and a host of minor officials. It was once common for people to vote the straight ticket, whereby a single cross against the party label on the ballot paper means a vote for every one of the party’s candidates from the President downwards, but this is now rare. This explains why there have been a succession of Republican Presidents and Democrat majorities in Congress. Revision Assignment 1. Say, what makes Presidential elections in the US similar to or different from Presidential elections in Russia. 2. Compare the political parties in the US with those.Jn this country. Begin with making up a list of differences and similarities. Use the list as a prompt when speakiitg. \ Unit VI OUTSTANDING PRESIDENTS ffl Read the text. The American Presidency More than two hundred years have passed since Geoige Washington left his home at Mount Vernon, Viiginia, to travel to New York City to be sworn in as President of the United States. The ceremony took place April 30,1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall, with the oath administered by Robert Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York. According to a contemporary news report, the event was “animated and moving beyond description”, with throngs of spectators filling the streets below, as well as the windows and rooftops of neighbouring buildings. Washington took the oath, said observers, with “devout fervency”, after which Chancellor Livingston turned toward the assembled crowd and called out: “Long live George Washington, President of the United States!” 109
It was one of those electric moments in history when an idea is transformed into reality. Until that ceremony, the American Presidency had been only a concept developed by the new Nation’s Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention that'was held in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. It remained to George Washington to define the role of the Chief Executive of the new Nation, not simply in legal but also in symbolic terms. From the modern perspective, this task might not seem to be so difficult. Article II of the Constitution spelled out the President’s powers and responsibilities; but beyond that, the concept of the Presidency was so vague that, even as Washington took the oath of office, a debate raged as to what he ought to be called. There were traditionalists in Congress who thought the President should be addressed as “His Elective Majesty”. Others argued in favor of “His Elective Highness”. Yet others felt that the only proper way to refer to the Chief Executive was as “His Highness, the President of the United States and Protector of the Rights of the Same”. Fortunately, these suggestions were all rejected and it was decided that Washington should be called simply “President of the United States”. It was a straightforward manner of address that met President Washington’s approval, though in other areas of protocol he felt it important to stress the unique nature of his office. In 1789 the United States was not long removed from operating under the Articles of Confederation — a document that reflected the strongly held view that the sovereignty of States ought not to be diminished by a national government. Thus, when President Washington visited Massachusetts, the Governor, John Hancock, felt it appropriate to invite the President to call on him. Washington replied in a formal note: “The President of the United States presents his best respects to the Governor, and has the honor to inform him that he shall be at home till 2 o’clock”. Looking back, this seems to be a minor matter of protocol. Yet Washington was establishing an important principle — that the Presidency was the single office in the land embodying the hopes and aspirations not simply of some but of citizens of the United States. There were many governors, but there was only one President. In such ways — in matters of substance as well as of protocol — 110 George Washington helped to define the office of President of the United States. It was a task that has been taken on by each of his successors, in turn. Every man taking the oath, Washington took in New York more than 200 years ago, has understood, as historian Bruce Catton wrote, that “he was acting for something much bigger” than personal ambition. He was acting for the Presidency^ Notes and Commentary Mount Vernon ['maunt 'vainan] — Маунт Вернон, название поме¬ стья Джорджа Вашингтона, представлявшее собой живописное место на берегу реки Потомак Chancellor — председатель «суда справедливости», «канцлерского суда» в некоторых штатах США Vocabulary to be sworn in moving throng to take the oath (of office) devout fervency vague Majesty Highness Protector of the Rights of the Same straightforward to diminish appropriate to call (on) office to embody быть приведенным к присяге вызывающий волнение, трога¬ тельный толпа давать присягу при вступлении в должность благоговейный, искренний горячность, пыл неопределенный, смутный, не¬ ясный величество (титул) высочество (титул) зд. защитник прав США честный, прямой, открытый уменьшать, унижать подходящий, соответствующий заходить (к кому-либо) зд. государственный пост воплощать, олицетворять, за¬ ключать в себе 111
substance in turn суть, сущность, содержание по очереди Assignment Ж Comprehension Answer the following questions. . 1) When did George Washington take the oath of office? 2) How was the ceremony described in contemporary news¬ papers? 3) Why was that event called an “electric” moment in history? 4) What was the Chief Executive of the new Nation called? 5) What principle was Washington the first to establish? 6) How did Washington help to define the office of President when visiting the States? fk Discussion 1. Why, do you think, George Washington was acting for the Presidency? Say, whether you consider it important or not. Give your reasons. 2. Explain the way you understand the notion of “the American Presidency”. ffl Read the text. George Washington: First President (1789-1797) On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took hi»'path of office as the first President of the United States. “As the first of every thing in our situation will serve to establish a precedent’”, he wrote in one of the letters, “it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles”. 112 Bom in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th- century Virginia gentleman. He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion. At the age of 16 he began his military career. In 1755 he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his coat and two horses were shot from under him. From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon. Married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, he devoted himself to a busy and happy life. But like his fellow planters, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions. When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander-in-Chief of the Continental [Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years. He realized early that the best strategy was to harass the British. |;He reported to Congress, “We should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn”. Ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. Finally in 1781, with the aid of French allies, he forced the surrender of the British troops at Yorktown. L Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President. He did not infringe upon the policy-making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became predominantly a Presidential concern. At the time of a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the 113 8--Ц1870
Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British. Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger. George Washington set a pattern for all Presidents to follow To his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances. Washington enjoyed less than three years of retirement at Mount Vernon, for he died of a throat infection on December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him. 114 George Washington’s integrity set a pattern for all other Presidents to follow. Notes and Commentary Federal Hall - здание федерального собрания в Нькг-Йорке на Уолл-стрит Wall Street — Уолл-стрит, улица в центре Нью-Йорка, на ко¬ торой располагаются основные финансовые учреждения США; в переносном смысле употребляется для обозначения власти денег и большого бизнеса Vocabulary intertwined зд. взаимосвязанный, взаимо¬ зависимый to rip пробивать, вонзаться, проникать to hamper мешать, затруднять, тормозить acute сильный, острый, резкий resistance сопротивление to embark (upon) вступать grueling изнурительный to put to the risque (risk) подвергать риску to compel вынуждать ensuing следующие друг за другом to fall back зд. отступать aid помощь, помощник ally союзник surrender сдача, капитуляция to infringe (upon) вмешиваться, нарушать Secretary of the Treasury министр финансов Farewell Address прощальная речь президента по истечении срока полномочий to urge убеждать, настаивать to forswear ^ отрекаться alliance союз to mourn горевать, оплакивать integrity честность, неподкупность 115 8*
Assignment Та. Comprehension In the text, find facts to prove that: 1) George Washington was interested both in military • arts and politics. 2) he did not want to be involved in any military operation and was for resolving all the problems by peaceful means. 3) his dream was a united Nation. 4) he was admired by almost all his people. $ Discussion 1. Compare this text with the previous one. Say what information in the second text is new and what information is simply an enlargement of the ideas of the previous text. 2. How can you account for Washington’s disappointment at the fact that political parties were beginning to develop by the end of his term? 3. Why do you think Washington warned against long-term alliances? Is there any danger in such alliances? Ш Look through the text. List the turning points of Thomas Jefferson’s life. Make use of the material of Unit III. Thomas Jefferson: Third President (1801-1809) In 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a private letter, “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man”. These words, now inscribed in the memorial to Jefferson in Washington, D. С., might be called the heart of his political and social thinking. His opposition to,tyranny in all its forms was repeatedly voiced. In the Declaration of Independence it appears in his famous phrase “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. 116 This powerful advocate of liberty was bom in 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia, inheriting from his father, a planter, some 5000 acres of land, and from his mother, a high social standing. He studied at the College of William and Mary, then read law. In 1772 he married Martha Wayles Skelton, a widow, and took her fo live in his partly constructed mountain-top home, Mount Vernon. Freckled and sandy-haired, rather tall and awkward, Jefferson was eloquent as a correspondent, but he was no public speaker. He used to contribute his pen rather than his voice to the patriot cause. As the “silent member” of the Continental Congress, Jefferson was chosen by his colleagues to draft the Declaration of Independence. At the age of 33, he was younger than many of his fellow delegates, but they readily put their trust in his ability to draft this important document, which expressed their resolve to form a new Nation. In years following, Jefferson labored to make the words of the Declaration a reality in Virginia. Most notably, he wrote a bill establishing religious freedom, enacted in 1786. Jefferson was Secretary of State in President Washington’s ; Cabinet, but his sympathy for the French Revolution led him into ,• conflict with Alexander Hamilton. So, in 1793 he resigned. Sharp political conflict in the country developed, and two ■separate parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, began to form. Jefferson gradually assumed leadership of the Republicans, who sympathized with the revolutionary cause in I France. Attacking Federalist policies, he opposed a strong centralized | Government and championed the rights of States. In 1796 Jefferson became Vice President and in 1801 he assumed I the Presidency. By that time the crisis in France had passed. Jefferson I slashed Army and Navy expenditures, cut the budget, eliminated | the tax on whisky so unpopular in the West, yet reduced the national | debt by a third. He also sent a naval squadron to Fight the pirates harassing American commerce in the Mediterranean. Further, I although the Constitution made no provision for the acquisition of | new land, Jefferson suppressed his qualms over constitutionality when he had the opportunity to acquire the immense Louisiana Territory I from Napoleon in 1803. During Jefferson’s second term, he was increasingly preoccupied I with keeping the Nation from involvement in the Napoleonic wars, I though both England and France interfered with the neutral rights I of American merchant men. 117
Jefferson retired to Monticello to ponder such projects as his grand designs for the University of Virginia. A French nobleman observed that he had placed his house and his mind “on an elevated situation, from which he might contemplate the universe”. Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. Notes and Commentary Albemarle County ['aelba'mcd 'kaunti] — округ Албемарл в штате Виргиния College of William and Mary — в настоящее время государствен¬ ный Университет Уильяма и Мэри в Уильямсбурге (штат Вир¬ гиния); основан в 1693 году Monticello [,monti'tfelou] — дом Джефферсона в Виргинии, где он с успехом применил свои изобретения. Он, в частности, заменил деревянные части плуга на железные; сконструировал вращающийся стул, лифт для подачи блюд е одного этажа на другой и т. д. Dll Read the text. Abraham Lincoln: Sixteenth President (1861-1865) Abraham Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you... You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to, ‘preserve, protect, and defend’ it”. Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called од the States for 75000 volunteers. Four more slave States joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union. The Civil War had began. Abhorring war, Abraham Lincoln accepted it as the only means to save the Nation. 118 Abraham Lincoln hated war but accepted it as the only means to save the nation The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. Five months before receiving his party’s nomination for President, he sketched his life: “I was born on February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families — second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks ... My father ... removed from Kentucky to ... Indiana, in my eighth year. ... It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. ... Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher ... but that was all”. Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, 119
spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. His law partner said of him, “His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest”. He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. / In 1858 Lincoln ran for Senator. He lost the election, but in debating with his rival he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860. As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy. Lincoln never let the world forget that the Civil War involved an even larger issue. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "... we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion. The spirit that guided him was clearly that of his Second Inaugural Address, now inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. С.: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds. ...” On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln’s death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died. Notes and Commentary Fort Sumter — Форт Самтер, одна из двух застав на территории Конфедерации, объявивших себя сторонниками федералистов; 120 командовал заставой майор Роберт Андерсон, который из-за отсутствия боеприпасов вынужден был капитулировать Black Hawk War — война с одним из отрядов индейцев под предводительством вождя по имени Черный Ястреб (Black Hawk), который впоследствии умер в резервации the Lincoln Memorial — мемориальный комплекс на реке Пото¬ мак в г. Вашингтоне, посвященный Аврааму Линкольну John Wilkes Booth ['бзэп 'wilks Ъи:0] — Бут Джон Уилкс (1838 1865), актер, смертельно ранивший Линкольна во время теат¬ рального представления Geographical Names Kentucky [ken'uki] Кентукки Hardin County ['ha:dm 'kauntij округ Хардин Illinois [/ili'noi] Иллинойс Vocabulary Inaugural Address momentous to assail solemn to abhor frontiersmen nomination to come of age to cipher to split rails to ride the circuit of courts engine maturity to run (for) речь президента США при вступ¬ лении в должность важный нападать (первым) торжественный питать отвращение ист. переселенцы, колонис¬ ты, заселявшие запад США выдвижение кандидата на пост достичь совершеннолетия считать; производить математи¬ ческие действия заготавливать дощечки (для ог¬ рады) руководить выездной сессией суда двигатель зрелый возраст баллотироваться на пост 121
rival to rally someone to the Union cause to dedicate in vain to perish to herald to lay down one’s arms to inscribe malice to strive (on) to bind (up) to assassinate magnanimity соперник привлечь на сторону федерали¬ стов зд. открывать напрасно, тщетно погибать, умирать возвещать, предвещать сложить оружие начертать злоба, преступное намерение добиваться, стараться перевязывать, забинтовывать убивать великодушие Assignment "Js, Comprehension Write an outline of the text. fk Discussion 1. Say how you understand Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address. 2. Can you apply the Gettysburg Address to any nation in the world? Yes or no, give a detailed explanation of your point of view. 3. Comment on the Second Inaugural Address. Say if it differs from the First one. Ш *Scan the text. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Thirty-Second President (1933-1945) Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt helped the American people to regain 122 faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous . action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, “the only thing we ft have to fear is fear itself’. Born in 1882 at Hyde Park, New York — now a national ■ historic site — he attended Harvard University and Columbia Law ■. School. On St. Patrick’s Day, 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt. Following the example of his fifth cousin, President Theodore f Roosevelt, whom he greatly admired, Franklin D. Roosevelt entered 1 public service through politics, but as a Democrat. He won election I. to the New York Senate in 1910, and he was the Democratic nominee ■ for Vice President in 1920. In the summer of 1921, when he was 39, disaster hit — he ■ was stricken with poliomyelitis. Demonstrating indomitable courage, E he fought to regain the use of his legs, particularly through swimming. ■ At the 1924 Democratic Convention he dramatically appeared on ft crutches. In 1928 Roosevelt became Governor of New York. He was elected President in November 1932, to the first of I four terms. By March there were 13 million unemployed, and almost I every bank was closed. In his first “hundred days”, he proposed, and ft Congress enacted, a sweeping program to bring recovery to business I and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of I losing farms and homes, and reform, especially through the ■ establishment of the Tennessee Valley- Authority. By 1935 the Nation had achieved some measure of recovery, I but businessmen and bankers were turning more and more against I Roosevelt’s New Deal program. They feared his experiments, were I, appalled because he had taken the Nation off the gold standard and ft allowed deficits in the budget, and disliked the concessions to labor, ft Roosevelt responded with a new program of reform: Social Security, I heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public К utilities, and an enormous work relief program for the unemployed. In 1936 he was re-elected by a top-heavy margin. Feeling he 1: was armed with a popular mandate, he sought legislation to enlarge i the Supreme Court, which had been invalidating key New Deal | measures. Roosevelt lost the Supreme Court battle, but a revolution I'in constitutional law took place. Thereafter the Government could | legally regulate the economy. Roosevelt had pledged the United States to the “good neighbour” I policy. He also sought through neutrality legislation to keep the I United States out of the war in Europe. But when the Japanese 123
attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt directed organization of the Nation’s manpower and resources for global war. Feeling that the future peace of the world would depend upon relations between the United States and Russia, he devoted much thought to the planning of a United Nations, in which, he hoped, international difficulties could be settled. As the war drew to a close, Roosevelt’s health deteriorated, and on April 12, 1945, while at Warm Springs, Georgia, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Notes and Commentary the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) — во время Великой Де¬ прессии план реорганизации сельского хозяйства посредством строительства гидросооружений, заводов по производству удоб¬ рений и т. п. Assignment $ Discussion 1. From the text select information which was new to you. 2. Say what information (either new or old) was of special interest to you. Why? 3. Using‘both the text and any other source of information, expand on the biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Ш Before reading the text, look at the title and guess what kind of information you expect to find in it. Then read the text and say if you were a success in making a prognosis. John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Thirty-Fifth President »,, (1961-1963) On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, John F. Kennedy was killed by an assassin’s 124 bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President; he was the youngest to die. IV’v- V. John F. Kennedy: the youngest man elected President, the youngest to die in office Of Irish descent, he was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917. Graduating from Harvard in 1940, he entered the Navy. In 1940, when his PT boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy, despite grave injuries, led the survivors through perilous waters to safety. Back from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, advancing in 1953 to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953. In 1955, while recuperating from a back operation, he wrote “Profiles in Courage”, which won the Pulitzer Prize in history. In 1961 John F. Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President. His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: 125
“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country”. As President, he set out to redeem his campaign pledge to get America moving again. His economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before his death, he laid plans for a massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty. Responding to ever more urgent demands, he took vigorous action in the cause of equal rights, calling for new civil rights legislation. He wished America to resume its old mission as the first nation dedicated to the revolution of human rights. His vision of America extended to the quality of the national culture and the central role of the arts in a vital society. Kennedy did a lot to solve the Cuban crisis during which the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war. He realized that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and slowing the arms race. The months after the Cuban crisis showed significant progress toward the goal of “a world of law and free choice, banishing the world of war”. This progress led to the test ban treaty of 1963. John F. Kennedy’s administration thus saw the beginning of new hope for both the equal rights of Americans and the peace of the world. Assignment 2s, Comprehension 1. Make up a list of topical vocabulary. 2. Ask 6 questions about the text and answer them. 3. Find the sentence or the phrase which could be the epigraph to the text. Discussion 1. Which of the actions of the Kennedy Administration do you consider to be very important and why? 2. Say whether, in your opinion, John F. Kennedy was an unusual President or just an ordinary one. 126 Revision Assignment 1. Comment on the famous Jefferson’s phrase, which opens the Constitution, “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. 2. Does the notion of “acting for the Presidency’^ exist in Russia? And if it does, how does it manifest itself? 3. Do you think that any President should place his mind “on an elevated situation, from which he might contemplate the universe”? 4. Using your background knowledge and different sources, speak about any politician whom you consider to be an outstanding one.
Unit VII RELIGION Ш Read the text. Churches In matters of religion the United States has long been one of the most pluralistic of nations. The lack of a national religion resulted in religious freedom being explicitly recognized in the Bill if Rights attached to the original Constitution. One of the reasons for which many of the first immigrants left their own countries was to escape religious persecution. From earliest times religion has offered strength and solace to Americans of many faiths. It has also been a factor in shaping the Nation’s history. Centuries ago the global rivalry between Catholicism and Protestantism helped to spur exploration and colonization of the New World. Britain’s chronic need for new settlers to people her empire encouraged her to allow her American Colonies a wide measure of religious freedom. That policy, in turn, established America as a likely sanctuary for dissenters from many lands. These immigrants brought with them their own particular brands of different religions. America became a safer haven for believers and non-believers alike when the Constitution and the Bill of Rights made freedom of conscience a matter of right rather than privilege for the first time in history. * The variety of religions increased at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries with the massive influx of immigrants from central and southern Europe. Succeeding decades saw old churches altered and many influential new ones born. And most of these churches involved themselves in causes ranging from temperance and foreign missions to slavery. Overwhelmingly Protestant at first, America became increasingly pluralistic after the Civil War as successive waves of immigration brought more believers of the Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Eastern Orthodox persuasions. The majority of the population, however, belong to one of the 1,000 of Protestant Churches. Nearly a quarter of the present population are Catholic and there are also about 6 million Jews. With new religious concepts proliferating, a common phe¬ nomenon in the United States has become the rise of new Churches or sects, such as the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christian Scientists. By the end of the 20th century there were more than 250 established cults, sects, and denominations. To what can this extraordinary richness be attributed? Some faiths — like Anglicanism and Catholicism — outwardly changed relatively little for many years. Others — like Quakerism — were greatly altered by life in the New World. Still others arrived with the 19th century immigrant tide or were “made in America”. In America there used to be many preachers traveling around the nation with their bibles. There are very few of them now, as most preachers make use of television to preach their message. Notes and Commentary Quakerism ['kweikarizm] — квакерство; «квакеры» (их еще назы¬ вали «обществом друзей») представляли собой религиозную секту, основанную Джорджем Фоксом в 1648—50 годах на прин¬ ципах пацифизма 129 В—1870
Vocabulary faith Catholicism Protestantism to spur sanctuary dissenter haven freedom of conscience influx temperance Jewish Orthodox persuasion to proliferate Mormons Jehovah’s Witnesses Christian Scientists denomination Anglicanism религия католицизм протестантизм, протестант¬ ство ускорять, подстегивать убежище, прибежище сектант убежище свобода совести наплыв воздержание от спиртных на¬ питков иудейский, еврейский православный убеждение расти, распространяться мормоны свидетели Иеговы последователи этического уче¬ ния и религиозной органи¬ зации «христианская наука» вероисповедание англиканизм Assignment "25. Comprehension 1. In the text find sentences or paragraphs to prove that: 1) America has always been a shelter for many people oppressed in their native countries for their religious beliefs; 2) the USA is not a country whose population only belongs to one Church. 2. Ask several questions about the main facts of the text. 3. Compress the text to 6-7 sentences. Write down the summary. 130 $ Discussion 1. - Explain why, in your opinion, there are so many Churches and sects in the US now. 2. Speak about the role of religion in the United States. Use your background knowledge. Ш Look through the text and: 1) select information which is new to you; 2) describe the evolution of the Black Church; 3) comment on the phrase: “...the blacks are still too often ‘last hired and first fired’”. The Black Church Religion has had a special place in the history of black America. Colonial slaves were often baptized, but little effort was made at true conversion until the 1730s and 1740s. Separate black churches were forbidden on most plantations for fear they would foment rebellion. Slaves usually sat apart in their owners’ churches, where, as one ex-slave recalled, they were /told by the priest to do “what your master tells you to do”. But plantation slaves often met to worship in secret, led by forceful slave preachers. Some of them gave hope to their listeners, assuring them that God would end slavery. Not all of them spoke about patience, however. Many black preachers were at the head of insurrections. As the first American social body controlled by blacks, the . church was usually the most important Negro institution in the . community: it promoted education, offered aid to the poor, and provided hope for the future and sanctuary from white hostility. Venerated by their flocks, black ministers were community leaders. They acted as spiritual shepherds, mediated disputes, and ^served as spokesmen in dealing with whites. Such modem black politicians and civil rights leaders as Dr. Martin Luther King, Andrew Young and many others were solidly rooted in that tradition. The 20th century migration of the Negro poof from the rural : South to Northern Cities spawned new forms of black religion. By 1970 there were well over 35 all-black denominations, claiming 131
nearly 10 million adherents, plus many smaller, less formally organized sects. The black churches have reflected the needs of their people. In an America in which blacks are still all too often “last hired and first fired”, religion remains a strong force for strength and unity. Revision Assignment Give a short lecture on the Russian Orthodox Church. Touch upon its historical role at different stages of the development of the Russian State. Unit VIII THE MEDIA Ш Read the text. The Press Although there are two American news services operating worldwide — the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) — the tremendous size of the nation, the variety of time zones, and the general preoccupation with mainly local issues make it difficult for national daily newspapers to exist. “The New York Times”, with a circulation of 900,000, is perhaps the most influential daily newspaper, followed by “The Washington Post” and “The Los Angeles Times”. “The Christian Science Monitor” has become known for its in-depth analysis of major news developments. An attempt has been made to introduce the “popular” “US Today” on a nationwide basis; and “The Wall Street Journal”, broadened from a strictly financial paper to one with general news interest, comes close to being a national newspaper. 133
All large American cities have at least one newspaper and, although mainly concerned with local affairs, they are also read in other States. Periodicals exist for virtually every type of interest, some with just a tiny circulation, others like “The Time” with a circulation worldwide of more than 6 million copies. More than 50 of the leading magazines produce over one million copies of each issue. New periodicals keep appearing. There has been a great growth in suburban newspapers, which siphon readers from the big-city press. Most successful of these has been New York’s “Newsday”. Founded in 1940, it is today one of the country’s leading evening papers. In a single month some 9000 different magazines appear in the United States. Americans all across the country buy millions of copies of these periodicals, which treat every imaginable subject in the range of human thought and endeavor. There are publications for farmers, apartment dwellers, cooks, weight lifters, and antique collectors, among many others. Men and women of every age group, adolescents, and children can all find magazines specifically aimed at them. Sports of every variety and special interests in every conceivable field are covered. Although individual magazines come and go, the magazine business continues to be the most zestful, competitive, and imaginative of all publishing endeavors, and there are no signs that the public appetite for its products is about to diminish. More and more the Nation seems to be getting its news from radio and television. But it is the newspapers and magazines that have the time and the space for the most careful interpretation of the news. The newspapers ih the United States continue to deal most effectively with local news and to relate the national news to the locality. Despite persistent warnings of its imminent doom, the age of print is far from over. Notes and Commentary the Associated Press (AP), the United Press International (UPI) — названия информационных агентств, которые при переводе пе¬ редаются транслитерацией: Ассошиэйтед Пресс, Юнайтед Пресс Интернэшнл 134 “The New York Times”, “The Washington Post”, etc. — «Нью- Йорк Таймс», «Вашингтон Пост» и др.; названия иностранных газет и журналов обычно не переводятся, а передаются в транс¬ литерации Vocabulary ** центральная ежедневная газе¬ та тираж глубокий, всесторонний малоформатная, бульварная периодическое издание, журнал экземпляр переманить попытка, усилие антиквар, собиратель древнос¬ тей молодежь мыслимый, постижимый с «изюминкой», пикантный, острый неминуемый, грозящий гибель, рок Assignment 'S. Comprehension 1. Arrange the questions according to the logical order of the text. Answer these questions. 1) What do the newspapers in the US continue to deal with? 2) What problems are covered by periodicals? 3) Why is it difficult for national newspapers to survive? 4) How many magazines appear in the US every month? 5) Are local newspapers only read in the State where they are published? national daily (newspaper) circulation in-depth popular periodical copy to siphon endeavor antique collector adolescent conceivable zestful imminent doom 135
.13’ Discussion 1. Do you agree with the author’s point of view that “the age of print is far from over”? 2. Tell your friend everything you know about newspapers in the US. 3. Compare newspapers in the US with those in this country. Ш Read the text. The Power of the Press On September 25, 1690, news-hungry Bostonians, who had to wait months for papers from Britain, bought the first copies of the American Colonies’ first newspaper. It was a small four-page journal with one blank page on which readers could fill in their own news. The paper was fairly sensational for its day, with reports of smallpox and fevers, a suicide, Indian raids, and a scandalous story about the King of France. That first issue was also the last because the printer, Benjamin Harris, had not obtained the license required by law. More than a decade passed before Americans saw another native newspaper. The press in the United States has followed a smoother path since 1690. Relations between press and government have not always been the most cordial, for the press has traditionally tended to be its determined — but loyal — adversary. Since 1791 the First Amendment to the Constitution has guaranteed freedom of the written word from action of the Federal Government, a guarantee that has been tested and consistently upheld through the years. The Media indeed have uncovered and made public many secrets the government would have preferred to keep secret (such as the Watergate scandal), leading to constant tension between journalists and government officials. Some people say that the media — and television in particular — have become so influential that in effect they are the political process, shaping public opinion. The power of the press has not always been used for noble purposes. From the very beginning there have been examples of sensationalism, inaccuracy, and, occasionally, slander. But for 136 the most part the story of the press is one of responsibility, for the press, whether in its staid journals, glossy ladies’ magazines, or television documentaries, has on the whole dealt responsibly with the freedom guaranteed it by the Constitution and has fulfilled its primary duty: to inform the public of the truth. Notes and Commentary the Watergate scandal — Уотергейт, скандал, разразившийся после президентской избирательной кампании 1972 года. Расследова¬ ния журналистов выявили, что ответственные лица в штабе Республиканской партии по переизбранию президента Ричарда Никсона на второй срок занимались подслушиванием телефон¬ ных переговоров, ведущихся в штабе Демократической партии в гостинице «Уотергейт». Ввиду грозящего импичмента Ник¬ сон вынужден был 8 августа 1974 года подать в отставку с поста президента. Assignment Comprehension 1. Make up a list of topical vocabulary. 2. Say whether the following statements are true or not. 1) Benjamin Harris has been publishing the first American newspaper for 10 years. 2) Government and press have always been on friendly terms. 3) The press has sometimes cheated the public playing into the hands of the government or corrupted people. 13’ Discussion 1. Name the main issues touched upon in the text. Enlarge upon one of them. 2. Do you agree or disagree with the author who says that the power of the press has not always been used for noble purposes. Can you give any examples? КГ 137
Ш Look through the text and: 1) pick out the facts you did not know before; 2) convey the gist of the text in the form of a thesis; 3) discuss the advantages and disadvantages of radio and television; 4) speak about the problem of censorship on radio and television; give your “pros” and “cons”. Radio and Television Although both radio and television are geared more to entertaining than to informing, they have become increasingly concerned with the news. Certain radio stations are devoted entirely to news and opinion, with spot announcements, editorials, and in- depth reports. There is no national radio station in the United States, but every large city has dozens of independent stations, which range from twenty four hours a day news to rock and classical music. The first commercial radio station took to the airwaves in 1920. At the beginning of 1922 there were 30 stations in operation; by the following year, more than 500. The creation of the first two multi¬ station networks, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in 1926 and the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) the following year, turned broadcasting into a coherent medium. In 1930 more than 12 million US families had radios; 20 years later 40 million families — nearly 92 per cent of the American people — were avid listeners. The earliest entertainers performed free, grateful for the publicity; the manufacturers of radio equipment paid for most programming. Then the idea of financing programs with advertising began to emerge and soon proved profitable beyond the wildest dreams: by 1929 the Ford Motor Company was paying $1000 a minute for prime time (the popular evening hours), and the price was climbing. For better or for worse, Americans in every corner of the continent are simultaneously laughing at the same jokes, listening to the same news, cheering the same teams, and dancing to the same music. Radio also affected the economy by introducing new products to millions of potential customers. President Roosevelt mastered the mediunt and used his “fireside chats” to help restore the nation’s confidence in its own future. The National Broadcasting Company started experimental 138 television broadcasts in New York City in 1930, but it was not after the World War II that television truly developed. The first publicly available sets had round screens ranging in size from 5 to 9 inches, and viewers had to sit up close to see. The first commercial appeared in the summer of 1941. In 1946—47 broadcasters and set manufacturers renewed their efforts to get full-scale TV broadcasting underway. In 1947 there were just 14000 sets in use. By 1949 there were nearly 1 million; by 1955 — nearly 30 million; and by 1960 — 60 million. Colour and ever-large screens added to TV’s mass appeal, and by the 1990s more than 96 per Cent of all American households had one or more sets. In 1946 there were 6 television stations in the United states; in 1973 there were 927 and now there are about 1000 commercial television stations. More than 600 of these are affiliated with the big private national television networks, ABC, NBS and CBS, which show their programs at the same time throughout the nation during prime time (the hours in which most people watch television, usually 7.30 p.m. to 11 p. m.). The rest are either independent or in smaller networks. An increasing number of Americans also subscribe to cable television stations. Television, along with the other media, reflects the popular mood of the day, but no amount of print coverage can match the immediacy and thrill of certain television reporting. Via satellite, television can bring the world live coverage of any event, even the unforgettable landing of the United States’ historic men on the Moon. Television publicity value has become enormous. Televised congressional hearings have made national heroes of previously obscure Representatives and Senators. Street gangs hold press conferences for the television cameras. Public television, funded by Government grants and private donations, does not only provide a select blend of entertainment and information. Thanks to such programs as “Sesame Street” and “Electric Company”, it has also helped teach a whole generation to read. Like print journalism, broadcast journalism has generated its share of controversy. Television stations have come under attack from local minority groups for ignoring their interests; congressional committees have investigated television programs. Unlike newspapers and magazines, however, radio and television stations in the United States act under the implied restrictions of a Government license, granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 139
The FCC, while it cannot censor program content, has the power to review a station’s operations to determine if it is acting in the public interest and can suspend the license if it decides the station is not. There is always the possibility that threats of suspension may be used in attempts to intimidate stations. Fortunately the electronic media have in general followed in the tradition of public responsibility set by newspapers and magazines. Revision Assignment 1. Speak about the power of the press in Russia. 2. Comment on the statement according to which the primary duty of the press is “to inform the public of the truth”. 3. State the problems which so far remained uncovered but which are closely connected with mass media. Unit IX THE WELFARE STATE 03 Read the text. Industry The United State is the world’s greatest economic power in terms of both Gross National Product and per capita GNP, with ■its exports accounting for more than 10 % of all world trade. Although the importance of industrial production is falling and that of services growing (as in most of Western Europe), the United States remains the world’s greatest maker of industrial goods and around 20 million Americans are still employed in manufacturing. The industrial heart of the nation is the Midwest around the Great Lakes, especially in the region stretching from southern Michigan through Northern Ohio and into the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. Another important industrial region is the Northeast, which is the home of the major computer manufacturers. Service industries 141
are also very important in this region and New York is the country’s banking and insurance capital. The nation’s fastest growing region, however, is the Southeast, where the chemical industry and high-technology industries are now catching up with the traditional textile industry as many firms exploit the warm climate and low labor costs. Geographical Names г.ГГ иттсбур г (штат Пенсиль¬ вания) Vocabulary на душу населения промышленное производство сфера услуг страховой догнать стоимость рабочей силы Assignment Comprehension 1. Name the main trend in the present development of the USA. 2. Explain why the Northeast has become an important industrial region. 3. Make the following ideas complete. 1) The area around the Great Lakes is ... . 2) The Southeast is at the moment the fastest developing region because ... . f}’ Discussion Using the text and other sources of information, speak about one of the industries of the United States. Pittsburgh ['pitsbaig] per capita industrial production service (industries) insurance to catch up (with) labor cost 142 ffl Read the text. Consult the dictionary to look up the words, referring to agriculture, and explain what they mean: “harvested cropland; permanent pasture land; com; wheat; livestock; dairy farming; cattle farming”. Agriculture 47 per cent of the land area of the United States is* farmland, of which 152 million hectares are harvested cropland and 560 million hectares are permanent pasture land. And yet, only 6.2 million people live on the Nation’s farms and today farmers make up a little more than 2 per cent of the American population. Farming village in Virginia The Midwest is the most important agricultural region in the I United States (though California is the number one state in terms of the value of its agricultural products) and alone produces almost I, twice as much as the American people can consume. Corn and wheat are the main crops here, and livestock and dairy farming are valso carried out on a large scale. Although the South is still important for traditional crops, such as tobacco, com and cotton, there is now far greater variety, while I, Texas is.the nation’s leading producer of cattle, sheep, cotton and rice. 143
The West is important for cattle and wheat farming in the Great Plains area, and for fruit in the fertile valleys of the States that border the Pacific. Assignment Ф Discussion Account for the fact that though today farmers make up a little more than 2 per cent of the American population they produce several times as much as the American people can consume. Ш Before reading the text, look at the title and define the problems raised in the text. Then read the text and say if you were right in guessing its content. Food for Thought The American farmer’s success is one of the less publicized wonders of the 20th century. By the mid-1970s a single farmer could grow enough food to feed himself, 45 other Americans, and 8 foreigners. Agriculture is one of the biggest and most basic productive enterprises. It feeds the Nation and supplies raw materials to most industries. In a single year farmers in the United States grow crops valued at some $25 billion. The ever intensifying production has exacted its price. In an attempt to stabilize farm income, the US Government has paid farmers billions of dollars in the past decade. Spokesmen for the consumers have charged farmers and the food-processing industry with sacrificing nutrition and taste in their efforts to mass-produce meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and grain products. Much of the machinery on US farms is automated,^computers determine what cows eat. Such technology costs money. In 1940 American farmers invested about $52 billion in land, livestock, buildings, and equipment. By the 1990s the amount had climbed to more than $400 billion, even though farms had dropped in number 144 from 6 million to fewer than 3 million. Many people had to sell their small family farms because they could not find the necessary capital to run them. Nevertheless, about 95 percent of US farms are still family owned, although nowadays they tend to be large and are often incorporated. Meanwhile, true corporation farms, supervised by boards of directors and professional managers, are increasing in number. Intensive farming methods are being implemented everywhere, farmers are experimenting with new crops. This is necessary if the US population, expected to grow in the next century, is to be fed. It is anticipated that the number of American farms will be cut in half, to about 1.5 million, while the amount of cultivated land will remain about the same. Farm output, however, will probably double. Some agriculturists envision a future where weather will be made to order, robots will operate the farm machinery, millions of identical cattle will be produced as clones from a single superior “parent”, and crops will grow lush and green under a pollution-free sky. It is a fairy tale, but the truth is that the amazing productivity of American farmers has ensured that much of the world will have enough to eat for the next 20 or 30 years. Vocabulary (промышленное) предприятие взыскивать, требовать представитель предвидеть, предчувствовать производительность предвидеть биол. клон сочный, буйный (о раститель¬ ности) Assignment 1Эч Comprehension 1. Find the phrases: “to mass produce meat”, “one of the less publicized wonders”, “farm output”, “such technology 145 10—1870 enterprise to exact spokesman to anticipate output to envision clone lush
costs money”, “family owned”, “a pollution-free sky” and present them in the situations from the text. 2. Make up a plan of the text. Discussion 1. Discuss the points of your plan. 2. Why, do you think, the text is called “Food for Thought”? Revision Assignment Prepare a report about the trends in Russian industry and agriculture. Unit X WORK AND MONEY Ш Read the text. Trade Unions The first important national organization of workers was “The Knights of Labor”, founded as a secret union in 1869. Its main aim was to win shorter hours, higher wages and satisfactory working conditions. Although it had nearly a million members by 1886, its mixture of all different types of workers prevented it from being effective. This led to the creation of the American Federation of Labor (A.F.L.), which was a federation of separate, quite autonomous, craft unions. The growing dispute over whether to organize the unions according to crafts or trades, or on an industrial basis (i.e. incorporating all the workers in a given industry) led to the creation of an independent federation — the Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.) — in 1938. With the continual increase in 10* 147
mass production and unskilled workers, the A.F.L. also began to organize itself on an industrial basis instead of according to craft. The two organizations then merged in 1955 to found a new federation: the A.F.L.-C.I.O. Unions have never been able to achieve the same levels of membership as in most Western countries. The political power of the giant corporations and the non-interference policy of the government have frequently resulted in restrictive laws being made by Congress and individual States against unions, especially in periods t when numerous strikes occurred. Vocabulary «Рыцари труда» более короткий рабочий день более высокая заработная пла¬ та Американская федерация труда цеховой профсоюз ремесло профессия, ремесло Конгресс производственных профсоюзов неквалифицированный политика невмешательства часто, многократно иметь место, случаться, проис¬ ходить Assignment t&. Comprehension 1. Arrange the following statements according to the order they are given in the text. 1) American unions have never been as numerous as West European ones. 148 “The Knights of Labor” shorter hours higher wages the American Federation of Labor craft union craft trade the Congress of Industrial Organizations unskilled non-interference policy frequently to occur 2) The first trade union was founded in the US at the end of the 19th century. 3) Some of the actions of trade unions were prohibited by legislature. 4) Different reasons led to the reorganization of unions. 2. Ask questions about the main facts of the text. b Discussion 1. Comment on the comparative weakness of American trade unions. 2. Use additional source of information and speak about the present state of trade unions in the US. Dll Read the text. Wall Street Wall Street itself is a short street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, which takes its name from the town wall built in 1653 across Manhattan Island to protect the Dutch colonists of New Amsterdam from both the Native American Indians and the English. Symbolically, however, “Wall Street” means the financial center of the United States (just as the “City” of London is the financial Center of the United Kingdom) because of the concentration of business institutions in the area: stock-brokerage companies, banks, trusts, insurance Corporations, commodity exchanges (coffee, cotton, metal, com) and, of course, the New York Stock Exchange. The Exchange — sometimes called “the nation’s market place” — was founded on May 17, 1792, when Alexander Hamilton, the first US Secretary of the Treasury, decided to issue government bonds to consolidate and refund the debts incurred during the War for American Independence; a “market place” for the selling and buying of these bonds became necessary. The Exchange deals only in “listed” stocks, i.e. stocks which are on the official trading list of the Exchange. In order to be listed, a company must have at least 2,000 stockholders, with at least 1 million shares distributed among them, and an annual turnover of at 149
least $2.5 million. In 1998, there were more than 2,500 listed stocks. Notes and Commentary Lower Manhattan ['lous maen'haetan] — Нижний Манхэттен, часть острова Манхэттен и района Нью-Йорка с тем же названием; всемирно знаменит благодаря таким известным улицам и дос¬ топримечательностям, как Эмпайр Стейт Билдинг, Уолл-стрит, Бродвей, музей Метрополитен, Колумбийский университет, Таймс Сквер и др. Vocabulary учреждение, организация брокерская фирма товарная биржа фондовая биржа облигация возмещать влезть в долги, наделать долгов «зарегистрированная» акция акционер годовой, ежегодный оборот Assignment ^ Comprehension Supply answers to the following questions. 1) Where does the name of the street come from? 2) What is situated in Wall Street? 3) When did Wall Street begin gaining popularity? Ф Discussion Give a detailed description of the financial “heart” of the USA. 150 institution stock-brokerage company commodity exchange stock exchange bond to refund the debts to incur (debts) “listed” stock stockholder annual turnover Revision Assignment 1. Give a comparative analysis of the financial center of New York and London. 2. Describe financial institutions in Russia.
Unit XI TRANSPORT Ш Read the text. Communications and Transport The vast network of rivers and lakes in the eastern part of the United States has been of great importance to the economic development of the nation. The Mississippi and its tributaries are all easily navigable and the five Great Lakes, four of which are shared with Canada, are linked to this system by a series of canals. These waterways, together with pipelines and railways, are important for the transport of bulk freight. There is now a vast railway network extending over almost the entire country. Railway transport has been largely replaced by air transport for long-distance passenger travel, as there is5 a highly developed network of airline services connecting most towns of importance (and it costs less to travel by air than by train even on 152 comparatively short journeys). Railways are still important for the carriage of certain types of freight, however. Cars and trucks are the most important means of transport for both passengers and goods, and an interstate highway system has been built which provides a route to nearly every major city. On many of these roads a toll has to be paid and the top speed limit anywhere is 55 miles per hour. Vocabulary series система, ряд bulk freight объемистый груз toll пошлина Assignment 'S- Comprehension Name the leading means of transport in the US and characterize them. Ш Discussion Dwell on the advantages and disadvantages of different means of transport. Ы Read the text. From the History of Travel Americans are a restless people, always on the move and eager to get where they are going as quickly and conveniently as possible. It was not until well after the Revolution, however, with the need for opening up the lands to the West, that the Nation began to develop an integrated system for transporting people and goods. 153
For most of the first century of settlement, westward travel was limited to the winding Indian trails, which in a few places were widened to make primitive roads. Only the venturesome hunters and trappers pushed into the heavily forested mountains. On the water it was a different story; the rivers, inlets, and bays provided the easiest and safest means of transportation. Farmers floated their produce — wheat, corn, salted pork, logs, cotton, and tobacco — downriver to market on flatboats and rafts. Small boats and log canoes carried people to church and on visits to neighbours or to market. Many New Englanders gave up cultivating their rocky lands and turned to the sea in sturdy fishing boats to harvest the haddock and cod. Merchants, traders, and passengers traveled between Boston, New York, and Baltimore by boat. Land travel increased slowly in the early 1700s. A horseback trip from New Yorkto Boston tookat least 7 days. As more Indian trails were widened into rough dirt roads, vehicles began to appear. By the mid-1700s four- and six-horse carriages with coachmen were common among the prosperous Virginia planters. The concept of using Federal funds to build interregional roads was established in 1806 under President Jefferson, and the so called National Road, which eventually linked Maryland with Illinois,; was began in 1811. The transcontinental railroad, finished in 1869, linked the two oceans and unified the continent. So, by the late 1890s, it was already possible to travel from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast by rail. Although Americans did not invent that mechanical marvel, the automobile, they made it their own by finding ways to build it, improve it, mass-produce it, and sell it. Speed and movement soon became national obsessions. The Wright brothers made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, some 5 years before Henry Ford built his first “Model T” in 1908, but it took World Wars I and II to accelerate, the evolution of the airplane. When all the technical challenges of travel on and around the Earth had been met, a new breed of traveler shot for the Moon, and made it. Since the first Apollo Moon landing on July 20, 1969, Americans have sent men to the Moon five times. And scientists, no l<5hger earth-bound, have lived and worked for weeks aboard American Skylabs orbiting high above the Earth. But though time and distance have been conquered, solutions 154 to the more difficult problems of safe, clean, comfortable travel still lie ahead. Notes and Commentary the Wright [rait] brothers — братья Уилбур и Орвил Райт, пионе¬ ры авиадши Kitty Hawk ['kiti Ъэ:к] — Кити Хок, небольшой город в Север¬ ной Каролине, недалеко от которого братья Райт 17 декабря 1903 года испытали свой первый летательный аппарат. Этот первый полет длился 12 секунд, аппарат пролетел 200 футов. Первый самолет, появившийся на вооружении у армии США, был самолет братьев Райт, купленный военными в 1909 году. Henry Ford ['henn 'fo:d] — Форд Генри (1863-1947), крупней¬ ший промышленник, производитель автомобилей марки «Форд» Geographical Names Baltimore [bo:ltimo:] г. Балтимор Vocabulary winding изгиб, поворот venturesome бесстрашный, безрассудно храб¬ рый, дерзкий, смелый trapper охотник, ставящий капканы; траппер inlet залив, бухточка to float переплавлять, перевозить (во¬ дой) log бревно flatboat плоскодонная лодка raft плот, паром sturdy крепкий, сильный, стойкий, твердый haddock пикша (рыба) cod треска 155
carnage coachman obsession to accelerate challenge breed to shoot (for) to make it earth-bound экипаж возница, кучер наваждение ускорять вызов порода, поколение мчаться, нестись осуществить связанный с землей Assignment "йа. Comprehension К Divide the text into logically connected parts and entitle them. 2. Present the history of travel in chronological order. fk Discussion 1. What was the reason for the increase of land travel at the beginning of the 18th century? 2. Why, do you think, speed and movement have become national obsessions? 3. What do you know about Moon travel? m *Look through the text and define the idea which the author wanted to convey. Wheels for All Mankind In many ways the tale of Henry Ford and the product associated with his name is a microcosm of American economic, history — a story of trial and error, of innovation and ultimate success. A farmer with a penchant for mechanical things, the young Ford quit school at 17, began building small steam engines, and drove his first bicycle-wheeled, engine-driven device in 1896. 156 It was a primitive affair, much simpler than cars already on the roads in Europe, and it was not until 1901 that the stubborn tinker, after several false starts, got enough financial support to start the Henry Ford Automobile Company. Financial disputes arose and Ford left. Two years later, with new backers, he established the Ford Motor Company. (When in 1919 Ford bought all outstanding shares, original investors reaped heavy rewards; a share*that cost $100 was then worth $260000.) Ford was convinced that he could produce a good car at a reasonable price, and on October 1, 1908, he realized his dream with the unveiling of the Ford Model T. This was a straightforward, sturdy machine made of the best metals young Henry could obtain and propelled by a single 4-cylinder, 22-horsepower, 167-cubic- ineh engine. As early as 1913, his company was able to produce an astonishing 1000 Ts per day. The T was an instant success and within months was outselling other American cars combined. What is more, Ford made good his pledge to reduce the T’s price. From $850 in 1909, the price dropped steadily to $260 for some models by 1924. By then, however, other manufacturers’ inexpensive cars with better methods of changing gears and more speed were outperforming the T on America’s improved roads. Recognizing this, Ford and his engineers went to work, and in late 1927- they were ready with the company’s second breakthrough — the Model A. The car caught America’s imagination, and like its predecessor, the Model T, was an instant success. There was nothing revolutionary about the engine, but the car’s classical good looks and sturdiness endeared it to millions. Today the Model A Restorers Club has thousands of members, who proudly drive their prizes. So in the 1920s, the car people called a “baby Lincoln” took America by storm. Some 4,5 million Model A’s were built in 5 years, and even the most expensive version sold for under $600. But times were changing. The Detroit manufacturers realized that the mass market was not only growing but would buy a wide variety of cars. This trend was encouraged by General Motors, which began to make annual model changes, supported by intensive advertising campaigns. The Detroit design syndrome was soon established. Each year the new models had to be sufficiently different from the ones before, to set them clearly apart (so that one’s 157
neighbours would be sure to know that a car was new); yet it could not be so drastically changed as to put it out of character with previous models. Today the Big Three — General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler — manufacture many different products. But the automotive industry owes an enduring debt to a mechanical genius named Henry Ford, the man who first put Americans on wheels. Revision Assignment Keeping in mind the structure of the texts of the Unit, prepare a report on the history of travel in Russia. Pay special attention to space travel. Unit XII ARTS AND SCIENCE ГП Read the text. The Smithsonian: a Treasure-Filled Institution Every year millions of Americans and foreigners visit the Nation’s Capital, and many of them pass fascinating hours there viewing such historic treasures as the Wright brothers’ first airplane, Alexander Graham Bell’s prototype telephone,; and a wealth of American and foreign art at various museums scattered around the city. Few of these visitors realize that they are guests of the Smithsonian Institution, one of the world’s most far-reaching societies of scholars and scientists, with interests in such diverse fields as astrophysics and music, painting and ethnology, drama and zoology. 159
A vast complex of museums and galleries, laboratories and halls of learning, research centers and editorial offices, the Smithsonian Institution, though centerd in Washington, also maintains a variety of facilities throughout the Nation and the world. But to the general public the Smithsonian is best known for its exhibition halls in the Nation’s Capital. These include, among others, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History, the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of History and Technology. Supported in part by public funding and in part by private donations, the Smithsonian was established in 1846, thanks to a bequest of $508000 from a British scientist, James Smithson, for “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men”. The Smithsonian’s headquarters in Washington In becoming one of the world’s foremost institutes of research and enlightenment, and establishing its public displays, the Smithsonian has more than carried out its benefactor’s charge. 160 Notes and Commentary the Smithsonian [smiO'sounjan] (Institution) — Смитсоновский Центр Науки и искусств; состоит из ряда научно-исследователь¬ ских учреждений и множества всемирно известных музеев Alexander Graham Bell [.aelig'zcrnda 'graem 'bel] — Белл Александр Грэм (1847—1922), знаменитый американский изобретатель и рационализатор Vocabulary bequest facilities (the) National Gallery of Art (the) Museum of Natural History (the) National Museum of American History (the) Air and Space Museum (the) Museum of History and Technology donation diffusion ч. foremost enlightenment to carry out benefactor charge завещанное наследство возможности, оборудование Национальная художественная галерея Национальный музей естествен¬ ной истории Национальный музей истории Америки Музей воздухоплавания и аст¬ ронавтики Музей истории и техники дар, пожертвование распространение передовой, выдающийся просвещение выполнять, осуществлять благотворитель, благодетель, меценат . предписание, поручение Assignment Is, Comprehension 1. Arrange the passages in chronological order. 2. Name the institutions referring to art. 161 11—1870
3. Use the words “bequest”, “benefactor”, and “enlightenment” in the situations from the text. $ Discussion 1. Why did the author call the Smithsonian “a treasure- filled institution”? 2. What, in your opinion, makes the Smithsonian one of the world’s most far-reaching societies of scholars and scientists? Ш Read the text. The National Gallery of Art: History of Construction On March 17, 1941, the National Gallery of Art was dedicated to the nation. Located in the heart of the nation’s capital, the building was designed by architect John Russell Pope to implement a dream long held by its donor, the financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon. In many ways the building was the result of the plans and ideals of those two men, yet it was also influenced by the ideas of its time, by its location on the Mall, and by a tradition of grand art museum buildings. The architectural concept of the public art museum originated in Europe, where, in the first half of the nineteenth century, grand buildings in a classical style were built to house national art collections in spacious and beautiful surroundings. After the Civil War many wealthy Americans, including Andrew Mellon, visited Europe and brought back with them a vision inspired by those museums. By the 1920s Washington had several distinguished art museums. However, Andrew Mellon realized soon after coming to Washington that none of those museums was of the type exemplified by the national collections of Europe or the grand art museums) such as existed in New York, Boston, and Chicago. He began to plan for such an institution in the nation’s capital quietly and without public notice. Mellon had started to collect paintings early in life, and as 162 he planned for a National Gallery of Art, he brought together a superb collection of art to serve as the nucleus of a great national collection. Andrew Mellon selected John Russell Pope to design the building of the National Gallery of Art. The proposal came as early as 1935, and the architect set out to create a building that woujd be monumental yet practical, classical in appearance yet thoroughly modern in structure and as comfortable as possible for visitors and staff alike. Andrew Mellon and John Russell Pope both died in August 1937 within twenty-four hours of each other. The overall plan and ■exterior design for the National Gallery had been finalized by them, but the layout and decoration of the interior spaces was left to Pope’s successors. Construction of the National Gallery of Art was completed before the end of 1940. The new museum was opened on March 17, 1941. On behalf of the people of the United States of America, ^President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the completed building and the collection which Andrew W. Mellon promised to the nation in 1937. Andrew Mellon had believed that the gallery he established should bear not his name but the nation’s, and that its collections ■ should grow through gifts of art from private citizens. Thus the museum was named the National Gallery of Art, and it holds, in addition to Mellon’s paintings and sculpture, great collections of many other generous donators. Private gifts of art of the highest quality, installed in the elegant classical building designed by John Russell Pope, have made the National Gallery of Art the grand national museum which Andrew Mellon envisioned. The building is one of the largest marble structures in the world, measuring 785 feet in length and containing more than 100,000 square feet of exhibition space. Notes and Commentary John Russell Pope ['d3on 'rxsl'poup] — Поуп Джон Рассел (1874— 1937), знаменитый американский архитектор Andrew Mellon ['aendru:'melon] — Меллон Эндрю Уильям (1855— 1937), государственный деятель, меценат 1.63 11
Assignment "Si Comprehension 1. Make up a list of words connected with architecture and art. 2. Ask 5-6 questions about the text covering the main points. 3. Answer these questions. 4. Give a brief summary of the text. Present it in written form. tjK Discussion 1. Name the main function of the text (informative, evalu¬ ative, persuasive, etc.). Give your reasons. 2. Have you read any other article on the problem? Can you add anything else to what has been mentioned in the text? ED Look through the text and compare it with the previous one. Point out common elements (ideas, problems, etc.) which unite both texts. John Russel Pope By 1929, when he accepted Andrew Mellon’s invitation to work on the Federal Triangle project, John Russell Pope was one of America’s most famous architects. He had graduated from Columbia College (later Columbia University) in New York in 1894 and had received fellowships for study at the American Academy in Rome and for travel in Italy and Greece, where he was able to examine the remains of antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. He then studied architecture in Paris for two years, graduating in 1900. Pope developed a successful architectural practice in the United States, designing elegant residences, university campuses, churches, mausoleums, and other monuments. His work in Washington included many outstanding projects among which is the National Gallery of Art, the National Archives and the Jefferson Memorial. Pope also became well known as a museum architect. He had designed the Baltimore Museum of Art and new galleries or additions for the British Museum and the Tate Gallery in London, as well as У 164 the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Pope was an eclectic designer, able to work in a range of historic styles as the occasion required. Yet like many architects of his generation, he was convinced that the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome was the best possible expression of the American national ideal of democracy and humanism, and his monumental designs were nearly always classical. Notes and Commentary the Federal Triangle [trai'aengl] project — проект по реконструк¬ ции центральной части столицы США города Вашингтона; в 1901 году получил название «План Макмиллана» (по имени сенатора, возглавившего комитет по осуществлению проекта). Целью плана было создание комплекса государственных учреж¬ дений в центре Вашингтона на территории, напоминающей треугольник. Columbia College, Columbia University — Колумбийский универ¬ ситет в Нью-Йорке; частный; основан в 1754 году the National Archives ['aikaivz] — Национальный государствен¬ ный архив США the Jefferson Memorial — мемориальный комплекс на реке По¬ томак в Вашингтоне, посвященный третьему президенту США Томасу Джефферсону the British Museum — Британский музей в Лондоне, знамени¬ тая сокровищница истории цивилизации. Среди экспонатов му¬ зея — Россетский камень, благодаря которому удалось расшиф¬ ровать древнеегипетские иероглифы, элементы храма Парфе¬ нон в Афинах и др. the Tate [teit] (Gallery) — национальная художественная галерея Тейт в Лондоне, названная в честь сахаропромышленника сэра Генри Тейта, который подарил нации свою коллекцию картин и выделил деньги на строительство специальной художествен¬ ной галереи для работ английских художников the Metropolitan [, metre'politn] Museum of Art — национальный художественный музей Метрополитен в Нью-Йорке, одна из | самых знаменитых и богатых галерей мира, содержащая произ- I ведения великих художников и скульпторов 165
ш Read the text. The National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art was created for the people of the United States of America by a joint resolution of Congress. The Board of Trustees consists of four public servants and five private citizens. Under the policies set by the Board, the Gallery acquires and maintains a collection of paintings, sculpture, and the graphic arts, representative of the best in the artistic heritage of America and Europe. Supported in its daily operations by federal funds, the Gallery is entirely dependent on the generosity of private citizens for the works of art in its collections. The paintings and sculpture given by the founder, Andrew W. Mellon, including works by the greatest masters from the 13th through the 19th centuries, have formed a nucleus of high quality around which the collections have grown. Mr. Mellon’s hope that the newly created National Gallery would attract gifts from other collectors was soon realized in the form of major donations from Samuel and Rush Kress, Chester Dale, Edgar William and many others, as well as individual donations from hundreds of additional donors. As the Gallery expands its interests into 20th_century art, the Collectors Committee, an advisory group of private citizens, has provided funds for the acquisition of paintings and sculpture of our time. The collections of the National Gallery of Art are so rich that it is absolutely impossible to enlist all the painters and sculptors, among whom are Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Monet, Degas, Picasso, Dali, Moore. Notes and Commentary Leonardo da Vinci [,lei3'na:dou da 'vint/i] — Леонардо да Винчи (1452—1519), флорентийский художник Rembrandt van Rijn ['rembrasnt van /rijn] — Рембрандт ван Рейн (1606—1669), голландский художник Monet, Claude [mou'na: 'kb:d] — Моне Клод (1840—1926), фран¬ цузский художник-импрессионист Degas, Edgar [da'ga: 'edga] — Дега Эдгар (1834—1917), француз¬ ский художник-импрессионист 166 Picasso, Pablo [pi'kccsou 'pcrblou] — Пикассо Пабло (1881—1973), художник и скульптор, родившийся в Испании; основополож¬ ник кубизма Dali, Salvador [dcu'li: 'saslvada:] — Дали Сальвадор (1904—1989), испанский художник, основоположник сюрреализма Moore, Henry ['mu:(r)'henri] — Мур Генри (1898—1986), англий¬ ский скудьптор •• Vocabulary the Board of Trustees public servant to acquire heritage nucleus the Collectors Committee совет попечителей государственный служащий приобретать наследие, наследство основа, ядро, центр комитет по сбору средств для приобретения новых экспо¬ натов Assignment Comprehension Make the following ideas complete. 1) The National Gallery greatly depends on ... . 2) ... has formed the basis of the Gallery’s collection. 3) There is, a special group of people called ... and dealing with ... . 'б' Discussion Using the material of all the preceding texts, give a short lecture on the National Gallery of Art in Washington. fTl Read the text. Pick out the facts concerning: 1) the kind of artifacts exhibited in the museum; 2) the Star Spangled Banner. 167
The National Museum of American History Like the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of American History is part of the Smithsonian Institution and is devoted to the exhibition, care and study of artifacts that reflect the experience of the American people. These artifacts are collections of objects with which Americans developed and sustained their civilization. Among the objects on view in the National Museum of American History are national treasures such as the original Star Spangled Banner; scientific instruments, inventions (like Morse’s telegraph and early Edison’s light bulbs), implements of everyday life (from spinning wheels to steam locomotives); stamps and coins; musical instruments; and selected gowns of American First Ladies. Together they illustrate America’s cultural, scientific, technological and political history. The Museum also offers a variety of scholarly and public programs which interpret American history. One of the most famous artifacts is, by no means, the Star Spangled Banner. A special exposition tells the visitors the story of the banner. In 1813 the War Department engaged Mrs. Mary Pickersgill of Baltimore to make a garrison flag for Fort McHenry. The flag bore fifteen stars and stripes symbolic of all the states of the union. Fort McHenry was at that time a military installation guarding the approach to Baltimore by sea. On the night of September 13, 1814, the British bombarded the fort. Nothing seemed to have survived in the attack but, as the dawn of the 14th broke, everybody saw the American flag flying over the fort. It meant that the fort’s commander, Major George Armistead, and his troops had withstood the attack. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer of Georgetown, saw that beautiful sight. Inspired, he wrote a poem under the title “The Defense of Fort McHenry”. Set to the tune of a well-known song, Key’s verse soon became a popular patriotic song. In 1931, an Act of Congress declared “The Star Spangled Banner” as the national anthem of the USA. The flag stayed in the Armistead family through the 1800s. In 1818, the Congress set the flag’s final design; thirteen stripes would represent the original States, and the number of stars would grow as other States joined the union. 168 In 1907, the Star Spangled Banner came to the museum. This flag is still available to visitors — and will continue to serve as an important reminder of American national heritage. Assignment fL Discussion Dwell on the fascinating story of the American National Flag and National Anthem. ffl Look through the text and explain: 1) why the story is called like this. 2) what the aim of the exhibition is and what task is assigned to it by those who have staged this display. 3) what you, personally, think about the Great Migration (when discussing the problem, make use of the material of the text “The Involuntary Immigrants” of Unit II). The Great Migration The National Museum of American History has staged a special exhibition devoted to the Great Migration. After 1900 about 70 per cent of the Nation’s Negro citizens moved to urban areas, almost half of them to cities outside the South. Though that mass movement set the scene for modern life in most American cities today, it remains one of the twentieth- century America’s least studied and most poorly understood historical events. The exhibition interprets the complexities and effects of the Great Migration by focusing on the migrants themselves. Through them, the exhibition illustrates the individual experiences that together fueled this mass movement: the lives of Afro-Americans in the South, the hopes and expectations that prompted the decision to move north, and the difficulties migrants faced in a new environment. The exhibition also examines closely the new technologies 169
and culture that the migrants found in the North, the adjustments they had to make to their new surroundings, and the ways in which the populations of Northern cities had to adjust to them. The exhibition illustrates these changes and adaptations through the display of a tenant farmhouse from southern Maryland, a recreation of a row house from Philadelphia, and, more than 400 artifacts and documents. By re-creating the environments ip which the migrants lived, the exhibition offers an opportunity to understand the significance and difficulty of the migrants’ decision to leave family, home and friends. Although the Great Migration was of tremendous national importance, it was first and foremost a movement of people, the result of hundreds of thousands of individual decisions to leave an old life behind in search of a brighter future. The Great Migration was a movement within America, yet it paralleled the immigration experiences of other ethnic groups. Both migrants and immigrants carried their hopes and dreams, along with their cardboard suitcases and cloth bundles, into an uncertain existence. So the exhibition shows the uniqueness of the Afro- American experience and yet echoes the immigration experience of all peoples. ffi Scan the text. Recollect if you have visited any museum which was like the one mentioned below. Describe that visit using the vocabulary of the text. The National Air and Space Museum The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, opened in 1976, offers its visitors a dazzling array of flying machines and aircraft never before assembled in one place. An average of 9 million people visit the Museum each year. Twenty-three exhibit areas house artifacts from the Wright brothers’ original 1903 Flyer to a touchable moon rock and a Skylab Orbital Workshop which visitors may enter. Also included are dozens of airplanes and spacecraft, missiles and rockets, engines, propellers, models, uniforms, instruments, flight equipment, medals and insignia. These items document most 170 of the major achievements — both historical and technological — of air and space flight. The Smithsonian’s interest in aeronautics dates back to its early years. In 1861, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian, Joseph Henry, recommended to President Lincoln that balloonist Thaddeus Lowe be permitted to demonstrate the potential of the balloon for military observation. „ The third Secretary of the Smithsonian, Samuel P. Langley, constructed and tested a number of heavier-than-air craft from 1.887—1903. Two of those unmanned models succeeded in flying under steam power over the Potomac River for more than a half- mile. Interest in rocket research was prompted by Charles Abbot, later the fifth Secretary of the Institution, when he supported the early work of the American rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard. Goddard was one of the first to recognize the potential of the rocket for propelling vehicles through space. The Building of the National Air ajnd Space Museum is 680 feet (280 m) long and 90 feet (27.7 m) tall. The exterior is constructed of Tennessee marble of a pinkish hue. Almost all the aircraft and spacecraft displayed were actually flown or were used as backup vehicles. Ш Read the text. The Metropolitan Museum of Art One of the most famous attractions in New York City is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Museum founded in 1870 by a group of civic leaders, financiers, industrialists, and art collectors, moved to its present location in Central Park in 1880. Today the Metropolitan is the largest museum of art in the Western Hemisphere. It occupies 1.4 million square feet, extending from 80th to 84th Streets on Fifth Avenue. Its collections include more than two million works of art from prehistoric through modern times and from all areas of the world' The collections are divided into eighteen curatorial departments. 171
In each department curators acquire, preserve and exhibit works of art for both the permanent collections and special exhibitions. The Museum’s holdings in European art are unparalleled outside Europe. In addition to one of the world’s great collections of European paintings, the Metropolitan has outstanding collections of Medieval art and architecture, and of prints, photographs, drawings, costumes, musical instruments, sculpture, and decorative arts from the Renaissance through the 20th century. The Museum’s collection of American art, exhibited in the American Wing, is the most comprehensive in the world. Contemporary American art became a particular concern of the Metropolitan Museum when in 1906 and 1911 George A. Hearn donated funds specifically designed for the acquisition of paintings by living American artists. Although the income from these funds has diminished, they have been the basis upon which the Museum’s collection of modern American paintings has been formed. In 1946 Gertrude Stein, the American writer, who was a resident of France, bequeathed to the Metropolitan her portrait by Pablo Picasso, who had been represented in the Museum’s collections since 1923. Stein perceived that since its founding in 1870, four years before she was born, the Metropolitan had been as involved with the art of its own time as with the art of the past. She wanted her portrait to be viewed within the context of the history of world art and in a gallery of national stature in New York City. The Metropolitan’s collections of Asian art are extensive, and its Islamic collection is the largest in existence. The wing in the south end of the building houses an impressive collection of African and Oceanic art as well as that from Native North and South America. The educational function of the Museum is implicit itt every facet of the Museum’s endeavors. The Metropolitan’s monthly “Calendar” provides a handy index to the many ongoing programs and activities. Notes and Commentary 80th to 84th Streets on Fifth Avenue — почти все улицы Нью- Йорка, располагающиеся в Манхэттене, пронумерованы 172 George A. Hearn ['630:63 ei Ъэ:п] — Херн Джордж А., меценат Gertrude Stein ['go:tru:d 'stain] — Стайн Гертруда (1874—1946), известная американская писательница, долгое время прожив¬ шая в Европе Vocabulary curatorial department. from prehistoric through ; modem times holdings unparalleled Medieval ( the Renaissance comprehensive ,to bequeath [stature I Asian Islamic I Oceanic facet | handy index ongoing отдел музея ( ответ за который несет определен¬ ный хранитель) от доисторических времен до наших дней коллекция непревзойденный, беспример¬ ный средневековый Ренессанс, эпоха Возрождения всесторонний, исчерпываю¬ щий завещать, даровать значимость, рост азиатский исламский относящийся к Океании грань, сфера, область удобный указатель продолжающийся, непрерыв¬ ный Assignment Comprehension Supply answers to the following questions. 1) When was the Metropolitan Museum founded? 2) Where is it situated? 3) What became the nucleus of the Museum’s collections? 4) How can you describe the Museum’s holdings? 173
Ф Discussion 1. Using the material of the text and some additional sources of information, tell your friend everything you know about the Metropolitan Museum. 2. Speak about any art gallery in Russia. Ш Look through the text and: 1) use the following words and phrases in the situations from the text: “the golden age”, “to capture the public’s imagination”, “the Hudson River school”, “wilderness”, “nature’s changing moods”, “to pigeonhole”, “absolute fidelity”; 2) name other American painters, present facts from their life and creative activity. Painters of a Virgin Land The 19th century was the golden age of landscape painting in America. Inspired by the nature descriptions of different writers, Americans began to look at their native scenery with a new sense of pride. In the mid-1800s a whole new generation of artists emerged and captured the public’s imagination .with reverent portrayals of the American landscape. The group came to be known as the Hudson River school, although its members ranged far beyond New York State’s Hudson Valley in their search for subject matter. Their romantic renderings of the American scene are honored now as the first wholly indigenous movement in the history of American art. The landscape tradition continued to the end of the century. Many artists furthered the development of the Hudson River school. But others evolved quite different styles. Many of them painted huge theatrical canvases of awesome mountains and wilderness. George Inness, on the other hand, transmuted the Hudson River tradition into a highly individual style, imbuing intimate pastoral scenes with the lyrical beauty of his personal response. He was a poetic interpreter of nature’s changing Imoods and found his inspiration in the fields and meadows near his homes in New Jersey and Massachusetts. His paintings reveal his preoccupation with atmospheric effects. In all his works he sought to achieve the 174 objective of arousing in the viewer emotions similar to those he himself felt while contemplating the scene. The results of his sensitive work include some of the finest landscapes ever painted by an American. In the closing decades of the 19th century America produced several artists who snared the greatest prize of all — immortality. One of them, Winslow Homer, is impossible to pigeonhole. He painted genre scenes of rural and resort life. He portrayed hunters and fishermen; he dashed off sparkling water colours. In his later years he turned to the Maine coast, creating potent images of the sea. But whatever his subject, he executed his powerful compositions with absolute fidelity to the facts. Winslow Homer in his latest years concentrated on depicting the changing moods of the sea Notes and Commentary George Inness [^30^3 'mis] — Иннесс Джордж (1825-1894), из¬ вестный американский пейзажист Winslow Homer ['winslou 'houmo] — Хомер Уинслоу (1836—1910), 'знаменитый американский художник; особенно известны его акварели 175
Geographical Names Maine [mem] Мэн {штат) ш Before reading the text, turn to the title and the subtitles and say what kind of information you expect to find in the articles below. Then read the text and compare the given information with what you have guessed. American Genius Benjamin Franklin Franklin was easily the foremost American scientist of his day, and his ingenuity was immensely wide ranging. He was a printer, publisher, writer, statesman, and scientist. He was also a gifted inventor. Here are some of his inventions. Having established by observation and logic, and then by a practical kite test, that lightning is atmospheric electricity, he went on to invent the lightning rod, to this day a building’s best protection against thunderbolts. Franklin also originated much of the vocabulary of electricity, including such terms as “battery”, “condenser”, “charge”, “discharge”, “positive”, “negative”. Americans had previously relied on the open fireplace, which sent most of the heat up the chimney, or the German stove, which made breathing uncomfortable by constantly reheating the air. Franklin pulled the stove away from the wall to increase its heating efficiency and gave it a flue that lost less heat and also served as a simple radiator. His restless mind fixed on problems large and small. It is to Franklin that we are indebted for the grocer’s claw, the mechanical hand attached to a pole used for reaching items stored on high shelves. At the age of 83, under the spur of his own nearsightedness, Franklin invented the bifocal. The top half of each jens was for distance viewing, the bottom half for reading. Samuel F. B. Morse Morse gave up a successful career as a portrait painter to 176 pursue his interest in telegraphy and gained more fame and wealth than he could have imagined as a painter. Before his invention of the unique dot-dash code that bears his name and the remarkable electromagnetic system that he assembled to transmit the message, the exact location of a fast-moving train was not known, and this lack of exactitude was often fatal. Morse had completed a model of his system, irttluding the code, by 1853. The telegraph was not patented until 1844 and not put to practical use on the railroad until 1851. Although it immediately proved to be the best available method on communicating between railway stations to determine whether or not a given train had arrived at that point or had already left, established practices die¬ hard, and the telegraph system was not universally adopted for full 20 years after its first use. The sewing machine The sewing machine was the creation of many minds. Walter Hunt, probably the 1800s most prolific inventor, was one of the first to create a device that could sew. He built his machine in about 1833, but thinking it would deprive seamstresses of their work, he withheld it from the market. Elias Howe had no such compunction; he patented his sewing machine in 1846 and spent years fighting to maintain the exclusive rights for his invention. Among his opponents was the machinist and promotional genius Isaac M. Singer, who had built a machine with several marked improvements. In prolonged litigation over patent rights, Howe emerged the victor in 1854. Two years later Howe, Singer, and two more competitors agreed to pool the best sewing machine patents and share the royalties. This reasonable approach proved to be a good idea: Singer and Howe both became millionaires. “India rubber” Charles Goodyear was obsessed with gum elastic, or “India rubber’’. It its natural state, the material was too soft for practical use in hot weather and too hard when it was cold. Goodyear was determined to stabilize it by some curing process, and he had a blind faith that he would hit on something if he kept trying every method me could think of As it turned out, the process that made rubber a 177 12—1870
useful servant of man was discovered by accident. After patenting his process of vulcanization in 1844, Goodyear advocated rubber for almost every use including clothing, tobacco pouches, and bathtubs. He died in 1860, and was, therefore, not destined to see its universal use in automobile tires. Thomas Elva Edison Edison once remarked that genius is “one per cent inspiration and ninety nine per cent perspiration”. Certainly neither inspiration nor industry were lacking in this prolific inventor, who was granted a total of 1097 patents — an all-time record. Thomas E. Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847. He had but a few years of formal schooling, but his mother taught him at home, and he early developed an interest in science. He took his first job as a railroad newsboy and “candy butcher”, and then became an itinerant telegrapher, an occupation that started him on the road to developing his amazing potentialities for electrical innovation. His first commercially successful invention was an improved stock ticker, used by speculators in gold and securities. He used the $40000 he got for this — a small fortune for a 23-year-old — to open a factory in Newark, New Jersey. There he made telegraph instruments and stock tickers, and methodically set about turning out further inventions. In 1876 Edison moved from Newark to Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he established his “invention factory”, the first industrial research laboratory. A torrent of discoveries and inventions was Soon pouring from his fertile brain. Edison’s invention, in 1877, of a “talking machine” that could record, store, and reproduce human speech or music was revolutionary. His only discovery in pure science came in 1883: it was the Edison effect. He patented this discovery in 1884 but did not investigate it further. Other scientists used it to develop the electronics industry, particularly radio and television. Edison’s character was not a simple one, he was not always successful. But the urge to experiment and improve never lagged. When he died at 84, many people dimmed their lights in honor of the wizard who had extended their days with the incandescent light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell It is hard to imagine that until a century ago the world had to get along without the telephone. Its inventor, Alexander Graham 178 Bell, was born in Scotland in 1847 and came to the United States at the age of 24. In 1873 he became professor of vocal physiology at Boston University. For several years he had been experimenting with transmitting the human voice. On March 10, 1876, he called over his transmitter: “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you”. His assistant raced from the laboratory to Bell’s bedroom, shouting that he had heard every word clearly. By the turn of the century more than 1,5 million telephones were in use across the country. Its impact on business and industry was explosive. Bell became a wealthy man, but money had never been his goal. He plunged into other projects, building, devising, and inventing something all his life. Revision Assignment 1. Enlarge upon the problem: “Museums, Man and Society”. In the form of a thesis, write down 6—8 sentences. Use your notes when answering. 2. Speak on the topic: “Science and technology in Russia”. 12*
Unit XIII EDUCATING THE NATION DU Read the text. American School System Education is not mentioned in the Constitution, nor is there any federal department of education, so the matter is left to individual States. Education is free and compulsory in all States, however, from the age of 6 till 16 or 18. So, most American children go to State schools. In the USA these are called public schools. There are also some private schools, which are usually supported by religious organizations. At 6 years of age children begin the first year of elementary school, which is called “Grade 1” or “First Grade” (the second year is “Grade 2”, etc.). At elementary school the emphasis is placed on the basic skills — speaking, reading, writing and arithmetic, though the general principle throughout the American school system 180 is that children should be helped and encouraged to develop their own particular interests. Children move on to high school in the seventh grade, where they continue until the twelfth grade. There are two basic types of high school: one with a more academi6 curriculum, preparing students for admission to college, and the other offering primarily vocational education (training in a skill trade). The local school board decides which courses are compulsory. There is great freedom of choice, however, and an important figure in high schools is the guidance counselor, who advises the students on what courses to take on the basis of their career choices. There are no national exams, although some schools and States have their own exams. Generally examination is given by continuous assessment, which means that teachers assess children throughout the year on how well they do in tests, classroom discussions and written and oral work. In order to receive the high school diploma necessary in most States to get into college, students must accumulate a minimum number of credits, which are awarded for the successful completion of each one- or half-year course. Students hoping to be admitted to the more famous universities require far more than the minimum number of credits and must also have good grades (the mark given on the basis of a course work and a written examination). Some colleges and universities require the students to take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). Extra-curricular activity (such as playing for one of the school’s sports teams) is also very important in the American school system and is taken into consideration by colleges and employers. , Vocabulary compulsory curriculum vocational school board guidance counselor обязательный программа, учебный план, курс обучения профессиональный отдел образования консультант по выбору профес¬ сии 181
assessment оценка уровня знаний credit балл; зачет to award давать, присуждать, награж¬ дать grade отметка, оценка (the) Scholastic Aptitude Test проверка способности (учаще- (SAT) гося с целью определения целесообразности соответ¬ ствующего курса обучения) extra-curricular внеклассная, внеаудиторная, общественная Assignment 2s. Comprehension Arrange the following questions according to the order of the text and answer them. 1) What is the role of the guidance counselor? 2) What skills are acquired at elementary school? 3) Are there any national exams at schools? 4) What are State schools called? 5) What is the activity performed after classes called? 6) How many basic types of high school are there in the US? 7) What is vocational education? 8) Who has the right to attend American schools? 9) What is necessary in most States to get into college? 10) Are there any private schools in the US? tk Discussion 1.j With your fellow-students, discuss the advantages (and disadvantages, if any) of American secondary education. 2. Compare Russian and American school systems.,Point out similarities and differences. 3. Dwell on extra-curricular activity and its role in Russian school system. 182 171 Look through the text. Public Education: Historical Review The history of education in the United States has certain peculiarities which are closely connected with the specific conditions of life in the New World and the history of the American society. The early Colonies and different politics of education for the first white settlers who came to North America from Europe in the 17th century brought with them the educational ideas of the time most typical of the countries they represented. In Virginia and South Carolina, for example, education was entirely private. The children of the rich either had tutors or were sent to Europe for schooling. Many of the children of poor parents had no education at all. In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York many of the schools were set up and controlled by the church. In Massachusetts, which was much more developed at that time, three educational principles were laid down: 1) the right of the State or Colony to require that its citizens be educated; 2) the right of the State to compel the local governmental divisions, such as towns and cities, to establish schools; and 3) the right of the local government to support these schools by taxation. At the very beginning, school buildings were often rough shacks. They were poorly equipped with a few benches, a stove, and rarely enough textbooks. Discipline was harsh, and corporal punishment was frequent. The program of studies consisted largely of reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and Bible lessons. Since each community was responsible for solving its own educational problems, there was no attempt to find a common standard of excellence. Even the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1789, contained no direct mention of education. The schools of the early 1800s were not very different from those of the pre-revolutionary period. Some historians consider that they actually deteriorated in the three or four decades following the American Revolution, for the new country turned its attention to the development of its land, cities, and political institutions. And yet, in attempt to generate interest in education, a number of communities continued founding schools. Some classes were opened to children for secular instruction and a number of 183
schools for poor children which were a forerunner of the public schools in several major cities. Some States tax-supported schools and urged their spread. The purpose of the public or “common” schools was to teach the pupils the skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. No particular religion was to be taught. By the mid-19th century, the desire for free public education was widespread. But the States could not find enough means for its financial support. It was during those years that communities began to support the schools within their boundaries. The States finally required local school districts to tax themselves for that purpose through the “real property” tax. This tax originated as financial support for public schools, and remains today the major financial resource for the public school system in the United States though it can no longer carry the entire burden. Towards the second part of the 19th century compulsory attendance laws came into effect* starting with Massachusetts in 1852. Now in most States the minimum age at which a pupil may leave school is sixteen; in five States seventeen; and in four States eighteen. As has already been mentioned, education remains primarily a function of the States. Each State has a board of education, usually 3 to 9 members, serving mostly without pay. They are either elected by the public or appointed by the Governor. The board has an executive officer, usually called a State school superintendent or commissioner. In some cases he is elected; in others he is appointed by the board. In theory, responsibility for operating the public education system is local. Schools are under the jurisdiction of local school board, composed of citizens elected by residents of the school district. In fact, however, much local control has been superseded. State laws determine the length of the school year, the way in which teachers will be certified, and many of the courses which must be taught. Though the Federal Government has no powers at all in the field of education, from time to time Congress passes different Acts which help to “assist in the expansion and improvement of educational programs to meet critical national needs”; Such Acts provide money for science, mathematics, and language instruction; for the purchase of laboratory equipment. 184 Assignment "Js. Comprehension Make up a list of words which can be joined under the headline “Education”. Give reasons for your choice. 'S’ Discussion 1. Describe the development of education from the 17th through the 19th centuries. 2. State the role of the Church. 3. Comment on the three principles of education laid down in Massachusetts. 4. Express your attitude towards corporal punishment. 5. Tell the story of the “real property” tax. 6. Say how the public education system operates nowadays. iPTi Read the text. Higher Education There are about 3,000 colleges and universities, both private and public, in the United States. Students have to pay to go to both private and State universities. Private universities are generally smaller but very expensive, which means that the tuition fees are extremely high. State colleges and universities are not that expensive, the tuition fees are usually lower, and if the students are State residents, they pay much less. Every young person who enters a higher educational insti¬ tution can get financial assistance. If a student is offered a loan, he should repay it (with interest) after he has left the college. Needy students are awarded grants which they do not have to repay. Scholarships are given when a student is doing exceptionally well at school. American universities and colleges are usually built as a separate complex, called “campus”, with teaching blocks, libraries, dormitories, and many other facilities grouped together on one site, 185
often on the outskirts of the city. Some universities are comprised of many campuses. The University of California, for example, has 9 campuses, the biggest being Berkeley (founded in 1868), San Francisco (1873), Los Angeles (1919), Santa Barbara (1944), Santa Cruz (1965). All the universities are independent, offering their own choice of studies, setting their own admission standards and deciding which students meet those standards. The greater the prestige of the university, the higher the credits and grades required. The terms “college” and “university” are often used inter¬ changeably, as “college” is used to refer to all undergraduate education; and the four-year undergraduate program, leading to a bachelor’s degree, can be followed at either college or university. Universities tend to be larger than colleges and also have graduate schools where students can receive post-graduate education. Advanced or graduate university degrees include law and medicine. Most college and university undergraduate courses last for four years. During the first two years students usually follow general courses in the arts or sciences and then choose a major — the subject or area of studies in which they concentrate. The other subjects are called minors. Credits (with grades) are awarded for the successful completion of each course. These credits are often transferable, so students who have not done well in high school can choose a junior college (or community college), which offers a two-year “transfer” program, preparing students for degree-granting institutions. Community colleges also offer two-year courses of a vocational nature, leading to technical and semi-professional occupations, such as journalism. There are no final examinations at colleges and universities, and students receive a degree if they have collected enough credits in a particular subject. The traditional degree which crowns the undergraduate course is that of a Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) or a Bachelor of Science (B. S.). The lower level of graduate school is for obtaining the Master’s Degree (M. A. or M. S.), and the upper level is for the degree of Ph.D. Notes and Commentary The Berkeley ['ba:kli], San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara ['saenta Ъа:Ьэгэ], Santa Cruz ['sasnta 'kru:z] campuses — Беркли, 186 Сан-Франциско, Лос-Анджелес, Санта-Барбара, Санта-Крус, крупнейшие из девяти университетских городков Калифор¬ нийского университета, расположенные в одноименных го¬ родах Vocabulary tuition fee loan interest to repay needy grant scholarship dormitory (dorm) bachelor’s degree graduate school the arts the science(s) major “transfer” program Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) Bachelor of Science (B. S.) Master’s Degree (M. A. or M. S) Ph. D. (Doctor of Philosophy) плата за обучение заем зд. процент (с суммы, взятой взаймы) возмещать, возвращать нуждающийся субсидия, дотация стипендия студенческое общежитие степень бакалавра аспирантура гуманитарные науки естественные науки предмет специализации подготовительный курс степень бакалавра гуманитар¬ ных наук степень бакалавра естественных наук степень магистра наук ( тарных или естественных) степень доктора наук («докто¬ ра философии») Assignment Comprehension Agree or disagree with the following statements. 1) The system of university education in the US is centralized.
2) There is no difference between private and State universities. 3) A University course usually lasts for four years. 4) One can obtain a bachelor’s degree at any college or University. 5) There are special advanced University degrees. 6) Any University has only one campus. 7) There are no colleges which offer “transfer” programs. 8) М. A., M. S. and Ph. D. are research degrees. $ Discussion 1. Enlarge upon different types of colleges and Universities in the US. 2. Speak about the structure of American graduate school. 3. Comparing American and Russian Universities, pay special attention to the entrance standards and admission policies. Ш Scan the text and: 1) give a review of University education in its historical development; 2) using the text and your background knowledge, describe one of the American Universities. World Famous The most famous American higher educational institutions that were already in operation during the early period came into being through the religious zeal and philanthropy of their founders. Higher education began in the United States long time ago, when the Puritan leaders of the settlement called the Massachusetts Bay Colony founded in 1636 Harvard College (Massachusetts). Established by John Harvard, English clergyman, this college was to turn into the most famous of the American University. The College of William and Mary (Virginia, 1693) was the second institution of higher education founded in the Colonies. In 1701 Connecticut Puritans established Yale College (Connecticut). All these Colonial colleges which were gradually turned into 188 Universities with classical education established a balance between the Humanities and Science. Their aim was to train men for service in church and civil state. By the 1770s several more colleges had been opened: University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania, 1740), Princeton University (New Jersey, 1746), Washington and Lee University (Virginia, 1749), Columbia University (New York, 1754), Brown University^Rhode Island, 1764), Rutgers College (New Jersey, 1766), Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, 1769). Though the colleges in the first half of the 19th century were numerous and widely scattered over the settled area, their enroll¬ ments were comparatively small. Since 1870s the colleges have developed enormously. Their resources have multiplied, the number of their students has increased by leaps and bounds, the program of studies has broadened and deepened, the standards have been raised, and the efficiency of the instruction has greatly increased. Rigidly prescribed courses of study have given way to elective courses. In the course of time, when research centers and experiment Stations were attached to the Universities, these institutions turned into the strongholds of science and higher education. They developed a unique, typically American structure unlike any other existing University system in the world. Notes and Commentary Harvard ['hccvad] University (Massachusetts, 1636), College of William and Mary (Virginia, 1693), Yale [jeil] University (Connecticut, 1701), University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania; 1740), Princeton t'prinst9n]University (New Jersey, 1746), Washington and Lee University (Virginia, 1749), Cplumbia University (New York, 1754), Brown University (Rhode Island ['roud 'aibnd], 1764), Rutgers College (New Jersey, 1766), Dartmouth ['dcutmaG] College (New Hampshire, 1769)— Гар¬ вард, Колледж Уильяма и Мэри, Йельский университет, университет Пенсильвании, Принстон, университет Вашин¬ гтона и Ли, Колумбийский университет, университет Брау¬ на, Рутгерский колледж, Дартмутский колледж (все перечис¬ ленные университеты — частные) 189
Revision Assignment In your notebooks, draw a scheme of the American system of higher education. Use the scheme when presenting the report on the subject. Compare the Russian and American systems of school and university education. Wherever possible, give a historic review. Unit XIV SPORTS, LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT Ш Read the text. Sports Considering America’s infatuation with sports and recreation today, it is hard to imagine how few games Americans’ early ancestors had for play. Baseball, generally recognized as the national pastime, did not begin to gain a sizable following until the 1840s and for many years was widely regarded as a game for the idle rich. The Civil War helped to democratize the game, as Union Army recruits took to baseball and taught it to fellow soldiers and to their captors in prison camps in the South. Soon after the war the first professional clubs were formed, and thereafter baseball occupied an unchallenged position as the Nation’s No. 1 sport until the late 1940s. 191
Football in the early 1900s was essentially a college game and even then was criticized for its brutality. Boxing developed slowly, hampered by legal bans and public disapproval. Golf and tennis were dismissed as recreations for the wealthy. Eventually, all these sports attained great popularity. Bicycling became the rage in the 1890s, but interest diminished as the automobile took over. Basketball, a latecomer, was widely accepted by players and the public. Never again is one decade likely to see so many exceptional athletes in such a variety of sports as the 1920s produced. The 10-year span has rightly been called the Golden Age of Sports. There were outstanding performers not only in the major sports but in polo, in billiards and pool, in automobile and motorboat racing, in ice-hockey and figure skating, in yachting, in rowing, and in 6-day bicycle racing. New sports were introduced. The mad, amazing, delightful decade kicked off the greatest expansion in sports and recreation America had ever known. After World War II there were unprecedented opportunities for the enjoyment of leisure. Shorter workweeks, higher pay, and longer vacations encouraged travel and sightseeing. A growing interest in physical fitness sent people into the open. They learned to play golf, tennis, handball, and volleyball. They bowled, skied, skated, and went camping, fishing, hunting, boating, hiking, jogging, bicycling, and swimming. When they were not out on the roads, waterways, beaches, or playing fields, they crowded into baseball parks, football stadiums, basketball and hockey arenas, and racetracks as spectators, and literally millions sat before their TV sets to watch highly paid athletic superstars perform. The remarkable diversity of the American people is nowhere more dramatically illustrated than in the variety of sports they so enthusiastically pursue. Vocabulary infatuation (with) слепое увлечение recreation • отдых, развлечение^ pastime приятное времяпрепровожде¬ ние, игра, развлечение 192 to take to пристраститься, проявлять ин¬ терес, заинтересоваться captor захвативший в плен ban запрет to take over победить; перегнать, обогнать rage зд. увлечение, мода span промежуток (времени)* racing гонки yachting парусный спорт rowing гребля into the open на открытый воздух, на при¬ роду to bowl играть в шары, в кегли to go hiking ходить в походы literally буквально dramatically зд. ярко to pursue зд. заниматься Assignment "is, Comprehension Make the ideas complete. 1) Though basketball was a late-comer, everybody ... . 2) The 1920s can be called ... . 3) After World War II people began going in for ... . 4) ... can be seen in the variety of sports. 5) Early American ancestors only had ... . 6) ... began as a college game. $ Discussion Explain the meaning of the following. 1) A growing interest in physical fitness sent people into the open. 2) The remarkable diversity of the American people is nowhere more dramatically illustrated than in the variety of sports they so enthusiastically pursue. 193 ,13—1870
ш Look through the text. Find facts to prove that Alexander Cartwright was a sport genius. Alexander Joy Cartwright and the Great American Game Much of the credit for the present-day game of baseball belongs to Alexander Joy Cartwright. As a member of the New York Knicker¬ bocker Baseball Club, young Cartwright took it upon himself in 1845 to standardize a game that had evolved from the old English sport of rounders. It was no easy task. One version of baseball was played in Boston, another in Philadelphia, still another in New York. There was no agreement as to the number of men in a team, how long a game should last, or the rules of play. Even the shape and dimensions of the playing fields varied. Cartwright was by profession a draftsman and a surveyor, and he made good use of his talents when he designed a baseball field as he thought it should be. His “baseball square” — later called a diamond — turned out to be so right for the game that it is still used today, basically unaltered, in all ball parks and sandlots. Even more astonishing is the fact that most of the rules that Cartwright set down more than 125 years ago remain unchanged. The Cartwright-style diamond was laid out on the cricket grounds of the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York City. There, on June 19, 1846, the first modem game of baseball was played. The players and umpire wore their own clothes; the Knickerbockers first wore uniforms in 1849. Alexander Cartwright did not participate as a player in the historic event of 1846. Instead he acted as the game’s umpire, enforcing his own rules. In this role he may have been responsible for yet another baseball first when he fined one of the players for swearing. The fine amounted to 6 cents. HID Read the text. Father of Modem Football Walter Camp has been called the most influential figure in American football, and with good reason. No other person did so 194 much to revolutionize the Rugby-type game of the middle 1800s and turn it into the truly American sport it is today. Born in New Britain, Connecticut, on April 7, 1859, Walter Camp was a natural athlete. His ability was recognized when he entered Yale and was quickly selected for a halfback position on the football team. In those days a college football team consisted of 15* players— 8 forwards, 4 halfbacks, and 3 fullbacks. It was a wild sport with few rules and little or no strategy: this turned college football from a kicking and running game into a brutal battering contest and caused public outrage at the resulting toll in death and injuries. After playing the game for a while, Camp began to envision ways of making football more scientific and the play controllable. He made suggestions to the rules committee, and they were for the most part accepted. Among the suggestions were recommendations that there be 11 players to a side, and that “the man who receives the ball from the snapback ... be called the quarterback”. The creation of the position of quarterback was perhaps Camp’s most significant innovation. Another dramatic change, at Camp’s suggestion, was to allow tackling below the waist. Camp excelled in other sports besides football. He was outstanding in baseball, track and swimming. After graduating he studied medicine for 2 years, then entered business. But he never allowed his career to interfere with his close ties to Yale. He remained active at his alma mater for many years as general director of athletics and advisory football coach. He also served in the Intercollegiate Football Rules Committee for 48 years. Although the early All-American teams, beginning in 1889; were picked by Caspar Whitney, the selections were later made by Walter Camp (a custom he continued throughout his life). He died in New York on March 14, 1925. Vocabulary полузащитник защитник передача с центра поля назад на игрока четвертьзащитник 195 13» halfback fullback snapback quarterback
to excel track(-and-field athletics) intercollegiate превосходить легкая атлетика межуниверситетский Assignment "23k Comprehension Make up a plan of the text. Ф Discussion 1. Why is the text called: “Father of Modern Football”? 2. Recollect the facts from the history of Russian football. 3. Speak about an outstanding Russian football coach or/and player. Ш Read the title first and predict what the text is about. Scan the text and say if you were a success in guessing the content of it through the title. Made in the USA Of all the major sports played in the United States, the only purely indigenous game is basketball. It was invented in 1891 by Canadian-born James Naismith, who taught physical education in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the International Training School (now Springfield College). Using a soccer ball and two peach baskets, he designed an indoor, no-contact sport to keep his students out of mischief during the winter and to fill the winter gap between the football season in autumn and baseball in spring. The game was an instant success with the Springfiel&ftudents. Shortly thereafter it began to be played in training schools gym¬ nasiums across the country; Enthusiasm for basketball soon spread to schools and colleges in the United States and Canada. The game was also introduced in many countries throughout the world 196 by graduates of the International Training School in Springfield. Its growth was rapid. Soon the United States was laced with basketball leagues, and the players ranged from grammar school to college age. By 1939 the rules of basketball had been printed in as many as 30 languages, and the game was played in more than 75 countries. The game was made an official part of Olympic competition in 1936, in Germany, when basketball teams from 22 countries partici¬ pated. Dr. Naismith was present at the official ceremony honoring his game. Professional basketball, originally tried in the 1890s, failed to capture the public imagination until the 1920s. With the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949, basketball became one of America’s big three professional team sports. The game’s coverage was substantially increased in 1967 when a rival league, the American Basketball Association (ABA), came into existence. Dr. Naismith witnessed the phenomenal growth of his game from a minor indoor recreation to a major American and international sport. He remained at Springfield until 1895, then moved to Denver, Colorado. Three years later Naismith was on the move again, this time to Lawrence, Kansas, where he became the ever-enthusiastic director of physical education at the University of Kansas. He died in Lawrence on November 28, 1939. Nowadays millions of spectators pass through the turnstiles each year to attend high school, college, and professional basketball games, while millions more watch the action on their television screens — a far cry from the days of Dr. Naismith with his peach- basket goals and soccer ball. ГП Read the text. Entertainment for All The United States in its short history has contributed in remarkable variety to the entertainment of humankind. Black-face minstrels, glamorous motion picture stars, hard-riding cowboy heroes, glittering musical comedies, breathtaking circuses, and spectacular 197
television shows — all are exuberant expressions of the innovative genius of American show business. The daytime radio serials, or soap operas (so called because they were often sponsored by soap companies), now adapted to television, were created here and, for better or worse, have captured an audience of millions. Popular entertainment was a latecomer to America because the piety and hardship of colonial days delayed its growth. A few wandering players could be seen among settlers during the Colonies’ first century, and throughout the 1700s many Americans regarded playgoing as an indulgence in sinful worldliness. By the 1800s, however, the high spirits of a fast-growing Nation were finding a natural outlet in the theater. America has originated many distinctive variations of show business and has breathed new life into older forms as well. Since the 19th century, US entertainment merchants have excelled at razzle-dazzle. They made turn-of-the-century theater big business, mapped transcontinental vaudeville paths, transformed the movies from a peepshow noyelty into a global industry, and, by creating national radio and television networks, brought much of the world into the American living room. Not only have these triumphs been accompanied by unprecedented commercial success, but since 1900 they have won international acclaim for American performers, playwrights, and film-makers. Vocabulary black-face minstrels исполнители негритянских мелодий, песен, шуток и т. п., загримированные неграми обильный, роскошный благочестие, набожность потворство, потакание (сво¬ им желаниям)^ грешный суетность, поглощенность земными интересами отдушина, выход exuberant piety indulgence sinful worldliness outlet 198 воротилы шоу-бизнеса, торгов¬ цы развлечениями суматоха, кутерьма зд. новизна впечатлений от по¬ сещения варьете шумное одобрение Assignment "2s. Comprehension Ask questions about the main facts of the text and answer them. Discussion 1. Draw a picture of the historical development of American show business. 2. Do you agree with the author in describing American show business as innovative and great? Give your reasons. 3. Why did the author call the article: “Entertainment for All”? Ш ■"Scan the text and pick out the facts you did not know before. Comment on these facts. The Early Days Struggling to survive in a harsh wilderness, colonial pioneers had little time for entertainment. Cities and towns were too small and the distances between them too great to provide a steady theater¬ going audience. Besides, plays, games, lotteries, music, dancing, and all other secular “divertisements” were forbidden by grim and pious Puritans as the Devil’s work. The Puritans’ disapproval of the boisterous English theaters of Shakespeare’s day had even been passed down to later generations. Beginning with the early 1700s, bands of strolling English entertainment merchants razzle-dazzle peepshow novelty acclaim 199
players appeared in the plays of Shakespeare and other play¬ wrights, performing in candlelit taverns, coffee-houses, and in halls that were hastily built just outside the city limits to avoid prosecution. America slowly developed her own performers, who worked hard to achieve a distinctively national style. Theater-going in America before the Civil War was a lively, sometimes dangerous undertaking. Only a handful of fashionable, bigrcity theaters could boast well-dressed, well-behaved audiences. Most theaters were cold in winter, stifling in summer. Men in muddy boots sprawled across the seats, spitting tobacco juice. Heroes were cheered in mid-speech. Villains were hissed and sometimes pelted with rotten fruit. Stage action often had to be stopped until fist-fights in the audience subsided. Rats scuttled past the people’s feet scratching for food. Cheap balcony seats were filled with thugs. Fire was always a danger. And yet, the American theater survived and prospered. American actors received international attention, though many Americans still regarded the stage with suspicion. This attitude persisted for decades. When the actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at a performance in 1865, one clergyman sermonized that “the theater is one of the last places to which a good man should go”. The growth of 19th century cities gave birth to new forms of entertainment, and vaudeville was among them. The first vaudeville theater was opened in 1861 on New York City’s Broadway, promising a “straight, clean variety show” for the whole family. The show was an instant hit and soon had hundreds of imitators. Vaudeville became a national industry after 1900. In 1919 the New York City Theater Guild was formed, aimed at bringing serious contemporary drama to Broadway. The organization had a profound effect on the development of the American stage. In addition to introducing new techniques of staging, acting and directing, the Guild encouraged a new generation of playwrights to examine American life. The Theater Guild was also instrumental in molding,pusical comedy. More folksy than the operetta, and unlike the variety revue because it adheres to a plot, musical comedy has become America’s most distinctive contribution to world theater. The melodic tunes and memorable lyrics written by George and Ira Gershwin, and 200 their peers were destined to be hummed, whistled, and sung the world around. Notes and Commentary Broadway ['bro:dwei] — Бродвей; слово употребляется в двух зна¬ чениях— прямом и переносном: 1) улица в Нью-Йорке, про¬ тянувшаяся с севера на юг через весь Манхэттен; всемирно известна как театральный и культурный центр; 2) индустрия развлечений в Нью-Йорке the New York City Theater Guild — гильдия театральных деятелей Нью-Йорка ffl "“Look through the text. Film Industry The first American 2-minute movies were shown as bonus attractions in vaudeville houses until the early 1900s, when thousands of small theaters devoted solely to films, and called nickelodeons because they charged a nickel, opened across the country, In 1903 “The Great Train Robbery” — the first American film to spin a coherent story — was made. Though this primitive horse opera lasted only about 8 minutes and seems embarrassingly crude to the modern eye, it would be hard to exaggerate its impact on contemporary audiences. Despite clergymen who denounced films as “wholly vicious”, the urban poor flocked to the movies in unprecedented numbers. Movies were cheap and lively, and even recent immigrants who were unable to read the English dialogue found it easy to follow the stories because of the broad pantomime. Within a few years the center of motion picture production had shifted to Hollywood, California, and shrewd entrepreneurs such as Louis B. Mayer and Samuel Goldwyn had built the movies into a national industry that grossed even more than any other expert agriculture, steel, and transportation. By 1925 motion pictures were more a necessity than a luxury 201
for many Americans. More than 130 million people went to the movies each week. There were 20000 motion picture theaters, some seating 7000 persons.. Only sound was lacking to make a reality of everybody’s dream of “true talking pictures”. From the first, audiences had come to expect musical accompaniment for the movies, either played on a house piano or an organ, or, in the more posh movie palaces, performed by a live orchestra. By 1923 it was possible to record sound on film, and later musical scores were added to feature films, and newsreels began to crackle with authentic sounds. The first full-length talkie, Warner Brothers’ “The Jazz Singer”; appeared in 1927. The first sound cartoon was introduced to the public in 1928. It was Walt Disney’s best creation “Mickey Mouse”. In the 1930s Americans turned in unprecedented numbers to the movie screens for escape from their daily woes. Several new film genres delighted audiences and helped ensure Hollywood’s preeminence in world movie making. Those included frothy, large-cast musicals (of which the best loved were the nine that paired dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers); gangster and detective films that made heroes of professional tough guys; and a host of brilliant comedies. Much of the prestige and profit of movies depended both on great actors and the genius of the directors. Production costs tripled between 1941 and 1961, and the postwar development of television seemed to signal the end of the old Hollywood. But it did not happen. Hollywood’s days of glory are not over: American movie-makers of a new generation remain among the world’s most innovative directors, and the Nation’s interest in films is reviving. The most sought-after award in the movie business is the Oscar, annually presented since 1929 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Five nominees in each of some 25 categories are picked by their fellow craftsmen. Winners are chosen by secret ballot cast by the Academy’s more than 2800 members. Assignment Ф Discussion 1. Say what problems are tackled in the text. 202 2. Divide the text into several passages according to the problems discussed. Give your reasons for such a division. 3. Which part of the text were you especially interested in and why? 4. Prove that nothing can “knock down” American film industry. 1ПП Look through the text. The World in Your Home For all the importance of movies in shaping modem culture, the impact of radio has been just as great. For the first time free entertainment reached into the average American parlour for nothing but the cost of the set. An early radio might have come to $100, and the minimum price of sets has since steadily fallen. Morning and afternoon entertainment programs were devoted to the housewife. During the 1930s some 50 soap operas chronicled the daily woes of a host of characters. The longest running daytime serial was “The Romance of Helen Trent”, broadcast five times a week from October 1933 through June 1960. Late afternoons were for children, who put aside their homework to follow the exploits of different heroes. Evenings offered more varied fare: news commentators, dance bands, programs of classical and semi-classical music, comedies. The skilled radio dramatists’ power to persuade was awesome. In 1938 Herbert G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” was broadcast. Thousands of listeners panicked and fled from their homes, fully convinced that Martians had actually landed and were laying New Jersey to waste. In many ways the story of television’s phenomenal growth parallels that of radio. Development was interrupted by global war. And once full-scale telecasting was underway, its enormous popularity meant drastic change — in some cases, near disaster — for older forms of entertainment. The rest of the entertainment world was in panic. By 1951 movie theaters had experienced a 20 to 40 per cent drop in attendance. Theater owners tried desperately to hold on to their audiences by slashing ticket prices and giving away free sets of 203
china, as they had done in the Depression years. Hundreds of theaters were forced to close their doors. Sports crowds dwindled. Other areas of economy felt TV’s impact during peak viewing hours. Radio networks, too, watched helplessly as longtime listeners abandoned their radios to watch television. They finally managed to survive by concentrating on programming for special audiences, such as teenagers, ethnic groups, and lovers of classical, jazz, or country music. At the same time, many prospered thanks to television. Tavern owners were the first to realize the potential of the medium. Their business boomed during televised sporting events. Television has proved its ability not only to educate, uplift, and inform, but also to entertain. It has brought brilliant drama, superb music, sharp satire, and incisive documentaries to countless millions of viewers. Thanks to television, American entertainers have appeared in every major country and are well known all over the world. Assignment "Sk Comprehension 1. Make up a list of the words that can be joined under the headline “Television”. 2. Using the text as a basis, finish the TV outline: Morning entertainment program 9.30 a. m. Serial “The Romance of Helen Trent” Ф Discussion 1. Comment on the last two passages of the text. Say whether you agree with the author or not. Give your reasons. 2. Tell the story of television’s phenomenal growth as a means of entertainment. 3. With your friends, discuss the place TV “occupies” in the life of young people. 4. Speak on the topic: “Russian television: its past, present and future”. 204 Revision Assignment 1. Give your point of view on the role of different means in entertaining people. 2. Speak about the kind of entertainment which you consider to be universal, i.e. which is good for everyone. 3. With your fellow-students, discuss that kind of sports, leisure and entertainment which can be labeled “ Made in Russia”.
Unit XV MUSIC AND LITERATURE Ш Read the text. America’s Music Considering the forbidding aspect of their new land, it is not surprising that the music of the early settlers was essentially prayer set to song. The first music published in the Colonies appeared in the 1698 edition of the Bay Psalm Book. In the early 1700$ the well-to-do imported manuscripts of music from Europe to play for dancing and concerts. In the early 1800s more people had time and money for the pursuit of culture, and the music of European courts and concert halls tyas widely heard, especially in the cities. By the mid-1800s European romantic melodies were the favorite music. Into this “sea” of romanticism sailed American first great songwriter, Stephen Foster, who became famous in the 1850s for 206 “My Old Kentucky Home” and other ‘‘plantation songs”, as he called them. America, at last, was beginning to find a voice of its own, and Foster’s melodies were sung in the minstrel shows popular in his day. With the wave of German immigration in the mid- 19th century came many trained musicians who — as performers, composers, and teachers — spread an enthusiasm for» romanticism and for that romantic instrument, the piano. The already growing piano business increased tremendously. One of the chief manu¬ facturers was Henry Steinweg, a German immigrant, who changed his name to Steinway. By 1860 there were 22000 pianos in America. The Civil War brought martial music, and this music, in its turn, accelerated the development of the bright sound of the brass band, which — with Sunday concerts in the park — became one of America’s most popular musical institutions for the next half century. Enthusiasm for martial ensembles spread so rapidly that by the turn of the century more than 20000 amateur and professional brass bands were giving regular concerts in towns and villages throughout the country. At the turn of the 20th century the music most widely representative of this country was gaining a fast-growing audience. This appealing new freewheeling sound was called jazz. Rooted in the field hollers and work songs of the plantations, levees, turpentine camps, and prisons, early jazz and the blues had haunting echoes of an American past. This music, in all its cultural and ethnic permutations, has perhaps done as much to create understanding and respect among all races as any other single force in American history. The popular song, that tuneful product of Tin Pan Alley, and country Western music are two other American creations that have struck responsive chords around the world. Until the early 1900s most classical music and most of the Conductors and soloists came from Europe. Then a few American musicians, such as Charles Iv6s and Henry Cowell, began to create new sounds in their own way inspiring interest in contemporary music. Encouraged by outstanding schools of music, this interest has made the United States a leader in musical experimentation and innovation. Classical music composed in the US today is as American as folk music and jazz. 207
Notes and Commentary the Bay Psalm [scum] Book — книга псалмов, изданная в одной из первых колоний Массачусетс Бей Henry Steinway ['henn'stainwei] — Стейнвей Генри, крупней¬ ший производитель роялей и пианино; инструменты фирмы «Стейнвей» и в настоящее время пользуются огромной попу¬ лярностью и считаются одними из лучших в мире Charles Ives ['t/alz 'aivz], Henry Cowell ['henri 'kauol] — Айвз Чарльз Эдвард (1871—1954), Кауэлл Генри, одни из первых американских композиторов и музыкантов, получивших миро¬ вое признание. Geographical Names Tin Pan Alley ['tin 'paen 'aeli] Тин Пэн Элли (название мест¬ ности) Vocabulary prayer the well-to-do court martial brass band ensemble by the turn amateur at the turn freewheeling holler levee turpentine camp blues haunting permutation tuneful молитва зажиточные, состоятельные двор (короля) военный духовой оркестр оркестр, ансамбль к концу любительский в начале свободный, не скованный громкий крик, вопль дамба рабочие отряды по производству скипидара из древесины блюз навязчивый трансформация, изменение мелодичный 208 chord conductor струна дирижер Assignment 2s. Comprehension Answer the questions and arrange them according to the logic of the text. 1) What was the influence exerted on American culture by German immigration? 2) What was the music of the first settlers like? 3) What change did the Civil War bring to America’s music? 4) How is the music of European courts connected with America’s music? 5) Which of the composers has made the US one of the leading countries in musical innovation? 6) What was the worldwide impact of the popular song and country music? 7) How was America beginning to find a voice of its own? 8) When and why did jazz appear? How deep was it rooted in America’s life? Discussion 1. Dwell on those purely American creations called “jazz”, “popular and country Western music”. 2. Do you agree with the author that several composers have made the US a “Number one country” in musical experimentation and innovation? 3. Speak about American music in its historical development. Ы Look through the text and explain the origin of spirituals. The Church and Music In colonial times, when the majority of the population was Protestant, most serious music was in the form of hymns because the 209 14 1870 ,
Puritans always put religion first, even in their music. Although they did enjoy such entertainment as folk songs outside the church, most of the music in their lives was in the form of the psalms they sang at services. Meanwhile, Negro slaves were allowed some religious expression and much of their music came out of their hymns. So black churches were developing their own gospel songs, blending African rhythms with religious texts. More and more religious verses were sung to popular melodies, patriotic airs, and dance tunes. Such were the hymns sung at camp meetings in the late 1800s and early 1900s in isolated areas where there were no churches. Those meetings, which went on for 4 or 5 days, featured rousing evangelical preaching, praying, and singing. The songs were revival hymns — simple, folklike, repetitious pieces that were often called spiritual songs and, later, spirituals. Negro religious songs, which blended African musical traditions with Christian themes, became known as spirituals, too, because of their similar use of repetition. Notes and Commentary hymn [him] — церковный гимн, религиозная песня, восхвале¬ ние Всевышнего или благодарение ему (необходимо отличать от Государственного гимна — anthem ['эепвэт]) ш ♦Through the title, guess what the text is about. Then scan the text and say: 1) if it contains any information you did not know before; 2) if it is connected with any preceding text. Purely American Creations After the Civil War, as black musicians began to рщу European instruments previously unavailable to them, Negroes cfeated many minstrel songs and transported the minstrel style to the piano. Negro talent, influenced by minstrel sounds applied to European- 210 style melodies, ultimately produced a new form called ragtime. The term probably derived from the ragged, uneven sound of this syncopated piano music, which mixed Afro-Caribbean dance rhythms With the accents of the quadrille, the polka, the schottische, and the march. Ragtime faded during World War I but won a new audience in the 1960s and 1970s television shows and in personal appearances. Along with ragtime, another new kind of music, also played mostly by blacks, was gradually taking shape. It was not yet called jazz in the mid-1890s when musicians were playing it at outdoor dances. Indoors the new sound was heard on piano. Bands played music derived from African melodies and rhythms mixed with hymns, blues, quadrilles, funeral marches, ragtime, and even operatic arias. The rough-hewn, self-taught approach of onetime slaves or descendants of slaves blowing brass instruments and woodwinds was leavened by the technical precision and pure, warm tones of “Creoles of Color”, many of whom were trained musicians. The exciting effect of “singing horns”, so called because the instrumentalists tried to reproduce the slurs and blue intonations of black singing, was not lost on white musicians. But when they tried to copy it, the emphasis shifted from the relaxed, blue tonality that came so naturally to the black musicians to a more staccato style of stricter tempo. This created the basis for the line of jazz still known as Dixieland, named after Tom Brown’s Band from Dixieland, which, in 1915, was the first white band to take the music north to Chicago. “Jass”, a slang word, was applied to this new music by disgruntled musicians who could neither play nor understand it. But this connotation was soon lost. Jazz became so popular that it became established in the national consciousness. The word “jazz” was so firmly planted in the public mind that the decade of the 1920s was known as the Jazz Age. Louis Armstrong and Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington have become jazz classics. While jazz, the first distinctively American music to emerge in that country, was winning adherents and acceptance, the ballads, broadsides, jigs, reels, and sacred songs that had come to America with English, Scottish, and Irish settlers were evolving their own American forms. Abandoned by the culture-minded 14* 211
Eastern cities early in the 19th century, this music was nurtured in rural mountain areas of the Southeastern States. There it remained for a century, virtually unchanged except for slight colouration from contact with black music. Then, like jazz, it was spread beyond its narrow boundaries, first by the phonograph, and then by radio. Country music has made an important contribution to a new phenomenon called rock’n’roll. While country music was being recorded in the 1920s, 1930s, and early 1940s specifically for its regional audiences, black performers were making the so called race records for Negro audiences in the big Northern cities as well as throughout the South. Those records featured black singers of country blues and little instrumental groups often called jump bands. After World War II the blues singers began to move from the rural South to Northern cities, primarily Chicago, where they joined forces with the instrumental groups. By the time they had come together, the race designation had fallen into disfavor $ and this black music was broadly identified as rhythm and blues. In 1954 one of the white country groups made a rhythm and blues disk of “Rock Around the Clock”. White listeners became aware of the excitement and validity this music could generate. The way was opened for another white performer, Elvis Presley, to project the essence of the black music, which became known as rock’n’roll. Presley’s performing style stirred so much anger in the adult world that teenagers made him a symbol of their beliefs, and rock’n’roll became a musical expression of rebellion. Notes and Commentary color — здесь и далее в названиях сохранена орфография амери¬ канского варианта английского языка Dixie ['diksi:], Dixieland [,diksi:'laend] — Дикси, Диксилэнд, южные штаты США, в основном те, которые образовали Кон¬ федерацию; слово происходит от имени Диксон. Диксон и Мей¬ сон были землевладельцами с Юга, которые первыми- в XVIII веке провели на географической карте границу, отделяющую рабовладельческие штаты от остальной части страны; впервые в 212 искаженном варианте слово появилось в 1859 году в песне “Dixie” Даниэля Эммета. 1X11 Look through the text. A Fresh Spirit in Literature America’s earliest literature flowed from the quill pens of European explorers, and the wonder and promise it told of proved a powerful lure to prospective settlers. The Puritans, whose represen¬ tatives colonized Massachusetts and whose influence was felt in other Colonies, valued the written word primarily as a tool for religious instruction. While they tolerated it as a medium for secular enlightenment, they thoroughly condemned its use for frivolous entertainment. Despite limitations they set on writing, the Puritans, as well as other colonists, placed a high value on education and laid an enduring foundation for literature. By the time of the Revolution such native offerings as Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanack” had helped to establish a sense of national identity among the colonists. In the Revolutionary epoch, fiery pamphleteers proved that literature could be highly effective in moving men to action. In the early and mid-1800s Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and a remarkable group of New Englanders gave voice to a fresh new culture that was no longer intellectually dependent on Europe. After the Civil War Bret Harte’s colourful naturalism and Mark Twain’s native humour and delightful story-telling made indelible impressions on US letters. Henry James’s novels were internationally recognized at the time the country was becoming a world power. Such post-World War I authors as Earnest Hemingway and T. S. Eliot gained world-wide recognition, as did William Faulkner and John Steinbeck in the 1930s. Eugene O’Neill’s searching plays raised American drama to the level of literature and paved the way for the internationally known dramatists Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. No more vivid record of the sum of a people’s experience can be found than in their national literature. America’s writers have 213
given the world living documents of all that has gone into the making of the greatest country in history, and the saga is still being written. Notes and Commentary Washington Irving ['wofnjten 'avin], Janies Fenimore Cooper ['d3eimz 'fenima: 'кшрэ], Bret Harte ['bret 'ha:t], Mark Twain ['ma:k 'twein], Henry James ['henri'djeimz], Earnest Hemingway [ ornist hemingwei], T. S. Eliot ['eliat], William Faulkner ['wiliam 'forkna], John Steinbeck ['dpn'stainbek], Eugene O’Neill ['ju:d3irt ou'ni:l], Arthur Miller ['абэ 'mils], Tennessee Williams [,tena'si: 'wiljamzj — знаменитые амери¬ канские писатели, известные российскому читателю; Элиот То¬ мас Стернс — автор стихов, положенных в основу самого попу¬ лярного мюзикла «Кошки» Assignment "Js. Comprehension 1. Make up a list of topical vocabulary. 2. From the text select the statements which best express its main idea. fk Discussion 1. Continue the list of American writers, naming other authors you know. Describe the life and creative activity of one of the writers in detail. 2. Say if you agree with the statement of the author of the text: “America’s writers have given the world living documents of all that has gone into the making of the greatest country in history, and the saga is still being written”. Can you apply the same words to Russian writers? Give examples. 3. Speak about your favorite Russian writer: poet, novelist or playwright. 214 Ш Scan the text. A Man of the River The Mississippi River cuts a strong, wide swath through the heartland of America. In the flow of the Mississippi’s waters, many see a symbol of freedom, a reflection of the strength ofi-the American character. Among the millions who have drawn inspiration from the mighty river was Samuel Langhome Clemens, better known to the world as Mark Twain. Sam Clemens was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, a small town on the Mississippi. In 1847, when he was 12 years old, his father died. The boy quit school and started working for a printer. Stimulated by the material he was handling, he soon began writing stories of his own and later became a journalist. From 1857 to 1861 Clemens worked as a riverboat pilot. Judging from his later writings, his years on the Mississippi were the happiest of his life. The observations he made on the river nourished much of his later work, and the people he knew there helped to form his concepts of humanity and the world. The Mississippi inspired the best writings of Mark Twain In 1861 Clemens went to Nevada Territory. There — after unsuccessful attempts at prospecting — he returned to journalism and 215
short-story writing. It was at that time that he adopted the pen name Mark Twain, a riverman’s term for 2 fathoms deep. In 1867 Mark Twain left America to tour Europe and the Holy Land, sending back humorous travel sketches. On his return to the United Sates he settled in the Northeast, married, and spent the rest of his life writing, lecturing, and traveling. He died in 1910. Mark Twain is generally recognized as America’s greatest humorist. He was also a shrewd chronicler of his times and a fine novelist. His “Life on the Mississippi” is a magnificent study of what it was like on the river before and after the Civil War. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is one of the most entertaining boys’ books ever written. But “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is Twain’s masterpiece. On the surface, it is a book for juveniles, but ultimately it is a penetrating look at the human estate and the decaying civilization of the South. It is a uniquely American work — the first major novel written in an idiom that is wholly American. Another great novelist, Earnest Hemingway, felt that all modem American literature stemmed from this one book by Mark Twain. Mark Twain’s works stand today as landmarks of wit and wisdom and as reminders of the vitality and earthiness of the young American heartland. Notes and Commentary 2 fathoms ['faeGam] deep — глубиной в две морские сажени; эта мера длины, равная 1 м 83 см или 6 футам, применяется, пре¬ имущественно, для измерения глубины воды в реках, озерах и т. п. the Holy Land ['houli] — святые места, земля обетованная (Па¬ лестина) “Life on the Mississippi”; “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” [’soya]; “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” ['hxklban 'fin] — «Жизнь на Миссисипи»; «Приключения Тома Сойера»; «Приключения Гекль- бери Финна» — названия лучших произведений Марка Твена Geographical Names Hannibal ['hsenibal] г. Ганнибал 216 Assignment Discussion 1. Explain the title of the text. 2. Do you agree that all modem American literature begins with “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”? Yes or no, give your reasons. 3. To the above description of Mark Twain and his works, add some new details you have got from different sources of information. Revision Assignment 1. Comment on the statement: “No more vivid record of the sum of a people’s experience can be found than in their national literature”. 2. Think of any kind of music or literature genre that could be called a purely Russian creation. 3. Describe the role of music and literature in your life.
Unit XVI CITIES AND TOWNS 1X1 Read the text. Demographic Changes The 1990 Census showed that some important demographic changes were taking place. Here are some results of the Census. Re-ranking cities ) Census 1980 Census 1. New York City (1) 2. Los Angeles (3) 3. Chicago (2) 4. Houston (5) 5. Philadelphia (4) 6. San Diego (8) 218 7. Dallas (7) 8. Phoenix (9) 9. Detroit (6) 10. San Antonio (11) The trend is clear. New York City remained the nation’s largest— about 7 million, but the Census said it lost almost 40,000 residents. Among the USA’s next biggest — Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia — only the Sun Belt cities grew. The USA’s fastest growing city in the top 50 was Fresno, California, a farm town turned high tech. It grew by 61 % and has more than 350,000 residents. The Census figures show that the once sleeping giants of the South and West are the new power cities now. These figures also confirm the shift of the USA’s money from the North and East. And they underscore the importance of Sun Belt cities seldom heard from 20 years ago, handing them more federal dollars, a larger voice in Washington and — even more than before — the power to sway presidential elections. Notes and Commentary (the) Sun Belt — южные штаты с более мягким климатом и с большим количеством солнечных дней в году (ср. “the Frost Belt” — северные штаты) Geographical Names San Diego ['saen di'eigou] Fresno ['freznou] г. Сан-Диего г. Фрезно Vocabulary census to re-rank перепись (населения) изменять классификацию, по¬ рядок следования 219
to grow by to underscore to sway вырасти на подчеркивать, выделять иметь влияние на, управлять Assignment ^ Comprehension Answer the questions. 1) What did the 1990 Census reveal? 2) What city has remained the largest in the US? 3) Why did Fresno, California, grow by 61 %? 4) What was the reason of the Sun Belt cities sudden growth? & Discussion ' Expand upon the reasons which led to the re-ranking of definite cities. ш Read the text. The City of Washington The city of Washington was designed in the late eighteenth century. It is со-extensive with the District of Columbia. When George Washington was elected President of the United States, there was no permanent capital to house the government. Since members of Congress could not agree as to where the capital should be located, it was decided to choose a special place for the new capital. The State of Maryland agreed to allot a wild and marshy area on the Potomac River. The region was called the District of Columbia, after Christopher Columbus, and the capital was called Washington, after George Washington. Work on the new capital began in 1791. The man who designed the city was Major Pierre-Charles L’Enfant. His grand geometric plan envisioned stately buildings as the city’s core and a grassy, 220 park-like mall with uninterrupted vistas west from the Capitol Building to the Potomac River. Yet, even by the turn of the twentieth century, Washington showed little of the grandeur of this vision. In the crowded area north of the Mall, factories and mills rubbed shoulders with stores, hotels, restaurants, and row houses. The Mall itself had been broken i into segments and landscaped with winding carriage roads and varied plantings that destroyed its symmetry. For a time the Mall was also a transportation center, with railroad tracks crossing at Sixth Street that created an eyesore and safety hazard. In 1901, as citizens sought to beautify urban areas throughout the United States, the Senate Park Commission (commonly known as the McMillan Commission after its chairman, Senator James McMillan) developed an influential new plan for Washington. This plan aimed to return the city to the formality envisioned in the late eighteenth century and to invest it with a grandeur reflecting the nation’s new sense of wealth and stature. The Mall was to become a wide, formal lawn flanked by rows of trees, against a backdrop of classical buildings, many with domes. [ At the foot of Capitol Hill, a “Union Square” was to be built with [ mounted statues of Civil War generals Grant, Sherman, and ' Sheridan, facing down the Mall. The McMillam Commission had anticipated the need for a [ complex of government office building, and with the government’s I growth during World War I, the need was urgent by the 1920s. It [' was the financier and art collector Andrew Mellon (1855—1937) I who soon became deeply involved in the city’s architecture. As : Secretary of Treasury , he was responsible for the realization of the so i called Federal Triangular Project. The core of the project was to ; reconstruct the large triangular area north of the Mall between I Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, from Sixth to Fifteenth I Street and to build offices for the government. To ensure that the project would reflect the dignity and I importance of the Federal Government, Mellon established a “Board I, of Architectural Consultants”, which ultimately included John Russell I Pope, one of America’s most prominent architects. Pope’s contribution I to the Federal Triangular Project was enormous. Thanks to Pope’s I plan, Washington today is among the most beautiful cities in the I world. 221
Notes and Commentary Pierre-Charles L’Enfant ['pjer 'Jarl tan'fam] — Ланфан Пьер Шарль, майор, французский инженер и архитектор, сын известного французского художника; принимал участие в Американской революции; талантливый человек с непоколебимой волей и силь¬ ным характером. Ввиду нежелания внести изменения в план строительства новой столицы, чтобы уменьшить финансовые затраты, Ланфан был отстранен от работы; начались долгие годы тяжбы Ланфана с правительством, которое так и не опла¬ тило его труд. Capitol Hill t-rКапитолийский холм (по аналогии с одноимен¬ ным в Древнем Риме), на котором располагается здание Капи¬ толия — парламента США Sherman, William ['Jaman'wiliam]; Sheridan, Philip Henry ['Jeridan 'filip 'henri] — Шерман Уильям, Шеридан Филип Генри, ко¬ мандующие Союзными войсками; участники важнейших битв и походов. Знаменитый марш-бросок войск под командовани¬ ем Шермана из Атланты через центральную Джорджию к Ат¬ лантическому побережью разделил войска конфедератов над¬ вое и способствовал их поражению. Geographical Names the Potomac River [pou'toumaek] p. Потомак Vocabulary to allot отводить, предоставлять marshy болотистый mall аллея, усаженная деревьями vista перспектива, вид grandeur величие, великолепие to rub shoulders тесниться, толпиться, нахо¬ диться в непосредственной близости row houses дома, выстроившиеся в ряд; цепочка домов 222 eyesore safety hazard stature flanked by against a backdrop оскорбительное для глаза, урод¬ ство угроза безопасности зд. достоинство обсаженный, обрамленный на заднем плане Assignment "S. Comprehension Enumerate the problems dealt with in this text. fk Discussion 1. Choose any period in the development of Washington and speak about it in detail. Make use of the information from additional sources. 2. Consult the map and say which of the projects of the McMillam Commission has been realized. 3. Does the development of Washington remind you of the growth of any Russian town or city? Give examples and present the facts. Ш Look through the extracts. Using the information they contain, yourN background knowledge and the map, act as a guide around Washington. Add some other places of interest to yotir sightseeing tour: the Mall and Constitution Avenue; the major museums of the Smithsonian Institution; the Pentagon; the Treasury Building, etc. Seeing the Sights of Washington The Capitol Located on Capitol Hill, the seat of American legislature dominates the City of Washington. Through the halls of this magnificent structure have passed the leading figures in American history. 223
The Capitol is the tallest edifice in Washington: no other building is allowed to be taller than the Capitol. It stands 88 feet above the level of the Potomac River and covers approximately 4 acres. Its length from north to south is 751 feet 4 inches; its width, including approaches, is 350 feet; and its height above the base line on the east front to the top of the Statue of Freedom is 287 feet 5 inches. Construction of the US Capitol began in 1793. The original plan for the building was drawn by Dr. William Thornton. President John Adams addressed the first joint session of Congress in the Senate Chamber on November 22, 1800. All interiors of the building were burned by the British in 1814. The Capitol was reoccupied in 1819. The present Senate and House wings were begun in 1851, but the building was not finished until 1867. Since then, numerous changes have been made. The Washington National Monument The Washington National Monument is a tapering shaft or obelisk of white marble, 555 feet five and one-eighth inches high. In 1833 the Washington National Monument Society was organized “for the purpose of erecting a great National Memorial to Washington”. Fifteen years later the cornerstone was laid. After many difficulties and delays, the building was opened to the public in 1888. An elevator takes visitors to the 500-foot level. Return is by elevator as well but if one wishes, he can walk down the 898 steps, from which the 190 memorial stones donated by local, State, and foreign governments can be seen. The Lincoln Memorial In 1867, two years after Abraham Lincoln’s death, Congress organized the Lincoln Memorial Association to plan a monument to his memory. Work finally started on February 12, 1914. Henry Bacon was the architect, and Daniel Chester French sculpted the great marble statue of Lincoln. Carved on the walls are Lincoln’s Qettysburg and Second Inaugural Addresses. The Jefferson Memorial Thomas Jefferson, besides being President of the United States, 224 was also a gifted amateur architect, political thinker, and founder of the University of Virginia. This memorial, dedicated on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth, was designed by the architectural firm of John Russell Pope in the simple classical style admired by Jefferson. Inside the memorial is a 19-foot bronze statue of Jefferson sculpted by Rudulph Evans, Excerpts from four <jf Jefferson’s writings are carved on the interior walls. . Surrounding the Memorial are cherry trees that the City of Tokyo presented to the City of Washington in 1912. The Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery was established on June 15, 1864, on land originally the estate of George Washington. Prominent among the many memorials in this national cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknowns, and among the unknown dead are 2,111 who died on the battlefields in the Civil War. Many famous Americans were buried here. On November 25, 1963, Arlington Cemetery became the burial ground of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial The polished black granite walls are inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing in the Vietnam War. Names of the service men and women are inscribed “in the order they were taken from us”. Alphabetical directories at the memorial help visitors find specific names by panel and line number. A flag-staff and bronze statue of three servicemen stand at the entrance plaza. Notes and Commentary the Gettysburg Address — речь, произнесенная Линкольном 19 ноября 1863 года при открытии военного мемориального кладбища в Геттисбурге (Южная Пенсильвания) на том ме¬ сте, где произошла одна из решающих битв Гражданской войны 225 15—1870
CO Before reading the text, say what you know about New York City. Then scan the text and using the map, the notes and the information from the text itself: 1) speak about the place of interest you would like to visit if you were in New York City; explain why you have chosen the very sight; 2) ask your friend what, to his mind, is especially worth seeing in New York; 3) say why New York City is called a “Big Apple”; 4) prove the author’s words that New York is the largest metropolis in the US, the city of exceptional beauty and grandeur, a world cultural, trade, financial and industrial center. New York New York, N. Y., is the post office designation of the largest metropolis in the United States. Officially it is the City of New York, and popularly it is called New York City. The City of New York is situated at the mouth of the Hudson River, sometimes called the North River. The five boroughs comprising the city are: Manhattan, on the Manhattan Island between the Hudson and East Rivers; the Bronx, on the southernmost part of the mainland; Queens and Brooklyn, on Long Island, separated from Manhattan by East River; and Richmond on Staten Island in New York Bay. The City credits Verrazano as first viewing in 1524 the place, where New York now stands. Henry Hudson found Manhattan on September 11, 1609. The first houses were built in lower Manhattan in 1613. On May 6, 1626, Peter Minuit, director general of New Netherland, as the Dutch called the colony, paid the Indians 60 guilders for Manhattan, commonly translated as $24, actually $39. When the settlement had around 200 people, it was named New Amsterdam. In 1653 they erected a wall to protect their settlement from which Wall Street takes its name. On September 8,1664, British troops occupied New Amsterdam without resistance, overthrew the Dutch government, and called the place New York. Seven years later the Dutch recaptured the city and called it New Orange, but in 1674 the city was in the hands of the British again who returned the name New York. The City of New York has always been in the center of political events. It witnessed the American Revolution; the Declaration of 226 Independence was read to the American troops here on July 9, 1776, in the presence of George Washington. It was here on April 30, 1789, that Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall.' A view of New York Thanks to its geographical position and historical past, New York has grown into a big financial, commercial, and industrial center with the heart in the Borough of Manhattan. America’s business and culture are in Manhattan. The Empire State Building, the World Trade Center, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Harlem, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Broadway — all these world famous sights are in Manhattan. What unites them is probably a small street, only a few blocks long, which is the financial center of the whole United States — Wall Street. It provides the nation with centralized credit and banking facilities. It is a sales place for securities; it is also one of the biggest money capitals of the world. Economic and financial power of the United States is concentrated in the buildings of Wall Street; in the Stock Exchange, one of the world’s greatest; in the banks, among them the oldest in the city, the Bank of New York, founded in 1784. 227
Notes and Commentary the Bronx [bronks] — Бронкс, район Нью-Йорка к северу от Манхэттена; здесь располагается всемирно известный зоопарк и ботанический сад Queens [kwi:nz] — Квинс, район Нью-Йорка на острове Лонг- Айленд; здесь расположены два крупнейших аэропорта: между¬ народный аэррпорт имени Джона Ф. Кеннеди и аэропорт Ла Гардиа Brooklyn ['bru:klin] — Бруклин, самый большой и густонаселен¬ ный район Нью-Йорка к югу от Манхэттена на острове Лонг- Айленд Richmond ['ntjmand] — Ричмонд, район Нью-Йорка, располо¬ женный на острове Стейтн-Айленд (Staten ['steitn] Island) Verrazano [,vera:'tsa:nou] — Верадзано, итальянский мореплава¬ тель; находился на военной службе у короля Франции Minuit, Peter ['minjuit 'pita] — Миньюит Петер (1580-1638), голландец, губернатор Нью-Нидерландов the Empire ['етраю] State Building — этот 104-этажный небоск¬ реб был в Нью-Йорке самым высоким зданием до постройки Международного центра торговли the World Trade Center — Международный центр торговли; по¬ строен в 1971—1973 гг.; в здании располагается около 400 фирм и офисов компаний Times Square — площадь в центральном Манхэттене между 43-й и 47-й улицами Rockefeller ['roka'fela] Center — частный центр бизнеса и развле¬ чений; в 15-ти высотных зданиях располагаются такие всемирно известные корпорации, как NBC (the National Broadcasting Company), ABC (the American Broadcasting Company), амери¬ канские и иностранные информационные агентства. Та часть комплекса зданий, где располагаются радио- и телевизионные студии, называется Radio City. Central Park — огромный парк в северном Манхэттене между 59-й и 110-й улицами и между 5-й и 8-й авеню длиной в 2,5 мили и шириной в 0,5 мили Harlem ['hatam] — Гарлем, район Манхэттена, где, в основ¬ ном, проживают пуэрториканцы, итальянцы и негритянское население 228 Revision Assignment 1. Write a composition: “The cities and towns Americans are proud of’. 2. Prepare several reports on Moscow. In the reports you are supposed to touch upon: 1) geographical situation. >* 2) Moscow’s past and present. 3) higher educational institutions. 4) museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions. 5) the role of Moscow as the largest metropolis in Russia. 3. Write an essay: “The place I adore”.
Unit XVII THE SYMBOLS CO Read the text. The Statue of Liberty Ever since 1886, when her great torch was lifted into place 305 feet above Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the colossal statue of “Liberty Enlightening the World” has symbolized America for millions of eager newcomers. Many wept as they neared the American shore, recalling all they had left behind and apprehensive about what they might find in the new land. But with their first glimpse of the statue, one Italian immigrant recalled, they were “steadied ... by the concreteness of the symbol of America’s freedom, and they dried their tears,”. The statue was the work of Alsatian sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and was intended to commemorate both a Century of amity between France and the United States and the concept of political freedom shared by the two nations. 230 The book that Liberty holds in her left hand symbolizes the Declaration of Independence. The main figure is attached to an iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel, builder of France’s Eiffel Tower. The statue was paid for by French contributors; American schoolchildren participated in a nationwide drive to raise funds for the pedestal. On a tablet within are inscribed the last five lines of a sonnet, “The New Colossus”, by Emma Lazarus, herself ah immigrant: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Notes and Commentary Alsatian [ael'seijon] — зд. уроженец Эльзаса Frederic Auguste Bartholdi [,fredo'nk o:'gu:st btc'0oldi:] — Бартольди Фредерик Огюст, известный французский скульптор Gustave Eiffel [gus'tcuv 'aifl] — Эйфель Гюстав (1832—1923), зна¬ менитый французский инженер-строитель Emma Lazarus ['етэ 'lsezores] — Лазарус Эмма, известная аме¬ риканская поэтесса Vocabulary to weep apprehensive to steady concreteness to commemorate amity tablet to huddle to yearn wretched плакать опасающийся, озабоченный делаться стойким твердость, непоколебимость устраивать в память, в честь, ознаменовывать дружба дощечка с надписью жаться, тесниться, толпиться стремиться несчастный 231
refuse отбросы (зд. отвергнутые об¬ ществом, никому не нужные люди) teeming переполненный, изобилующий, ^ многолюдный tempest-tossed изнуренные, раскиданные штор¬ мом Assignment ЗЭч Comprehension 1. Present the following words and phrases in the situations from the text: “eager newcomers”, “to commemorate”, “the concreteness of the symbol”, “to pay for”. 2. Ask 4~5 questions about the text and answer them. Ф Discussion 1. Give your interpretation of the sonnet. 2. Say if any lines (phrases) of the sonnet are logically connected with the text. m Read the text. Consult the dictionary to make up a list of topical vocabulary. The White House The White House, the official residence of the President, stands in tree-shaded grounds (18 acres) on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue. The main building has 6 floors, with the East Terrace leading to the East Wing, a 3-story building used for offices and as an entrance for official events. The West Terrace contains offices and leads to the Executive Office. The White House was designed by James Hoban, an Irish-born architect. President Washington chose the site which was included in the plan of the Federal City prepared by Major Pierre L’Enfant. 232 The cornerstone of the Executive Mansion, as it was originally I known, was laid on October 13, 1792, 300 years after the landing of I Columbus. President Washington was not present and never lived in I the house. It was John Adams, the second President (1797—1801), I who arrived in the new Capital City to take up his residence in the I White House. On his second evening in its damp, unfinished rooms, I he wrote to his wife, “Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to be^ow I the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit ' it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof’. The President’s home was the earliest of all government buildings in the District of Columbia. Compared to the huge, glittering palaces used by European and Asian rulers at the time it was built, the White House is a simple, almost unpretentious dwelling place. On August 24, 1814, during Madison’s administration (1809— 1817)j the British troops entered Washington and set fire to the White House. By December 1817, James Hoban had completed - rebuilding the Executive Mansion, and President Monroe (1817— 1825) moved in. The British were indirectly responsible for the name “White House”, Since the marks of the fire were clearly seen on the sandstone walls, they had to be obliterated by being painted white. But the house remained the “Executive Mansion” until the administration of Theodore Roosevelt (1901—1909), when the words “White House” appeared and the term became official. In 1947 President Truman (1945—1953) had a second-floor porch built into the south portico. In 1948 he asked Congress to authorize complete rebuilding because the White House was unsafe. Reconstruction cost $5,761,000. The interior was completely removed. New underpinning 24 feet deep was placed under the outside walls and steel frame was built to support the interior. All original trim and metal work were preserved. Assignment I?” Discussion 1. Say if the phrase “The White House” is used in its direct meaning (i.e. to denote a building). Prove your point of view with the help of the text. 233
2. What else can “The White House” mean? Refer to the text with the same title from Unit IV. Ш *Scan the text and: 1) compare it with the text “The National Museum of American History (Unit XII); point out identical features (facts, ideas) in both texts and note what distinguished them; 2) give your interpretation of “The Pledge to the Flag”; with your fellow-students discuss the way everybody understands it. To the Stars and Stripes Old Glory, that proud symbol of America, is the product of a rather haphazard series of events. After England and Scotland were united in 1603 through the accession to the English throne of James I, the Cross of St. George was superimposed on the Scottish Cross of St. Andrew to form the British Union. The Meteor flag, flown even today by British merchant ships (with Ireland’s Cross of St. Patrick added to it), was equally familiar to the colonists, who striped its solid red field to form their Grand Union flag. So, a precursor of today’s flag was the Grand Union flag, which George Washington presented to the Colonial Army on New Year’s Day 1776. It still incorporated the British Union flag because the colonists, although they had already fought at Lexington and Concord, had not yet decided to break away entirely from the mother country. No one knows who the designer was. On June 14, 1777, after independence, the Continental Congress decreed retention of the stripes but replacement of Britain’s flag with a “new constellation” of stars symbolizing the united Colonies. The designer of the 1777 flag is also unknown. The only authority for the story that Betsy Ross made it was Betsy’s grandson, who first told it in 1870. The new flag was flown mainly by ships, for identification; it was seldom used on land. But whether on land or sea, its stars — arranged in various ways — were as likely to be blue on white as white on blue and to have eight points as five. Often blue stripes were mingled with the red and white, and in some flags the stripes were 234 vertical. Only the three colours were constant. In 1782 Congress proclaimed that the red stood for hardiness and courage, the white for purity and innocence, and the blue for justice, vigilance, and perseverance. By 1795two more stars and stripes had been added, representing the 14th and 15th States. In 1818 Congress returned the number of stripes to 13, for the original Colonies, but it set no pattern foMhe stars. From then on a new star was added for each new state — on the Fourth of July following the State’s accession. The last such Independence Day celebration was in 1960, after Hawaii had become the 50th State. One popular motif was a single large star outlined by small stars, but the row arrangement became more common and in 1912 was made official. The Pledge Flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 03 Look through the text. The Library of Congress: Services to the Nation The Library of Congress is the Nation’s library. Its services extend not only to Members and committees of the Congress, but to the executive and judicial branches of government, to libraries throughout the Nation and the world, and to the scholars and researchers and artists and scientists who use its resources. This was not always the case. When President John Adams signed the bill that provided for the removal of the seat of government to the new capital city of Washington in 1800, he created a reference library for Congress only. The bill provided, among other items, $5000 “for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress — and for putting up a suitable apartment for containing them therein ...”. The first books were ordered from England and shipped across the Atlantic in 11 hair trunks and a map case. The library was 235
housed in the new Capitol, until August 1814, at which time British troops invaded Washington, and when they put the torch to the Capitol Building, the small Library was lost. Within a month former President Thomas Jefferson, living in retirement at Monticello, offered as a replacement his personal library, accumulated over a span of 50 years. When in France, Jefferson had spent many afternoons at bookstalls, “turning over every book with my own hands, putting by everything which related to America, and indeed whatever was rare and valuable in every science”. His library was considered one of the finest in the United States. In offering the library to Congress Jefferson wrote, “I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not have occasion to refer”. After considerable debate Congress in January 1815 accepted Jefferson’s offer, appropriating $23950 for the collection of 6487 books. Thus the foundation was laid for a great national library. The Library of Congress complex on Capitol Hill includes three buildings. The Thomas Jefferson Building, executed in Italian Renaissance style, is the oldest of these. Heralded as the largest library structure in the world when it was completed in 1897, it is elaborately decorated with splendid sculpture, murals, and mosaics created by 50 American artists. The Main Reading Room houses a collection of 45000 reference books and desks for 250 readers. The adjacent Computer Catalogue Center provides public access to the Library’s automated catalogue files through computer terminals. The simply designed, dignified John Adams Building, faced with white Georgia marble, was opened in 1939. Bas-relief sculptures on its large bronze doors represent 12 historic figures credited with giving the art of writing to their people. The white marble James Madison Memorial Building, dedicated on April 24, 1980, more than doubled the Library’s available Capitol Hill space. Eight reading rooms, offices, and storage areas for the Library’s special-format collections number over 70 million items. Collections of the whole Library include more than 86 million items covering virtually every subject in formats that vary, from papyrus to optical disk. These materials stretch along 535 miles of shelves and are being acquired at a rate of 10 items a minute. The Library has 26 million books in 60 languages and more than 36 million manuscripts, among them such treasures of American history and 236 culture as the papers of Presidents, notable families, writers, artists, and scientists. The Library has the world’s largest and most comprehensive cartographic collection — almost 4 million maps and atlases, dating back to the middle of the 14th century — and a 7-million-piece music collection that includes not only paper material, but also Stradivarius instruments. * The Library’s 10 million prints and photographs provide a visual record of people, places, and events in the United States and in many foreign countries. Approximately 75000 serial titles are received annually; 1200 newspapers are held in the Library’s permanent collections, with some dating back to the 17th century. There are also 80000 motion picture titles;' 50000 television broadcasts, 3500001 radio transcriptions. Assignment 2s. Comprehension 1. Make the following ideas complete. 1) The Library of Congress belongs to ... . : ' 2) ... set fire to the building of the Library in ... . 3) When in Europe, Jefferson was looking for ... . 4) In 1897 the Library was considered to be ... . 2. Make up a list of the departments of the Library of Congress. 3. Draw an outline of the text. bDiscussion 1. Using the outline drawn, speak about the history of creation of one of the most famous libraries in the world — the Library of Congress. 2. Say what the Library of Congress is like today. 3. Describe the State Library of Russia. Try to cover the following problems: a) history of creation; b) buildings and facilities; c) collections; d) services to the nation; 237
e) scholarly resources; f) services to libraries; g) cultural programs; h) visitor information. fTl Before reading the text, define the notion of a cowboy as you understand it. Use your background knowledge enriched through watching films, reading American novels and romantic stories. Then read the text and say if your point of view coincides with that of the author’s. The Cowboy: a Most Misinterpreted Hero Unlike the glamorous figures of legend and fiction, real cowpokes of the 1870s and 1880s were usually hardy young men who labored long hours, often under wretched conditions, for little pay, in a bone-jarring, dangerous occupation. One of the riskiest and most strenuous jobs began with the autumn or spring roundup. The cowboys brought the longhorns in from their breeding grounds on the Texas range, counted them, and burned a mark on the calves born during the year. Examples of the brands appear on the map, which also shows the four major trails over which the cattle were herded north from Texas to railhead towns such as Cheyenne, Abilene, or Kansas City. From there they were shipped to stock-yards. The herds the cowboys drove to shipping centers might number several thousand and stretch out almost as far as the eye could see. The trails were a gauntlet of hazards for men and beast alike— Indians, swirling rivers, snow, drought. The drive was an endurance test that meant dusty weeks in the saddle with very little sleep and “bacon and beans most every day”. Turn-of-the-century dime novels and, later, Hollywood movies and television made the cowboy probably the most misrepresented and misunderstood worker of all time. Cowboys themselves fed the mythology. A mayor of Dodge City, the cowboy’s,capital, remarked that they “delight in appearing rougher than they are”. And still, there were cases when cowboys indulged in one of their pastimes — “cleaning the city”. They behaved badly, shooting in the air, joking and shouting profane greetings to fellow cowboys, who behaved the 238 same way. A merchant in Abilene described his town in 1871 as a “seething, roaring, flaming hell”; and in Dodge City, 25 men were said to be killed during the town’s first year. Some cowboys were sturdy and dependable; others were cowardly, dishonest, and cruel to their animal wards. Their bosses often treated them with contempt. The $100 that a cowhand earned for driving 1000 cattle for 3 months might be spent in one spree on the gambling, the rot-gut whisky, and bad company awaiting them in the cow towns at the end of the trail. Nonetheless, the cowboys labors supplied the growing Nation with beef and helped settle one of America’s last frontiers. Geographical Names Cheyenne [fai'en], [fa'aen] г. Шайен Hollywood movies and television made the cowboy the most popular hero of all times 239
г. Абилин г. Канзас-Сити г. Додж-Сити ш Search the text for the most important facts denoting the turning points in the history of a skyscraper. If necessary, use a dictionary. The Race for the Sky The most revolutionary development in 19,h-centuiy architecture — the skyscraper — has sometimes been called the American solution. It was not the invention of any single person. It simply evolved in response to changing circumstances. Cities were growing at an alarming rate. Businesses were becoming big businesses that needed ever laiger buildings to house their administrative staffs. New inventions—the telephone, the typewriter, the electric light, and, most important, the elevator — contributed to the efficiency of accommodating more people in laiger structures. But as more and more companies sought building sites in the larger cities, real estate prices skyrocketed, forcing builders to build up instead of out. So while New York City, for example, had few buildings of more than 5 floors in 1865, its skyline boasted several structures reaching 9 and 10 stories just a decade later. The breakthrough came in Chicago in the 1880s. In the building boom that followed the fire of 1871, a group of architects now known as the Chicago school began experimenting with new techniques. Their greatest discovery was that iron beams could be joined to form a building’s entire framework With this “metal cage” construction, the iron or, later, the steel skeleton held the building up. The progress from the first efforts of the Chicago architects to the sleek new skyscrapers of today was steady but slow. Better glass, improved concrete, and other technological advances all played a role in enabling architects to design taller and taller buildings. The result is universally acknowledged as a fitting symbpl of American vigor and ingenuity — impressive urban skylines of elegant towers reaching ever higher. The most influential of Chicago architects was Louis H. Sullivan. A restless genius who formulated a highly personal and Abilene ['asbilkn] Kansas ['ksenzas] City Dodge [dod3] City 240 purely American style. He was a pioneer of the modern movement in his profession and established a secure reputation as one of the most creative minds in the history of American architecture. If a structure must be tall, it should be made to look tall — a principle that was brilliantly realized in Sullivan’s Wainwright Building in St. Louis, considered by some to be America’s first successful skyscraper. Although it no longer seems like a skyscraper, Sullivan’s Wainwright Building towered its neighbours in 1891. The buildings that followed grew taller but returned to the older historical style. For example, the Woolworth Building is lavishly Gothic. The depressed economy of the 1930s required a more austere style and also halted the race for the tallest building — a title held by the Chrysler Building very briefly until completion of the Empire State Building, which reigned supreme for the next 40 years. In the 1940s and 1950s tall buildings became common, but they were usually no more than about 60 stories high. Technology makes mile-high structures possible, but the advantages are questionable. Notes and Commentary Loius H. Sullivan ['lu(:)i eitf 'sxlwsn] — Салливан Луи Генри, из¬ вестный американский архитектор (the) Wainwright [ weinrait] Building, the Woolworth ['wulwa:0] Building, the Chrysler ['kraizb] Building, the Empire ['empaia] State Building — названия небоскребов в порядке возрастания этаж¬ ности Geographical Names St. Louis [seint'lu:is] г. Сент-Луис Assignment Discussion 1. Speak about any American skyscraper in detail. 241 16—1870
2. In various reference books find information about the skyscrapers in Moscow. Prepare a talk about them. Point out some special architectural features of the Moscow skyscrapers. Compare the latter with those in the picture. Reveal similarities and differences. Revision Assignment 1. Turn to all the texts of this Unit again. Give a summary. Present it in written form. 2. Think of anything that can be called “a symbol of Russia”. Unit XVIII TRADITIONS AND WAYS Ш Look through the text and: 1) convey its gist in the form of a thesis; 2) select information which is new to you; 3) explain the origin of the food and drink you like most of all; 4) think of any life situation in which you will be able to use the information you have learnt from this text. American Food and Drink Hot Dogs Tad Dorgan, a sports cartoonist, gave the frankfurter its nickname in 1906. Munching on a frank at a baseball game, he concluded that it resembled a dachshund’s body and put that whimsy into a drawing, which he captioned “Hot dog!”. Sausages go all the way back to ancient Babylon, but the hot dog was brought to the US shortly before the Civil War by a real 243
Frankfurter — Charles Feltman, a native of Frankfurt, Germany, who opened a stand in New York and sold grilled sausages on warmed rolls — first for a dime apiece, later, a nickel. The frank appealed to busy Americans, who — as ah early 19th- century comment put it — tend to live by the maxim of “gobble, gulp and go”. Nowadays Americans consume more than 12 billion frankfurters a year. Hamburgers Modern hamburgers on a bun were first served at the St. Louis Fair in 1904, but Americans really began eating them in quantity in the 1920s, when the White Castle snack bar chain featured a small, Square patty at a very low price. Chopped beef, tasty and easily prepared, quickly caught on as family fare, and today hamburger stands, drive-ins» and burger chains offer Americans their favorite hot sandwich at every turn. The history of the hamburger dates back to medieval Europe. A Tartar dish of shredded raw beef seasoned with salt and onion juice was brought from Russia to Germany by early German sailors. The lightly broiled German chopped-beef cake, with pickles and pumpernickel on the side, was introduced to America in the early 1800s by German immigrants in the Midwest. Doughnuts It was the early Dutch settlers and the Pennsylvania Germans who introduced the yeasty, deep-fried doughnut to America. To the Dutch it was a festive food, eaten for breakfast on Shrove Sunday. Legend has it that the doughnut got its hole in 1847 when Hanson Gregory, a lad later to become a sea captain, complained to his mother that her fried cakes were raw in the center and poked holes in the next batch before they were cooked. During World War I, when the Salvation Army served them to the troops, doughnuts really took off as popular fare. Since then, coffee and doughnuts have become a national institution. Stores sell them plain, sugared, frosted, honey-dipped, or jam-filled. Apple Pie At its best, with a savory filling and crisp, light-brown crust, apple pie has long been a favorite on American tables. Apples and apple^'seeds were among the precious supplies the 244 early colonists brought to the New World. The first large apple orchards were planted near Boston by William Blaxton in the 1600s. When he moved to Rhode Island in 1635, he developed the tart Rhode Island Greening, still considered one of America’s finest apple pies. As the fruit became abundant, many settlers ate apple pie at ^very meal. Garnished with a chunk of cheese, it was a* favorite colonial breakfast dish. By the 18th century apple pie had become so popular that Yale College in New Haven served it every night at supper for more than 100 years. America’s love affair with apple pie has remained constant. Today’s housewives, pressed for time, can shortcut the tradition by buying the pastry ready-made at bakeries and supermarkets. Many variations on the good old original are available, but the classical apple pie, irresistible when topped with a slice of rat-trap cheese or slathered with vanilla ice cream, is still America’s favorite. Potato Chips George Crumb, an American Indian who was the chef at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York, in the mid- 19th century, was irked when a finicky dinner guest kept sending back his French fried potatoes, complaining they were too thick. In exasperation, Crumb shaved the potatoes into tissue-thin slices and deep-fried them in oil. He had a dishful of crisp “Saratoga chips” presented to the guest, who was delighted with the new treat. Potato chips became the specialty of Moon’s Lake House and, later, America’s crunchiest between-meals snack. Coca-Cola America’s best known soft drink was first concocted by an Atlanta pharmacist in 1886. The syrup was cooked up by John S. Pemberton from extracts of coca leaves and the kola nut. He then organized the Pemberton Chemical Company, and Coca-Cola syrup mixed with plain water was sold in a local drug-store for 5 cents a glass. Sales were slow until in 1887 a prosperous Atlanta druggist; Asa G. Candler, bought the Coca-Cola formula — then as now a carefully guarded secret — and added carbonated water to the syrup instead of plain water. Advertisements stressing the words “delicious” and “refreshing” 245
and carrying coupons for free Coca-Cola added to the increase in consumption. A system of independent local bottling companies was developed, and the flared bottle; familiar worldwide and said to resemble the hobble skirt, was designed in 1916. In 1919 the company was sold out for $25 million to a group headed by Ernest Woodruff. Under his son, Robert W. Woodruff, Coca-Cola rapidly expanded its market. By the mid-1970s more than 150 million Cokes a day were sold in countries all over the world. Today Coca-Cola has to compete with many other soft drinks, but it is still one of the symbols of the United States. Ш Scan the extracts and explain the origin of one of the holidays. Special Celebrations Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving Day is an annual holiday observed on the fourth Thursday of November and dating back to the beginning of the 17th century. This day was first celebrated in 1621 by those Englishmen who founded New England’s first Colony at Plymouth in 1620. They were Protestants and when in England wanted to restore the Anglican Church to “its primitive order, liberty and beauty”. Their zeal was met with royal persecution and banishment, so they had to leave their motherland. After an unhappy decade in Holland, those Pilgrims, aboard the “Mayflower”, resolved to sail for America where the power of the Anglican Church could not reach them. During their first winter, over half of the settlers died of starvation and epidemics, but in spring the courageous survivors continued their struggle for life, cultivating the rocky soil and planting Indian seed com. The harvest in autumn was rich beyond expectations. The Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed “a day of Thanksgiving unto the Lord so we might after a more special manner, rejoice after we had gathered the fruits of our labors^, The settlers had turkey and different fruit for their feast. After the first celebration, this holiday was observed irregularly and differed from region to region. A national Thanksgiving Day came only after the Thirteen Colonies had been united. 246 Since Lincoln’s time it has become the custom for the President of the United States to proclaim annually the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day, and for the Governors of the States to issue proclamations for their respective States. The Thanksgiving Day decorations follow a traditional pattern: there are always ears of Indian corn, apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts, dried leaves, berries, and a lot of bunches of flowers. The core of Thanksgiving dinner is the traditional roast turkey and pumpkin pie. Halloween Unlike many other holidays, Halloween has a very rich past. It dates back to the Druid festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead and Prince of the Darkness. He, according to Celtic belief, gathered up the souls of all those who had died during the year to present them to Druid Heaven on October 31. The Sun god was present at the holiday and received thanks for the year’s harvest. The Druids called on supernatural forces to calm down the evil spirits, hence the tradition of masquerading and the symbols of Halloween — ghosts, witches, skeletons, black cats, devils, and bonfires. The custom of telling ghost stories on Halloween also comes from the Druids. As Christianity replaced the pagan religions, the church made November 1 a special day to honor all saints (all hallows) and called it All Hallows’ Day. The evening before , October 31, became All Hallows’ Even — later shortened to Halloween. According to the pagan belief, all evil spirits gather on All Hallows’ Eve to oppose the church and mock the All Saints celebration. Halloween was not widely celebrated in America until immigrants from Ireland and Scotland arrived in 1840s. Today Halloween is mainly a children’s holiday. Children wear ghost costumes, false faces, carry jack-o-lanterns made of pumpkins. In the evening of October 31, when it becomes dark, they go from door to door, ring the bell and shout: “Trick or Treat?” If the children do not get any treat— chocolates, candy, fruit, small coins — they are ready to play tricks. While some youngsters are out playing pranks or collecting their booty, others are gathered for a party, enjoying themselves, telling ghost stories, popping corn, or playing different games. And there is always a candle burning inside a hollow pumpkin. 247
Assignment Discussion 1. Express your point of view as to why the above holidays have been chosen out of the numerous holidays Americans celebrate. 2. Give a talk in class about some other holidays celebrated in the US: Independence Day, Washington’s Birthday, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, Columbus Day, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter, etc. Revision Assignment 1. Among many traditions in the US is a tradition to keep pets at home. Comment on the statement which appeared in one of the newspapers some time ago: “Going to the cats. Dogs are still the USA’s No. 1 pet, but cats are gaining as dog ownership declines”. 2. Say if the US is an unusual country as far as its customs and traditions are concerned. Give your reasons. 3. Speak about various traditions and ways in Russia. Unit XIX AMERICANS ABOUT AMERICA PJ Scan the extracts containing the viewpoints of outstanding American leaders. 1 I look forward to a great future for America, a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past, and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future. ... And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. John F. Kennedy Speech, Amherst, Massachusetts, October 26, 1963 249
2 Our objective must be so to manage the physical use of the land that we will not only maintain soil fertility but will hand on to the next generation a country with better productive power and a greater permanency of land use than the one we inherited from the previous generation. The opportunity is as vast as is the danger. Franklin D. Roosevelt Message to Congress, January 30, 1936 3 The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object. Thomas Jefferson First Inaugural March 4, 1801 4 The arts cannot thrive except where men are free to be themselves and to be in charge of the discipline of their own energies and ardors. The conditions for democracy and for art are one and the same. What we call liberty in politics results in freedom of the arts. There can be no vitality in the works gathered in a museum unless there exists the right of spontaneous life in the society in which the arts are nourished. ...Nourish the conditions of a free life and you nourish the arts too. Franklin D. Roosevelt Speech, New York City May 10, 1939 5 With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning — “my country ‘tis (it is) of thee (you); sweet land of liberty; of thee I sing; land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride; from every mountain side, let freedom ripg” — and if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. Martin Luther King Speech, Lincoln Memorial August 28, 1963 250 6 Property is the fruit of labor; property is desirable; is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that Others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built. * Abraham Lincoln Remarks, Washington, D. C. March 2, 1864 Assignment t!? Discussion 1. To which Unit of the book can each viewpoint be attributed? Explain your choice. 2. What, do you think, each of the outstanding Americans has done to match his words with his deeds? Use the material of the Units. Revision Assignment 1. Speak about any famous Russian (tsar, tsarina, politician, scientist, scholar, writer, poet, etc.) whom you consider to be really great and whose contribution to the development (political, industrial, cultural, etc.) of Russia was enormous, in your opinion. 2. Act as a guide taking a group of your fellow-students around the United States. From the book, revise those texts which, in your opinion, will help you to be well informed of the sights you are going to visit.
Содержание Предисловие ........ ^ ... 3 Unit I THE LAND Thp Country : / 5 Rivers 7 9 Weather and Climate 1 _ ц Natural Resources | I ........... 12 National Parks ... ; | 13 The Northeast: Massachusetts 17 The Sputh: Florida \ Я ,_ 19 The Southwest: Texas : ..7..... 21 The Central Northwest: Colorado ......... . .......... ...... 22 The Southwest: Arizona„.......... jf ...........,...^23 The Far West: California ♦. Jjj 24 Unit II THE PEOPLE The Society ^ 3Q The Story of the People: the Saga of Migration 33 Ellis Island: Gateway to America 35 The Involuntary Immigrants ....... 40 Afro-American Migration (1915-1940) .^............................43 Tlie Search for Equality . 45 Г* Unit III HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Pre-Colonial America 49 How It AH Started 52 The Making of a People....... ......^ .....54 Britain and the Colonies 57 The Declaration: History of Creation ............... 60 Another Mystery, .fy лк:!S' 63 Struggle for Independence . 1 ........66 The US Constitution ...:w. |f 68 Human Liberties Shared by All ........,,.v .%..., ......*...72 19th-Century Expansion .....L. . 74 The Trail of Tears 76 The Civil War(1861-1865) „... . ZZIZZZZZZZZIZI79 The Rush for Wealth fj|jjM,g2 252 84 Industrialization • * „ Prohibition: Crusade for Abstinence I - | The Great Depression and the New Deal .. « 89 Unit IV THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT ■ V>: ' ' '"'""'''92 ■ , Separation of Powers * The White House — ........... The Legislative Branch * Federal Judiciary —. Local Administration - .....i.-. ....... . . W Unit V ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES Presidential Election V.................. E Political Parties Unit VI OUTSTANDING PRESIDENTS 109 The American Presidency George Washington: First President (1789—1797) 112 Thomas Jefferson: Third President (1801-1809) 116 Abraham Lincoln: Sixteenth President (1861-1865) Ж Franklin D. Roosevelt: Thirty-Second President (1933-1945) Щ John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Thirty-Fifth President (1961-1963) • 124 Unit VII RELIGION I Churches ................... .. J28 The Black Church & ...r....... 131 Unit VIII THE MEDIA 133 The Press — * The Power of the Press — . ................ 36 Radio and Television •••• .............. 138 Unit IX ТЙЕ WELFARE STATE Industry ! ...141 253
Agriculture ; 143 Food for Thought 144 Unit X WORK AND MONEY Trade Unions 147 Wall Street.... 149 Unit XI TRANSPORT Communications and Transport ..; 152 From the History of Travel 153 Wheels for All Mankind 156 Unit XII ARTS AND SCIENCE The Smithsonian: a Treasure-Filled Institution 159 The National Gallery of Art: History of Construction 162 John Russel Pope ffifc 164 The National Gallery of Art 166 The National Museum of American History 168 The Great Migration 169 The National Air and Space Museum 170 The Metropolitan Museum of Art .............................. ....171 Painters of a Virgin Land f74 American Genius Llffl | 176 Unit XIII EDUCATING THE NATION American School System 180 Public Education: Historical Review ...л 183 Higher Education ....185 World Famous 188 Unit XIV SPORTS, LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT Sports щ 191 Alexander Joy Cartwright and the Great American Game 194 Father of Modem Football 194 Made in the USA 196 254 Entertainment for All .. 197 The Early Days . 199 Film Industry | w 201 The World in Your Home 203 Unit XV MUSIC AND LITERATURE ^ America’s Music 206 The Church and Music 209 Purely American Creations 210 A Fresh Spirit in Literature | ...r,....r....r.., 1 213 A Man of the River . 215 Unit XVI CITIES AND TOWNS Demographic Changes 218 The City of Washington 220 Seeing the Sights of Washington 223 New York 226 Unit XVII THE SYMBOLS The Statue of Liberty ... 230 The White House 232 To the Stars and Stripes 234 The Library of Congress: Services to the Nation 235 The Cowboy: a Most Misinterpreted Hero 238 The Race for the Sky 240 Unit XVIII TRADITIONS AND WAYS American Food and Drink 243 Special Celebrations 246 Unit XIX AMERICANS ABOUT AMERICA *** 249
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Книга для чтения на английском языке даст старшеклассникам, Н студентам и преподавателям представление о прошлом и настоящем Соединенных Штатов Америки. География, история освоения новых земель, собственно история США, политическая система и выборы, религия, средства массовой информации, ННш^ННННВ^И^Н экономика, образование \|^В^^^НВ^ЯН№^Я и культура—вот неполный список тем, ^НИЗ^НН| которые освещают тексты пособия. Лучше освоить содержание текстов помогут ^н^ВЖш|НрННЯ№1ы комментарии, словарь и упражнения.