The capital of the United States of America

1. Washington, D.C., the city on the East coast, was founded in 1791. It was named after the first American President George Washington (1732 – 1799). In 1800 Washington, D.C., became the capital of the USA. A visit to George Washington's home is a form of pilgrimage for Americans.

2. Washington was created to be the seat of government of the USA. You know that the flag of the USA, the Stars and Stripes, has fifty stars on a blue background. Each of these stars represents one of the fifty states. However, the City of Washington is not in any of these states. It occupies the District of Columbia, abbreviated into D.C., and the name of the capital always goes with the abbreviation not to be mixed up with another Washington, which is a State on the Pacific Coast. The District of Columbia is between the states of Virginia and Maryland, on the Potomac River not far from the Atlantic Ocean.

3. Today the population of Washington, D.C., is over 3.4 million. Washington, D.C., is the seat of the US government. All organs of power are situated in the capital city.

4. In Washington, D.C., there is no industry. It is a political, administrative, cultural and educational centre of the country.

5. The White House, the Capitol and the Supreme Court are all in Washington, D.C. The White House, the official home of the US President, was constructed in 1792 – 1829. The Capitol is the building where the US Congress meets. The building got its name from the temple in Rome.

6. There is a law against building structures more than 90 feet high in Washington, D.C., so it presents different appearance from New York with its sky­scrapers. Low buildings and a lot of trees give Washington a pleasant aspect.

7. There are several universities in the capital. The Congress library is located here. It contains more than 13 million books in various languages, more than 19 million manuscripts and a lot of other items, such as maps, prints, recordings and musical scores. The Library serves the Congress, the entire governmental establishment and the public at large.

8. The impressive national capital, with its many beautiful, tree-lined streets includes world-known art galleries, museums and monuments.

9. The new National Historical Wax Museum has reproductions of famous persons and famous events in American history. The Navy Museum diplays historic American moments from the earliest history of the country. The National Gallery of Art, a large museum of painting, sculpture and other arts, is also situated in the capital. It is supported by the US government. The Lincoln Memorial is set high on an artificial plateau at the end of the Mall. It is a big temple in Greek Style with 36 marble columns to represent the states in the union at Lincoln's death. The Arlington National Cemetery is the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The bodies of American soldiers from every war since the Civil War are also buried in it.

10. Washington, D.C., is the centre of the political life of the United States of America.

Notes:

1. Arlington [‘a:liŋtэn] – Арлингтон (пригород Вашингтона)

2. The Arlington National Cemetery [‘semэtri] – Арлингтонское национальное кладбище

3. Capitol [‘kæpitl] – Капитолий (здание конгресса США)

4. District of Columbia (D.C.) – (федеральный) округ Колумбия

5. Lincoln [‘liŋkэln] Memorial – памятник Линкольну

6. Mall – Молл (парк в Вашингтоне)

7. The National Gallery of Art – Национальная картинная галерея

8. Potomac [pэ‘tэumэk] – Потомак (название реки)

9. White House – Белый дом (резиденция президента США)

Active vocabulary to remember

1. artificial [,a:ti’fi∫l]	- искусственный
2. to construct	- строить
3. to contain	- содержать в себе, вмещать
4. to create [kri’eit]	- творить, создавать
5. to display	- показывать, демонстрировать
6. entire [in’taiэ]	- полный, целый
7. a law [lо:]	- закон
8. to locate [lэu’keit]	- определять место, располагать
9. to occupy [‘оkjupai]	- занимать (пространство, время)
10. to represent [,repri’zent]	- представлять, изображать
11. to serve	- служить
12. a site	- участок, место, местоположение
13. a skyscraper	- небоскреб
14. to support [sэ‘pо:t]	- поддерживать, помогать, содержать
15. a temple	- храм

Exercises

Pronounce correctly.

abbreviate [э‘bri:vieit]	organ [‘о:gэn]
America [э‘meriэ]	Pacific coast [pэ‘sifik‘kэust]
Atlantic ocean [эt’læntik‘эu∫n]	pilgrimage [‘pilgrimid ]
bury [‘beri]	plateau [‘plætэu]
Columbia [kэ‘lΛmbiэ]	sculpture [‘skΛlpt∫э]
column [‘kоlэm]	sky-scraper [‘skaiskreipэ]
court [kо:t]	soldier [‘sэuld э]
event [i’vent]	stripe [straip]
George Washington [‘dζэ:dζ ’wо∫iŋtэn]	supreme [sju’pri:m] tomb [tu:m]
item [‘aitэm]	United States [ju’naitid’steits]
Mall [mо:l]	various [‘veэriэs]
Maryland [‘meэrilэnd]	Virginia [vэ‘d iniэ]
moment [‘mэumэnt]	Washington [‘wо∫iŋtэn]
navy [‘neivi]	wax [wæks]