Roads and Railways

The transport network spreads into all sections of the country, but the web of railways and highways is much denser in the eastern half of the United States.

In the early 1990s the United States had about 6.24 million km of streets, roads, and highways. The Na­tional Interstate Highway System, 68,449 km in length in the early 1990s, connected the nation's principal cit­ies and carried about one-fifth of all the road and street traffic.

More than 188 million motor vehicles were registered in the early 1990s. More than three-quarters were cars - one for every two persons in the country. About one-fifth of the vehicles were Lorries. Amtrak (the National Rail­road Passenger Corporation), afederally subsidized con­cern, operates almost all the inter-city passenger trains in the United States; it carried more than 22 million pas­sengers annually in the early 1990s.

In 1981, IBM Company offered its own microcomputer model, the IBM PC that became a necessary tool for al­most every business. The PC's use of a 16-bit microproc­essor initiated the development of faster and more pow­erful personal computers, and its use of an operating system that was available to all other computer makers led to a standardisation of the industry.

In the mid-1980s, a number of other developments were especially important for the growth of personal com­puters. One of these was the introduction of a powerful 32-bit CPU capable of running advanced operating sys­tems at high speeds.

Another innovation was the use of conventional oper­ating systems, such as UNIX, OS/2 and Windows. The Apple Macintosh computers were the first to allow the user to select icons - graphic symbols of computer func­tions - from a display screen instead of typing commands. New voice-controlled systems are now available, and users are able to use the words and syntax of spoken language to operate their personal computers.

Software is the final computer system component. These computer programs instruct the hardware how to conduct processing. The computer is merely a general-purpose machine which requires specific software to per­form a given task. Computers can input, calculate, compare, and output data as information. Software deter­mines the order in which these operations are performed.

Data communication within and between computers systems is handled by system software. Communications softwaretransfers data from one computer system to another. These programs usually provide users with data security and error checking along with physically transferring data between the two computer's memories, during the past five years the developing electronic network communication has stimulated more and more companies produce various communication software, such as Web-Browsers for Internet.

Data communication within and between computers systems is handled by system software. Communications softwaretransfers data from one computer system to another. These programs usually provide users with data security and error checking along with physically transferring data between the two computer's memories, during the past five years the developing electronic network communication has stimulated more and more companies produce various communication software, such as Web-Browsers for Internet.

Yet, in spite of all the informality, Americans, even in the way they address each other, show consciousness of social distinction. For example, one is likely to use some­what more formal language when talking to superiors. While the informal "Hello" is an acceptable greeting from employee to employer, the employee is more apt to say "Hello, Mr. Ferguson," while the employer may reply "Hello, Jim." Southerners make a point of saying "Yes, sir," or "Yes, Ma'am," or "No, sir," or "No, Ma'am," when talking to an older person or a person in a position of authority. While this is good form all over the United States, "Yes, Mr. Weston" or "No, Mrs. Baker" is somewhat more common in a similar situation in the North or West.

Certain other forms of politeness are observed on social occasions. Women may wear hats in church, in restaurants, and often when attending luncheons in public places and other public social functions except those that take place in the evening. Men who do wear hats ordinarily remove them in elevators, churches, restaurants, private homes, business offices — in fact, in most public situations when they wish

During the 1960s there was a significant increase in the number of new universities, reflectinga fast growth in student numbers. During the 1980s, an expansion in higher education places led to another large jump in stu­dent numbers. In the 1992-1993 academic year there were more than 1.4 million students in full or part-time higher education in Great Britain, compared with just under 850,000 a decade earlier. About one quarter of young people are in higher education in England, Wales, and Scotland; one third in Northern Ireland. About 90 per cent of students get state grantsto cover tuition feesand living costs.

The size of the grant is determined by parent’s income.Since the late 1980s, however, grants have been frozen; students can apply for a student loan.

The Romans were the first to settle and occupy the Celtic fortress of Londinium. bridge in 100 A.D. London soon became a busy commercial and administrative settle­ment.

The Roman Empire fell in the 5th century. London has maintained its trading activity. In the 9th century Danish invaders destroyed much of the city. They were followed by the Saxons led by King Alfred the Great, who entered the city in 886. The Danes remained a powerful force in England, however, and it was not until the reign of Edward the Confessor, which began in 1042, that civic stability was re-established, to be cemented by the Nor­man Conquest in 1066.