TEST I
The United States of America, or the USA, the US, the States or America, is one of the biggest countries in the world. It occupies 9,363,123 square kilometers. It lies in the central part of the North American Continent between two oceans: the Atlantic Ocean to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West. Canada to the north and Mexico to the south are the only countries bordering it.
The USA consists of three separate parts. These are the Hawaiian Islands, situated in the central part of the Pacific Ocean, Alaska separated by Canada, and the rest of the USA. The country consists of fifty states and the District of Columbia, which is not part of any states but a federal area governed by Congress. The states differ very much in size, population and economic development. Each region of the USA has characteristics of its own due to the differences in climate, landscape and geographical position. The south, and especially Taxes is rich in oil, the coalfields of Pennsylvania are rich in coal. Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska are the richest farming states, growing mostly corn and wheat and California is famous for its fruits.
The capital of the USA is Washington; besides there are many other big cities and towns in the USA. New York, for example, is a financial business centre, Chicago deals in meat processing, Los Angeles is famous for Hollywood. Other big cities are New Orleans, a cotton industry centre, Huston, an oil refining and NASA space research centre, Philadelphia, a shipping commercial centre, Detroit, a world’s leading motor car producer.
The United States of America is a parliamentary republic. The government is divided into three branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court).
There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic (symbolized by a "donkey") and the Republican (its symbol is an "elephant"). The US President is both head of state and government. He is elected for a four-year term. Presidential elections are held every leap year on first Tuesday, following the first Monday in November. The President is assisted by Secretaries who are the heads of the executive departments.
The form of US government is based on the Constitution of September 17, 1787, adopted after the War of Independence. In December 1791, the Congress adopted ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.
The Congress of the United States is composed of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states and the House represents the population according to its distribution among the states. All states have electoral requirements of the same nature. First of all they are residence requirements.
Through its power over the purse, the US Congress can control much that relates to foreign policy, also it is a governmental body that determines taxation.
Each of the fifty states of the USA has a constitution patterned after the federal Constitution, with its divisions of power: legislative, executive, and judicial.
The Presidency means not only a man: it means an institution – the executive branch of the government.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country and the head of the judicial branch of US government. The federal and state courts have the power of "judicial review." Also there are about ninety district courts in different parts of the United States. American judicial practice is firmly committed to the idea of jury trials. The Constitution guarantees them for both criminal and civil cases. According to the US judicial doctrine, "justice is a relationship in which each citizen or group receives due respect and return."
TASKS
1. Answer the questions.
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What are the shorter names of the United States of America?
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What is the aria of the USA?
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Where is the USA located?
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What countries does it border on?
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How many separate parts does it consist of? What are they?
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How many states does it consist of?
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What is the capital of the USA?
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Into which three branches is the government divided?
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What are the main political parties in the USA?
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Who is the head of the government?
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When are presidential elections held?
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When was the US Constitution adopted?
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What is the other name of the ten amendments to the Constitution?
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How many houses does The Congress of the United States consist of?
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What is the Supreme Court?
2. Match the cities and region and their main characteristics.
1. Taxes A. coal industry
2. Pennsylvania B. famous for growing corn and wheat
3. Illinois C. agriculture
4. Iowa D. Hollywood
5. Nebraska E. world’s leading motor car producer
6. California F. financial business centre
7. New York G. oil industry
8. Chicago H. oil refining and NASA space research centre
9. Los Angeles I. cotton industry centre
10. New Orleans J. farming
11. Huston K. deals in meat processing
12. Philadelphia L. shipping commercial centre
13. Detroit M. famous for its fruits
3. Make these sentences negative.
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The United States of America is the biggest country in the world.
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The USA occupies 13,363,123 square kilometers.
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The USA lies in the central part of the South American Continent.
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The USA is washed by the Indian Ocean.
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The USA borders on Peru and Brazil.
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The USA consists of five separate parts.
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There are 60 states in the USA.
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The capital of the USA is New York.
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Chicago deals in cotton industry.
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Detroit is a space research centre.
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The United States of America is a parliamentary monarchy.
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The US government is divided into five branches.
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There are ten main political parties in the USA.
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The US President is elected for a ten-year term.
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Presidential elections are held every year on first Monday in September.
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The form of US government is based on the Bill of Rights.
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The Senate represents the population according to its distribution among the states.
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All states have different electoral requirements.
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Each of the fifty states of the USA has its own President.
4. Match the words as they are used in the UNIT.
1. square A. part
2. central B. elections
3. federal C. example
4. economic D. refining
5. geographical E. doctrine
6. for F. policy
7. business G. requirements
8. meat H. processing
9. oil I. kilometers
10. space J. practice
11. motor car K. research centre
12. parliamentary L. development
13. political M. producer
14. head of N. term
15. four-year O. Court
16. presidential P. party
17. executive Q. area
18. electoral R. body
19. foreign S. republic
20. governmental T. department
21. supreme U. centre
22. judicial V. position
23. judicial W. state
5. Write down the following in figures.
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Cardinal numbers
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twenty-five million seven hundred thirty-two thousand
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ten million five hundred sixty-seven thousand five hundred fifty-two
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two million one hundred fifty thousand one hundred thirty-one
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one million six hundred eighty-two thousand twelve
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one point three million
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sixty-seven thousand and five
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two hundred thousand ninety-five
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forty-five thousand four hundred
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seven thousand eight hundred eighty-seven
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three thousand two hundred twenty-six
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Ordinal numbers
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twentieth
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twenty-first
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thirty-seventh
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forty-fifth
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sixty-eighth
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eighty-second
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ninetieth
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hundredth
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hundred and third
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two hundred and twenty-fourth
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five hundred and ninth
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thousandth
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one thousand five hundred and twelfth
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Dates
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seventeen hundred
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eighteen hundred (and) five
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nineteen hundred (and) four
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nineteen fifteen
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nineteen forty-five
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nineteen sixty-two
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nineteen eighty-five
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nineteen ninety-nine
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two thousand
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two thousand five
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