Сборник лингвострановедческих материалов. Английский язык

The USA is a highly developed industrial and agricultural country. The main industrial branches are aircraft, rocket, automobile, electronics, radio-engineering and others. Americans are made up from nearly all races and nations. The country population is over 250 mln. The national symbol of the USA is its national flag «Stars and Stripes», having 50 white stars and 13 white and red stripes on its field, symbolizing the number of the original and present day states. Officially the country comprises 50 states and 1 District of Columbia. The states differ in size, population and economic development. Each state has its own capital. The capital of the USA is Washington. It is situated in the District of Columbia on the banks of the Potomac river and is named after the US President -George Washington. There are many large cities in the country: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San-Francisco, Cleveland and some others. The United States of America is a federal state, headed by the President. According to the US Constitution the powers of the Government are divided into 3 branches: legislative, executive and Judicial. The legislative power belongs to the Congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states while the House of Representatives - the population. The executive power belongs to the President and his Administration (Vice-President and Cabinet of Ministers). The judicial power belongs to the Supreme Court and the system of Federal, state and district courts. There are several political parties in the USA, the largest of them are the Republican (symbolized by a donkey) and the Democratic (symbolized by an elephant). Nowadays the USA is one of the leading powers of the world due to its economic, political and military influence. ( Агабекян, И.П. Английский для технических вузов / И.П. Агабекян, П И. Коваленко. - 7-е изд. - Ростов н/Д.: Феникс, 2006.) 12