The USA

The USA

Talk about – rozprávajte o:

– General information – všeobecné informácie:
– Location + population – poloha + obyvateľstvo
– Geography – geografia, zemepis
– Climate - podnebie
– Industry & agricalture – priemysel a doprava
– Education – vzdelávanie
– History of the USA – história USA
– Places of interest in the USA + the capital city/Washington/ – zaujímavé miesta v USA + hlavné mesto
– People & their customs + traditions – ľudia a ich zvyky + tradície

1. General information /všeobecné informácie/:

The USA is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada and China) => it’s area is  9, 372 614 km2.
It has the population of about 250 million people => the USA is a very multicultural country – there live many different races and religions – for example African-American, Asian, American-Indian, Eskimo, Hispanic people and so on.

The currency is 1 dollar which is divided into 100 cents. The official language is English but because there live many people from different countries, other languages are spoken as well. The capital city is Washington DC.

GEOGRAPHY:

The USA border on /hraničí s/:

– NORTH – sever =>  Canada
– SOUTH – juh    =>  Mexico
– EAST – východ  =>  the Atlantic ocean
– WEST – západ    =>  the Pacific ocean

A part of the USA is also Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands.

MOUNTAINS /hory/  and RANGES /range = pásmo hôr, chrbát hôr/:
The USA can be divided /rozdelené/ into 5 main areas /hlavné oblasti/:
– The Appalachian Highlands 
– Mississippi Basin /or Interior Plains/
– the Cordilleras
– the Cascade Range
– Sierra Nevadas

The highest peak /najvyšší vrchol/ of the USA is in Alaska – it is Mt. McKinley /6194 m/

RIVERS /rieky/ and LAKES /jazerá/:

The USA has many rivers:
– the Mississippi – the longest river /the 3rd longest river in the world/
– the Missouri
– the Hudson – connected with the Great Lakes
– the Colorado
- the Columbia
– the Rio Grande
– the Yukon – the biggest river in Alaska

There are some very important lakes on the US-Canada border – they are the biggest reservoirs of fresh water in the world. They are called the Great Lakes /Veľké Jazerá/:
-  Lake Superior
-  Lake Michigan
-  Lake Huron
-  Lake Erie  these 2 lakes are connected by the Niagara River /a part of the
-  Lake Ontario St. Lawrence River/ and they form the famous Niagara Falls

Climate
Because the USA is a big country, there are big variations of climate => the temperatures change from the arctic cold in northern Alaska to subtropical warmth in Hawaii and in some other states – for example California, Florida… Florida has subtropical climate which often brings hurricanes.

Industry /priemysel/ & agriculture /poľnohospodárstvo/
The US economy is the biggest in the world. The country is rich in raw materials /nerastné bohatstvo/ – e.g. natural petrol, kaolin, salt, natural gas /zemný plyn/.
Philadelphia is the centre of machinery /strojárstvo/ and chemical industry. Detroit is the centre of US car industry – there are companies such as Pontiac or Chrysler. 
The USA is the leading country in agriculture – the American agricultural system is very effective – there are about 2 million farms in the USA and only about 2,4 % of the population work on them – a lot of agricultural production is exported. The most important production is the production of soya, maize (= corn = kukurica), wheat (pšenica).

The US system of education /systém vzdelávania/
There are big differences between schools in different cities and states – there is no national school system – every state is responsible for its own school system.
School attendance /dochádzka/ is compulsory /povinná/ from 6 to 16 years. The school uniforms are worn only in private schools.
Schools in the USA:

– Public /verejné/ – financed by state of local government – they are free
– Private /súkromné/ – they charge high fees – they are attended mostly by the children of rich people – sometimes they offer scholarships /ponúkajú štipendiá/

The history of the USA
The American continent was discovered by Vikings around the year 1000 A.D. People in Europe didn’t know about the existence of the American continent until 1492, when  Columbus made his historical voyage from Spain.
The important points of the American history:

– In 1620 first people came to America on their ship called Mayflower – their first colonies were called New England and they were called the Pilgrim Fathers /Otcovia Pútnici/. During their first winter, over one half of the settlers died /settle = usadiť sa/. The rest of them survived /= prežili/ and learned how to farm. The following November after their 1st successful harvest /= žatva/, they celebrated and had a special “Thanksgiving” dinner – since then the Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving Day.
– The first 13 colonies were under the British control – American people wanted to be independent and they didn’t want to pay taxes /= dane/ to Britain. Because the British government didn’t agree to this, it lead to a mutiny /= vzbura/ – it was the Boston Tea party – when a group of Americans threw bags of tea into the sea as a protest – this event /= udalosť/ started a war – America won the war and on July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence was signed /= bola podpísaná/. The colonies became independent and that day was called the Independence day (they celebrate it as holiday in the USA now)
– The American civil war /občianska vojna/ started in 1861- it is known as the war between the North and the South – the North fought for making slavery /= otroctvo/ illegal – the North won the war.
– An important point in American history is also September 11, 2001 when terrorists attacked the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre (WTC) and many people died – since then America has been strongly fighting against terrorism.

Places of interest in the USA /zaujímavé miesta v USA/:

Washington, D.C.
The capital city of the USA. D.C. means “District of Columbia”. Washington is the seat of the White House – the seat of the President. Some interesting places in Washington:

– the Jefferson Memorial – Jeffersonov pamätník
– the White House – Biely Dom
– the Arlington National Cemetery – Arlingtonský Národný Cintorín
– the Museum of Natural History – Múzeum Prírodnej Histórie

Las Vegas
Las Vegas lies in Nevada. More than 12 million people visit Las Vegas every year. There are many nightclubs and casinos where people can gamble and get rich or loose a lot of money. In Las Vegas people can also see many famous singers, comedians dancers, musicians.

New York
The largest city in the USA. The nicknames of NY are:
-  Melting Pot – because it is a very multicultural city and people of many different races, religions and origins live there
-  Big Apple
In New York we can visit:

– Manhattan – the real centre of NY. It is famous for its Manhattan skyline /Manhattanská silueta, čiara obzoru/ – a large number of skyscrapers (= mrakodrapy) on a small area. One of the highest skyscrapers is called the Empire State Building.
– Brooklyn – has a famous beach – Coney Beach
– The Bronx – there are many parks and the Bronx ZOO – one of the largest in the USA

The Statue of Liberty – in NY – was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. 

Los Angeles – California – a beautiful country with warm weather. There is the Disneyland

Dallas – the financial and commercial centre – John F. Kennedy was assassinated (= zavraždený) there in 1963

The National parks:
The USA has many national parks with beautiful nature – e.g. in the Rocky Mountains Region. The famous parks are in Utah, Texas, Arizona, Nevada… The famous national parks are for example The Grand Canyon National Park /desserts/, Yellowstone National Park /beautiful mountains and waterfalls/ , Death Valley National Park, Yosemite Valley National Park …

People and their customs and traditions
In the USA people celebrate these national holidays:

– New Year’s Day
– The Independence Day – July 4
– Thanksgiving Day – 4th Thursday in November
– Christmas day

Americans play hockey, tennis, basketball and rugby. American football is very different from the football we play in Europe.
People sometimes say that the USA is the place, where all your dreams can come true /= miesto, kde sa ti splnia všetky sny/. If you want to work, you can easily find a job and earn money. Therefore many young people want to work and live in the USA. If you want to travel, there are many interesting places that you can see. People are friendly and talk-active. It is also a very multicultural country, so you can meet people of different origin.

Vocabulary:

after - po
area – rozloha
multicultural country – multikultúrna krajina
different – rozličný
race – rasa
religion – náboženstvo
a part – časť
connect with – spojiť s
important – dôležitý
border – hranica
reservoir – rezervácia
fresh water – čerstvá (pitná) voda
in the world – vo svete
they are called – nazývajú sa
form – formovať
the Niagara Falls – Niagarské Vodopády
variations – variácie
temperature – teplota
change – meniť sa
arctic cold – arktický chladné
subtropical warmth – subtropické teplo
in some other states – v niektorých ďalších štátoch
bring – priniesť
hurricanes – hurikány
rich in – bohatý na
natural petrol – ropa
salt – soľ
car industry – automobilový priemysel
such as – ako
leading country – vedúca krajina
about – približne
difference – rozdiel
different – rozdielny
between – medzi
national school system – školský národný system
responsible for – zodpovedný za
own – vlastný
school uniforms are worn – školské uniformy sa nosia /sú nosené/
local government – miestna vláda
charge high fees – účtovať vysoké poplatky
attended – navštevované
mostly – poväčšina
offer - ponúkať
discover – objaviť
around – približne
until – až do
voyage /voidž/ – plavba
they were called – nazývali sa /boli nazývaní/
during – počas
settler – usadlík
the rest of them – zvyšok z nich
following – nasledujúci
successful – úspešný
harvest – žatva
celebrate – oslavovať
since then – odvtedy
under – pod
independent – nezávislý
government – vláda
agree – súhlasiť
lead to – viesť k
the Boston Tea Party – Bostonské Pitie Čaju
a group – skupina
throw /min. čas threw - thrown/ – vyhodiť, hodiť
bags of tea – vrecia s čajom
become /min. čas became – become/ – stať sa
it is known – je známa
fight for /min. čas fought – fought/ – bojovať za
illegal – nelegálny
an important point – dôležitý bod
attack – zaútočiť
against – proti
interest – záujem
mean – znamenať
District of Columbia – Okrsok Kolumbie
the seat – sídlo
lie in – ležať v
get rich – zbohatnúť
loose a lot of money – stratiť veľa peňazí
nickname – prezývka
melt – topiť sa /napr. sneh/
pot – hrniec
the Statue of Liberty – Socha Slobody
a gift – dar
freedom – sloboda
commercial centre – komerčné centrum
the national parks – národné parky
dessert – púšť
waterfall – vodopád
celebrate national holidays – oslavovať národné sviatky
different from – odlišný od
the place where all your dreams come true – miesto, kde sa ti splnia všetky sny
if – ak
easily – ľahko, poľahky
find work – nájsť si prácu
earn money – zarobiť peniaze
therefore – preto
talk-active – ukecaný