THE
The
In the vast area of the US exist most of the physical conditions known to man: heat and cold, forest and desert, tropical swamp and Arctic waste, mountains (McKinley, Alaska, being the highest mountain in the US - 6193 m) and endless plains, empty spaces and megapolis, and the world's largest river system, With Mississippi being the longest river, 3950 km long.
The
diversity of the people themselves is immense. People have many different ethnic backgrounds. After its first
discovery by
Although
the
The
According
to the administrative structure the
There are two main
political parties in the
tended to favor government financed
programs for the poor and
people with low income levels. At
present the Republican Party is in
power, with the president Bill
Clinton. There is also a significant
portion of the electorate that does
not affiliate with any party -
independent voters who will change the
party they vote for from
election to election. "
The
The county occupies
nearly half of the North American continent
with
The
The
total area of the
The continental part of the
Between the Cordillera and the Appalachian Mountains
there are the central lowlands,
which are called the prairie, and the eastern lowlands called the
The five Great Lakes, between the
The principal rivers of the USA are the Mississippi, the longest river in the world (7,330 kilometres), which flows into the Gulf of Mexico, the Colorado and the Columbia, which flow into the Pacific Ocean and the Hudson River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
The climate in the
WEATHER AND CLIMATE IN THE
The climates which are found within the boundaries of the continental
TEMPERATURE
In the
July, with a mean temperature ranging from 65 F locally
in the extreme north to slightly
above 80 F in Gulf sections is usually the warmest
month of the year. Every state in the
PRECIPITATION
On a bases of average annual precipitation of the
FROST AND THE GROWING SEASON
The
crop growing season, or period between the average date of last killing frost in the spring and the first in the
fall, ranges from 100 to 120 days locally in
the extreme north to about 260 days in Gulf sections. In some elevated western
sections the growing season is less than
three months in length. On the other hand, in southern
SUNSHINE
The
amount of sunshine in different parts of the
STORMS
A
characteristic of the
FOUR SEASONS IN THE
Most of the
Winter climate on the West coast is very different. A
great spiraling mass of
relatively warm, moist air spreads south from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, its semipermanent front
producing gloomy overcast and drizzles that
hang over the Pacific Northwest all winter long,
occasionally reaching southern
During the summer there is a reversal of the air masses
and east of the Rockies the change
resembles the summer monsoon of
Relief from the humid heat comes in the northern Midwest from
occasional outbursts of cool Canadian air, small but more consistent relief is found downwind from the Great
Lakes and at high elevations in the
Over most of the
Now it is a city of two million inhabitants. The federal
district is a place of land ten miles square and it does not belong to any
other state, but to all the
states. The district is named in honor of Columbus, the discoverer of
While the capital is named after George Washington, it
was not named by him. The first president
called it simply "The Federal City",
and the name
If you are interested in the law-making centre of the
The White House, the President's residence, is located
in
The cornerstone of the
The largest complex of museums in
As
CITIES AND STATES OF THE
New York is known for being the biggest in many different dimensions-first in finance, first in communications, first as a shipping port, first in international air flights, first in advertising , first in the number of different ethnic groups and communities.
It is a city of contradictions and contrasts. Along with almost unbelievable affluence there are tens of thousands of people who sleep out-of-doors. It is a city hated by many and loved by many.
STATUE OF
The official ceremony of presentation to the American people was held on July 4, Independence Day, 1884.
The
statue's framework was engineered by Gustave Eiffel, who later designed the famous tower in
The
proportions of the statue are enormous: the height from the base to torch is 151 feet/45m/, the height from the
foundation of the pedestal to the torch
is 305 feet /92m/. Visitors may climb into her head for a spectacular view of
WALL STREET in this century has become known as the center of one of the world's greatest financial districts and as such has become synonymous with the capitalist system. The Center is named after street where a wall was built by the Dutch in 1653. The first commercial enterprise was established in 1709. The best known part of Wall Street is the New York Stock Exchange - the largest stock in the world. It dates from the end of the 18-th century when 24 brokers drew up a trade agreement. Visitors can view the frenzied trading activity at Stock Exchange from the Visitors' Gallery.
BROADWAY is the main commercial thoroughfare of the city. To millions the word "Broadway" means the New York Theater district, an area associated with such outstanding American playwrights as Eugene O'Nell, Edward Albee, Lillian Hellman and others.
Today
One
of
Cowboy Vie seems primitive compared to neon displays and special effects from recent years. For example, the Mirage, a newer hotel, has a huge lagoon that erupts in steam and flames.
In
fact, all of
What
is
Among the Great Lakes
states
Besides being
important in industry,
The
diversity of the state extends also to its famous sons and daughters who were either born there or lived in
The
word that may best explain
Texans seem to have a special talent for making money -sometimes without even trying.
In
the 1890 s some boys in
Food
in
With
so many cattle ranches, it's not surprising that beef is an important ingredient in Texan cooking. In fact, the town
of
Texan
festivals can be as unusual as anything else in that state. The town of
INDUSTRY AND
AGRICULTURE OF THE
The
The
The
Manufacturing output has grown at approximately the same rate as the economy as a whole. One of the most important sectors in terms of value added is the manufacture of transportation equipment, including motor vehicles, aircrafts and space equipment. Other important sectors include nonelectrical machinery, electrical machinery, food products, and chemicals. Steel mill products go largely to the automotive industry and to the construction industry.
Industrial
machinery includes engines, farm equipment , various kinds of construction machinery, office machines, and refrigeration equipment.
The
electronic equipment industry includes the manufacture of electric industrial apparatus, household appliances,
radio and television equipment,
electronic components, and communications devices.
Printing
and publishing is a widespread industry, with newspapers published throughout the country.
As
the 20th century nears its end, many Americans have been contemplating the successes and shortcomings of the
country's agriculture. Thanks to
nature bounty and to the effective use of machines,
fertilizers and chemicals, American farmers are virtual unrivaled in producing crops cheaply and in quantity.
The
Of
the total land area, somewhat less than half is devoted to farming (including pasture and range). Tobacco is
produced in the Southeast and in Kentucky
and cotton in the South and Southwest; California
is noted for its vineyards, citrus groves, and truck gardens, the Midwest is the centre of corn and wheat farming,
while dairy herds are concentrated in
the Northern states. The Southwestern and
About
two-thirds of the vast forested areas in the
Despite
the enormous output of
Both American and
foreign consumers benefit from the American
farmer's low-cost output. American consumers pay far less for their food than the people of many other industrial
countries. Moreover, one third of the
cropland in the
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES
Near the end of the 18th
century the
Prestley
was the first of thousands of world-renowned scientists that have come to the
Other scientists came to the United States to share in the nation's rapid growth and the opportunity to apply new scientific ideas to practical uses.
Scientific achievements in the United States during the same period seem pale in comparison to European developments. However, American scientists and technologists were far from idle. Thousands of products that make life easier, safer and more enjoyable for people were developed by Americans during the 19th century.
Many later developments - particularly those involving electricity, magnetism, chemistry, biology and structural mechanics -required a basic understanding of scientific discoveries and principles This linking of scientific understanding and technological know-how led to a type of applied science for which Americans became renowned.
the most outstanding American applied scientist of the 19"' century was Thomas Alva Edison (1897-1931), who is credited with more than a thousand original inventions.
Edison investigated numerous scientific discoveries to see if those discoveries could be put to practical use. In the tradition of Franklin and Jefferson, Edison's primary goal was the adaptation of science to benefit people.
Edison backed up his incandescent lamp development with the creation of entire electrical generating systems. Within 30 years, his developments put electric lighting into millions of homes.
Another landmark application of scientific ideas to practical uses was provided by the Wright brothers of Dayton, Ohio.
Combining scientific knowledge and mechanical skills, the Wright brothers built and flew several gliders. Then on December 17, 1903 , they flew a powered, controlled, heavier-than-air flying machine.
An American invention that was barely noticed in 1948 has created the computer age. And the progress of that age is changing the way millions of people work, study, conduct business transactions and engage in research.
In terms of basic science achievements, nations are usually judged by the numbers of Nobel Prizes won by their scientists in physics, chemistry and physiology/medicine. The will of Alfred Bernard Nobel (1833-1896), a Swedish scientist, called for the prizes to be awarded each year for outstanding work in physics, chemistry, physiology/medicine, literature and the promotion of peace. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901.
The first American scientist to win a Nobel Prize was Albert Abraham Michelson (1852-1931). Michelson, who was born and educated in Europe, won the 1909 prize in physics for determining the speed of light.
From 1950 through 1985, more American scientists have won Nobel Prizes than the scientists of all other nations combined. One of the most spectacular - and controversial-achievements of United States science and technology has been the harnessing of nuclear energy. This achievement was based on scientific concepts developed since the beginning of the 20th century. The concepts were provided by scientists of many lands. Nuclear fission is the generation of energy by splitting the nuclei of certain atoms.
Various successes in developing peaceful uses of the atom-nuclear power, nuclear medicine and a new understanding of physics - have demonstrated man's creative use of this scientific breakthrough, which offers a message of hope to balance against our shared anxiety about the destructive potential of nuclear weapons.
New inventions appear and quickly make hundreds of existing devices and procedures obsolete. An example is the laser - light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
Laser light has been beamed from the earth to the moon and back again. Laser devices are revolutionizing image making, printing, copying and the recording and playing of music. Studies are underway to use lasers as the ultimate defense against a missile attack.
Two of the most exciting current scientific developments are the human genome project and the superconducting super collider.
Scientists hope that additional knowledge about human genes will lead to more effective treatments for many diseases.
Science and technology today, in the United States and throughout the world, are creating new worlds. And it is the responsibility of all people, as well as scientists, to make sure that these new worlds represent a genuine improvement in the quality of life for human beings everywhere.
POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE USA
The United States is a democracy. Abraham Lincoln, one of the best-loved and most respected America's presidents, said that the United States had a government 'of people, by people, and for people'.
The plan for the government was written in a document called the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution set up a federal system with a strong central government. A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each. The Constitution also called for the election of a national leader, or president. It provided that federal laws would be made only by a Congress made up of representatives elected by the people. It also provided for a national court system headed by a Supreme Court.
There are three main branches of power: legislative, executive and judiciary.
The legislative branch is made up of elected representatives from all of the states. It consists of a Congress that is divided into two groups, called houses: The Senate and The House of Representatives. The House of Representatives comprises lawmakers who serve two-year terms. Each House member represents a district in his or her home state. The number of districts in a state is determined by a count of the population taken every 10 years. In the 1980s, there were 435 representatives in the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker. The Senate comprises lawmakers who serve six-year terms. Each state, regardless of population, has two senators. That assures that the small states have an equal voice in one of the houses of Congress. The terms of the senators are staggered, so that only one-third of the Senate is elected every two years. That assures that there are some experienced senators in Congress after each election. The main duty of the Congress is to make laws, including those which levy taxes that pay for the work of the federal government.
A law begins as a proposal called a "bill". It is read, studied in committees, commented on and amended in the Senate or House Chamber in which it was introduced. It is then voted upon. If it passes, it is sent to the other house where a similar procedure occurs. Members of both houses work together in "conference committees" if the Chambers have passed different versions of the same bill. Groups who try to persuade congressmen to vote for or against a bill are known as "lobbies." When both houses of Congress pass a bill on which they agree, it is sent to the President for his signature. Only after it is signed does the bill become a law.
The chief executive of the United States is the President, who, together with the vice-president, is elected to a four-year term. Under a Constitutional Amendment passed in 1951, a President can be elected to only two terms. Except for the right of succession to the presidency, the vice-president's only Constitutional duties are to serve as the presiding officer of the Senate; the vice-president may vote in the Senate only in the event of a tie. The powers of the presidency are formidable, but not without limitations. The president, as the chief formulator of public policy, often proposes legislation to Congress. The President can also veto (forbid) any bill passed by Congress. The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. As head of his political party, with ready access to the news media, the President can influence public opinion regarding issues and legislation that he deems vital. The President has the authority to appoint federal judges as vacancies occur, including members of the Supreme Court. All such court appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate. Within the executive branch, the President has broad powers to issue regulations and directives regarding the work of the federal government's many departments and agencies. He also is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The President appoints the heads and senior officials of the executive branch agencies; the large majority of federal workers, however, are selected through a non-political civil service system. The major departments of the government are headed by appointed secretaries who collectively make up the President's cabinet. Each appointment must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate. Today these 13 departments are: State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy and Education. Under the Constitution, the President is primarily responsible for foreign relations. The president appoints ambassadors and other officials, subject to Senate approval, and, with the Secretary of State, formulates and manages the nation's foreign policy. The president often represents the United States abroad in consultations with other heads of states, and, through his officials, he negotiates treaties with other countries. Such treaties must be approved by a two-thirds vote f the Senate. The President also negotiate with other nations less formal "executive agreements" that are not subject to Senate approval. The juridical branch is headed by the Supreme Court, which is the only court specifically created by the Constitution. In addition, the Congress has established 11 federal courts of appeal and, below them, 91 federal district courts. Federal judges are appointed for life or voluntary retirement, and can only be removed from office through the process of impeachment and trial in the Congress. Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases arising out of the Constitution; laws and treaties of the United States; maritime cases; issues involving foreign citizens or governments; and cases which the federal government itself is a party. Ordinarily, federal courts do not hear cases arising out of the laws of individual states. The Supreme Court today consists of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. With minor exceptions, all its cases reach the Court on appeal from lower federal or state courts. Most of these cases involve disputes over the interpretation of laws and legislation. In this capacity, the Court's most important function consists of determining whether congressional legislation or executive action violates the Constitution.
USA-THE CIVIL WAR
In 1861 Lincoln won the presidential election. The majority in every Southern and border state voted against Lincoln, but the North supported him and he won the election . A few weeks later, South Carolina voted to leave the Union. It was soon joined by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. These 11 states proclaimed themselves an independent nation - the Confederate States of America.
Lincoln's two priorities were to keep the United States one country and to rid the nation of slavery.
Lincoln was an unbending foe of slavery; he was even more strongly against the break-up of the Union. If the Union could not be preserved, the struggle for the abolition of slavery was lost. If there was no other way, he would preserve the Union by force. There was no other way. In 1862 the American Civil War between North and South began: four bitter years were to pass before it ended.
At first the war went badly for the North. They had the bigger population, the greater wealth, the more arms factories; but their soldiers were untrained, unready and unwarlike. The Southerners had great skill in riding and shooting; they were brave, gallant and well-led. Their general, Robert E. Lee, was perhaps the greatest soldier alive at the time. He was ably seconded by "Stonewall" Jackson and they won a succession of brilliant victories.
In those early years the North had no solider to compare with Lee or Jackson, but they had Lincoln. For four years he shouldered an almost unbearable burden of defeats and disasters and disloyalty in terrible slaughter on both sides, and in his personal life, by the death of his elder son and mental illness of his wife. But he was unshaken by defeats, by sadness or disappointments. Generals failed; he appointed others. Armies fought badly; he sent them reinforcements. The people's courage was failing; his speeches revived it. He never lost courage or faith in the righteousness of his cause.
Gradually the tide turned. He appointed General Grant to take command not without considerable opposition from the rest of the Cabinet. Grant was of humble origin, shabby in dress, rough in speech and manners, and there were many stories of his hard drinking. Lincoln knew that these stories were exaggerated and, when a member of the Government demanded that, because of his drinking, Grant should be dismissed, Lincoln replied - with a touch of humor that was characteristic of him - "Grant wins battles. If I knew what kind of liquor he drinks I would send a barrel or so to some other of my generals."
Grant proved worthy of Lincoln's trusty. Jackson had been killed in 1863, and now the armies of Grant and Sherman, Grant's second in command were advancing everywhere. In November 1864, Sherman with an army of 60.000 men marched off from Atlanta, southwards into Georgia. For a month nothing was heard of them. Then on Christmas Day, Lincoln received a telegram from Sherman:
"I beg to offer you as a Christmas present the city of Savannah."
They had marched 300 miles, from Atlanta to the sea, all the way through enemy country. The enemy forces had been cut in half.
In
January
On
April 9th,
He now turned from leadership in war to reconciliation in peace, and he showed as great a nobility of spirit in reconciling former enemies for peace as he had shown in heartening his country for war. "We must not be enemies," he said. "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive him who has borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
By the 1700s,
Each
colony had its own government. In the northern colonies (
As time passed, the colonists began to resent the governing power that Britain exercised over them. The British government required them to pay taxes to help pay for colonial expenses, but gave them no voice in passing the tax laws, British troops were stationed in the colonies and some people were forced to house the troops in their homes. The British motherland determined what the colonists could produce and with whom they could trade.
In 1774, a group of leaders from the colonies met and formed the "Continental Congress," which informed the king of the colonists' belief that, as free Englishmen, they should have a voice in determining laws that affected them. The king and the conservative government in London paid no heed to the concerns of the colonists, and many colonists felt that this was an injustice which gave them reason to demand independence from Britain. In 1775, fighting broke out between New England militia and British soldiers.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress issued a Declaration of Independence, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, a farmer and lawyer from the colony of Virginia. This document listed many grievances against the king and declared that from that time the "United Colonies" were no longer colonies of England. The Declaration described them as "free and independent states" and officially named them the United States of America.
Besides declaring the colonies to be a new nation, the Declaration of Independence set forth some of the principles of American democracy. The document says that all people are created equal, that all have the right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," and that governments obtain their powers from the consent of the governed.
With help from France, England's old enemy, and from other Europeans, the American armies, led by George Washington, a surveyor and gentlemen farmer from Virginia, won the War of Independence.
A Franco-American alliance was signed in February 1778. With few provisions and little training, American troops generally fought well, but they might have lost the war if they had not received aid from the French treasury and the powerful French Navy.
The Treaty of Paris, signed in September 1783, recognized the independence of the United States and granted the new nation all the territory north of Florida, south of Canada and east of the Mississippi River.
SCHOOL EDUCATION IN THE USA
School education is compulsory in the USA from 6 to 16. There are different kinds of pre-school education, nursery schools and kindergartens. Still not too many children attend them. The system of baby-sitting is widely spread in middle class families. Children in poor families are left to themselves.
Here is a general picture of school education in the US -primary and secondary. Children begin to go to grammar school at the age of 6. They may study there 8 years and then pass to high school. The time of study in high school is 4 years. After it pupils, who are called students in America, may go to college. Now another plan is more widely spread 6-3; 6 years of grammar school, 3 years of junior high school and 3 years of senior high school.
There is no national government control over schools. Each state has its own system. The education is free in high school. Some states provide free books and free transportation.
The grammar school gives the students basic knowledge -Reading, Writing, Spelling, Arithmetic. Besides they are taught geography, history, elements of science. Religious teaching is not permitted. AH students get the same training. Classes may also be divided into and groups as to the speed of learning. In the high school students may choose some of their subjects. Only English, science and American history are compulsory.
The majority of high school students do not go to college. That is why the high schools give a strong vocational training in this or that specific profession.
Education is the same for boys and girls. Classes are usually from 9 till 3, five days a week. School lasts from September to June. In summer the students have 3 months vacation. The USA have the shortest academic year in the world (180 days).
In the USA students finish high school at the age of 18 on the average . At that point they decide whether they want to continue with their education or whether they want to seek employment. Over half of the students enter institutions of higher education. Unless they enroll in technical or trade schools this means four years of college that culminates in the Bachelor of Arts /BA/ or Bachelor of Science /BS/ degree.
Most college programs are in the form of what is called liberal arts. This means that over four years students take courses in science, mathematics, history, the humanities, psychology, political science, economics, sociology, the fine arts /painting, music, sculpture/, languages etc. The emphasis in liberal arts education is to give the student a broad-based education. Virtually all students who go on further past the BA and BS level to became physicians, lawyers, professors and Philosophy Doctors /Ph D's/ in various fields first must complete four years of college.
Each college and graduate school has its own curriculum. At the undergraduate level, there may be some courses that every student has to take (for example, classes in world history, math, writing or research). But students do select their "major" (the field in which they want their degree), plus a specific number of "electives"(courses that are not required but that students may choose).
In college students usually major in some specific subject-chemistry, biology, psychology, English, Russian etc. There are also some schools which offer the bachelor's degrees that are not "liberal arts" oriented, Examples are schools for agriculture, for primary and secondary school teachers, schools for forestry, schools of engineering /some require five years/ and some schools of art and nursing. After completing college, students may enter law school /3 years/, medical school /4 years/ or graduate school which grants a Master's of arts or Science degree /2 years/ or the Ph.D. /3 to 8 years/ in any subject area. Institutions of higher education in the USA for the most part are referred to as either colleges or Universities. Colleges are institutions that offer only programs that lead to the bachelor's degree. Universities are institutions that have departments that offer the Bachelor's degree but also have graduate schools, perhaps medical and law schools that offer programs that lead to degrees beyond the Bachelor's degree.
Cutting across the college - university dimension is the division between public and private institutions. Public institutions are usually funded by state governments. Private institutions are funded primarily by the efforts and funds of private individuals or institutions /most often by alumni or religious groups/.
Public and private colleges depend on three sources of income: student tuition, endowments (gifts made by wealthy benefactors) and government funding.
Education costs less in public institutions than in private institutions, especially for liberal arts education. There are , however, relatively few, private graduate schools and law schools.
Private colleges currently provide superior liberal arts education to that of public colleges. Thirty years ago the reverse was true. Harvard and Stanford are private institutions. The University of California, Berkeley and University of Minnesota are public institutions.
The average cost of college at a private /tuition, room and board/ is now about $ 14,000 per year. This sounds very expensive but colleges are very eager to help needy students who are able and highly motivated with scholarships, loans, work-study programs, etc. Just about any student who really wants to can finance his education. Liberal arts education at public institutions can cost less than half that of private institutions but the size of classes is much greater and there is far less contact between students and teachers. Higher education is undoubtedly the most successful aspect of education in the USA. In contrast primary and secondary education are in serious difficulty.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Hemingway (1898-1961) was born in Illinois, His family took him, as a boy, on frequent hunting and fishing trips and so acquainted him early with the kinds of virtues, such as courage and endurance, which were later reflected in his fiction. After high school, he worked as a newspaper reporter and then went overseas to take part in the World War I. After the war he lived for several years in Paris, where he became part of a group of Americans who felt alienated from their country. They considered themselves a lost generation. It was not long before he began publishing remarkable and completely individual short stories. The year he left Paris he published the powerful novel "The Sun Also Rises". Hemingway's first two published works were "Three Stories", and "Ten Poems" And "In Our Time" but it was the satirical novel, "The Torrents of Spring" which established his name more widely. His international reputation was firmly secured by his next three books"Fiesta", "Men without Women" and "A Farewell to
Arms".
Hemingway's style of writing is striking. His sentences are short, his words simple, yet they are often filled with emotion. A careful reading can show us, furthermore, that he is a master of the pause. That is, if we look closely, we see how the action of his stories continues during the silences, during the times his characters say nothing. This action is often full of meaning. There are times when the most powerful effect comes from restraint. Such times occur often in Hemingway's fiction. He perfected the art of conveying emotion with
few words.
In contrast to the Romantic writer, who often emphasizes abundance and even excess, Hemingway is a Classicist in his restraint and understatement. He believes, with many other Classicists, that the strongest effect comes with an economy of means. Recognition of his position in contemporary literature came in 1954 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize, following the publication of "The Old Man and the Sea". Ernest Hemingway died in 1961.
FAMOUS PEOPLE OF THE USA HENRY FORD
H. Ford (1863-1947) is an American automobile manufacturer, who revolutionized the early industry with his low-priced Model T, produced by assembly-line method. He popularized the automobile as a means of transportation for the average American and created a major company. Henry Ford was not the first person to built an automobile. But he saw its potential importance: As he said "Everybody wants to be somewhere he isn't".
Ford dream was to build an affordable car.
Henry attended rural schools and early displayed inventive skills. In 1879 in Detroit he obtained a job as a machinist's apprentice. During the next years he worked for several companies, repaired watches and clocks and improved his knowledge and engineering skills by reading and practice.
Fascinated by the promise of the internal combustion engine and its application to a self-propelled vehicle, Ford constructed a one-cylinder motor in 1893. He went on to build his first car, completed in 1896. He resigned from the Edison company to organize the Detroit Automobile Company of which he became the chief engineer. The new company was forced into bankruptcy in less than two years and Ford decided to make a reputation for his cars as racers.
Meanwhile, Ford with the financial backing of a Detroit coal dealer Alexander Malcomsom and a small group of investors had organized the Ford Motor Company in 1903.
The first car produced by the new company was sold within a month. Ford became the majority stockholder and president in 1906.
Free to follow his own ideas, Ford found overwhelming success. Ford's concentration on the Model permitted him to utilize standardized parts and assembly-line production. The volume of production made it possible to reduce the price of the car steadily without detriment to profits. The model Ford, of which 15 mln. were sold at a price that many Americans could afford, was the automobile that changed the pattern of life in the US. The name of its builder Henry Ford became a household word around the world.
When United States automaker Henry Ford published his autobiography "My life and work", in 1922, he used his chapter headings to frame a series of questions: How Cheaply Can Things be Made! Money - Master or Servant? Why be Poor?
These are precisely the questions that have fascinated generations of American business and industrial leaders. In their drive to find answers, business people in the United States have probed relentlessly for ways to make and distribute efficiently more products for less money and to make a greater profit. To a remarkable extent, they have succeeded.
MASS MEDIA IN THE UNITED STATES
The public's right to possess information is one of the central principles of American society. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America which became law in 1971 were called the new nation's Bill of Rights. They contained press freedom as one of the basic human rights.
The first regular newspaper, the Boston News-Letter, a weekly, was published by the city postmaster, John Campbell.
Time flies, however, and the means of communication - what we now call the 'media' - have grown immensely more complex; today they also include television, radio, films and cable TV. The term 'press' has expanded to refer now to any news operation in any media,
not just print.
The total number of daily newspapers in the United States is shrinking - from 1.748 in 1970 to 1.642 in 1989. Among the reasons of that are: the fact that in many families now both the husband and the wife work, they have less time to read; growing popularity of TV -98 per cent of all American houses are equipped with at least one TV set, 65 per cent of Americans use TV as their primary source of news. For people too busy to keep up with a daily newspaper there are magazines organizing news into separate departments such as national affairs, business and science.
The 1920s also saw the birth of a new mass medium, radio. By 1928 the United States had three national radio networks - two owned by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), one by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).
After World War II, American homes were invaded by a powerful new force: television. In fact, in the average American household the television is watched 7 hours a day.
TV production rapidly became concentrated in three major networks - CBS, NBC and ABC. Television has emerged as the major source from which most Americans get news. By its nature, TV has proved most effective in covering dramatic, action-filled events - such as man's walk on the Moon and the Vietnam War. The focus of TV news is the network news shows watched by an estimated 60 millions Americans every night.
Technology continues to change the media. Computers are already revolutionizing the printing process. Computer users also have access to on-line newspapers for up-to-the-minute information on general or specialized subjects. Cables and satellites are expanding TV. Already half of American homes subscribe on cable TV, which broadcasts dozen of channels providing information and entertainment of every kind.
In addition to the 1.140 television stations offering programming in 1990, there were 9,900 cable operating systems serving 44 million subscribers in 27.000 communities. One cable network offers news 24 hours a day. Some communities have publicly controlled cable television stations, allowing citizens groups to put on programs.
THE WORLD OF CINEMA
PART I (USA)
If we date the Art of the motion pictures from 1907, the date of I David Wark Griffithg's entry into the then infant industry, then we are in a year celebrating the 90th anniversary of that art.
Griffith was the first to take stock of all the movies already existing devices-the close-up, the use of the moving camera and to create new ones. In 1915 and 1916, with the movies still in their infancy, he created the screen's first two masterpieces - "The Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance" - and turned a novelty and a minor business into an international art and a major industry. A little more than half a century has gone by since then, and art industry has made fantastic strides.
These 90 years of the movies have been so rich in artistry, beauty, dramatic expression, experiment and above all in solid entertainment that one wonders how on earth movies more than hundred years hence can retain their magic or still find something fresh to say.
These 90 years of the movies have had their ups and downs to be sure. There have been times when the cinema seems to have had nothing to say.
But there have been periods of beauty and poetry too, and most of the film-making nations of the world have had their own particular Golden Ages. For example, for Scandinavia it was the late teens and early 20's; the German cinema was at its peak in the mid and late 20's; the French cinema in the early 30's; the British film probably saw its finest hour during and right after World War II.
In England the cinema is usually called "the pictures". The American name, "the movies", is sometimes used too. The first performance or "showing" as it is called, begins about at two o'clock in the afternoon, and the show goes on from then until about half past ten. The cinema is not emptied between the "showings", so that once you have paid for your seat you can stay in the cinema as long as you like. There is usually one main film, a shorter one, a news film, some advertisements and a "thriller" telling about the films
for the next week. Cinemas used to be more crowded than they are now. Many people used to go to the cinema two or three times a week, but today people like to stay home to watch television, particularly when it is cold and wet outside. The prices of cinema seats outside London are between three shillings and five shillings. The prices in London are higher.
A cinema programme of today is both instructive and entertaining. The first of them is generally the newsreel, which is followed by a comedy or a travel picture. Finally comes the main picture on the programme.
PART II (UK)
Hollywood was once all farmland. By 1910, however, filmmakers began moving there. Southern California's climate was perfect for shooting movies year round. And the area had settings for just about any movie - it had mountains, desert, and ocean. Soon Hollywood came to mean "the American film industry". Today, of the major studios, only Paramount is still in Hollywood.
In Hollywood you can see two great theaters, where many movies premiered: Pantages Theater and Mann's Chinese.
Mann's Chinese is famous for its cement courtyard with footprints and handprints of stars who were in - and at ! (People say the tradition started when the theatre first opened and an actress in the movie being premiered accidentally stepped in the still-wet cement.)
Even if you can't see the stars, you can see many things associated with them Hollywood souvenir shops are filled with autographs, old movie posters, costumes, and stills. Stills are photos of scenes from movies.
You can go on a tour, for example, the unusual Grave Line Tour. On this tour, you will travel in a hearse, the vehicle that usually takes the dead to the grave. The hearse will take you to places where celebrities died.
Hollywood even gives visitors a chance to become stars - on TV game shows. Several shows are based in Hollywood, and visitors can audition, or try out, to be game show participants!
Let us visit the kitchen of the film industry, that is a film-studio, to see how a film is actually made. The scenario department turns novels and dramatic works into scenarios. Here all the problems of production are solved, and instructions are issued to the cameramen as to the position of the camera for longshots, close-ups, shots from above, fade-outs, etc. then the director or producer informs the art department that he wants such things as a desert, an Atlantic liner, a railway station, and many other sets, and the department then gets busy preparing the "fakes". The property department supplies the furnishings of these sets, which range from thrones to inkpots, and the dress-department with its staff of expert designers makes the necessary dresses.
By this time the director has chosen his cast and is ready to rehearse the scenes. During rehearsals the appearance of the studio to the naked eye is chaotic. On looking through the viewfinder, however, the director sees everything in its place in a scene designed to deceive the camera completely.
If the rehearsal has gone off without a hitch the director prepares to "shoot" the scene. Buzzers tell him that microphones, light projectors, cameras, and all the other necessary paraphernalia, not to mention the actors and actresses themselves, are ready. A bell clangs, and there is a dead silence.
Very often a scene must be shot three or four times. A film director must have infinite patience and spare no pains. When all the jumble of scenes, which of course are not shot in their right order, are finished, the celluloid strips are pieced together and sent to the editing department. In this department scenes are cut and new ones interpolated. Here the film becomes a work of art.
MEDICAL CARE IN THE USA
Americans receive medical care by visiting a physician's office, a health maintenance organization, an outpatient clinic, emergency room, a community health center or while they are inpatients in hospitals or nursing homes.
Traditional private-practice doctors who see patients in their offices are either family doctors (general practitioners) or specialists. They usually are affiliated with a hospital. A health-maintenance organization provides its members with checkups and medical care and can arrange for hospital care. These organizations, which are private, usually are staffed by several doctors and nurses. Hospital outpatient clinics provide medical, dental, and surgical services. In hospital emergency rooms, people who have problems that require immediate attention are treated.
In the United States the financing and delivery of medical care traditionally has been the responsibility of the private sector. About 60% of the cost of health-care services is paid for either directly by consumers or through private health insurance. Under a health-insurance plan, an individual pays a fixed amount called a "premium" in return for coverage of all or some of the costs of hospital, surgical, or medical expenses. 80% of the population has some forms of private health insurance. The most common forms are hospital insurance and insurance for inhospital physicians' services. Because private health insurance usually does not pay the entire medical bill for services that are covered, individuals must pay the difference.
At present about 60 million of Americans have no or inadequate medical insurance.
Funds for health research are supplied by the US and state governments, and nonprofit organizations. The largest portion of health-research funding comes from the federal government and is primarily invested in the areas of cancer, heart disease and AIDS.
One of the chief factors responsible for escalating medical costs in the US is the rising cost of malpractice insurance. This is a form of insurance that doctors pay in order to defend themselves from legal suits brought by patients who claim that they have been injured by the treatment performed by the doctor. Some doctors have even quit their medical practice because of the high cost of malpractice insurance.
The US is the only major industrialized country without a government funded health care program. The main government funded programs in the US are Medicare which provides payment for medical services for the elderly and Medicaid which similarly helps the indigent.
SPORTS AND GAMES IN THE USA
What are the favorite sports of American young people? According to the survey "The Mood of American Youth," they prefer football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, tennis, soccer, boxing, hockey, track and golf.
Americans also like to hunt and fish; nearly 66 million fishing and hunting permits are issued each year. Other popular sports include swimming, golf, bicycling, skating, bowling and all kinds of ball games. Communities throughout the nation provide playgrounds, swimming pools and recreation centers. Many cities have ice-skating areas, baseball fields, swimming pools and playgrounds lighted at night.
Ski slopes and cross country skiing now attract over eight million persons each season. Snow-making equipment has helped to spread the sport to milder climates.
In the autumn, high school and college football games attract millions, many of whom are graduates of the schools and come to cheer for their school teams. College football alone draws over 36 million spectators. What is called football in the USA and Canada is entirely different from what is called football in Europe. American football is different from every other sport but it is probably closer to rugby. What is called football in Europe is called soccer in the USA. Soccer is destined for growth in America, evidenced as millions of children across the country participate in youth leagues. The whole generation growing now is looking at soccer as an alternative to football, which now has the greatest random of any professional sport in America. Sports organizations send their best players and teams to compete in regional competitions and worldwide events such as the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games.
About 42 million people attend basketball games each year Professional baseball games attract over 45 million yearly, with enthusiasm reaching a high pitch during the national championship competitions, the World Series, each year in October. At home, millions watch sport events on television, or listen to broadcasts on the radio. Countless numbers of persons also attend baseball, football and other team contests played in small towns on neighbourhood playgrounds and school sport areas.
Millions of dollars are tied to the business of sports..
As for salaries, it is interesting to note that in 1984 there were 22 millionaires in baseball, ten millionaires in basketball, and four millionaires in football.
Sport teach discipline, offer ideals and present entertainment.
CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS OF THE USA
What is the difference, between an American and European really?
In Europe there are people who have lived in the same house and been in the same job for twenty, thirty, forty years, and who would hate to pull up their roots and change to something new. That's not the American way of life. They love change, they call it "the spirit of adventure", a spirit that they think is more characteristic of America than of Europe.
And so they still like to "move away", to change homes and jobs. They seem to be constantly pulling down old and often quite beautiful houses or throwing away things merely because they are old. They have none of the Englishman's sentimental love for things because they are old.
The American doesn't feel that at all. The Americans houses have no hedges or fences separating them from the pavement or from each other.
Americans like new things - and they get rid of their friends as they do of their cars. No one strikes up acquaintance sooner than Americans do, and nobody finds it harder to make a real friendship.
Americans also love to travel. Weekend automobile trips are a tradition for many families, as are longer summer vacation trips. Car travel is the most common leisure activity in America. When Americans take car trips, they don't usually just drive and sightsee. They like to have a destination. Amusement parks, beaches, and other special attractions are always crowded when the weather is good.
Airplane travel is also common in America. At holiday time, many people fly to other cities to visit friends and relatives. During the winter, many people take short vacations to places with warm climates, like Florida and the islands of the Caribbean.
The rapid spread of videotaped movies, watched nightly by millions of Americans in their homes, has made movies an even more popular and influential form of entertainment in recent years.
Most Americans enjoy sports - both playing sports themselves and watching their favorite sports and teams. Many adult Americans regularly engage in sports like tennis, golf, and bowling.
There are many holidays in the United States.
New Years Day January 1st - a legal holiday in all states and the District Columbia. The largest New Year's Eve party is a tradition in Times Square (New York), where people gather to watch the clock on the Times Tower and herald another Year.
Memorial Day, May 30 - also known as Decoration Day. Memorial Day is a legal holiday in most of the states and in the territories and is also observed by the Armed Forces. In 1868, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic issued an order designating the day as one in which the graves of soldiers would be decorated. The holiday was originally devoted to honouring the memory of those who fell in the Civil War, but is now also dedicated to the memory of the dead of all wars.
Independence Day - July 4 - the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, is celebrated in, all states and territories.
Labour Day - is observed the first Monday in September in all states and territories. Labour Day was first celebrated in New York in 1882 under the sponsorship of the Central Labour Union.
Thanksgiving - is observed nationally on the fourth Thursday in November, the first national proclamation having been issued by President Lincoln in 1863. Most Americans believe that the holiday dates back to the day of thanks in New England in 1961 but scholars point out that day of thanks stem from ancient times.
Christmas - December 25 - the most widely celebrated holiday. Christmas customs are centuries old. The mistletoe, for example, comes from the Druids, who, in hanging the mistletoe, hoped for peace and good fortune. Use of such plants as holly comes from the ancient belief that such plants, blossomed at Christmas.
Comparatively recent is the Christmas tree. Colonial Manhattan islanders introduced the name Santa Claus.
Thanksgiving Day. In the year 1620, a ship named the Mayflower brought 102 English men, women and children to the rocky coast of what is now Massachusetts, one of the states of the United States of America. The ship's passengers were Puritans -members of a religious sect which was unpopular in Britain because its members wanted to reform the Church of England. They came to America to found a community where they could practice their religion without interference.
These Pilgrims - as they are usually known - came to an area uninhabited by other Europeans. The people living there were Native Americans, the people most Americans refer to as American Indians. It was late in the year when the Pilgrims landed and founded the colony they called Plymouth. They had only the belongings that they had brought on the small ship. The winter was cold, and about half of the Pilgrims died. In the spring, with advice and help from the Indians, with whom they lived in peace, the Pilgrims planted corn (known also as maize) and other crops and prepared as well as they could for the next winter. In October 1621, to celebrate the good harvest, the Pilgrims held a feast which featured, among many other foods, wild turkey, which is native to North America. They called this their day of thanksgiving, held to thank their God for his blessings.
The story of that Pilgrim feast is well-known among Americans. It is told and retold every year to young children in schools as one of the major American holidays approaches. The holiday is called Thanksgiving Day and is now observed on the fourth Thursday of November. Other nations have days of thanksgiving, too, but Thanksgiving Day has a special significance for Americans because it is traced back to that group of people who were among the first to come to the New World in search of freedom.
Today, families - often including grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins and grown children who live away from home -gather together, usually in a home but sometimes in a restaurant, for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. This almost always includes some of the foods served at the first Thanksgiving, roast turkey and cranberry sauce, plus sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Other dishes vary according to family and regional traditions. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, for instance, wild rice is often served. Before the feast, families usually pause to give thanks for all their blessings - including the joy of being together on this day. And many families like to share the day with others, inviting to their dinner foreign students, military people stationed far from home, and people who have no families.
Many people attend religious services on Thanksgiving Day, and watching football games - sometimes in person but usually on television - is also a popular Thanksgiving Day activity. The next day, a Friday, most people return to work. But some people take the day off and begin shopping for Christmas gifts. The day is one on which Americans also show increased concern for the poor. Gifts of food for a dinner are common. Charitable organization and churches provide food or serve dinners for the needies.
THE AMERICAN'S INFLUENCE ON WORLD CIVILIZATION
Only about 300 years ago Europeans saw in most of what is now the United States a wilderness, a rocky and spacious land. But they also saw an opportunity to build new and better lives. So they arrived there, thousands upon thousands, from many countries of the world. They brought with them a lot of skills and ideas contributing to America's colourful cultural heritage. And they brought the ideas f freedom and liberty setting up a government designed to protect the liberty of all. They wrote a Constitution guaranteeing certain basic freedoms and individual rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of political belief and freedom of the press - a document like none other in the world. Out of diversity came unity.
James Madison, the rich plantation owner from Virginia, is regarded as the "father of the Constitution", as it was he, who formulated the assumption that private property was the backbone of liberty.
And though some historians regard the USA Constitution as an essentially conservative document, it still lives on and is a good example, of legislative document for many governments and parliaments. In fact it has greatly influenced the constitutions of many countries .Nowadays the newly formed independent states of the former USSR refer to the USA Constitution in search of the best laws, regulations and customs which are part of the basic law.
The USA's past is a record of brilliant scientific, technological, industrial and agricultural growth. The great size and wealth of the land has challenged every generation of Americans since the first colonists. Armed with freedom of thought .and action, Americans responded to that challenge. When mountains blocked the way westward, roads and railroads were built around them, through them or over them. When floods threatened farms and cities, dams and levees were built to hold back the water. Where rainfall was scanty, great irrigation systems were built to help grow crops. By the way, drip irrigation - the most economical way to water plants - was first introduced in the USA and now is widely spread all over the world.
The example of the American Revolution which did away with the heritage of feudalism cleared the way for the development of capitalism, both in breadth and in depth, both in trade and in industry, and also in agriculture, was of tremendous importance for the world civilization.
Now let's touch upon some other factors that greatly influenced the world civilization. We can't but mention the Americans enterprising, scientific and technical progress. All kinds of "know-how" in many realms are introduced by the Americans. In search of effective management many countries of the world take lesson from| America's best run companies.
Dale Carnegie's books "How to win friends and influence" people" and "How to stop worrying and start living" revolutionized the lives of many men. These books give people new thoughts, new visions, new ambitions; they enable everybody to make friends quickly and easily. Business people all over the world use communicative skills acquired from Dale Carnegie's book.
Advertising in the USA is a fine art. As an American said, "The best brains in our country go into salesmanship. Any fool can make a thing. What takes real brains is to sell it when the customer has got one already and doesn't want another". Through paid announcements in the press, over the radio, on TV, on billboards the advertiser (corporations, government or individuals) makes known what he wants throughout the world.
In our everyday life we use the example of Americans' public relations for studying, analyzing and evaluating public opinion. Public-relations experts are in great demand at present.
Then let's touch upon the humanitarian factor; art and education, cinema and TV are supporters and producers of mass culture (Hollywood, Videoproduction).
A whole generation of youth has grown up accustomed to the "new music", to its hard beat and liberated emotionalism. The success of the Negro rhythm - and - blues music was tremendous in the 50-s. It was in 1954 when the disk-jockey Alan Freed called it Rock-and-Roll.
The greatest jazzmen Sidney Kishet, Errol Garner, Luis Armstrong, Ray Charles were Negroes. Elvis Presley was the king of Rock-and-Roll. This music has jumped across the Atlantic Ocean and has taken Europe by storm.
It were the American "Hippies" who chose poverty as one of the ways of rejecting the values of American way of life. They believed in the dissemination of love and happiness, total permissiveness and freedom. Hippies had followers in many countries of the world.
America's influences on the world are numerous. As far as the language influence goes, there are a lot of neologisms in science and other spheres of human life such as: :Shuttle", "Know-how", "broker", "image", "publicity", "management", "marketing".
America is still changing and expanding. The cities continue to grow upward and outward. Factories produce the greatest abundance of goods in the world. The farms are one of the most productive on earth. America is a beautiful, fertile, mighty and happy land.
And all this is due to Americans who made themselves believe that a man by the strength of his mind and spirit is the conqueror and keeper of nature. This is of great importance especially nowadays and is worth following.
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