Otázka: United Kingdom
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Marplot
Basic facts, interesting places, chapters from American history
Geography, basic characteristics
– Federal state, contains 50 states and 1 district (Washington D. C. – capital)
– Alaska + Hawaii+48 continental states
o California, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, etc.
– Population 300 million
– President: Barack Hussein Obama
– Borders with Canada and Mexico
Mountain ranges:
o The Appalachian mountains (in the east)
o The Cordilleras – they are divided into these ranges: the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Range, and the Sierra Nevada
– Highest peak is Mt. McKinley (6200 m) in Alaska Range
– Rivers: The Mississippi, the Missouri, the Colorado, the Hudson, the Rio Grande, the St. Lawrence River
– Lakes: the Great Lakes ( in the north) – Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron
– American flag: 50 white stars on blue background (50 states) and 13 red-white stripes (13 colonies)
Interesting places
– cities
o Washington D. C. – White house, U.S. Capitol, Washington monument (obelisk), Pentagon (ministry of defence),
Designed like square with 10 mile sides.
o New York – Manhattan (skyscrapers, Central park, Times square, Broadway, Statue of Liberty)
– national parks
o Yellowstone (1st NP in the world)
o Everglades (Florida)
o Niagara falls
o Grand Canyon
American history
– first inhabitants were Indians
– 10th century – landed in Newfoundland Vikings, Leif Ericsson
– 1492 Christopher Columbus with ships Santa Maria, Pinta and Nina
– 17th century – first colonies established
– 1621 Pilgrim Fathers celebrated first Thanksgiving day. They travelled to America because of their religion belief from England, they established a new colony in North America – Plymouth Colony, in1620
– 1776 – the United States of America were established by the Declaration of Independence
– first president was George Washington (in office 1789 – 1797)
– 1861 – 1865 Civil War, northern states were led by Abraham Lincoln
– 1917 – USA entered World War I to help allies
– World War II – Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour
– 1948 – Cold war began (US-led West and the Soviet-led East)
American festivals and events
– Independence Day on 4th July is the birthday of the USA. It is a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts, and fireworks.
– Halloween October 31. Christianised feast originally influenced by western European harvest festivals, and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots On Halloween, children dress up in funny or scary costumes and go to „trick or treat“ by knocking on doors in their neighborhood. The neighbors give them small gifts of candy or money. Halloween also includes carving pumpkins into jack-o‘-lanterns.
– Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims with Native Americans held a three-day feast to celebrate a rich harvest. The Thanksgiving feast became a national tradition and almost always includes some of the foods served at the first feast: roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
– Christmas Day is a celebrated on December 25. Christmas is a Christian holiday marking the birth of the Christ Child. Americans decorate houses with lights and Christmas trees. On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus leaves gifts for children. Usually, there is a large family dinner with turkey or ham.
Vocabulary
inhabitant obyvatel
establish založit
stripe pruh
pilgrim poutník
Pilgrims/Pilgrim fathers první osadníci města Plymouth (Massachusetts)
Trick or treat “Koledu, nebo vám něco provedu”
trick úskok, darebnost
treat hostit, dárek
harvest sklizeň
pagan pohan
pumpkin dýně
jack-o‘-lantern bludička, oblyčej vyřezaný do dýně
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