Текст 1(g). Holidays in the United States

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New Year’s Day – January 1 – 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 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 honoring 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.

Labor Day – is observed the first Monday in September in all states and territories. Labor Day was first celebrated in New York in 1882 under the sponsorship of the Central Labor Union.

Thanksgiving – is observed nationally on the fourth Thursday in November, the first national proclamation having been issue by President Lincoln in 1863. Most Americans believe that the holiday dates back to the day

of thanks in New England in 1961 but scholar’s point out that day of thanks stem ancient times.

Christmas – December 35 – the most widely celebrated holiday. Christmas customs are centuries old. Comparatively recent is the Christmas tree. Colonial Manhattan islanders introduced the name Santa Claus.

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We shall overcome.

We shall overcome (3)

Some day.

Refrain:

Deep in my heart

I do believe

We stall overcome

Some day.

We’ll walk hand in hand (3)

Some day.

Refrain.

We shall live in peace (3)

Some day.

Refrain.

The whole wide world around (3)

Some day.

Refrain.

We are not afraid (3)

Hurray!

Refrain:

We shall overcome (3)

Some day.

Refrain.

Do you know that

- Harvard College was founded in 1636? It is the most famous of the American Universities.

- The college of William and Mary (1693) was the second institution of higher learning established in the colonies?

- Yankee did not become general until late in the eighteenth century? This term was at first applied to the inhabitants of the Dutch colonies in North America. Now Jan Kees is a nick-name still applied in Flandres to people from Holland. Jan of course is the common Dutch name corresponding to the English John, and Kess may be either the usual perform of the name Cornelis, another name typical of the Dutch,

- or else a dialectal variation of kaas, cheese. Jankees became Jankees where the s was taken as the plural ending, and Jankee became the designation of any inhabitant of New England, and even sometimes of the whole of the United States.

Do you know that New York’s tallest buildings are

Empire State Building – 102 storeys – 1.250 ft

Chryster Building – 77 storeys – 1.046 ft

Rockfeller Building – 70 storeys – 850 ft

Do you know that U.S. Cabinet members are

Secretary of State

Secretary of Defense

Attorney General

Secretary of the Interior

Secretary of agriculture

Secretary of Commerce

Secretary of Labour

Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

A Cabinet member is appointed by the President, subject to the confirmation of the Senate; and as his term is not fixed, he may be replaced at any time by the President.

Do you know that about 11 million people in the United States can neither read nor write?

Дата добавления: 2014-12-27