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FAMOUS PLACES IN USA

1. Statue of Liberty –  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. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, It is situated in New York.
2. Washington D.C. – the capital of the USA
3. The Grand Canyon –  is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park.
4. Hollywood – is a district situated in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and celebrities, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema and the movie industry.
5. Manhattan –  /mænˈhætən/ is the geographically smallest but most densely populated borough of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River.
Manhattan is the third-largest of New York’s five boroughs in population, and its smallest borough in land area.
Manhattan has been described as the economic and cultural center of the United States.
Manhattan has many famous landmarks, tourist attractions, museums, and universities, and hosts the United Nations Headquarters. It is the cultural and economic center of New York City and the New York metropolitan area, housing the seat of city government and a large portion of the area’s employment, business, and entertainment activities.
6. Potomac – the river in Washington D.C., the capital of the USA
7. The White House – is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800.
8. Mississippi – is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States.  The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

FAMOUS AMERICANS

Barack Obama – the president of the USA
Christopher Columbus – discovered America
Neil Armstrong – an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon
Mark Twain – a writer – THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
Herman Melville – a writer – MOBY DICK
J.F.Kennedy – the 35th president of the USA, assassinated in Dallas, Texas
Elvis Presley – the King of Rock and Roll
Marilyn Monroe – an actress, sang DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND and HAPPY BIRTHDAY for president Kennedy

THANKSGIVING

Every 4th Thursday of November Americans celebrate Thanksgiving.
For the 1st time it was in 1621 to thank God for the food they had after a difficult year.
The traditional Thanksgiving meal is similar to the first one. Usually there is a turkey, sweet potatoes, corn and pumpkin pie.
Thanksgiving is a special day for families to get together.

Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War

Abraham Lincoln is the 16th president of the United States , becoming the first Republican to win the presidency.

The announcement of Lincoln’s victory signaled the secession (leaving the Union) of the Southern states, which since the beginning of the year had been threatening secession if the Republicans gained the White House.

By the time of Lincoln’s inauguration on March 4, 1861, seven southern states had seceded, and the Confederate States of America had been formally established, with Jefferson Davis as its elected president. One month later, the American Civil War began when Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina. In 1863, as the tide turned against the Confederacy, Lincoln emancipated the slaves and in 1864 won reelection. In April 1865, he was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after the American Civil War effectively ended with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox.

The causes of the Civil War (1861 – 1865) were complex.

The slavery issue was primarily about whether the system of slavery was an evil that was incompatible with Republicanism in the United States, or a state system protected by the Constitution. The strategy of the anti-slavery forces was to stop the expansion and thus put slavery on a path to gradual extinction. To the white South, this strategy trampled their Constitutional rights. Slavery was gradually phased out of existence in the North and was fading in the border states and urban areas, but expanded in highly profitable cotton states of the Deep South.
Secondly, the South argued that each state had the right to secede—leave the Union—at any time, that the Constitution was a „compact” or agreement among the states.
For preserving the Union and bringing an end to slavery, and for his unique character and powerful oratory, Lincoln is considered as one of the greatest American presidents.

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but another Founding Father who became a President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831, thus becoming the third President in a row who died on this memorable day. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only President to have been born on Independence Day.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY

Every 3rd Friday of February American people celebrate Presidents’ Day.

Presidents of the USA:
1. George Washington
2. John Adams
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5. James Monroe
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Martin Van Buren
9. William Henry Harrison
10. John Tyler
11. James K. Polk
12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore
14. Franklin Pierce
15. James Buchanan
16. Abraham Lincoln
17. Andrew Johnson
18. Ulysses S. Grant
19. Rutherford B. Hayes
20. James Garfield
21. Chester A. Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland
23. Benjamin Harrison
24. Grover Cleveland
25. William McKinley
26. Theodore Roosevelt
27. William Howard Taft
28. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge
31. Herbert Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
33. Harry S. Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
35. John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James Carter
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton
43. George W. Bush
44. Barack Obama

George Washington was the 1st President of the USA and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States,
On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States.

SUPERSTITIONS PART

Do you believe in good luck and bad luck? There are a few British superstitions with long traditions.

GOOD LUCK

– Black cats are lucky
– A clover with four leaves brings good luck
– A horseshoe over the door of a new home brings good luck (must be the right way up)
– On the first day of the month it is lucky to say „White rabbits”
– It is good luck to see two magpies (large black and white birds)
– Catch falling leaves in Autumn and you will have good luck (every leaf means a lucky month in the next year)

BAD LUCK

– Never open an umbrella in the house. That is very bad luck.
– Never break a mirror – that means 7 years’ bad luck.
– It is bad luck to see just 1 magpie.
– Do not walk pass somebody on the stairs.
– Do not walk under a ladder.
– The number 13 is very unlucky.

BATHROOM

The British have two taps – one for hot and the other one for cold water whereas other nationalities have a single mixer tap over the sink or washbasin. If you want to mix the two, you should use a plug, attached to a chain, which fits into the basin.
Showering is not a British activity, a true Brit takes a slow and leisurely bath.

QUEUING

Queuing is an important part of the life in Great Britain. Just go to a bank, post office or supermarket check-out and you will find the custom is thriving, with special rails and tapes to keep the line straight.
Not fame, nor wealth, not merit nor urgency will get you to the front of the queue, only time.
Never say: „I’m in a hurry. Do you mind if I go first?”

PETS

The British love their pets, a true British home has both a cat and a dog.
In any British supermarket there is a great selection of mouth – watering food as well as cat treats, doggy chocs, scratching posts, jewel – encrusted collars, woollen coats and all the medicines and toiletries with which to care for your pet.
Avoid saying: It’s only an animal!

RELATIONSHIP

The British have a reputation for formality and coolness, so tourists are frequently amazed at their use of familiar forms of address such as:
darling, dear, love, even with strangers.
You may be called: Bunny, Angel, Teddy Bear, Treasure, Precious, Duckey, Dearest Heart, Poppet, Handsome, Big Boy, Star or my Little Sausage.
The best response to such familiarity is a pleasant smile.

TOP TONGUE

Why is English the world’s dream language?

1. sensible grammar for example 1 form for you (other languages have 2 or 3 forms depending on status, intimacy, and so on.)
2. Present Perfect Tense the best tense in the world (as its name implies)
3. many prepositions which make it easy to find your socks in the morning
4. a wide variety of vocabulary a lot of synonyms, many meanings of one word, for example, 50 words meaning mad, 231 adjectives to describe the weather.

SENSE OF HUMOUR

WHAT MAKES THE BRITISH LAUGH? CAN A VISITOR EVER LEARN TO SHARE THE BRITISH SENSE OF HUMOUR?

BEFORE GOING TO BRITAIN, TRY TO PRACTISE LAUGHING,

TRY WITH ONE OF THE SIMPLEST JOKES:

PATIENT: Doctor, every time I have a cup of tea, I get a stabbing pain in my eye.