Lesson 5
Aim – to learn some information about the US capital and its government.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. is the capital of the USA. It stands on the River Potomac. George Washington chose it to be the nation’s capital on December 1, 1800. The district is named after Columbus who discovered America in 1492.
Washington, D.C. is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in the USA. No building in the city may be more than 40 meters tall.
Washington, D.C. is the seat of federal government and there is the White House, the official residence of the President. President John Adams and his wife were the first to live there. It was in November 1800. The White House is the oldest building in Washington, D.C. It has the most famous address in the United States –1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. There are 3 floors and 132 rooms in the White House. The rooms for public functions are on the first floor. The President and the First Family use the second and the third floor.
The United States Capitol is the tallest building in Washington, D.C. and the most famous building in the USA because this is where the laws are made.
Washington, D.C. doesn’t belong to any state. It is a city and a district – the District of Columbia (D.C.). The state of Washington is in the north-west of the USA. Washington, D.C. is on the East Coast.
Exercise 1
Answer the questions.
1. What is the capital of the USA?
2. Where is it?
3. When did it become the nation’s capital?
4. Who is it named after?
5. Why is it the most unusual city?
6. Who was the first President to live in the White House?
7. Describe the White House.
8. Where are laws made? What else do you know about the US Capitol?
9. What is the difference between Washington, D.C. and the state of Washington?
Exercise 2
Make up 5 – 6 true or false statements to the text above.
Extra Information
The United States Government Today
There are 3 branches of the US government.
They are:
– the executive branch
The President is the head of the executive branch of the US government. The White House in Washington, D.C. is both residence and office of the President. The President must be a natural born American citizen at least 35 years of age. The presidential election is held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. The presidential term of four years begins on January 20 following the November election. The President can be reelected only once.
* William Clinton is the 42nd President of the USA. He was born on August 19, 1946 in the town of Hope in Arkansas. He is a Baptist and a member of the Democratic party. His wife’s name is Hillary Rodham. She was born in 1947. They have got one child – a daughter. Clinton was elected in 1993 and reelected in 1996.
– the legislative branch
The Make-up of the Congress
Exercise 1– the judicial branch (the Supreme Court)
What do you know about:
Exercise 21. the US President?
2. the House of Representatives?
3. the Senate?
4. the Congress?
5. the branches of the US government?
Crossword Puzzle
ACROSS:
DOWN:1. Presiding Officer in the House of Representatives.
2. It is made in the United States Capitol.
3. The first President of the USA.
4. The person who discovered America and after whom Washington district is named.
5. The tallest building in Washington, D.C.
6. The month the presidential election is held.
7. The legislative branch of the US government.
8. The place where the President lives and works.
4. The 42nd President of the USA.
9. The river Washington, D.C. stands on.
10. The head of the executive branch of the US government.
11. A person who works in the US Senate.
12. The President who was the first to live in the White House.
13. It has 3 branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial.
Key:
Down:
4. Clinton
9. Potomac
10. President
11. Senator
12. Adams
13. Government
Across:
1. Speaker
2. Law
3. Washington
4. Columbus
5. Capitol
6. November
7. Congress
8. Residence
Lesson 6 Aim – to learn some facts about the US monetary system.
The US Monetary System
Exercise 1
How many . . .
Exercise 21. quarters equal a dollar?
2. dimes equal a half dollar?
3. nickels equal a quarter?
4. nickels equal a dollar?
5. pennies equal a dime?
6. pennies equal a nickel?
Look at the chart below and guess the prices.
Example:
 |
 |
Key:
| $16.31 $6.30 $11.81 $6.31 |
$16.80 $6.95 $22.55 $22.06 |
Exercise 3
In this word square there are 6 hidden words, all connected with money matters. The words are horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
Key:
Nickel; quarter; dollar; halfdollar; dime; dime;
cent
Exercise 4
Additional tasks to Lesson 6Think of 5 – 7 sentences to describe the following proverb:
A penny saved is a penny earned. (Копейка рубль бережёт).
Task 1
Look at dollar bills. What Presidents are on the bills?
Do you know anything about them?
1 Dollar: George Washington – the first President (1789 – 1797).
2 Dollars: Thomas Jefferson – the 3rd President (1801 – 1809).
5 Dollars: Abraham Lincoln – the 16th President (1861 – 1865).
10 Dollars: Alexander Hamilton – the first Secretary of Treasury (1789 – 1795) who founded the first Bank of the United States which printed uniform currency.
20 Dollars: Andrew Jackson – the 7th President (1829 – 1837).
50 Dollars: Ulysses Simpson Grant – the 18th President (1869 – 1877).
100 Dollars: Benjamin Franklin – American statesman, diplomat, scientist, inventor who helped to write the “Declaration of Independence” (1776).
The bills above are used not only in the USA but outside the country as well. The bills below are used only on the territory of the USA.
500 Dollars: William McKinley – the 25th President (1897 – 1901).
1000 Dollars: Grover Cleveland – the 22nd and 24th President (1885 – 1889), (1893 – 1897).
5000 Dollars: James Madison – the 4th President (1809 – 1817).
10,000 Dollars: Salmon P. Chase – American statesman who originated the national banking system (1861 –. 1864).
100,000 Dollars: Thomas W. Wilson – the 28th President (1913 – 1921).
Task 2 Write a report about one of the Presidents who is on the bills above.