Hawaii: the Pacific Paradise

Hawaii is the only American state that is made up entirely of islands. It has 132 tropical islands, but people only live on seven of them. The islands were formed by hot lava flowing from undersea volcanoes. You can still watch this process on the largest island, which, like the state, is called Hawaii. People usually just call it the Big Island. On the Big Island, red-hot lava has been flowing from the Kilauea volcano since the early 1980s.

The people who originally lived in Hawaii were Polynesians. Polynesian people first sailed to Hawaii about two thousand years ago. A king ruled the islands when the 18-century British explorer James Cook arrived. At first, Hawaiians treated Captain Cook like a god. But in the end, he was killed on the Big Island in 1779.

Hawaii is the newest of all American states. It became the fiftieth US state in August, 1959.

Hawaiian people don’t have a word for «weather» because the weather is the same all the year round: it’s always warm. In the mountains they have «vog». It’s like fog, but it’s from the gas in the Hawaiian volcanoes.

Hawaii is the home of surfing. There are 283 beaches and fantastic high waves. When Hawaiian people say «Surf’s up!» and it means that the waves are just right for surfing.

Kauai, also known as the “Garden Isle” is probably the most beautiful island in Hawaii. More than 60 Hollywood movies have been filmed there. By law, no building in Kauai can be higher than a palm tree.

The capital of Hawaii is Honolulu. This beautiful city is the birthplace of the 44^th US President Barack Obama.

Most of the pineapples in the world are from Hawaii. The state produces about 320 000 tons of this tasty fruit each year. Hawaii is also the only American state that grows coffee.

The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 7 consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p, w).

When Hawaiian people meet, they say «Aloha». The Hawaiian word Aloha means «hello», «goodbye», «love» and «welcome».

Forty species of shark swim in the water near the Hawaiian Islands. You can eat some of the sharks.

 

TEXT 12. Read and translate. Practice in making silly laws (three will be enough).

The Silliest American Laws

· In Idaho, fishing from the back of a camel is illegal.

· In Baltimore it’s also illegal to take lions to the theatre.

· In Providence, Rod Island it’s illegal to sell a toothbrush and paste to one and the same person on Sundays.

· In Arizona, donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.

· In Texas it is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.

· In Alabama it is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a car.

· In Minnesota it’s illegal to sleep naked.

· In Alaska, you may hunt a bear safely but it is illegal to wake bears and take a photo of them.

· In Oklahoma you can be fined, arrested or jailed for making ugly faces at a dog and biting some other’s hamburger.

· In Illinois men wearing moustache are forbidden to kiss women.

· In Indiana it’s forbidden to take a bath between October and March.

· In Baldwin Park, California, nobody is allowed to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool.

· In Alaska it’s illegal to give alcoholic drinks to a deer.

· In Illinois it’s forbidden to give lighted cigarettes to cats, dogs and other home animals.

· In Carmel, N.Y., a man can’t go outside while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match.

· In St. Louis, it’s illegal to sit on the curb of any city street and drink beer from a bucket.

· In Hartford, Connecticut, you aren’t allowed to cross a street while walking on your hands.

· In Oxford, Ohio, it’s illegal for a woman to strip off her clothing while standing in front of a man’s picture.

· In Carrizozo, N.M., it’s forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public (including legs and face).

· In Michigan, a woman isn’t allowed to cut her own hair without her husband’s permission.

· In Kentucky, «No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she is escorted by at least two officers or unless she is armed with a club».

TEXT 13. Read and translate the text. Be ready to discuss.

The Independence Day or Happy Birthday, America!

July 4^th, or Independence Day, is the most important American holiday. It’s the birthday of the United States of America. On this day, in 1776, America signed the Declaration of Independence and started the fight for freedom from British rule.

Before 1776, the King of England, George III, ruled the thirteen colonies in America. The colonists were tired of the taxes that George III imposed on them. «We have no representation in the British Parliament», they said, «so what right does he have to tax us?», «No taxation without representation» became their battle cry.

In 1767, the British government placed new taxes on tea and paper that colonists imported from abroad. The colonists got angry and refused to pay. George III sent soldiers to keep order.

In 1773, a group of colonists dressed up as Indians threw 342 chests of tea belonging to the East India Company into the waters of Boston harbour. King George didn’t think it was funny. His reply to this «Boston tea party» was a set of laws to punish the colonists. Boston harbour was closed until the tea was paid for. More soldiers were sent there to keep order.

But the «Intolerable Acts», as the colonists called King George’s laws, served only to unite the colonies against the British rule. The War of Independence began.

On July 4^th, 1776, the colonists declared their independence from Britain. Led by Thomas Jefferson, the representatives of all thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence. A large part of it was written by Jefferson himself. The document stated that the colonies were now «free and independent states» and officially named them the United States of America. It also said that all men had a natural right to «life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness».

The following day, copies of the Declaration of Independence were distributed and, on July 6^th, The Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first newspaper to print the extraordinary document. People celebrated the birth of a new nation.

But the War of Independence dragged on until 1783 when the colonists finally won. The head of the Revolutionary army was George Washington, who later became the first President of the United States of America. In 1783, Independence Day was made an official holiday.

Today, the country’s birthday is widely celebrated with parades, public meetings, patriotic music and speech-making. There are picnics and barbecues, and in the evening there are big fireworks shows. Wherever Americans are around the globe, they will get together for a traditional 4^th of July celebration!

 

TEXT 14. Read and translate the text. Make reports on other American holidays and festivals.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day in the United States is a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. It precedes Black Friday. Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a holiday to give thanks for the food collected at the end of the harvest season.

Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal. The meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have.

Thanksgiving Day parades are held in some cities and towns on or around Thanksgiving Day. Some parades or festivities also mark the opening of the Christmas shopping season. Some people have a four-day weekend so it is a popular time for trips and to visit family and friends.

Most government offices, businesses, schools and other organizations are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Many offices and businesses allow staff to have a four-day weekend so these offices and businesses also closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Public transit systems do not usually operate on their regular timetables.

Thanksgiving Day is one of the busiest periods for travel in the USA. This can cause congestion and overcrowding. Seasonal parades and busy football games can cause disruption to local traffic.

The American Thanksgiving began as a feast of thanksgiving almost four hundred years ago. In 1620, a religious Puritan community sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World. They settled in what is now known as the state of Massachusetts.

Their first winter in America was difficult. They arrived too late to grow a rich harvest. Moreover, half the colony died from disease. The following spring the Iroquois Indians taught them how to grow corn. Indians showed them also how to grow other crops and how to hunt and fish.

In the autumn of 1621 they got a beautiful harvest of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so they planned a feast. Local Indian chief and ninety Indians were present. The colonists learned from Indians how to cook cranberries and dishes of corn and pumpkins.

In following years many of the colonists celebrated the harvest with a feast of thanks. After the United States gained independence, Congress recommended one yearly day of thanksgiving for the whole country.

Later, George Washington suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Then, after the Civil war, Abraham Lincoln suggested the last Thursday in November to be the day of thanksgiving.

Charitable organizations offer traditional meal to the homeless.

It is a time to remember all the good things in life and to be thankful.