New Years Eve and New Years Day

New Years Day is the first day of the year, January 1st. It is a celebration of the old year and the new one to come. People make New Years Resolutions each New Years and promise themselves that they will keep this resolution until next year. New Years Eve is a major social event. Clubs everywhere are packed with party-goers who stay out all night and go nuts at midnight. At midnight it is a tradition to make lots of noise. The traditional New Years Ball is dropped every year in Times Square in New York City at 12 o’clock. This event can be seen all over the world on television.

Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day is a day that is set aside to promote the idea of "love". It is celebrated on February 14th. People send greeting cards or gifts to loved ones and friends to show them that they care.

Easter

Easter is a major Christian holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. The 40 days leading up to Easter are observed as Lent. Besides the religious aspects of Easter, people also celebrate spring or the signs of new life. There are often Easter Parades such as the one in New York City where people dress up in their new spring clothes. Children receive Easter baskets filled with candy Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans! The dying of eggs with food color is also an Easter tradition in many American families.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Many Irish people live in the United States. On March 17, St. Patrick's Day is their holiday.

St. Patrick's Day is not a national holiday in the United States. But it is a special day. Many people in the United States celebrate it. They remember the Irish people in the United States and Ireland. Ireland has a lot of green grass. So green is the color of Ireland. Many people wear green on St. Patrick's Day. Ireland also has a lot of shamrocks. They are small plants with three leaves. A shamrock with four leaves brings good luck. Many people wear shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day.

On St. Patrick's Day, there are parades. People sing, dance, and eat Irish food. Some people make green drinks. In Chicago, they color the river green! Big cities with a lot of Irish people, such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, have huge St. Patrick's Day parades. The people in the parades wear Irish clothes. Bands play songs about Ireland.St. Patrick's Day honors St. Patrick. He was a priest in Ireland. He helped the Irish learn about Christianity.

Vocabulary notes

Designate-назначенный

per year-в год

feast-праздник, пир

pageantry-великолепие, пышная церемония

merriment-веселье

grave-могила

lay a wreath-возлагать венок

rifle-ружье

prayer-молитва

reflection-размышления

respectively-соответственно

holy-святой

subvert-искажать

outrageous-возмутительный

evil spirits-злые духи

Witch-ведьма

Broomstick-метла

Miser-скряга

Lantern-фонарик

Carve-вырезать

Scary-страшный, жуткий

Turnip-репа

Beets-свекла

Pumpkin-тыква

Dissenting-несогласие

Rough-трудный

Harvest-урожай

Sacrifice-жертвовать

Blessings-благословения

Commemorate-увековечивать

Anniversary-годовщина

Dying-окрашивание

Shamrock-клевер

Cuisine

Because the United States has long attracted immigrants from a wide variety of nations and cultures the cuisine of the United States is extremely diverse and difficult to define. One way of describing American cuisine is a synthesis of cuisines from around the world, a style of cooking that takes something from each immigrant community. On the other hand, American cooks have exported a great variety of dishes around the world, and in many ways American cuisine is just as recognisable and as popular as French, Chinese, or Indian.

// Problems with defining American cuisine

The cheeseburger may seem a quintessentially American food, but similar foods are made in Germany and were likely brought across to the United States by German immigrants.

The cuisine of the Native Americans was of course the first American cooking style, and it lent a great deal not only to subsequent American cooking but also to culinary styles around the world. Turkey, corn (maize), beans, sunflowers, potatoes, peppers, and various forms of squash (including pumpkins) are among the Native American foods now widely consumed elsewhere. Superimposed on this original native diet is the massive contribution of the various immigrant groups; many dishes considered quintessentially American are in fact based upon the cooking traditions of other countries. For example, apple pies, pizza, runzas, chowder, and hamburgers are all either identical to, or derived from, European dishes. Burritos and tacos similarly have their origins in Mexico.

Hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, brought over to America by German immigrants to the United States, but in their modern, popular form they are so altered that they can be reasonably considered American dishes.

American cooking has been widely exported beyond its borders. Tex-Mex, Creole, and barbecue restaurants can be found in cities all around the world, while fast-food burger bars and pizzerias are even more popular.

American cooking has been exported around the world, both through the global expansion of restaurant chains such as T.G.I. Friday's and McDonalds and the efforts of individual restaurateurs such as Bob Payton, credited with bringing American-style pizza to the UK.

Particular American foods

Wheat is the primary cereal grain. Traditional American cuisine uses ingredients such as turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup, indigenous foods employed by Native Americans and early European settlers. Slow-cooked pork and beef barbecue, crab cakes, and chocolate chip cookies are distinctively American styles. Soul food, developed by African slaves, is popular around the South and among many African Americans elsewhere. Syncretic cuisines such as Louisiana creole, Cajun, and Tex-Mex are regionally important. Fried chicken, which combines Scottish and African American culinary traditions, is a national favorite. Iconic American dishes such as apple pie, pizza, and hamburgers derive from the recipes of various European immigrants. So-called French fries, Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos, and pasta dishes freely adapted from Italian sources are widely consumed.

Americans generally prefer coffee to tea. American liquors include bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, applejack, and Puerto Rican rum. The martini is the characteristic American cocktail.The average American consumes 81.6 liters of beer per year. American-style lagers, typified by the leading Budweiser brand, are light in body and flavor.In recent decades, wine production and consumption has increased substantially, with winemaking now a leading industry in California. Wine is often drunk before meals, substituting for cocktails. Aside from coffee, orange juice and homogenized, often fat-reduced cow's milk are typical breakfast beverages. Highly sweetened soft drinks are widely popular. Leading soft-drink producer Coca-Cola is the most recognized brand in the world, just ahead of McDonald's.

 

The most popular American foods:

· Apple Pie

· Brownies

· Buffalo meat (steaks and burgers)

· Buffalo Wings

· Cheeseburger

· Chicago-style pizza

· Chicken pot pie

· Chocolate chip cookies

· Clam Chowder

· Crabcake

· Cream cheese

· Doughnuts

· Fried chicken

· Grilled pizza

· Hamburgers

· Hot dogs

· Macaroni and cheese

· Pancake

o Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

· Pecan pie

· Potato Chips

· Pumpkin pie

· Shrimp & Grits

· Spam

· Thanksgiving Dinner (Roast Turkey, Cranberry sauce, etc.)

 

Vocabulary notes

Cuisine-кухня, кулинария

Recognisable-признаваемый

Superimpose-накладывать

Consume-потреблять

Quintessentiallу- наиболее типично

corn-кукуруза

beans-фасоль, бобы

derive-извлекать

salmon-лосось

substitutе-заменять

homogenized-гомогенизировать

beverages-напитки

Common Abbreviations

 

A.B. Artium Baccalaureus [Bachelor of Arts]

abbr. abbreviation(s), abbreviated

Acad. Academy

A.D. anno Domini [in the year of the Lord]

alt. altitude

A.M. ante meridiem [before noon]; Artium Magister [Master of Arts]

AM amplitude modulation

Assn. Association

at. no. atomic number

at. wt. atomic weight

Aug. August

Ave. Avenue

AWOL absent without leave

b. born, born in

B.A. Bachelor of Arts

B.C. Before Christ

b.p. boiling point

B.S. Bachelor of Science

Btu British thermal unit(s)

C Celsius (centigrade)

c. circa [about]

cal calorie(s)

Capt. Captain

cent. century, centuries

cm centimeter(s)

co. county

Col. Colonel; Colossians

Comdr. Commander

Corp. Corporation

Cpl. Corporal

cu cubic

d. died, died in

D.C. District of Columbia

Dec. December

dept. department

dist. district

div. division

Dr. doctor

E east, eastern

ed. edited, edition, editor(s)

est. established; estimated

et al. et alii [and others]

F Fahrenheit

Feb. February

fl. floruit [flourished]

fl oz fluid ounce(s)

FM frequency modulation

ft foot, feet

gal. gallon(s)

Gen. General, Genesis

GMT Greenwich mean time

GNP gross national product

GOP Grand Old Party (Republican Party)

Gov. governor

grad. graduated, graduated at

H hour(s)

Hon. the Honorable

hr hour(s)

i.e. id est [that is]

in. inch(es)

inc. incorporated

Inst. Institute, Institution

IRA Irish Republican Army

IRS Internal Revenue Service

Jan. January

Jr. Junior

K Kelvin

kg kilogram(s)

km kilometer(s)

£ libra [pound], librae [pounds]

lat. latitude

lb libra [pound], librae [pounds]

Lib. Library

long. longitude

Lt. Lieutenant

Ltd. Limited

m meter(s)

M minute(s)

M.D. Medicinae Doctor [Doctor of Medicine]

mg milligram(s)

mi mile(s)

min minute(s)

mm millimeter(s)

mph miles per hour

Mr. Mister (always abbreviated)

Mrs. Mistress (always abbreviated)

Msgr Monsignor

mt. Mount, Mountain

mts. mountains

Mus. Museum

N north; Newton(s)

NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NE northeast

no. number

Nov. November

OAS Organization of American States

Oct. October

Op. Opus [work]

oz ounce(s)

pl. plural

pop. population

pseud. pseudonym

pt. part(s)

pt pint(s)

pub. published; publisher

qt quart(s)

Rev. Revelation; the Reverend

rev. revised

R.N. registered nurse

rpm revolution(s) per minute

RR railroad

S south

S second(s)

SEATO Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

SEC Securities and Exchange Commission

sec second(s); secant

Sept. September

Ser. Series

Sgt. Sergeant

sq square

Sr. Senior

St. Saint; Street

UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund

uninc. unincorporated

Univ. University

U.S. United States

USA United States Army

USAF United States Air Force

USCG United States Coast Guard

USMC United States Marine Corps

USN United States Navy

VFW Veterans of Foreign Wars

VISTA Volunteers in Service to America

vol. volume(s)

vs. versus

W west; watt(s)

WHO World Health Organization

wt. weight

yd yard(s)

YMCA Young Men's Christian Association

YWCA Young Women's Christian Association

TESTS

1. How many states are there in the United States?

1. 48 2. 50 3. 51 4. 52

 

2. What is the capital city of the USA?

1. New York 2. Los Angeles 3. Philadelphia 4. Washington, D.C.

 

3. What is the largest state?

1. Alaska 2. California 3. Hawaii 4. Rhode Island

 

4. What is the smallest state?

1. Texas 2. Alaska 3. Rhode Island 4. Ohio

 

5. What is the longest river?

1. Mississippi 2. Hudson 3. Colorado 4. Potomac River

 

6. What is the residence and office of the President of the USA?

1. The Capitol 2. The White House 3. Lincoln Memorial 4. Pentagon

 

7. Where does Congress (the Senate and the House of Representatives) meet?

1. in the Capitol 2. the White house 3. Lincoln Memorial 4. Pentagon

 

8. The first capital of the USA was…

1. Washington D.C. 2. New York 3. Philadelphia 4. Olympia

 

9. What is the name of the river that runs through Washington, D.C.?

1. Colorado 2. Mississippi 3. Potomac River 4. Hudson

 

10. The Grand Canyon is in…

1. Nevada 2. Arizona 3. California 4. Colorado

 

11. The Golden Gate Bridge is in…

1. California 2. Oregon 3. Florida 4. Texas

 

12. The Disneyland Resort is in…

1. Los Angeles 2. San Francisco 3. Anaheim 4. Sacramento

 

13. Mount Rushmore in South Dacota is…

1. the highest mountain

2. the lowest mountain

3. a mountain with the faces of four presidents

4. a mountain with the face of the first president

 

14. Who was the first President of the USA?

1. G. Washington 2. Thomas Jefferson 3. Benjamin Franklin 4. A. Lincoln

 

15. The Fourth of July is …

1. Memorial Day 2. St. Patrick’s Day 3. Independence Day 4. President’s Day

 

16. What was the main reason of Civil War (1861-1865)?

1. slavery 2. independence from Britain 3. religion 4. new Constitution

 

17. The stock market crashed and began the Great Depression in…

1. 1776, July 4. 2. 1863 3. 1929, October 29 4. 1945, August 6

 

18. Who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, granting freedom to slaves in Confederate-held territory?

1. President Jefferson

2. President Truman

3. President Lincoln

4. President Washington

 

19. What is called “the Star Spangled Banner”?

1. the American Flag 2. the Coat of Arms 3. a political party 4. a famous monument

 

20. John Steinbeck was …

1. a musician 2. a scientist 3. a president 4. a writer

 

21. Who wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”?

1. Jack London

2. Benjamin Franklin

3. Harriet Beecher Stowe

4. Theodore Dreiser

 

22. SAMUEL CLEMENS was the real name of…

1. Theodore Dreiser 2. Mark Twain 3. Jack London 4. Ernest Hemingway

23. Babe Ruth was …

1. a baseball player 2. a basketball player 3. a football player 4. a soccer player

24. What is the official language of the USA?

1. English

2. there’s no current official language

3. English and Spanish

4. French

25. The biggest city in the USA is…

1. Chicago 2. New York 3. Los Angeles 4. Washington D.C.