Exercise 1. Are these statements true or false.

1. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington located on the country`s Pacific coast.

2. The District is a part of any U.S. state and is instead directly overseen by the federal government.

3. Washington D.C. is governed by a Lord Chancellor and a 13-member city council.

4. Residents of the District there fore have less self-governance than residents of the states.

5. The District is bordered by the states of Virginia to the northwest and Maryland to the other sides.

Exercise 2. Complete the sentences from the text.

1. Residents of the District…

2. It is for this reason…

3. The U.S. Constitution allows…

4. Washington D.C. hosts…

5. The city shares its…

6. The District has a non-voting..

Exercise 3. Make up your own questions.

1. The centers of all three branches of the U.S. federal government are located in the District.

2. A new capital city was named in honor of George Washington.

3. The District is located on the north bank of the Potomac River.

4. The headquarters of many institutions are located in Washington.

5. The Washington Metropolitan Area has a population of nearly 5,6 million.

Exercise 4. Translate into Russian.

1. Washington was founded on July 16, 1790.

2. The District of Columbia is named in honor of Columbus, the discoverer of America.

3. Washington is not the largest city in the U.S., for it cannot compare in size with cities like New York or Chicago.

4. In the political sense, however, Washington is the center of the state and the most important city in the United States.

5. The first President, George Washington, was inaugurated in 1789 and a new capital city was named in honor of George Washington.

Exercise 5. Translate into English.

1. В Вашингтоне находится много национальных памятников и музеев.

2. Президент США живет в Белом Доме в Вашингтоне.

3. Конституция США была принята в 1961г.

4. Вашингтон не только столица США, но и штаб квартира Мирового Банка.

5. Штаб квартира профсоюзов также расположена в столице США.

Text C

Canberra

 

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 660 km (410 mi) north-east of Melbourne. A resident of Canberra is known as a "Canberran".

The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a blueprint by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The Griffins' plan featured geometric motifs such as circles, hexagons and triangles, and was centred around axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks in the Australian Capital Territory.

The city's design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title of the "bush capital". The growth and development of Canberra were hindered by the World Wars and the Great Depression, which exacerbated a series of planning disputes and the ineffectiveness of a sequence of bodies that were to oversee the development of the city. The national capital emerged as a thriving city after World War II, as Prime Minister Robert Menzies championed its development and the National Capital Development Commission was formed with executive powers. Although the Australian Capital Territory is now self-governing, the federal government retains some influence through the National Capital Authority.

As the seat of the government of Australia, Canberra is the site of Parliament House, the High Court and numerous government departments and agencies. It is also the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance, such as the Australian War Memorial, Australian National University, Australian Institute of Sport, National Gallery, National Museum and the National Library. The Australian Army's officer corps are trained at the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy is also located in the capital.

As the city has a high proportion of public servants, the federal government contributes the largest percentage of Gross State Product and is the largest single employer in Canberra. As the seat of government, the unemployment rate is lower and the average income higher than the national average, while property prices are relatively high, in part due to comparatively restricted development regulations. Tertiary education levels are higher, while the population is younger.

Vocabulary.

locate - располагаться

select - выбирать

contest - соперничество, спор

design - проект

circle - окружность, круг

hexagon - шестиугольник

significant - важный, многозначительный

influence - влиять

earn - зарабатывать, заслуживать

hinder - мешать, препятствовать

sequence - последовательность

average - среднее число

income - доход, приход

Answer the questions.

1. What is the capital of Australia?

2. When was the site of Canberra selected for the location of the nation`s capital?

3. What was the city design heavily influenced by?

4. Whose blueprint was selected?

5. What cultural and social institutions of national significance do you know in Canberra?