Слайд 2Capital – Washington
Largest city – New York
Official language – English
Government– Federal
presidential constitutional republic
President – Barack Obama
Legislature – Congress
Upper house – Senate
Lower house – House of Representatives
Population – almost 318 million people
Слайд 3The Great Seal
of The United States of America
Flag of The
United States of America
Motto:
“In God we trust”(official)
"E pluribus unum" (Latin) (traditional)
"Out of many, one"
Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Слайд 4The Declaration of Independence
Declared – July 4, 1776
Recognized – September 3,
1783
United States’ Constitution – June 21, 1788
Слайд 5Geography, Climate, and Environment
The United States is the world's third or
fourth largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and just above or below China. The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous forests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The Appalachian Mountains divide the eastern seaboard from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi–Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast.
Слайд 6The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend
north to south across the country, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado. Farther west are the rocky Great Basin and deserts such as the Chihuahua and Mojave. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast, both ranges reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The lowest and highest points in the continental United States are in the state of California, and only about 80 miles (130 km) apart. At 20,320 feet (6,194 m), Alaska's Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in the country and in North America. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The super volcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic feature.
Слайд 7There are 58 national parks and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests,
and wilderness areas. Altogether, the government owns 28.8% of the country's land area. Most of this is protected, though some is leased for oil and gas drilling, mining, logging, or cattle ranching; 2.4% is used for military purposes.
Слайд 8Religion
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion and forbids
Congress from passing laws respecting its establishment. Christianity is by far the most common religion practiced in the U.S., but other religions are followed, too. In a 2013 survey, 56% of Americans said that religion played a "very important role in their lives", a far higher figure than that of any other wealthy nation.
Слайд 9Protestantism is the largest group of religions in the United States, with
Baptists being the largest Protestant sect, and the Southern Baptist Convention being the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. Roman Catholicism in the U.S. has its origin in the Spanish and French colonization of the Americas, and later grew due to Irish, Italian, Polish, German and Hispanic immigration. Rhode Island is the only state where the majority of the population is Catholic.
Слайд 10 Lutheranism in the U.S. has its origin in immigration from Northern Europe. North
and South Dakota are the only states in which a plurality of the population is Lutheran. Utah is the only state where Mormonism is the religion of the majority of the population. Mormonism is also relatively common in parts of Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. As with other Western countries, the U.S. is becoming less religious. Irreligion is growing rapidly among Americans under 30. Polls show that overall American confidence in organized religion is declining, and that younger Americans in particular are becoming increasingly irreligious.
Слайд 11Government and Politics
The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It
is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law". The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. For 2012, the U.S. ranked 21st on the Democracy Index and 19th on the Corruption Perceptions Index.
Слайд 12In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of
government: federal, state, and local. The local government's duties are commonly split between county and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. There is no proportional representation at the federal level, and it is very rare at lower levels.
Слайд 13The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, each representing a congressional
district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population every tenth year. At the 2010 census, seven states had the minimum of one representative, while California, the most populous state, had 53.
Слайд 14The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators,
elected at-large to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every other year. The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice. The president is not elected by direct vote, but by an indirect electoral college system in which the determining votes are apportioned to the states and the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has nine members, who serve for life.
Слайд 15Culture
The United States is home to many cultures and a wide variety of
ethnic groups, traditions, and values. Aside from the relatively small Native American and Native Hawaiian populations, nearly all Americans or their ancestors settled or immigrated within the past five centuries. Mainstream American culture is a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of European immigrants with influences from many other sources, such as traditions brought by slaves from Africa.
Слайд 16Popular Media
The world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in
New York City in 1894, using Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope. The next year saw the first commercial screening of a projected film, also in New York, and the United States was in the forefront of sound film's development in the following decades. Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, California. Nowadays, Hollywood is also one of the leaders in motion picture production.
Слайд 17Americans are the heaviest television viewers in the world, and the average
viewing time continues to rise, reaching five hours a day in 2006. The four major broadcast television networks are all commercial entities. Americans listen to radio programming, also largely commercial, on average just over two-and-a-half hours a day. Aside from web portals and search engines, the most popular websites are Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Blogger, eBay, and Craigslist.
Слайд 18The rhythmic and lyrical styles of African-American music have deeply influenced American music at large,
distinguishing it from European traditions. Elements from folk idioms such as the blues and what is now known as old-time music were adopted and transformed into popular genres with global audiences. Jazz was developed by innovators such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington early in the 20th century. Country music developed in the 1920s, and rhythm and blues in the 1940s.
Слайд 19Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry were among the mid-1950s pioneers of rock and roll. In
the 1960s, Bob Dylan emerged from the folk revival to become one of America's most celebrated songwriters and James Brown led the development of funk. More recent American creations include hip hop and house music. American pop stars such as Presley, Michael Jackson, and Madonna have become global celebrities.
Слайд 20Literature
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, American art and literature
took most of its cues from Europe. Writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau established a distinctive American literary voice by the middle of the 19th century. Mark Twain and poet Walt Whitman were major figures in the century's second half; Emily Dickinson, virtually unknown during her lifetime, is now recognized as an essential American poet. A work seen as capturing fundamental aspects of the national experience and character—such as Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851), Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby(1925)—may be dubbed the "Great American Novel".
Слайд 21Food
Mainstream American cuisine is similar to that in other Western countries. Wheat is
the primary cereal grain. Traditional American cuisine uses indigenous ingredients, such as turkey, venison, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup, which were consumed by Native Americans and early European settlers.
Слайд 22Slow-cooked pork and beef barbecue, crab cakes, potato chips, and chocolate
chip cookies are distinctively American foods. 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. The confectionery industry in the United States includes The Hershey Company, the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. In addition, Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, is the largest globally distributed snack food company in the world. The United States has a vast Breakfast cereal industry that includes brands such as Kellogg's and General Mills.
Слайд 23Characteristic dishes such as apple pie, fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, and
hot dogs derive from the recipes of various immigrants. 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. Marketing by U.S. industries is largely responsible for making orange juice and milk ubiquitous breakfast beverages.
Слайд 24The American fast food industry, the world's largest, pioneered the drive-through format in the 1930s.
Fast food consumption has sparked health concerns. During the 1980s and 1990s, Americans' caloric intake rose 24%; frequent dining at fast food outlets is associated with what public health officials call the American "obesity epidemic". Highly sweetened soft drinks are widely popular, and sugared beverages account for nine percent of American caloric intake.
Слайд 25Sports
The market for professional sports in the United States is roughly
$69 billion, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined. Baseball has been regarded as the national sport since the late 19th century, while American football is now by several measures the most popular spectator sport. Basketball and ice hockey are the country's next two leading professional team sports. These four major sports, when played professionally, each occupy a season at different, but overlapping, times of the year. College football and basketball attract large audiences.
Слайд 26 Boxing and horse racing were once the most watched individual sports, but they have been eclipsed
by golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR. In the 21st century, televised mixed martial arts has also gained a strong following of regular viewers. While soccer is much less popular in the United States than in many other nations, it is played widely at the youth and amateur levels; even so, the men's team has been to the past six World Cups and the women are #1 in the women's world rankings. Tennis and many outdoor sports are popular as well.
Слайд 27While most major U.S. sports have evolved out of European practices, basketball, volleyball, skateboarding, snowboarding,
and cheerleading are American inventions, which have become popular in other countries. Lacrosse and surfing arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate Western contact. Eight Olympic Games have taken place in the United States. The United States has won 2,400 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, more than any other country, and 281 in the Winter Olympic Games, the second most by 2014.
Слайд 39Lincoln continental mark iii 1968