After its 200th birthday the United States of America still holds the leading position in the western world. A country that has inspired many names – “Land of Opportunity”, “Meeting Pot”, “God’s Country” is still referred toa as land of superlatives – “the richest”, “the greatest”, “the most”.
In size the United States is not the biggest. What makes the USA the leader of the western world is its economic, political and military dominance over other countries.
The United States is a parliamentary republic. The Government is divided into 3 branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court).
There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic (symbolize by a “donkey”) and the Republican (symbolized by an “elephant”). The US president is both head of State and of government. He is elected for a 4-year term. The Supreme Court consists of Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices who are appointed for life. The Supreme Court is supposed to decide whether a law of the Congress or an executive order of the President is “Constitutional or not”.
Questions:
1. Is the USA the biggest country in the world?
2. What makes the USA the leader of the western world?
3. Is the USA a parliamentary republic?
4. How many branches is the Government divided on?
5. How many main parties are there?
6. How many people are there in the Supreme Court?
Vocabulary:
leading position – ведущая позиция
to inspire – вдохновлять
to refer – объяснять
size – размер
dominance – превосходство
to divide – разделять
to consist – состоять
to decide – решать