THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE USA
I would like to give a talk about thepolitical system of the USA.
Well, the Constitution is the highest law in the United States which describes the powers of the national government and the powers of the state governments. The US government is like a tree with a strong trunk and three branches. The trunk is the people. It holds upthe tree: without the support of the people there can be no government.
Thefirst branch on the tree of government is the Congress. The Congress makes the laws that everybody must obey. The Congress is divided into two parts, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Every state, no matter how large or small, sends two people to the Senate. These people are called senators. There are one hundred senators in the Senate. A senator’s term is six years. Each state also sendspeople to the House of Representatives. They are called congressmen or congresswomen. All in all there are 435 congressmen in the House of Representatives. A representative’s term is two years.
The second branch of government is the President and his helpers. They carry out the laws that the Congress makes. The President signs bills and then they become law. The President’s term is four years and one can be President for one or two terms, but not longer. Americans vote for the President in November of every leap year.
The third branch of government is the Supreme Court. It is made up of nine judges. They make sure that the President and the Congress follow the Constitution. The judges work in the Supreme Court as long as they live.
Americans are very proud of their Constitution. But the people of the United States can change the Constitution. Changes in the Constitution are called amendments. There are 26 amendments to the Constitution. Thefirst ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights. The 13th amendment ended slavery, the 14th amendment madeall black people citizens of the United States, the 15th amendment gave blacks the right to vote, the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote.
That’s all I wanted to say.
TWO AMERICAN PRESIDENTS
I would like to give a talk abouttwo the most famous American presidents.
The first US President is known to all Americans as “The Father of the Nation” was George Washington.Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President, of the USA like George Washington, he takes a special place in the list of American presidents.
George Washington he was born in Virginia into a planter’s’ family. Two private teachers taught him to be a soldier and a Virginia gentleman. George learned to ride a horse, to hunt, shoot, sail and swim.
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George Washington began his career in the service of his country as a major in the Virginia militia and later became Commander in Chief of the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary War. He was among those who wrote the US Constitution in Philadelphia. People respected him for his courage, honesty and wisdom.
Abe grew up in the Middle West. His first home was a small one-room house in the woods.The family lived in poverty. Abe’s stepmother encouraged the boy to study. He taught himself by reading the books. He often walked miles to borrow a book.
When Abe Lincoln was twenty-one he became a lawyer and a politician. In 1861 le became the 16th American President. In the same year the Civil War began. In 1863 he signed the document that made all the slaves free. In1865 the North won the Civil War. Five days after the war President Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theatre.
That’s all I wanted to say.
AUSTRALIA
I would like to give a talk about Australia.
Well, Australia is the world’s smallest continent. Asia is the continent nearest to Australia in the north. The icy shores of Antarctica lie to the south. New Zealand is to the east. To the west of Australia stretches the vast Indian Ocean. In the east the continent is washed by the Pacific Ocean.
It is known that Australia is a land of striking differences. In the center of the continent and in the west more than 50% of the land is desert — dry and uninhabited. There are three deserts there — the Great Sandy Desert, the Great VictoriaDesert and the Gibson Desert. Naturally very few people live there. Most of them live on the narrow coasts of the east and southeast.
Australia is divided into six states and two territories.New South Wales is Australia’s leading industrial state. Most of people live along the east coast, and most of them are in Sydney. Melbourne is the capital of the state. Sheep and wheat are the main products here. Citrus fruits, grapes, peaches and apricots are grown along the Murray River.Queensland is Australia’s second largest state. Brisbane, its capital, is situated on the east coast. Queensland haslong beautiful sandy beaches. Its coast is a popular place for holidaymakers. Bananas and other tropical fruits are grown here. Most of the land in the south is too dry for farming.
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South Australia is the third largest state. Adelaide is the capital and the largest city. Some of Australia’s most unproductive desert lands occupy the greater part of the state. Wheat and fruit (apricots, pears, peaches, nectarines and grapes) are grown along the lower part of the Murray River. Northern Territory is the least populated and least developed part of Australia. Crocodiles still live in some of the swamps along the coast. Darwin is its capital and the only large settlement in the north.
Tasmania, the island state, is sometimes called the apple isle because it produces most of Australia’s apples. Tasmania is Australia’s leading producer of pears and berries of different kinds. Potatoes are also grown in some areas.
The capital of Australia is Canberra. The city doesn’t belong to any state. It is situated on the Australian Capital Territory.
I hope one day I’ll visit this country and continent.
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