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Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. But the first real rules of baseball were written in 1845 By Alexander Cartwright. The first teams were not professional. They played only for fun, not for money. But from the start businessmen saw they could make money with professional teams. The first professional team was started in 1869 – the Red Stockings of Cincinnati. In 1876 the professional teams came together in a group called the National League. In 1901, the American League was founded. In 1903, the two leagues decided to have their first-place teams play each other. This event was called the World Series. Since then, millions of people look forward to this exciting sport event. Americans go to the games, be-cause of all sports baseball is still the most family friendly. Perhaps more importantly, however, is that baseball is the most affordable of all of the big sports –especially when one is taking the whole family. The best seats may be purchased for under $30 a seat. Compared to basketball, hockey or football it’s a mere pittance - twice as lower. It is a relaxed sport. There’s no time limit, it can be played by people of average height and weight, no matter race and back-ground. The critical reason, perhaps why kids have less enthusiasm for the game today is that there are so many other distractions, ones which don’t require socializing as much to have fun, and maybe it’s the fact that baseball today is about $200 mitts, $40 bats, $35 glove, $50 shoes, shin guards, helmets, and so much other equipment that it’s no longer “everybody’s” game. Still it’s refreshing to note that baseball simulations are among the top selling video games.
Pennsylvania was established as a Quaker colony in the 1680s, and other similar groups such as the Amish and Mennonites who came from Germany, soon founded their settlements. Quakers - the Christian Protestant sect founded in England in the 17th century - were persecuted for their nonviolent activism in Europe and many emigrated to form communities elsewhere - in Pennsylvania and New England. If you travel into Lancaster County, you could believe you traveled back in time to the last century and even beyond. For that is where the Amish hold fast to their customs and beliefs: no buttons on clothing because soldiers’ uniforms were crowded with them, no ostentation in dress or furniture. They are farming people who are immediately recognizable by their unusual dress - severe black suits for the men, long skirts and bob caps for the women, since it seems the heads must be covered at all times, even the children’s. They will not use electricity or motor-propelled vehicles of any kind; they work the land with horses and light their homes with kerosene lamps and candles - nothing more than God intended a man to do unaided. The community speaks a Rhine dialect. Their children get little education – acquiring it would make a person vainglorious. Owning motorized transport is banned because cars would give youngsters a chance to travel and
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experience other ways. The others religious sect – Mennonites- also dress in black and favor chin beards but no mustaches but allow a much freer pattern of living. They use musical instruments in church, and mechanical aids in farming, and automobiles fiercely opposed by the Amish. Productive farms abut in the southeast. This is home of shoofly pie.
Questions
1. George Washington once called this state the “Empire State.” What state did he mean? 2. Was Statue of Liberty made in the USA? If not, where? 3. What does woman have in her left hand and what does the date July 4, 1776 stand for? 4. Where is the
American Museum of Immigration? 5. What is the nation’s mostly populated state? 6. Which of the states bears the nickname of “the First State” and why? 7. What city (state) is called “the chemical capital of the world? Why? 8. Which US state was established by Quakers? 9. Who are Amish and Mennonites? 10. Are there communities in your country where people hold fast to their customs and beliefs? What lifestyles do they retain?
The Mid-Atlantic Region is densely populated. Its cities include Washington D.C., the nation’s capital. D.C. stands for District of Columbia. The District of Columbia does not belong to any of the fifty states of the USA. It is a tract of land about 70 square miles (181 sq. km) on the east bank of the Potomac River. The city was founded in 1790 on a site chosen by George Washing-ton, the first American President. Maryland and Virginia granted land on each side of the river. The city was built according to a preliminary plan and the law forbidding to build houses more than 90 feet (27.4 m high). The White House, the official name of the President’s executive mansion, designed by James Hoban, is only four-storied high. Foreign tourists are surprised not to find a single skyscraper in the US capital. A visitor to Washington D.C. is impressed by the straight tree-lined avenues of the capital city and grand houses in neo-classic style. The author of the design for the capital city was the French engineer Pierre Charles
L’Enfant. His design is based on Versailles, a palace near Paris. Many of the government buildings, historical and other attractions are located in the downtown area and are easily accessible. The central place of the city is the Mall, a large open space, a kind of park, stretching from the building of the Capitol to Lincoln Memorial in the middle. The Moll is often used by people for public meetings, picnics, games, concerts. On both sides of the Moll are the numerous buildings of the Smithsonian Institution - a group of museums (the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History, the National Gallery of Art), scientific buildings and collections. James Smithson was an English scientist of the 19th century, who left his entire fortune
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to the United States asking to use it in order to found “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge”. The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846, and it includes now thirteen museums. The Library of Congress contains more than 75,000,000 books, pamphlets, bound newspaper files, manuscripts, maps, prints and photographs, books in Braille, recordings, movie films, and micro-filmed doctoral dissertations. There are five universities in Washington. The Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials are among the city sights. The monument to George Washington is one of the tallest monuments in the world. From its top you can see the entire District of Columbia and even the neighboring State of Virginia. The main business street is Pennsylvania Avenue. The first President to live in the White House was Adams, the second US President. It was back in 1800. During the war of 1812-14 ( which is sometimes called “the Second War for Independence” because since that war England has stopped regarding America as her colony), the British burned most of the public buildings in Washington, including the White House and the Capitol. In 1814 the brown stone walls of the President’s home were painted white, and it became to be called the “white house”. One hundred years later, “White House” became its official name. All in all, the White House has 132 rooms. Large receptions and new conferences are held in the East Room. The elliptical Blue Room is for different social, diplomatic and official receptions The Red and Green Rooms are used for private and quasi-official gatherings. The President and his family live upstairs. Since the White House belongs to the American people and not to the President, it is open to the public; you can go inside and look around. The offices and the living quarters of the White House are closed to the public. But you can visit Capitol Hill, and there you’ll be able to see the work of the Senate, the House of
Representatives and the Supreme Court which have public galleries. On top of the Capitol is a huge iron dome. No building in the city may be taller than the dome. Dismayed by widespread immorality, President Theodore Roosevelt decided to create a federal detective service (FBI). Congress approved the plan in 1908 but, fearing an American secret police, restricted the new Bureau of Investigation to enforcing laws regarding pornographic books, condoms, and prizefighting movies. During WWI, the Bureau watched enemy aliens, caught draft dodgers, and arrested alleged radicals. In the 1920s, the role of the Bureau was changed from law enforcement to investigation. It recruited only lawyers and accountants, amassed the world’s largest fingerprint collection, built scientific crime-detection laboratory, and trained local police officers. During WWII, the FBI fought enemy spies but tarnished its image with illegal wiretaps in postwar drive against subversives. In 1960, the FBI strengthened its investigations of
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organized crime and later took on the growing threat of terrorism. They investigate serious crimes here.
The Arlington Memorial Bridge across the Potomac River connects the city with
Arlington National Cemetery.
During the Revolution, to 1799, the state capital was Philadelphia. Today it is the
USA’s fourth largest city. Its name means “City of Brotherly Love” in Greek. The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is on the list of America’s Hot Colleges, among those icons that live up to their reputations.
The city and its immediate environs contain more historic structures, landmarks, and mementos of America’s birth than any other city. Independence Hall, a distinguished red brick Georgian building, houses the inkstand and chair used by the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In Philadelphia you can touch Liberty Bell, which was rung after the Declaration of Independence was read. The bell cracked when it was rung on George Washington’s birthday in 1846. Today the Bell hangs in a special pavilion on nearby Independence Mall.
Questions
1. Is District of Columbia one of the USA states? What is it? Where is it? 2. Which city - New York or Philadelphia - was the state capital before Washington? 3. When was Washington, D.C. founded? 4. What is the first impression of a visitor to Washington? 5. Who was James Smithson? 6. What is White House and why is it called that? 7. Who was the first president to live in White House? 8. What building in Washington is taller than the Capitol dome? 9. When was FBA created and what for? 10. Which city’s name mean “City of Brotherly Love”? 11. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?
THE SOUTH
in many ways - economically, historically and culturallyis the most distinctive of the US regions. It includes Kentucky (Frankfort), Virginia(Richmond), North Carolina(Raleigh), South Carolina(Columbia), Tennessee (Nashville), Arkansas(Little Rock), Louisiana(Baton Rouge), Mississippi(Jackson), Alabama (Montgomery), Georgia(Atlanta) and Florida (Tallahassee). Geographically ‘Dixie’- that’s what the region is calledis the largest region in the United States. It has well over one-fourth of the total population of the USA. Contrary to the image some have of the South, blacks are not in a majority. The South preserves its traditions, for example good cooking. Among American regions the South has been noted for its hospitality and friendliness, and also for its relatively relaxed and unhurried way of life. When you’re offered ice tea
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(notice: ‘ice tea’ not ‘iced tea’ which is regarded as pretentious) by one of charming southern hostesses, know you’re in for a long afternoon of hearing about Cousin Mary Alice’ new babe and its genius antics in the playpen. Many southern women are sure that the Southern lady today isn’t that different from the Southern lady back in the antebellum South. The family background is the most important distinguishing feature of a lady. They are gracious, charming and well-bread. These ideal qualities of charm and grace are learned. Southern girls are willing to identify with their mothers, because there are a lot of social functions and mother-daughter banquets sponsored by the cheerleading club. When a girl is 12, she is usually taught party manners, etiquette, dancing etc. Later, at14 or 15, she joins the club where balls are given. Down here
‘Coca-Cola’ will be seen as putting on airs, just as obviously as if you employed “you” as a collective pronoun. The southern dialects are more widely recognized and more
“different” than other regional dialects. In the South, they say “you-all,” CoCola, and collect monetary fines from strangers who misspeak. Ignorance before the law is no excuse. Lemons are essential and should be of the thick-skinned variety, cut into sixth. They are never! squeezed but only plumped into the pitcher, four or five slices. Extra slices are offered on a cut-glass plate six inches in diameter. Mint may be added, but it is always submerged in the pitcher and never put into a glass. In the South sweetened ice tea is taken for granted, like the idea that stock car racing is their national pastime.
Alongside these traits there has been a southern emphasis on personal honor and valor that is not characteristically American. New Yorkers’ reservations melt as they watch charming South Carolina’s buddies in gentlemanliness action: shag dancing rather than doing the humpty hump, and opening doors for their dates. Yes, they may spill beer on her heels from time to time, but there would always be an apology with a light touch on the small of her back. Here the old man you chatter with pays more attention to the fact that you call him sir and that you defer to your lady when she speaks. The campus is the sort of place where you sign the honor code, and ever after leave your car, dorm room and bike unlocked. Students take tests at home unsupervised but without cheating. Elsewhere in the country, students attend class in flip-flops and pajamas; here the students go in coat and tie. Some professors invite students to have a tipple during the last class of the semester, or have them taught in front of a cracking fireplace in their living room. The University of the South is an increasingly rare bulwark against the relentless spread of McUniversity-style education in the USA. Pockets of culture like this are losing rough edges everywhere. Homogenized Atlanta is the capital of today’s
South, not beautiful, decrepit New Orleans or joyously antiquated Charleston.