- •Contents unit 1 Attitudes, Values and Lifestyles
- •Unit 3 Government and the American Citizen
- •Unit 4 The World of American Business
- •Unit 5 American Holidays: History and Customs
- •Unit 1 Attitudes, Values and Lifestyles Тhе Аmеriсаn Character
- •The American Character
- •Regions of the United States
- •After you read
- •Getting the message
- •Building your vocabulary
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart
- •Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •American Etiquette
- •Discuss
- •American Etiquette American Attitudes and Good Manners
- •Introduction and Titles
- •Congratulations, Condolences, and Apologies
- •Dining Etiquette
- •Manners between Men and Women
- •Classroom Etiquette
- •Language Etiquette
- •Getting the message
- •Building your vocabulary
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart
- •Practising sentence patterns
- •Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •What Americans Consume
- •What Americans Consume
- •Variety – The Spice of Life
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •2. For breakfast, some people have two _______ of toast. For lunch, some have a piece (or _____) of pie. (Use the same word for both answers.)
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart
- •Sharing ideas
- •B. On a personal note
- •Unit 2 Cultural Diversity in the u.S. A Nation of Immigrants before you read
- •A Nation of Immigrants
- •Immigration before Independence
- •Immigration from 1790 to 1920
- •Immigration since 1920
- •Today's Foreign-Born Population
- •The Hispanic Population
- •Illegal Aliens
- •The Many Contributions of Immigrants
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •3. Understanding idioms and expressions
- •4. Taking words apart
- •3. Germany ___________ 9. Poland __________
- •B. Word parts
- •5. Practising sentence patterns
- •Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •The African – American
- •Slavery-From Beginning to End
- •The Civil Rights Movement
- •Contributions - Past and Present
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •3. Understanding idioms and expressions
- •4. Taking words apart
- •5. Sharing ideas
- •On a Personal Note
- •Religion in American Life
- •Discuss
- •Religion in American Life
- •Religion and Government
- •Are Americans Religious?
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •6. A religious _______ is a major division or branch of a particular religion. (Smaller groups are called sects.)
- •3. Sharpening reading skills
- •4. Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart
- •Sharing ideas
- •Unit 3 Government and the American Citizen The Constitution and the Federal System before you read
- •The Constitution and the Federal System The Constitution
- •The Amendments to the Constitution
- •The Federal System
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •3. Sharpening reading skills.
- •Example:
- •4. Understanding idioms and expressions
- •5. Taking words apart
- •6. Practising sentence patterns
- •Example
- •Examples
- •Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •Choosing the Nation`s President before you read
- •Choosing the Nation`s President Selecting the Candidates
- •The Campaign
- •The Election
- •The Inauguration
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •Sharpening reading skills.
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •3. Candidates need to _________ , in other words, get people to contribute to their campaign.
- •Taking words apart Compound words
- •Practising sentence patterns
- •Sharing ideas
- •Citizenship: Its Obligations and Privileges before you read
- •Citizenship: Its Obligations and Privileges
- •Responsibilities of Citizens
- •Responsibilities of All u.S. Residents
- •Responsibilities of the Government
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •Sharpening reading skills.
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart
- •Example
- •Practising sentence patterns
- •Sharing ideas
- •Unit 4 The World of American Business
- •Capitalism and the American Economy
- •Before you read
- •Discuss
- •Capitalism and the American Economy The Basic Principles of Capitalism
- •Stocks and Bonds
- •The Cashless Society
- •Recent Trends in Business
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •3. Sharpening reading skills. Words in context Underline the meaning of the italicized word.
- •4. Understanding idioms and expressions
- •5. Taking words apart
- •6. Practising sentence patterns
- •Singular
- •7. Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •The American Worker before you read
- •The American Worker
- •The Role of Labor Unions
- •Protection for the American Worker
- •Living Standards
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •Sharpening reading skills.
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart
- •Practising sentence patterns
- •Sharing ideas
- •High-Tech Communications
- •The Telephone and Associated Devices
- •The Internet
- •The Future of Technology
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •3. Sharpening reading skills. Making Inferences
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart
- •Example
- •Add the Prefixes Change the Prefixes
- •Practising sentence patterns
- •Examples
- •Example
- •Sharing ideas
- •Unit 5 American Holidays: History and Customs
- •Christopher Columbus: a Controversial Hero
- •Preparations for a Great Journey
- •Four Important Voyages
- •Why ‘America’?
- •After you read
- •Getting the message
- •Building your vocabulary
- •Sharpening reading skills.
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart a. Names of places and groups of people
- •Examples
- •B. Compound Words
- •Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •Thanksgiving and Native Americans before you read Discuss
- •Thanksgiving and Native Americans
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •Building your vocabulary
- •Sharpening reading skills.
- •B. Context Clues
- •Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart
- •6. Practising sentence patterns
- •7. Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •Two Presidents and Two Wars before you read
- •Two Presidents and Two Wars
- •George Washington
- •Abraham Lincoln
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •3. Sharpening reading skills.
- •4. Understanding idioms and expressions
- •Taking words apart Look-alike words
- •6. Practising sentence patterns a. The Emphatic Past Tense
- •7. Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •Four Patriotic Holidays
- •Before you read Discuss
- •Four Patriotic Holidays
- •Memorial Day
- •Veterans Day
- •Independence Day
- •Flag Day
- •After you read
- •1. Getting the message
- •2. Building your vocabulary
- •3. Understanding idioms and expressions
- •4. Taking words apart
- •Practising sentence patterns
- •Sharing ideas
- •On a personal note
- •Appendix a
- •Religious Holidays
- •Holidays to Express Love
- •Appendix b Martin Luther King's “I Have a Dream” Speech
- •Appendix c Barack Obama's Victory Speech
- •Appendix d The Declaration of Independence
- •Appendix e The Bill of Rights
- •Amendment VI
Sharing ideas
A. Issues
Debate these issues in small groups. Then choose one and write about it.
1. What if a person's religion requires an act that the government considers illegal? Which is more important-obeying the laws of one's country or one's religion?
2. Should a government have the right to force a citizen to go to war and kill an enemy? What if that person's religion forbids killing?
3. Most religions have rules about how a person must and must not behave. Does religion enrich a person's life enough to make up for this loss of personal freedom?
4. What's the difference between a crime and a sin? Can an act be a crime and not a sin and vice versa?
B. On a personal note
Write about one of these topics.
1. Do you believe in some sort of life after death? If so, describe it.
2. Over the last several millennia, has religion increased human misery or human happiness?
3. Write about a religious group that you think has some interesting or unusual beliefs or customs.
Unit 3 Government and the American Citizen The Constitution and the Federal System before you read
Discuss
1. Why does a country need laws? List several reasons.
2. The U.S. Constitution is the "supreme law of the land." What do you know about the U.S. Constitution? What kind of government does it outline?
3. Do you think the U.S. Constitution is different from the constitutions of other countries? If so, in what ways?
Guess
Try to answer the questions. Then look for the answers in the reading.
1. Including the 10 amendments of the Bill of Rights, how many times has the U.S. Constitution been changed (amended)? Check ( ) one:
_____ 15 _____ 27 ______ 42
2. How many people are employed by the executive branch of the U.S. government? Check ( ) one:
______ 300,000 ______ 1,500,000 ______ 3,000,000
The Constitution and the Federal System The Constitution
Daniel Webster, the nineteenth-century American statesman, once said: “We may be tossed upon an ocean where we can see no land-nor perhaps the sun or stars. But there is a chart (a map of a body of water) and a compass for us to study, to consult, and to obey. That chart is the Constitution”
The Constitution of the United States was adopted on June 21, 1788. It is the oldest written constitution still in use. What is this Constitution? It is the basic law from which the U.S. government gets all its power. It is the law that protects those who live in the U.S.A. from unreasonable actions by the national government or any state government.
The Constitution defines three branches of government. They are the legislative branch, which enacts (makes) laws; the executive branch, which enforces those laws; and the judicial branch, which interprets them (decides what they mean).
The legislative branch is called Congress. It is made up of two groups of legislators - the Senate and the House of Representatives. A member of the Senate is addressed as Senator. Members of the House of Representatives are called congressmen or congresswomen. The Senate is often referred to as the upper house. It has 100 members-two senators from each state. Both senators represent the entire state. Senators are elected for six-year terms. Every two years, one-third of all senators face reelection.
The lower house, which is called the House of Representatives, has 435 members, all of whom are elected every two years. The number of representatives from each state is determined by that state's population. While the seven smallest states have only one representative each, California, the most populous state, had 52 representatives in the 106th Congress (1998 to 2000). For the purpose of electing representatives, each state is divided into congressional districts. The districts within a state are about equal in population. One representative is elected from each district. One of a representative's major duties is to protect the interests of the people in that district.
The job of Congress is to pass laws. Before a law is passed, it is called a bill. In order to become a law, a bill must be approved by a majority of each house of Congress and by the president. If the president vetoes (disapproves of) a bill, it can still become law if at least two-thirds of the members of each house of Congress override the veto by voting for it when it is voted on again.
The president is the nation's chief executive. As such, he must see that all national laws are carried out. The president also spends much of his time making decisions about foreign policy (the relationships between the U.S. and other nations). Of course, a very large staff of advisers and other employees assist the president. In fact, the executive branch employs almost 3 million people located all over the world. The most important group of advisers is called the cabinet. The cabinet consists of the heads of the 14 departments of the executive branch, such as the Secretaries of Education, Defense, and Agriculture. Cabinet members are chosen by the president with the approval of the Senate. The president also appoints ambassadors and other consular heads who represent the U.S. abroad. In addition, he appoints judges of the federal courts.
The vice president is the only other elected person in the executive branch. One important constitutional duty of the person holding this office is to serve as president of the Senate. The vice president's most important function is to become president upon the death, resignation, or disability of the president. Out of 37 presidents elected, eight have died in office, and one resigned. In each case, the vice president became president.
The judicial branch consists of the federal courts, including the highest court of the U.S., the Supreme Court. One of the unusual features of the American judicial system is the power of the courts to declare legislation unconstitutional and, therefore, void. The power of the federal government is limited by the Constitution. Federal laws cannot violate the terms of the Constitution. For example, Congress could not pass a law that members of the House of Representatives be elected for four-year terms because the Constitution says that they are to be elected for two-year terms.
Federal laws are in some way controlled or affected by all three branches of government - Congress makes them; the president approves and enforces them; and the courts determine what they mean and whether they are constitutional. This is one example of the government's system of checks and balances, by which each branch of government prevents improper actions by the other branches.
Checks and balances were put to an important test in 1974 when it was discovered that President Richard Nixon had been involved in obstruction of justice (hiding crimes) in connection with the Watergate scandal. Both Congress and the prosecutor appointed by Congress demanded that the president give them certain papers and tape recordings that he had. The president refused. He said that neither the judicial nor the legislative branch could tell the president, the head of the executive branch, what to do. He was relying on a doctrine known as the separation of powers. This means that one branch of the government cannot interfere with the others. During this conflict, two important questions were raised: (1) Could the president withhold information about possible crimes from Congress and the courts? (2) Did the doctrine of separation of powers mean that the judicial branch (courts) could not order a member of the executive branch (the president) to give evidence to the prosecutor?
After considering these questions, the Supreme Court ordered the president to give the evidence to the prosecutor. After examining the evidence, Congress began the constitutional procedure to remove the president from office-impeachment (an official accusation of wrongdoing) and trial. However, before the process was completed, President Nixon resigned from office. The checks and balances prevented a major governmental crisis, and the presidency passed smoothly to the vice president, Gerald Ford. The "chart" had kept the country on course, even when the captain tried to stray.
Check your comprehension.
What is the job of each branch of government?
What is the President`s cabinet?