- •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
Four Patriotic Holidays
Why Patriotism?
The Scottish author Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) wrote a famous poem called "Love of Country." It begins with this question: "Breathes there the man, with soul so dead / Who never to himself hath said: / 'This is my own, my native land ... .''' At the end of the poem, Scott predicts that a man who does not love his country will die "unwept, unhonored, and unsung."
Patriotism is encouraged, expected, and commonplace worldwide. Why? Love of country seems to serve the needs of nations as well as their individual citizens. After all in order to survive, a nation needs loyal citizens who will support and defend its interests until death if necessary. On the other side of the coin, citizens need to feel linked to an honorable and enduring nation. Holidays that celebrate a nation's birth, military victories, significant accomplishments, and great leaders make people feel proud of their national heritage. Patriotic holidays are also occasions for telling the nation's "story" to the next generation and to new immigrants. In the U.S.A., national memories give a multi-ethnic nation a common culture.
In February, Americans celebrate the greatness of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Four other patriotic holidays span the year from spring through late fall. Memorial Day was inspired by the Civil War and Veterans Day by World War I. The two other patriotic holidays-Independence Day and Flag Day-are related to the American Revolution and the birth of the U.S.
Check your comprehension.
What are some reasons why countries have patriotic holidays?
Memorial Day
Memorial Day, originally established to honor the Civil War dead, now honors all Americans who lost their lives in military service. Unofficially, the holiday has been extended beyond its military connection to become a day of general tribute to the dead. On Memorial Day, cemeteries are crowded with families who come to decorate the graves of their loved ones.
Shortly after the bitter and bloody Civil War between the northern and southern states, the women of Columbus, Mississippi, put flowers on the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers. By doing so, they honored the war dead who were their enemies along with their Confederate defenders. Northerners saw this gesture as a symbol of national unity. In 1868, Decoration Day-now called Memorial Day-became a legal holiday. Today, in every state except Alabama, Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May. Parades and military exercises mark the occasion. Also, in much of the country, Memorial Day is the first warm-weather holiday. People get out the barbecue grill and start planning outdoor fun. But, hopefully, they remember the meaning behind the day.
Check your comprehension.
On Memorial Day, who is remembered?
Veterans Day
Veterans Day, like Memorial Day, is a serious holiday honoring men and women who have served in the military. Originally, the holiday was called Armistice Day. It was established by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 to commemorate the signing of the armistice (on November 11, 1918) that brought an end to World War I. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill changing the name of the holiday to Veterans Day and extending its significance so that it now honors American veterans of all wars. The holiday is celebrated on November 11 throughout the U.S. and in other countries as well. The armistice between the opposing forces in World War I was signed in the eleventh month, on the eleventh day, at 11 a.m. Some people still observe two minutes of silence at that time.
On Veterans Day, the flag is displayed, and veterans march in parades in many communities. Special services are held at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. The Tomb of the Unknowns is special to Americans because the unidentified members of the military buried there symbolize everyone who has died in defense of the U.S. Large crowds also gather for services at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (commonly called The Wall) in Washington, D.C.
On this holiday, veterans' organizations in many countries sell paper poppies (red flowers) to raise money for needy veterans. Poppies became associated with World War I because of a famous poem by John McCrae. He wrote about a World War I Belgian battle site, now an American military cemetery: "In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row." The poppies symbolize the contrast between the beautiful, peaceful landscape and the bloody battlefield it once was.
Check your comprehension.
What are four Veterans Day customs?