Washington D.C.

Washington is the capital of the United States of America. It is situated in the District of Columbia and is like no other city of the USA. It’s the world’s largest one-industry city. And that industry is government. The White House, where the US President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of the US Congress, and the Supreme Court, are all in Washington.

Washington was named after the first US President George Washington. He selected the place for the capital and Pierre L’Enfant, a French engineer, designed the city.

Washington is the most beautiful and unusual cities in the United States. In the very center of it rises the huge dome of the Capitol – a big white dome standing on a circle of pillars. The 535 members of the Congress meet here to discuss the nation’s affairs. It’s easy to get lost in this huge building, full of paintings and statues.

Not far from the Capitol is the Library of Congress, the largest library in the States. It contains more than 13 million books, more than 19 million manuscripts, including the personal papers of the US presidents.

The White House is the official residence of the US President. He works in the Oval Office.

One can hardly find a park, a square or an open area in Washington without a monument or a memorial. The most impressive and the best-known ones are the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

There are some important museums in Washington where you can see all kinds of things: famous paintings and sculptures, the dresses of Presidents’ wives, the original of the Declaration of Independence, the largest blue diamond in the world, etc. There are 5 universities in Washington.

There are no skyscrapers in Washington, because they would hide the city’s many monuments from view. No building in the city may be more than 40 meters tall.

Control Questions:

What American holidays do you know?
What do you know about Washington D.C.?
Can you tell the story of the Statue of Liberty?
What other American symbols do you know?
What does the The Liberty Bell symbolize?
Where is the Lincoln Memorial located?

Lecture 10

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