Washington and its role as the capital of the U.S.A

Washington, the capital of the USA, was founded in 1791. The city was named after the first president George Washington. In 1800 Washington, DC became the capital of the USA. Today the population of

Washington, DC is over 3,4 million. Washington, DC is the seat of the US Government. All organs of power are situated in the capital city.

Washington's government buildings include the White House and the Capitol. The Capitol is the centre of the city. It is the building where the US Congress meets. It was built according to the plans of William Thornton, who was an amateur architect. It is situated on Capitol Hill.
The White House is the place where the president of the USA lives and works. This house was first occupied in 1800 by John Adams, who was the first president to live in that house. The White House has 132 rooms.

Washington is fundamentally a monumental city. The central point of it is Jenkins Hills, commonly called the Hill, or the Capitol Hill. The focus point for sightseeing in Washington is the cluster of impressive buildings and monuments around the broad sweep of grassy parkland in the form of a cross that lies between the Potomac River and the capitol. The imposing Capitol, crowned with its huge dome, stands at the end of the wide grassy Mall. Capitol is the highest building here. The regulation doesn't allow to build houses taller then the Capitol. The Capitol got his name in analogy with the ancient roman cathedral - Capitol. Behind the Capitol, in the separate buildings, stand the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. The cornerstone of Executive Mansion, as it was originally known, dates from October 13, 1792, 300 years after the landing of Columbus.

Washington, DC is a political, administrative, cultural and educational centre of the country. Washington, DC is the centre of political life. There are several universities in the capital. Washington has many sights, for example, the Library of Congress, the Lincoln memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and others.
The National Gallery of Arts contains art collections by the great masters of the 14th to 18th centuries. It is supported by the US government.
The Library of Congress contains millions of books and manuscripts.
Outside the city the Arlington National Cemetery is situated. John Kennedy was buried there. The famous Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is also situated there.
Washington industry is not well developed, although some "clean" industries, high-technology and light industry, research establishments have recently been set up in the surrounding areas. Tourism, too, is one of major importance, bringing in millions of visitors to swell the resident population. Many people come to Washington by planes. The planes land on Washington's two airfields - the National and the Friendship Airports. The city's pride is the Union Railroad Station. It's bigger than the Capitol itself. Washington can be reached also by small sea-going ships. Convenient roads connect it with other parts of the country. Many research and designing institutes are concentrated here. There are five universities in the city and the National Academy of Sciences.

40. New York as the second capital of the U.S.A.

New York is the largest city in the USA and the biggest seaport. It is the business centre of the United States. New York is situated in the mouth of the Hudson river. In comparison with such ancient historical cities as, say, Rome, London, Moscow or Paris, New York is quite young. It was founded in 1613 by Dutch settlers.

There are five districts in the city: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond. Manhattan is the central and the oldest part of the city. It is the district of business and finance. It is here in Wall Street that many business offices, banks and the world famous New York stock exchange are situated. The New York stock exchange dominates business life of many countries.

The total area of New York is 365 square miles or 900 square kilometres. Its population together with the population of its suburbs amounts to 16 million people. Among the inhabitants of New York one can meet people of almost all nationalities. They settled here during the immigration in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century.

A traveller who visits New York for the first time wonders at the modern architecture. The Statue of Liberty, which is on Liberty Island, was a present from France in 1876 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of American independence. This statue and a few 18th and 19th century churches, hospitals, newspaper offices and other buildings are the only examples of "old" architecture in New York. Wherever your eyes travel, everywhere you can see sky-scrapers.

New York, one of the USA leading manufacturing cities, is the home of great firms and banks. The most important branches of industry are those producing vehicles, glass, chemicals and all kinds of machinery. The city has very busy traffic. Its streets and highways are full of cars and buses. The mouth of the Hudson river makes an excellent harbour for numerous passengers and cargo ships from all over the world. Speaking about New York one can't but mention the outstanding role, the city plays, in the cultural life of the country.

New York has many museums and art galleries which have collected works of art of many peoples and of all times. Many of them are on constant display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of Art. Most of the theatres and cinemas are in or near Broadway, the longest street and the biggest shopping district in New York. The Metropolitan and Modern Arts Museums attract many visitors.

New York attracts people from all over the world. If you are crossing New York City by subway, look at the newspapers other people around read. One person is reading a newspaper in Spanish, another in Chinese, others in Arabic, Russian, Italian and French and so on.

Hundreds of thousands of them settled down in that city. That is what makes people call it the «Modern Babylon» вавилон.

At present more Irish live in New York than in Dublin, more Icelanders than in Reykjavik, more Italians than in Rome. Emigrants from seventy countries and all the continents of the world, all speaking their own languages, make up this «Modern Babylon.»

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