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BRITISH & AMERICAN CULTURE STUDY

Lecturer : Ts.DAGIIMAA, PH.D

MONGOL ULAANBAATAR UNIVERSITY

CONTENTS SubjectBritish & American Culture Study Index CL 301 Credit 2 Hours 32 hours /2 credit lec / ClassSophomore class of English Teacher and English Translator Term IV

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Gain basic knowledge on their chosen country through the use of the Internet, videos, and text. Be able to present knowledge on the USA & the UK to their classmates orally. Work collaboratively with peers

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Self study of the Culture study Topic Activities Class management WeekScores 1The states of the USA Present about the states of the USA Work in groups 29 / II10 scores2Introduction of the UK Write the paper about the UK Individually 30/III10 scores 3Holidays of the USA & UK Show how to celebrate the holidays of the USA & the UK Work in groups 25/ IV10 scores

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LECTURE 1

History & Nature of the US National anthems Pledge of Allegiance

History of the United States

The first people to arrive in America may be crossed over a strip of land, known as Beringia, between America and Eurasia about 40 000 years ago. The people were nomads who hunted large animals such as mammoths and bison. They had only basic tools made of stone. About 6000 BC some groups of people began to rely more on gathering wild fruits, nuts and vegetables for food. They also began to settle in permanent villages.

They made a wider range of tools, from stone and animal bone, simple copper items, and baskets and nets from wild plants. A major change in society began from about 1000 BC. Although hunting and gathering were still the main source of food, agriculture began about this time. In 1492 Christopher Columbus reached the Bahamas. This led to European exploration and colonization of North and South America.

The arrival of people from Europe caused serious problems. The Europeans took their land in order to build settlements, and over time they controlled almost all of North America, putting the native peoples on a few reservations. In the USA today most people know about Native American peoples, of Indians as many call them, from the time when they came into contact with Europeans.

Native AmericansNative Americans are people who were living in North and South America before the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century. In the US the term includes American Indians and Alaska Natives, i.e. Eskimos and Aleuts. The ancestors of todays Native Americans probably arrived from Siberia across the Bering Strait and were in the Americas many thousands of years before the Europeans arrived.

In Pre-Columbian North America there were many tribes of hunter-gatherers who lived by hunting, fishing and gathering plants. When Europeans began settling in what is now the US in the early 1600s, Native Americans were at first happy to have the many new things they brought, such as metal cooking pots, cloth and guns. But the colonists also brought diseases that Native Americans had no resistance to and also introduced alcohol, which had a strongly negative impact on Native American society.

The worst problem for native Americans was that the new settlers wanted land. The idea of land ownership was not part of the Native American culture. They used tricking Native Americans into selling land cheaply, taking it by military force, and killing or enslaving the Indians. Before Europeans arrived in North America, there were over 300 Native American languages. Some have now died out and many are spoken by only a few older people.

Native American languages have added many words to English, such as anorak, caucus, moccasin, pecan, powwow and totem. Many American place names, such as Ohio, Mississippi and Yosemite also have their roots in Native American languages.There are today more than 550 federally recognized tribes in the US. In 2002, there were about two million American Indians and Alaskan Natives in the US.

Nature of the United StatesNature conservation areas are areas of the countryside have special protection under law because they have interesting or unusual wild plants or animals in them.The US also has many nature preserves. People can visit them for enjoyment or to do scientific research, but must stay on plants and cannot disturb or remove anything. They are not allowed to drive vehicles, camp, hunt or start fires. Indian has 176 nature preserves, more than 23000 acres in total.

A popular type of nature preserve is the wildlife refuge, such as Lake Woodruff Natural Wildlife Refuge in Florida, where John James Audubon once watched and drew birds.There are also many national forests, rivers and seashores, and scenic trails. Many national monuments are also natural areas. They include the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, Lava Beds in California and Organ Pipe Cactus in Arizona. The US National Park Service is in charge of all of these and cares for the plants, animals and scenery so that they can be enjoyed by the public.

The United States of America USA is a federal constitutional republic comprising 50 states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.

USA National Flag USA EmblemName The Stars and Stripes; Red, White and Blue; Old Glory; The Star Spangled BannerAdopted June 14, 1777 (original 13-star version) July 4, 1960 (current 50-star version Design Thirteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white; in the canton, 50 white stars on a blue field

United States has - 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) - over 312 million people - the third or fourth largest country by total area- the third largest country by both land area and population- one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large- scale immigration from many countries.

The United States was founded by thirteen British colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard. On July 4, 1776, they issued the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed their right to self-determination and their establishment of a cooperative union. The rebellious states defeated the British Empire in the American Revolution, the first successful colonial war of independence.

The current United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic with a stronger central government. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments guaranteeing many fundamental civil rights and freedoms, was ratified in 1791.

Through the 19th century, the United States displaced native tribes, acquired the Louisiana territory from France, Florida from Spain, part of the Oregon Country from the United Kingdom, Alta California and New Mexico from Mexico, Alaska from Russia, annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of Hawaii.

National Parks of US and protected areas Americas parks are so popular that they are being harmed by the number of visitors and their cars. The oldest national park in the world is Yellowstone national Park, established in 1872. The largest US park is Wrangell St Elias in Alaska with 13000 square miles / 34000 square kilometers.

The most popular park is the Great Smoky Mountains. Many parks are well known for some special feature, such as the Grand Canyon, the Everglades and the Petrified Forest.There are many other sites run by the national park Service. One of the most visited areas is the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina which had 21 million visitors in 2002.

National anthems The national anthem of the US is the Star-Spangled Banner, referring to the US flag. The words were written in 1814 and set to the music of a popular song. It became the national anthem in 1931. Every American knows the story of how The Star-Spangled Banner was written during a war between the US and Britain. Its author, Francis Scott Key, was a prisoner on a British ship off the coast of Baltimore. From there he could watch the battle for control of Fort McHenry.

The song tells how he watched as the sun went down. He could no longer see the fighting, but since bombs were still exploding he knew that the British had not won. When the morning came he could see the American flag still flying over the fort.The Star-Spangled Banner is played at official ceremonies and sung at public events. On these occasions everyone present is expected to stand up and sing.

Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the - federal flag and the republic of the - United States of America, originally composed by Francis Bellamy (18551931), who was a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942.

Congressional sessions open with the recital of the Pledge, as do government meetings at local levels, and meetings held by many private organizations. It is also commonly recited in school at the beginning of every school day, although the Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions that students cannot be compelled to recite the Pledge, or punished for not doing so.

Symbolism Astronaut Buzz Aldrin salutes the United States flag on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. A similar flag was planted on each of the five subsequent successful Moon landing missions.

The flag of the United States is one of the nation's most widely recognized symbols. Within the United States, flags are frequently displayed not only on public buildings but on private residences. The flag has become a powerful symbol of Americanism, and is proudly flown on many occasions, with giant outdoor flags used by retail outlets to draw customers. Desecration of the flag is considered a public outrage, but remains protected as freedom of speech

Display and use The flag is customarily flown all year-round at most public buildings. Some private use is year-round, but becomes widespread on civic holidays like Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Presidents' Day, Flag Day, and on Independence Day. On Memorial Day it is common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U.S. war veterans. Also on Memorial Day it is common to fly the flag at half staff, until noon, in remembrance of those who lost their lives fighting in U.S. wars.