美国背景backgroundtoamerica1.ppt

Unit2BackgroundtoAmerica EnglandandAmericaaretwocountriesseparatedbythesamelanguage GeorgeBernardShaw Reader sDigest November1942 Warm uptheUnitedStatespositivenegative Expressingyouropinion Ifyouaskme Ithink ThewayIseeit Tomymind WhatIreckonis YouknowwhatIthink Ithink Ishouldthink Isupposeitcouldbe Ithinkit orsomethinglikethat Hardtotell itcouldbe LandofpromiseandopportunityLandofmiraclesandachievements TheStatueofLiberty TheStatueofLiberty onceoneofthefirstsightstowelcomeimmigrantsarrivingintheUnitedStates continuestobeasymboloffreedomandafavoriteNewYorkCitytouristattraction Libertystandsmorethan93mtallonLibertyIslandinNewYorkHarbor Thestatue designedbyFrenchsculptorFr d ricBartholdi waspresentedtotheUnitedStatesasagiftfromFranceforthefirstcentennialoftheU S independencefromBritain Disneyland Namedforitscreator WaltDisney anAmericancartoonistandfilmproducer Disneylandattractsmillionsofvisitorseachyear ThethemeparkopenedinAnaheim California in1955 SleepingBeautyCastleispicturedhere TheGateWayofSt Louise TheskylineofthecityofSt Louis Missouri isdominatedbythestainlesssteelGatewayArch rising192mhigh ItwasdesignedbyEeroSaarinenandcompletedin1965 afterthefamedarchitect sdeath St LouisliesonthebanksoftheMississippiRiver TheGoldenGateBridge TheGoldenGateBridgelinksthecityofSanFranciscowithMarinCountytothenorth Sincethesuspensionbridgeopenedin1937 ithasbeenoneoftheprincipallandmarksofbothSanFranciscoandCalifornia HooverDam TheHooverDamisanarch gravitydamontheColoradoRiver Asanarch gravitydam itdependsonitsshapeanditsownweightforstability HooverDam a221 meter higharch gravitydam blockstheflowoftheColoradoRiverinBlackCanyon ThedamcreatedLakeMead oneoftheworld slargesthuman madelakes whichstretches180kmupstream HooverDamcontrolsflooding produceselectricpower andprovideswaterforusebyagriculture privatehomes andindustry MannedSpace CraftCenter TheLyndonB JohnsonSpaceCenternearHouston TexasoperatestheNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration smannedspaceflightprogram Scientistsandaerospaceengineersatthecenter smissioncontrolsupervisedthefirstastronautlandingonthemoonin1969 Sincethen theyhavecontrolleddozensofspacemissionsfromthe656 hectare 1620 acre complex BarbieDoll ThelargewardrobeoftheBarbiedollisreminiscentoftheextensivewardrobesoffashiondollspopularinEuropeinthelate19thcentury However whileclothesdesignersinthepastusedfashiondollstoshowcasetheirnewcreations Barbiedolls createdin1959 functionmainlyastoys Manufacturersnowmorecommonlyproduceethnicallydiversedolls likethisblackBarbie LandofodditiesandabsurditiesLandofinequalityandinjustice LasVegas BrightneonlightsshinethroughthenightinLasVegas Nevada advertisingcasinos hotels clubs bars andotherbusinesses LasVegaswasasmalltownuntilgangsterBenjamin Bugsy Siegelchangedthecity scharacterforeverbyconstructingitsfirstlavishhotel casinoin1945 Nowknownasthe EntertainmentCapitaloftheWorld LasVegasattractstouristsfromallovertheworld PleaseListento AnotherDayinParadise FlagoftheUnitedStates FlagoftheUnitedStatesconsistsof13horizontalstripes 7redalternatingwith6white andintheuppercornernearthestaff arectangularbluefield containing50five pointedwhitestars Thestripessymbolizethe13coloniesthatoriginallyconstitutedtheUnitedStatesofAmerica Thestarsrepresentthe50statesoftheUnion WhitesignifiesPurityandInnocence Red HardinessandValor andBlue Vigilance PerseveranceandJustice TheessentialdesignoftheAmericanflagcanbetracedtoaresolutionpassedbytheContinentalCongressonJune14 1777 Thisresolutionstatedthattheflagshouldrepresentthe13originalstateswith13alternatingredandwhitestripesand13starsonabluefield From1795to1818additionalstarsandstripeswereaddedtotheflagtorepresentVermontandKentucky In1818theU S Congressreducedthenumberofstripesto13andestablishedthepolicyofaddinganadditionalstarforeverynewstate Thedesignwasnotstandardizeduntil1912 andmanyvariationsoftheflagwerecommonduringthe19thcentury Thecurrentflagdatesfrom1960 whena50thstarwasaddedforHawaii the50thstate BaldEagle ThebaldeaglewasdesignatedasthenationalbirdoftheUnitedStatesin1782 Itsnamedoesnotimplyalackoffeathers butinsteadisderivedfromthewordpiebald meaning markedwithwhite Thebaldeaglereignsasthesecond largestbirdofpreyinNorthAmerica Rose morethanasymboloflove WhiteHouse WhiteHouse officialresidenceofthepresidentoftheU S builtinitsoriginalformbetween1792and1800 andsituatedat1600PennsylvaniaAve inWashington D C Thisdesignationbecameofficialin1901 whenTheodoreRoosevelthadthenameengravedonhisstationery IthasbeenthehomeofeverypresidentinAmericanhistorywiththeexceptionofGeorgeWashington whoapprovedtheactthatledtoitsconstruction TheWhiteHouseisoneofthemostpopulartouristattractionsintheUnitedStates TheWhiteHousecontains132rooms butonly5ofthese theBlueRoom EastRoom GreenRoom RedRoom andStateDiningRoom areopentopublicvisitation UncleSam UncleSam nicknameandcartoonimageusedtopersonifytheU S government ItisderivedfromtheinitialsU S ThefirstvisualrepresentationorcaricatureofanUncleSamfigure attiredinstarsandstripes appearedinpoliticalcartoonsin1832 Inthe20thcenturyUncleSamhasusuallybeendepictedwithashortbeard highhat andtailedcoat In1961theU S Congressadoptedthefigureasanationalsymbol GreatSealoftheUnitedStates officialsealoftheUnitedStatesgovernment Itistwo sided havingbothanobverseandareverse ThedominantfigureontheobverseofthesealisanAmericaneagle shownwithwingsspread Onitsbreasttheeaglebearsashield Theeagleholdsanolivebranchinitsrighttalon aclusterof13arrowsinitsleft Aclusterof13five pointedstars surroundedbyaglory appearsabovetheeagle GreatSeal