The Way of Life.

There have been many changes in the way of life of American families in the past 20 or 30 years.

Many young" people don't hurry to get married, and when they do get married, they don't hurry to have children. Quite often a woman has her first child only when she is past thirty. Also, families don't have so many children as was traditional be­fore. Today most families have only one or two chil­dren.

In a traditional family the husband worked and earned money, and the wife stayed at home with the children. This tradition is now changing1. Many married women work, like their husbands. There are two reasons for this new tradition. One reason is that women

also want to have careers, like men. The other reason is the necessity of earning a liv­ing: prices have risen, and as a result families cannot survive when only one member of the family works.

 

Education.

There are three levels in the educational system of the United States.

At the age of 7 children go to the elementary school, where they stay until the sixth grade. Then they pass to the so-called junior high school and

stay there from the seventh up to the eighth or ninth grade. Finally they go to the high school (from the ninth or tenth grade up to the twelfth grade). Besides state-supported schools (called "public schools"), where education is free¹, there is a com­paratively small number of private schools, which are often connected with religion.

 

 

Culture. Leisure. Entertainment.

The United States is a great centre of culture. Its largest cities (New York, Boston, Chicago, Wash­ington, San Francisco, Los Angeles) have many con­cert halls, exhibition halls and theatres. Smaller cities also regularly hold concerts, exhibitions, lec­tures, theatrical performances, both professional and amateur. The United States has the world's great­est museums, theatres, concert halls and orchestras. A lot of people usually attend performances and exhi­bitions, in spite of the high prices of the tickets.

The most important sources of entertainment in America are television, movies and recorded music. Millions of Americans watch videotaped movies at home.

Many Americans complain of the low intellectual and cultural level of TV programmes. Some people also say that the emphasis on youth, sex and money teaches children the wrong values.

Americans enjoy sport. They engage in sports themselves and also watch their favourite sports teams at the stadiums and at home on TV. Among the most popular sports are baseball, football, bas­ketball and hockey, as well as golf and tennis. Many boys and girls play in school sport teams.

Americans like to travel. Many families regular­ly go on weekend car trips, as well as on longer summer trips. Travelling by air is also very popu­lar. During their holidays many people fly to other cities to visit friends and relatives. In winter many people like to spend their holidays in places with a warm climate, like Florida and the islands of the Caribbean.

  

Holidays.

New Year. Many people don't sleep most of the New Year night on the 31st of December, seeing the New Year in. Some people go to parties at friends' houses or at night-clubs. Others just walk about in the streets making merry. It is a tradition for many people to make New Year resolutions (to eat less, to work more, to do sport regularly, etc.). Though few people keep their New Year resolutions.

Martin Luther King's Day. Martin Luther King was a famous fighter for civil rights. In the 1950's and 1960's he organized the civil rights movement — the struggle for equal rights for black Americans. In 1968 he was assassinated. Martin Luther King's Day is celebrated in January (he was born in this month).

Presidents' Day. Presidents' Day is celebrated in February. It is the day on which two great Ameri­cans are honoured: George Washington, the coun­try's first President, and Abraham Lincoln, the President who headed the country during the Civil War and put an end to slavery. Both George Wash­ington and Abraham Lincoln were born in February.

Memorial Day. On Memorial Day Americans ho­nour the soldiers killed in war. There are always parades on this day. Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May, and that's why it marks the beginning of the summer season. Many people spend this day on the beach.

Independence Day. The Fourth of July, or Inde­pendence Day, is, of course, the most important American holiday. In was on July 4, 1776, that the American colonies declared their independence from Britain. The Fourth of July is a traditional day for family picnics and, at night, fireworks.

Labour Day. On the first Mon,day in September, Americans celebrate Labour Day, which honours the American worker. While Memorial Day marks the beginning" of summer, Labour Day marks the end of it. The school year starts the day after Labour Day. Columbus Day. Columbus Day marks the coming" of Columbus's ship to America in 1492. Many Ital­ian-Americans and Hispanic-Americans are especially enthusiastic on Columbus Day. Columbus was an Italian working for Spain, so they feel that this great seaman is closer to their hearts than to the hearts of other Americans.

Halloween. Halloween, which is celebrated on October 31, is not an official holiday, but, doubt­less, it is a very special day. Children enjoy it. They dress in fancy costumes as witches, ghosts, or other monsters, pirates, or characters from TV pro­grammes, and so on. The windows of many houses are brightly decorated on Halloween. In the evening groups of children go from house to house, knock at the doors and say, "Trick or treat". (Which means "if you don't treat us to something tasty, we shall play a trick on you.") Of course, the people give them something nice.

Thanksgiving. In 1620 the Mayflower1 brought a group of Pilgrims to America. The Pilgrims found­ed a settlement in Massachusetts. They arrived late in November, and it was too late to plant crops. It was very difficult for the Pilgrims to survive the first winter, but they were greatly helped by the Indians who lived nearby. The Indians showed the Pilgrims where to fish, and in spring helped them to plant crops. The next November, when the Pil­grims had gathered the crops, they invited the Indi­ans to a great feast. It was the first Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is celebrated every year in Novem­ber. Families make a big feast, which traditionally includes roast turkey, a sweet sauce made of cran­berries, and pumpkin pie.

Christmas. On Christmas many families get to­gether. There is a tradition to give presents on Christmas. People often start buying gifts right after Thanksgiving. On Christmas many families like to have a decorated Christmas tree in their houses. They also bake special Christmas cakes.

Children believe that their gifts come from Santa Claus1, who lives in the North Pole, and on the night before Christmas he comes in a sledge pulled by reindeer. He goes down the chimneys of

houses and leaves gifts for the children who have been good.