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The northern part of the USA embraces the region of the five Great Lakes (Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario), which are connected by natural channels cut by rapids1. The greatest of these rapids is the Niagara Falls.
(4) Crossed by mountain ranges from north to south, the country is unprotected from cold winds from the north and from warm winds from the south. This causes great temperature fluctuations2. On the whole, the USA has a continental climate.
(5) The country is rich in coal, oil, iron3 and minerals, which form a solid base for the development of American industry. The United States economy is highly developed. In fact, the United States is one of the leading countries in the world economy.
(6) The people of the United States are a mixture of many different nationalities. The United States is often called a big melting pot of countries. In a melting pot, different metals are melted" together to make a new metal. The United States is like a melting pot for people. In the past, people from many different European countries came to the US and made one country out of many. In one city you can find people whose parents or great-grandparents came from China, Africa, South America, Southeast Asia ['eija] and many European countries. These different people brought a wonderful mixture of customs and traditions to their new land. The German brought Christmas trees, the Irish — St. Patrick's Day celebrations, the Scots — Halloween.
(7) The red-white-and-blue flag of the United States is known as 'Old Glory' or the 'Stars and Stripes'5. Red stands for courage, white for purity6 and blue for justice7. 13 stripes represent the first original American colonies, which were united into one country. The stars in the flag, white on the deep blue background8, represent the number of states making up the United States. Today it has 50 stars, one for each state, and 13 stripes, one for each of the original states.
Everyone can be greatly surprised by the fact how Americans I honour and treat their flag. In American schools the day begins with I the ceremony of raising the flag.
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