Traveling in the USA

Plan
1. Introduction
2. A glance at a history
3. Cars
A) It is easy to exist with a car in America
B) It is not easy to exist without a car in America
C) “Car culture”
D) HOV lanes
4. Other means of travel
A) Buses
B) Trains
C) Airlines
4. “Go west, young man”
5. Conclusion
6. Bibliography

Introduction
There are many means of traveling: planes, trains, ships, but there is nothing like traveling by car. One can enjoy visiting old churches, castles, cozy streets and monuments. I can't help admiring the beautiful and picturesque countryside: lakes, forests and mountains

Traveling by train has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are the following: it is not an expensive way of traveling and you can buy a return ticket and spend the rest of your money on other things. The terrorists of whom we are scared very much prefer planes. While traveling by train one can see a lot of villages, cities and enjoy the view through the window. One can sleep, eat, chatter or read a book in the compartment.

The biggest advantage of the flight by plane is that it is very fast. Trips to some remote countries may take three day by train, but by plane it takes only 2-3 hours. A plane is comfortable and the passengers can read, sleep or look through the window, have a meal, listen to music, relax or even work.
But the flights by plane have also some disadvantages. First of all, the tickets are very expensive. Some people also think that it is very dangerous, they are worried that their plane will crash or that someone may hijack it.
The passport control and the check - in take a lot of time at the airport. You may be airsick, besides the passengers can't lie down, they only sit in the armchairs.

A glance at a history
Americans love traveling, they have always been people on the move. Americans move because their company moves, they move to get a better job (and for this reason they can move from Texas to California, for example). It is very normal to move when you retire. Many retired Americans move to the South, where the climate is warmer and the cost of living is lower than in Boston or New York City. In short, moving around a lot is normal in the United States.

It is believed that Americans mobility is historically conditioned. A historian Frederick Jackson Turner first introduced a well-known theory, which explains American character by the specific American environment, in the late 19th century. Turner believed that the unique feature of the American environment was the existence of the frontier (a borderline between settled and unsettled land). As the new settlements expanded, the frontier was constantly moving west and people had to adjust to this constant movement.

A glance at a history
In the American mind, change is seen as something positive. In the American system of values change is strongly linked to development, improvement, progress, and growth.

Cars
A car in America deserves special comment. This is an American favorite pet. They divide the whole of American history into America BC and modern America. In American jargon BC means ‘Before Car’.

It is easy to exist with a car in America
∙ They have good service and spacious parking lots. Europeans, though, complain about bad roads and slow speed of American highways. There used to be a national speed limit of 90 km per hour, but in 1987 it was abolished. Many states still stick to it, however. Thus, in New England because of bad weather in winter (winters there are usually wet and snowy) highways in spring are in such a poor condition that drivers have to drive slowly and carefully. Otherwise, going by car is the fastest and the most convenient way to get from home to work and to the nearest supermarket.

It is easy to exist with a car in America
Cars are affordable. In the USA you get your first car at the age of 15 or 16, when you are in high school and your last car brings you to the cemetery at the age of 90 (as Americans joke).

Getting a driver’s license is easy. You have to pass a driving test, which consists of two parts: theoretical and practical. You can take your theoretical part in any language you wish: English, or Spanish, or Russian (in case you do not understand English). Questions are easy, they just want to be sure that you know the basic rules. The second part is not difficult either. You just drive along the streets for ten minutes and then pull over. They do not even ask you to park your car in a garage, as we are asked here in Russia. On the whole, driving rules are not national, but state rules – they differ from state to state. It is more difficult to get a driver’s license in Colorado than in Nevada.

It is not easy to exist without a car in America
You will need a car for weekly shopping and for driving to work. Public transport in most places is unreliable or simply non-existent. The only exception is big cities, like Boston or New York City. Boston, for example, has a good subway system; it is clean, bright, safe, efficient, user-friendly (it is easy to figure out where to go) and it costs peanuts.

American culture is often called a “car culture”, since American mentality is “car-oriented”. Here are some examples to illustrate the American car-oriented mentality. A driver’s license in America plays the same role as a passport in Russia – you can get a bank loan with it and several other things, which require your identification. Certain things exist and become back popular only in the context of this car-oriented mentality, like drive-in movie theatres or MacDonald’s drive troughs.

As there are a lot of cars in America, special measures are taken to ensure environmental protection. Thus, on most American highways there are special HOV (High Occupancy Vehicles) lanes. You can‘t use them unless you have three or more people in the car. In traffic jams these HOV lanes are much faster, since there are fewer cars than in other lanes. This is an incentive good enough to make one co-operate with two of your neighbors and ride to work in one car if you go in the same direction.

Other means of travel
Buses are cheap and for this reason are popular among students. Thus, the trip from Boston to New Haven, where Yale University is situated, will cost $29 one way and will last for 3 hours.

Other means of travel
Trains are twice as expensive, but they are faster and much more comfortable. In all commuter trains you can find air conditioning, velvet comfortable chairs and a nice food service with a smile.

Other means of travel
Airlines, since September 11, have put their regulations on a significantly higher level of safety awareness. For example, today sharp objects, like manicure scissors are requested to be put in the baggage you check in and are not allowed to be brought in your handbag.

“Go west, young man”
Americans firmly believe that travel is good for you: it can shape your character and improve your personality. There is a specific American tradition: when Americans finish high school and they feel that they do not know what they want do next – which happens quite often with teenagers – they go and cross the country from East to West or from West to East.
Some drive and stop at different places on their way, others hitchhike or use buses. No matter how you do this, the feeling of fulfillment is what matters.

Crossing the country is a challenge as it was a hundred years ago. “I’ve made it, father, like my grand-grand fathers did,” says an American boy to his father when he returns home. “Now you are a real man, like your grand-grand fathers were. I’m proud of you, boy,” says his father and be sure the boy will grow up and will pass on this tradition to his sons. “Go west, young man,” American fathers have said to their sons since the 17th century. And they still do.

Conclusion
Summing up I should say, the most popular source of entertainment and information in America is traveling; because Americans love traveling and they have always been people on the move.

Об авторе
Я был рад представить Вашему вниманию мою первую самостоятельную презентацию. Думаю, Вы не потратили время напрасно.