Disarmament, espionage, internment, surrender, turmoil, adherence, witch-hunt

1. Anti-communist witch-hunt in the USA was started by Senator Joseph

McCarthy.

2. During the McCarthy witch-hunt many people were accused in

communist espionage.

3. Today many countries support nuclear disarmament.

4. He is noted for his strict surrenderto the rules.

5. These men were in the internment camps during the war.

6. The country is in a state of political turmoil.

7. President Noriega adherence to the USA troops after the invasion of

Panama.

 

 

Task 6. Historical consequences. Match two statements from columns A and B into a compound sentence with a conjunction "so".

 

1) The USA did not want to interfere into the affairs of the European nations, so by Neutrality Acts the government tried to prohibit trade with the warring sides.

2) The Japanese were not ready to a prolonged war, so they plotted a raid on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

3) Americans were afraid that Japanese immigrants could spy on their native country, so during the war thousands of Japanese-Americans were removed from their homes and interned into "relocation centers".

4) War needs brought thousands of women and African-Americans to vacant jobs, so after the war working patterns changed.

5) The Soviet Union was seen as a global threat to project American power on a worldwide scale, so the two nations soon sank into the Cold War.

6) The Cold War policy heightened anti-communist feelings in the USA, so the witch-hunt started.

 

 

Task 7.Answer the following questions.

 

1.What were the factors that caused the after-war economic boom?
-People had lots of money saved up from the war, and had money to spend.
-People started buying automobiles and houses.
-Demand outstripped supply, and increased production.
-The Cold War contributed, because we had high defense spending, (employing people).
-Foreign aid programs (Marshall Plan) created a strong export-market.

 

2.How did the pattern of jobs change in the post-war years?
Workers found their own lives changing as industrial America changed. Fewer workers produced goods; more provided services. By 1956 a majority held white-collar jobs, working as corporate managers, teachers, salespersons and office employees. Some firms granted a guaranteed annual wage, long-term employment contracts and other benefits.

 

3.What is a "postindustrial" society?
A post-industrial society is a stage in a society's development during which the economy transitions from one that primarily provides goods to one that primarily provides services. In other words, the service sector, made up of people such as nurses, teachers, researchers, social workers, and lawyers, among others, accounts for more of the economic growth and wealth than the manufacturing sector, which is made up of people such as construction workers, textile mill workers, food manufacturers, and production workers.

4.What megalopolises developed in the post-war period?
Boston, Providence, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC.

 

5.How did the baby boom contribute to the growth of economy?
Though many feared a postwar depression, earlier legislation helped to smooth the transition from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy. In 1944, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, known as the GI Bill of Rights, was signed into law. The act allocated $13 billion to help soldiers returning home pay for higher education, vocational training, medical treatment, unemployment insurance, and loans for building new houses.

 

6. What did the concept of "family togetherness" emphasize?
An examination of the history of suburbanization in the United States shows that the suburban ideal has, from its beginnings, been associated with a vision of family togetherness, meaning that husband, wife, and children choose to spend their leisure time with one another.

7. How did the Levitts contribute to the growth of suburbs?

Built in the post-war era for returning veterans and their new families, the communities offered attractive alternatives to cramped, central city locations and apartments. The developments are widely considered to be the archetype of post-war suburbia.

 

9. What did the materialistic culture of the fifties reflect?
The need to always have more and better goods emerged rapidly in the West during the 1950s. Consumerism became a key component of Western society. People bought big houses in the new suburbs and bought new time-saving household appliances. This buying trend was influenced by many American cultural and economic aspects such as advertising; television; cars; new offerings from banks (loans and credit); immediately being able to have what one wanted; and achieving a perceived better life.
The popularity of television skyrocketed, particularly in the US, where 77% of households purchased their first TV set during the decade.
The social mores about sex were particularly restrictive, characterized by strong taboos and a nervous attitude for prudish conformity, to the point that even the softcore pornography of the time avoided describing it.

The strong sexual taboos of mass culture were also reflected in literature, with the institutionally established modernist tradition, and most writers feeling compelled to self-censor themselves.

Task 8.Vocabulary development. State the meaning of the following derivatives and fill in the gaps.