Озвученный английский онлайн текст American Symbols.
To the people of many other countries, anyone from the United States is a Yankee. During the Civil War, the Southerners called all Northerners Yankees, but the name really belongs to the people of New England.
There are several ideas as to the origin of this name. Some believe it was the Indians’ way of saying the French word for English. Another idea is that it came from an old Scottish word meaning “clever”. Still another is that it came from Dutch and was used only to mean Dutch settlers at first.
Another symbol associated with the USA is Uncle Sam. He is not a real, but just an imaginary person whose name stands for the United States.
The idea dates back to the early days of the country. One story tells that a man in Troy, New York, saw the letters “U.S.” on a big package. Of course, they stood for the “United States”, but the man did not know this. To make fun of him, someone said that the letters stood for Uncle Sam. People who heard the joke told others, and the idea of calling the United States Uncle Sam spread.
In his pictures, Uncle Sam is always tall and thin. He always wears a long-tailed coat and a tall hat. His suit has stars and stripes on it, like those of the United States flag.