Arakin 4 kurs new 001 176. indd

Commentary
1. 
Pulitzer Prize 
i
s 
a United States award for achievements in 
newspaper journalism, music or literature. It was established in 1917 
by New York world publisher
 Joseph
Pulitzer
(1847–1911). In the 
field of literature the prize is awarded each year for the books pub-
lished last year. In 1937, for example, the novel “Gone with the Wind” 
by M.Mitchel got the prize. In 1953 it was the novel written by 
E.Hemingway “The Old Man and the Sea”. In 2011 the prize was 
awarded to Jennifer Egan for the novel “A Visit from the Goon 
Squad”.
2. 
Jury
is a group of usually 12 people chosen to hear all the details 
of a case in a court of law and to bring in a verdict of guilty or not 
guilty. You do not need any special skills or legal knowledge to be a 
juror. No one is exempt because of his or her job, race, color, religion, 
sex, national origin or economic status. But you are required to be at 
least 18 years of age to serve as a juror. There are no maximum age 
limits for jury service.
3. 
Ku-Klux-Klan
, often abbreviated as KKK, is the name of three 
distinct past and present far-right organizations in the US which have 
advocated extremist reactionary currents such as: white supremacy, 
white nationalism and anti-immigration. The first Klan flourished in 
the South in the 1860s and died out by the 1870s. Members of the 
organization adopted white costumes: robes, masks and conical hats. 
The second KKK flourished nationwide in the early and mid 1920s. 
The third KKK emerged after World War II and was associated with 
opposing the civil rights movement and progress among minorities. 
The symbol of KKK is a cross in a circle with the “blood drop” in the 
center.
4. 
Thomas Jefferson
(1743–1826) was the third President of the 
USA. He drafted the Declaration of Independence, which was ad-
opted on July 4th, 1776. The former 13 English Colonies had won 
their independence and set up their new United States Government. 
Thomas Jefferson also founded the University of Virginia and served 
as president of the American Philosophical Society. T.Jefferson is best 
remembered as a champion of human rights and the lead draftsman 
of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson’s face appears on the 
US nickel and the two-dollar bill.
5. 
Yankee
originally meant “a native of New England”. During the 
Civil War, however, the Southerners used it to refer, often derisively, 
to inhabitants of any Northern States. Nowadays the term is used 

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outside the US to refer to natives of the US. In the South of the USA, 
it is still used to describe the Northerners in a negative way.
6.