The United States covers a large part of the North ___21___ continent, when this land first became a nation. After ___22___ its freedom (自由) from England, it has 13 states. Each of the states had a star on the American flag. As the nation grew, new states were formed and there were new stars on the flag. ___23___ a long time, there were forty-eight states. In 1959 two more stars were added to the flag, standing for the new states of Alaska and Hawaii. Indians were the first people of the land and a great number of people came from England. It is ___24___ that reason that the language of the U.S. is English and that its culture and customs (文化习惯) are more ___25___ those of England than any other country in the world.