6. Work in pairs; check if you know the following words and word combinations. Translate them into Russian. In turn, use them in sentences of your own to tell about your country.

To be situated, off (away from, at a distance in space), to the west, to the north, the North Sea, to the south, to the east, to the west, in the northeast, northwest coast, mainland, to bound, the English Channel, to separate, the rest of, main, island, to make up, consist of, western coast, separate nations, cover.

7. Look through the text in Act. 5 and find the right word to the following definitions:

a) a piece of land that is completely surrounded by water; b) the land on or close to the edge of the sea, shore; c) a country considered as a group of people with the same language, culture and history, who live in a particular area under one government; d) a land mass, considered without its islands; e) to form the edge or limit of an area, to mark or form the boundaries or limits of; f) to divide into different parts or groups; g) to be located in a stated place or position; h) to be formed from the things mentioned; i) to spread over the area mentioned, to occupy; j) to form, to constitute, to consist of; k) the remaining part of something.

8. Read Text b and say if the following sentences are True or False:

1) The country consists of the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many other smaller islands.

2) England is less mountainous than Wales.

3) Glasgow is the capital of Scotland.

4) Ireland is separated from Great Britain by the English Channel.

5) The climate of the UK doesn’t differ much from northern Europe.

Text b. Geography and Climate

So, what is the United Kingdom? The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country located off the north-western coast of continental Europe.

Four countries make up the UK – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It consists of a group of islands – 2 large ones and several hundred smaller ones. By far the largest island is that which is divided into three countries – England, Wales and Scotland. This island is about 700 miles long and is 300 miles at its widest point. At its nearest point only the 22 miles of the English Channel separate it from the coast of France.

England’s capital London is also the capital city of the UK. Most of England consists of lowland with some mountainous terrain northwest of a line drawn between the Humber estuary in the East and the river Exe in the Southwest. Wales, with its capital Cardiff, lies to the West having a coastline adjacent to the Irish Sea. It is more mountainous than England, particularly in North and Mid Wales.

To the North is Scotland which consists of two very distinct regions known as the Highlands and the Lowlands. The Highlands region is to the North and West of the country and is much more mountainous than its lowland sister. The Lowlands region is home to most of Scotland’s population. It’s here where Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh and the larger city of Glasgow will be found.

Crossing the Irish Sea takes us to Ireland of which only the north eastern corner (Northern Ireland) is part of the UK. The rest of this island is a separate country, the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland, with its capital, Belfast, is a hilly region boasting the largest inland body of water in the UK, Lough Neagh [a lake the Northern Ireland west of Belfast, the largest in the British Isles, popular with walkers and for sailing], at 150 square miles.

The prevailing winds tend to come from the southwest, bringing with them frequent spells of mild but wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean. Overall the climate is fairly temperate and similar to much of northern Europe. The weather of the United Kingdom is changeable and unpredictable. Summers are moderately warm, winters are cool to cold. Rains fall throughout the year, and more on the west than the east.

9. State the part of speech, say how the words are formed, translate them into Russian: continental, smaller, widest, mountainous, particularly, hilly, fairly, changeable, unpredictable, moderately.