XVIII. Read the text and fill in the table.

The climate of the British Isles
The weather of the U.K.
The English say about their weather
The average temperature in January and July
London fogs
Rain in the U.K.
Snow in the U.K.
Other important facts about the climate of the U.K.

UNIT - III

Vegetation and Wild Life.

I.Learn to read the new words.

vegetation wildlife

symbol poppy

thistle emblem

vast oak

beech pine

birch to stretch

marshland moor

elm ash

mammal extinction

otter seal

hedgehog deer

lizard snake

toad blackbird

sparrow starling

fowl Robin Redbreast

partridge (s) pheasant

gull nest

threat leek

II.Read the text

Vegetation and Wildlife.

The humid and wild climate of Great Britain is good for plants and flowers. Some of them have become symbols in the U.K. Probably you know that poppy is the symbol of peace, the red rose is the national emblem of England, the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland.

The daffodils and the leek are the emblems of Wales, the shamrock (a kind of clover ) is the emblem of Ireland.

The U.K. was originally a land of vast forests, mainly oak and beech in the Lowlands and pine and birch in the highlands, with great stretches of marshland and smaller areas of moors. Oak, elm, ash and beech are the commonest trees in England, while Scotland has much pine and birch.

The fauna or animal life of the U.K. is much like that of northwestern Europe. Many larger mammals such as bear, wolf have been hunted to extinction, others are now protected by law. About 50 land mammals are still found in the U.K. There are many foxes. Otters are common along rivers and streams, and seals live along much of the coast. Hedgehogs, hares, rabbits, rats and mice are numerous. Deer live in some of the forests in the Highlands of Scotland and England. There are several small lizards, two or three kinds of snakes, and se­veral kinds of frogs and toads.

Some 230 kinds of birds live in the U.K. and another 200 are regular visitors, many are songbirds. The most numerous are blackbirds, sparrows and starlings. Robin Redbreast is the national bird of the U.K. The number of ducks, geese and other water fowl has diminished during recent years. Partridges, pheasants and other large and rare birds are protected by law. Gulls, geese and other sea birds nest near the coast. There are many threats to wildlife and ecological balance around the coast. The biggest threat to the coastline is pollution. Many other ecological problems may be caused by privatization of the coast. The past decade has seen a decline in the quality of rivers. Many of them are ''biologically dead", i.e. unable to support fish and wildlife.