2. Find in the text the English equivalents for:

1) общая площадь Британских островов составляет… 2) они состоят из ...; 3) это отделение от континента произошло ...; 4) ледниковый период; 5) Великобритания состоит из ...; 6) по размеру почти половина Франции.

Oral Exercises to the Text

Answer the following questions.

1. Where are the British Isles situated?

2. What is the total area of the British Isles?

3. How many islands are the British Isles made up of?

4. What is the origin of the Isles?

5. Which countries of the UK occupy the two main islands (Great Britain and Ireland)?

6. What is the area of the UK?

Text 2 physical structure and relief

Britain has different physical characteristics and, despite its small u contains rocks of nearly all the main geological periods. There contrast between the highlands of western and northern Britain the lowland areas of the south and east.

You will not find very high mountains or large plains here. Everything occupies little place. Nature, it seems, has carefully adapted — mountains, valleys, plains, rivers, and lakes — to the size of the island itself.

The highest mountain in the British Isles is Ben Nevis in Scotland, 1347 metres high. The longest river is the Severn in England, 390 kilometres long. The largest lake in Great Britain is Loch Lomond in Scotland, covering a surface area of 70 square kilometres.

ENGLAND Though England cannot be considered as a very hilly country still it is far from being flat everywhere. The most important range of mountains is the Pennine range, rivers flowing from the central Pennines have cut long open valleys, known as dales, which attract tourists because of their picturesque scenery. Rainfall in the Pennines is heavy, and their flowing streams provide power for woollen mills. Today the area is used for water storage: reservoirs ['rezsvwaiz] in the uplands supply the industrial towns on each side of the Pennines.

Across the north end of the Pennine Range there are the grassy Cheviot Hills. They serve as a natural borderland between England and Scotland.

The valleys, which separate the various mountains from each other, contain some beautiful lakes. This is the so-called Lake District.

Wales is the largest peninsula on the western side of Britain. It consists of a complex of mountain ranges. They are called the Cambrian Mountains. In the south the mountains have an important coal-field, on which an industrial area has grown. It the most densely populated part of Wales.

Much of the other part of Wales consists of bare rock, moorland and rough pasture, with only a few people to the square kilometre.

Scotland may be divided into three physical regions: the Highlands, the Southern Uplands and the Central Lowlands. The Highlands comprise forty-seven per cent of the lane area of Scotland. At the same time the population here is less than fifteen per cent of the Scottish population. Many valleys between the hills are filled with lakes, called lochs. The most popular is Loci Ness, which is said to be the home of a “monster”.

The Southern Uplands are smooth, rounded hills. The present-day economy of the region is dominated by agriculture.

The Central Lowlands of Scotland, sometimes known as the Midland Valley, lie between the Highlands and the Southern Uplands. It is the most densely populated of the three regions of Scot) land. The region occupies about 15 per cent of Scotland, but contains about 80 per cent of its people.

Ireland is mostly a rural island, with low density of population and few large towns. The Central Plain of Ireland crosses the country from west to east. Around the plain there are mountains. The highest peak on the island is 1 041 metres high. Here is the largest lake in the British Isles — Lough Neagh. The rivers of Ireland are short, but deep. The largest river is the Shannon.