- •The land and the population
- •Geographical position of the british isles
- •Vocabulary
- •Geographical Names
- •Written Exercises to the Text
- •1. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following sentences
- •2. Find in the text the English equivalents for:
- •Oral Exercises to the Text
- •Text 2 physical structure and relief
- •Vocabulary
- •Geographical Names
- •Written Exercises to the Text
- •1. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following sentences:
- •2. Find in the text the English equivalents for:
- •Text 3 population
- •Vocabulary
- •Proper Names
- •Written Exercises to the Text
- •Different Tasks
- •1. Words
- •The rose
- •The leek
- •The shamrock
- •Text 2 The National Flag
- •Unit III
- •Political system
- •A constitutional monarchy
- •Vocabulary
- •Text 3 The Monarch
- •Vocabulary
- •Oral Exercises to the Text
- •Unit IV educational system Text 1
- •Vocabulary
- •Text 2 school education
- •Vocabulary
- •Text 3 Primary Education
- •Text 4 Secondary Education
- •Vocabulary
- •Written Exercises to the Texts
- •Oral Exercises to the Texts
- •Text 5 post-school education
- •Vocabulary
- •Written Exercises to the Text
- •Text 6 Oxbridge
- •Vocabulary
- •Unit V Text 1 holidays in great britain
- •Text 2 sports
- •Vocabulary
- •Written Exercises to the Texts
- •Vocabulary
- •Text 2 population
- •Vocabulary
- •Written Exercises to the Texts
- •Text 3 prairies
- •Vocabulary
- •Written Exercises to the Text
- •Text 4 natural wonders of the united states
- •Vocabulary
- •Written Exercises to the Text
- •Unit II
- •National symbols
- •The american flag
- •Vocabulary
- •Text 2 uncle sam
- •Text 3 the bald eagle
- •Text 4 The Statue of Liberty
- •Vocabulary
- •Unit III
- •The Political System
- •The government of the united states
- •Vocabulary
- •Unit IV
- •The educational system of the usa
- •School Education
- •Vocabulary
- •Text 2 Further Education
- •Vocabulary
- •Written Exercises to the Texts
- •Oral Exercises to the Texts
- •Text 3 Harvard University
- •Vocabulary
- •Presidents' day (third monday in february)
- •Memorial day (last monday in may)
- •Independence day (july 4)
- •Labor day (first monday in september)
- •Columbus day (second monday in october)
- •Veterans' day (november 11)
- •Thanksgiving (fourth thursday in november)
- •Hallowe'en
- •Text. 4 recreation
- •Vocabulary
- •Unit V American Holidays Text 1
- •Martin luther king day
Text 2 The National Flag
The flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is called the Union Flag. It is also known as the Union Jack. It includes the emblems of three countries of the union — England, Scotland and Ireland.
You can see three crosses on the flag. An ordinary red cross on a white ground is the cross of Saint George — the English Flag. The flag can still be seen on churches in England today.
There is also a white diagonal1 cross on a blue ground, which belongs to Scotland. It is the cross of Saint Andrew. It was joined to the English Flag in 1603, when Scotland was joined to England and Wales.
And the third cross is the red diagonal cross on a white ground. It is the Irish Flag of Saint Patrick , which was added in 1801.
The Welsh flag is absent on the Union Flag. In 1959 Queen Elizabeth II granted Wales its own official flag — a red dragon on a green and white background.
In the 1960s the British queen adopted a personal flag. It is a square royal-blue flag bearing a crowned initial “E” within a ring of roses, all in gold.
The name of Union Jack appeared many years ago. King James the First (1566—1625) ordered the British Flag to be flown on the main mast of all British ships, except on ships-of-war. Here the flag was flown at the front of the ships, on what was called the bowsprit. The end of the bowsprit was called the Jack Star and so we got the name of Union Jack. A “jack”, by the way, is an old word for a “sailor”.
Unit III
Political system
Text 1
A constitutional monarchy
1
The United Kingdom is one of the few countries in the world where a constitutional monarchy has remained with its old customs, traditions and ceremonies. The British constitution is not a single document. There is no written constitution in Great Britain. It is formed by Acts of parliament, bills and conventions.
The head of the state is a monarch (a king or a queen) who reigns on the advice of her Prime Minister and does not make any political decision. The constitutional monarch can rule only with the support of Parliament. Today the head of the United Kingdom is her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen has no actual power, but she has many formal functions. In Britain the Queen is not only head of state, but also the symbol of the nation's unity. She is head of the executive, a part of legislature, head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all armed forces, the head of the Anglican Church. The UK is governed by her Majesty's Government in the name of the Queen.
The royal family is the main aristocratic house in the country. It is the biggest landowner in Britain. Today the monarchy is also one of the great attractions for tourists.
2
In Great Britain there are three organs that govern the country: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
The legislature is a law-making organ. It is represented by the Parliament.
The executive is the central Government. It consists of the Prime Minister and Cabinet of Ministers.
The judiciary is independent of both the legislature and the executive. It determines common law.