8. Geography of the uk. Population. The main industrial centres.

The United Kingdom is situated in the north-west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north-west and the North Sea on the east. The U. K. includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, contains England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom has an area of 244,000 square kilometres (94,249 square miles). The capital of the country is London. English is the official language. The population of the U. K. is nearly 60 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns. Over 46 million people live in England. Over 3 million — in Wales. A little over 5 million — in Scotland. About 1.5 million— in Northern Ireland. London's population is over 7 million people. The British nation consists of the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. The main industrial centres are Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester. The largest cities of the country are London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin. Agriculture takes an important sector in economy of the country. The British people grow wheat, fruit, vegetables oats.

9. Places of interest in gb. Traditional holidays, sport games.

Oxford and Cambridge are the old university towns. These towns are sometimes called together Oxbridge. Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Southern part of England is full of historical monuments and romantic scenery such as Cathedral of St. Tomas Becket, Cathedral of Saint Mary, which has the highest spire in England, historic monument of Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain.The West Country is still unspoiled by industry. The only larger towns here are Bristol, Plymouth, Bath and Exeter. On the north is Birmingham it is the second largest city in Britain. We can see Victorian architecture here and the network of canals. In Manchester we can visit the Museum of Science and Industry and Space Museum. The other lit cities here are Liverpool (the birthplace of Beatles), Leeds, Sheffield and York. Northern England is famous by Cumbria and Northumbria is the country of beautiful nature, many national Parks and cultural traditions, e.g. the city Durham. The Lake District National Park with beautiful Windermere Lake. The other national parks here are Northumberland Park and Yorkshire Dales National Park. The land lot Wales is full of mystery and beauty. There are snow-capped mountains, green valleys, sea resorts, big cities and little seaside towns. Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are the biggest cities here. Sometimes is Wales called the land of castles, the best known is Caernarfon and Harlech.Scotland is a historically and culturally separate country from England. It is the land of many special traditions - playing the pipes, quality tweeds, woollen and knitwear, wearing kilts, Scotch whisky. The biggest city is Glasgow, on old Victorian town, the culture centre and the heart of the arts in Scotland (festivals the Mayfest and the International Jazz Festival). The biggest lake is Loch Lomond and Loch Ness is famous for its "Loch Ness Monster". There are fewer public holidays in Great Britain than in other European countries. They are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Spring Bank Holidays and Summer Bank Holidays. The most popular holiday is Christmas. Every year the people of Norway give the city of London a present. It's a big Christmas tree and it stands in Trafalgar Square. Central streets are beautifully decorated. The fun starts the night before, on the 24th of December. Children hang stockings at the end o their beds, hoping that Father Christmas will come down the chimney during the night and fill them with toys and sweets. Christmas is family holiday. Relatives usually meet for the big Christmas dinner of turkey and Christmas pudding. And everyone gives and receives presents. The 26th of December, Boxing Day, is an extra holiday after Christmas Day. New Year's is less popular in Britain than Christmas. But in Scotland, Hogmanday is the biggest festival of the year. Besides public holidays there are some special festivals in Great Britain. The British like sport very much. They are fond of all kinds of sports. The national British sports are: football, golf, cricket, tennis, racing, darts.