- •Part I Great Britain: General Acquaintance
- •1. Before you start.
- •Answer the following questions.
- •2. Vocabulary list.
- •Read and learn the following words and word combinations.
- •Reading.
- •Read and translate the text to learn more about Great Britain. Great Britain: General Acquaintance
- •3.2. What new facts about Great Britain have you learnt from the
- •4. Comprehension check.
- •Answer the following questions.
- •4.2. Are these statements true or false?
- •Supplementary reading.
- •Read the texts below to get more interesting information about the ofiicial name of Great Britain, its climate and scenery. England, Great Britain and the uk
- •The climate of Great Britain
- •The Lake District
- •7. Speaking.
- •Look at the maps of the uk, the usa and Russia. Fill in the chart, summarize the information to compare these countries.
- •Fortification - укрепленный пункт, оборонительное сооружение
- •Royalty - королевская власть, королевское достоинство, величие
- •Reading.
- •Read and translate the text to learn more about the British capital. London
- •What new facts about London have you learned from the text?
- •Comprehension check.
- •Answer the following questions.
- •Are these statements true or false?
- •Vocabulary exercises.
- •Give English equivalents of the following words and word combinations.
- •Fill in prepositions where necessary.
- •Match the words in the left column with the definitions on the
- •Translate from Russian into English.
- •6. Supplementary reading.
- •6.1. Read the texts below to get more interesting information about sights of London. Royal London
- •Windsor Castle
- •Knightsbridge
- •Speaking.
- •Answer the questions and compare the facts with the British equivalents.
- •Part III The Political System of the United Kingdom
- •Reading.
- •Read and translate the text to learn more about the political system of Great Britain. Three Branches of Government
- •3.2. What new facts about the political system of the uk have you learned from the text?
- •4. Comprehension check.
- •Answer the following questions.
- •Are these statements true or false?
- •Complete the following sentences.
- •Translate the following sentences into English.
- •6. Supplementary reading.
- •6.1. Read the texts below to get more interesting information about the political system of the uk, its constitution and its political parties. Political system
- •The Constitution
- •Magna Charta - Великая хартия вольностей;
- •Political Parties
- •Tory - партия Тори;
- •Imagine that you are a reporter of the Russian newspaper “Izvestija”. Interview a Conservative party member (a Labour party member) on the aims of their national and local policies.
- •Role play.
- •Part IV British Economy
- •Read and learn the following words and word combination.
- •Read and translate the text to learn more about British economy. British Economy
- •What new facts about British economy have you learned from the
- •4. Comprehension check.
- •Answer the following questions.
- •Are these statements true or false?
- •Vocabulary exercises.
- •Give English equivalents of the following words and word combinations.
- •Complete the following sentences using the right words.
- •Reading.
- •Read and translate the text to learn more about the system of education in the uk. Schooling in Great Britain
- •What new facts about British schools have you learned? How does the system of education in Great Britain differs from that one in Russia?
- •Comprehension check.
- •Answer the following questions.
- •Are these statements true or false?
- •The first Universities
- •Part VI Culture and Traditions
- •Reading
- •Read and translate the text to learn more about British traditions. Traditions
- •3.2. What new facts about British traditions have you learned from the text?
- •4. Comprehension check.
- •4.1. Answer the following questions.
- •4.2. Are these statements true or false?
- •Culture, Leisure, Entertainment
- •Holidays
- •What waters separate the British Isles from the continent of Europe?
- •Which are the most important rivers and lakes in Great Britain?
- •2. The State
- •What is the position of the monarch in the British constitution?
- •Where are most of the government offices situated in London?
- •3. The Economy
- •4. The People, the Way of Life
- •5. London
- •What is the name of the tower which contains the famous Big Ben?
УДК 802.0 ББК 81.2 Х15
XI5 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Методические указания для студентов-бакалавров 1-го курса дневного отделения направлений 051000.62, 072500.62, 080200.62, 190100.62, 190700.62, 230400.62, 270100.62, 270200.62, 270300.62, 270800.62, 270900.62, 280700.62 / Сост. А.И. Хайруллина. - Казань: Изд-во Казанск. гос. архитек.-строит, ун-та, 2012. - 44 с.
Печатается по решению Редакционно-издательского совета Казанского государственного архитектурно-строительного университета.
Методические указания на английском языке «The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland» составлены в соответствии с требованиями программы, определенной государственным образовательным стандартом.
Методические указания предназначены для студентов-бакалавров 1 -го курса всех специальностей, обучающихся на дневной форме обучения неязыковых вузов. Содержат обширный страноведческий материал по теме Великобритания.
Основной целью данных методических указаний является выработать у студентов умение использовать языковой материал по теме в диалогической и монологической речи. В каждом разделе представлен текстовый материал и разнообразные упражнения, направленные на развитие коммуникативных умений и навыков.
Рецензент Кандидат педагогических наук, доцент кафедры профессионального обучения и педагогики КазГАСУ
P.P. Бикчентаева
УДК 802.0 ББК 81.2
© Казанский государственный архитектурно-строительный университет, 2012
© Хайруллина А.И., 2012
Part I Great Britain: General Acquaintance
1. Before you start.
Answer the following questions.
What do you know about Great Britain?
Would you like to visit Great Britain? Why?
2. Vocabulary list.
Read and learn the following words and word combinations.
island - остров
to wash - омывать
to separate -- отделять
English Channel - Ла-Манш (Английский канал)
the Strait of Dover-Дуврский пролив (Па-де-Кале)
mountainous - гористый
highland - высокогорная местность, нагорье
lowland - низкая местность, низина, долина
moderating - умеренный
the Gulf Stream - Гольфстрим
insular - островной
humid - сырой, влажный
mild - умеренный, мягкий
discrepancy - несоответствие, расхождение, различие
Scotland - Шотландия
Wales-Уэльс
county - графство
to occupy - занимать
to amount - достигать, доходить до, равняться
peninsula - полуостров
the Welsh - валлийцы
to act on the advice of - поступать по совету кого-либо
legislation - законодательство
Magna Charta - Великая хартия вольностей
Habeas Corpus Act - Хабеас Корпус (английский закон 1679года о неприкосновенности личности)
Bill of Rights - билль о правах
Judicature Act - Закон о судоустройстве
the House of Lords - палата лордов
the House of Commons - палата общин
a peer - пэр, лорд
to elect - избирать
Labour Party - Лейбористская партия
Tory - партия Тори,
Reading.
Read and translate the text to learn more about Great Britain. Great Britain: General Acquaintance
Great Britain (the official name - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is situated on two islands, the larger of which is Great Britain, the smaller is Ireland. In addition to these two islands Great Britain includes over five hundred small islands. The total area of Great Britain is 244,000 sq. km., its population is over 62 mln. people.
In the north-west and west the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, in the east - by the North Sea. The island of Great Britain is separated from the European continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. Northern Ireland, which is a part of Great Britain and which is situated on the island of Ireland, is separated from Great Britain by the North Channel.
Geographically the island of Great Britain is subdivided into two parts - mountainous or Highland Britain (in the north and west of the island) and Lowland Britain (in the south and east). There are no very long rivers in Great Britain. The most important rivers are the Thames (the deepest) and the Severn (the longest). The rivers seldom freeze in winter. Due to the moderating influence of the sea and the Gulf Stream, Great Britain has an insular climate, rather humid and mild, without striking discrepancy between seasons.
Great Britain consists of four main parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Administratively Great Britain is divided into 55 counties. The biggest cities of Great Britain are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
England is the largest part of Great Britain. It occupies over 50% of the territory and its population amounts to 83% of the total population of Great Britain.
Wales is a peninsula in the south-west of the island of Great Britain. It occupies about 9% of its territory with the population of 4.8% of the total population. Scotland is the most northern part of Great Britain with a territory of 32% of the total territory and with a population of 9% of the total population of Great Britain. Northern Ireland occupies the north-east part of the island of Ireland. Its territory amounts to 5.2% of the total territory of Great Britain. The main cities of Northern Ireland are Belfast and Londonderry.
The Welsh have their own language. However, many Welsh people do not know Welsh, and English is spoken by everyone in Wales. Scotland and Ireland also have their own languages but these are rarely spoken and English is known by everyone there.
Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. Officially the head of the state is the Queen (or the King). However, the power of the Queen in Great Britain is not absolute. She acts only on the advice of ministers and the Parliament. There is no written constitution in Great Britain. The main principles of British legislation are expressed in other documents, like “Magna Charta”, “Habeas Corpus Act”, “Bill of Rights”, the Parliamentary Act which decided the position of the House of Lords, and the Judicature Act.
The Parliament in Great Britain has existed since 1265 and is the oldest Parliament in the world. It consists of two Houses - the Houses of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords consists of 1000 peers who are not elected by the people. The House of Commons is a nation-wide representative body which is elected by people at a general election, within 5 years of the last election. After the general election the Queen appoints the head of the government - the Prime Minister. As a rule, the Prime Minister is the leader of the party that has won the election. The Prime Minister appoints ministers to make up the government.
There are two main political parties in Great Britain: the Conservative party and the Labour party. The Conservative party came into being in the 19th century as a result of the evolution of the Tory party. The Labour party was founded in 1900. Since 1906 it has borne the name of the Labour party. The Labour party won the election for the first time in 1945.
Great Britain is a highly-developed industrial country. The main fields of British industry are machine-building, ship-building, metallurgy and electronics.