Topic: The United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Vocabulary: Nationalities.
Grammar: Present Simple Tense. Types of questions.
Text a. The United Kingdom of Great Britain.
The British Isles is the name for a collection of about 4000 islands, including Great Britain and Ireland. The name, the British Isles, is usually only seen on maps.
Great Britain, known as Britain or GB, includes England, Scotland and Wales. It does not include Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. The United Kingdom or UK is a political term which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All of these countries are represented in Parliament in London and the abbreviation UK is used on most official documents produced by Parliament.
Everybody from the UK is British, but be careful: only people from England are English. People from Wales think of themselves as Welsh; people from Scotland as Scottish; people from the Republic of Ireland as Irish and people from Northern Ireland as either British or Irish.
Great Britain is a country with old cultural traditions and customs. The official language of the state is English. The national symbol of the UK is “Union Jack” - the British state flag.
Text b. The geographical position and economy of gb.
The total territory of the country is over 244 thousand square kilometers (the 75th place among other countries in the world). The population of the UK is over 59 mln. Great Britain is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The majority of the British population lives in cities and towns.
The country is washed by the North and Irish Seas, the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. North and West of the country are highlands, South and East - lowlands. The highest mountain of the UK is Ben Nevis in Scotland.
There are many rivers in the country. The longest and most important of them are the Severn, the Thames and the Clyde. The climate is mild due to the mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. The gross national product (GNP) is growing faster than the population.
Manufacturing industries account for one-fifth of the GNP. The country is known as one of the world largest producers and exporters of electronics and machinery, chemicals and textile, various aircraft and navigation equipment. Among the main industrial branches are also coal-mining, automobile, ship-building, metallurgical.
Agriculture accounts for less than 2 percent of the GNP and employs 2 percent of the workforce. Farming is not extremely large, and is dominated by the raising of sheep and cattle. The grown crops include barley, wheat, sugar beets and potatoes.
Great Britain possesses some mineral resources: coal, iron ores, oil, gas and some metals. The mineral industry accounts for approximately 6 percent of the GNP but employs less than 1 percent of the workforce.
The capital of the country is London. Among the largest cities of the UK are Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff.
The country is a major world financial and banking center.