Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is the smallest component of the United Kingdom. It occupies the northeast of the island of Ireland, one-sixth of its territory. Northern Ireland the contains six of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster and that is why the name 'Ulster' is sometimes used as equivalent to Northern Ireland. Its capital city is Belfast.

For seven centuries Ireland was a colony of Britain. Due to the colonial policy of Great Britain, the Irish nation was forcefully partitioned. As results of the hard struggle of the Irish people for independence the larger part of Ireland (26 counties) gained the status of a British dominion in 1921. Much later, in 1949 it was officially proclaimed an independent state, the Irish Free State Eire. The indus­trial northeast (Northern Ireland with its 6 counties) was retained by Great Britain as its smallest component. But certain forces of both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are for the reunification of the country, against social deprivation which is at its worst among Catholics. They believe that British withdrawal from Ireland is the only way to achieve peace.

Theге are low hills and peaks of rocks in the northwest, while the northeast sector of the island is a plateau. The Mourne Mountains in the southeast slope down to Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles. The rivers of Ireland are short, but deep. The largest river is the Shannon.

The population of Northern Ireland is about 1.5 million people. 53 per cent of the total population lives in urban areas. The whole economy of Northern Ireland is closely integrated that of Great Britain. It has its roots in three basic industries—agriculture, textiles and shipbuilding .The largest industry is agriculture conducted for the most part on small family farms. It occupies about 72 per cent of the land area.

Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland is the leading industrial centre and a large port. Its chief industries are the production of linen and other textiles, clothing, shipbuild­ing, engineering.

In Ireland the national musical instrument is the harp.

References:

1. Ulster -Ольстер {историческая область на севере о-ва Ирландия; большая ее часть после раскола страны в 1921 году была включена в качестве автономной провинции в состав Соединенного королевства как Северная Ирландия)

2. dominion - доминион (название стран Британской империи, формально суверенных и имевших равные права с Великобританией, фактически находив­шихся в разной степени экономической и политической зависимости; признавали в качестве главы государства британского монарха)

3.Eire -Эйре (другое название Ирландской Республики)

4.Emerald Isle-Изумрудный остров (так называют Ирландию из-за ярко-зеленого растительности особ.травы)

5.the Mourne Mountains -горы Морн

6.Lough Neagh [ lok'nei ] - озеро Лох-Ней в Северной Ирландии

7.the Shannon - р. Шеннон

Answer the following questions

1. Which country does England border on in the north? 2. What is the geographical position of Wales? 3. Which city is the capital of Wales? 4. Which regions are there in Scotland? 5. Which town is the capital of Scotland'? 6. What is the geographical position of Northern Ireland? 7. Which town is the capital of Northern Ireland? 8. What is the population of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland? 9. What is the official language of the UK? Which languages are spoken in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland?

Exercise 1. Find the English equivalents in the texts.

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupies the territory of …………. 2. The British Isles consist of ….. 3. The total area of the UK is……. 4. The south­-eastern tip of Great Britain lies ………. 5. The UK consists of four main areas which are 6. England borders on . …. 7. Great Britain is separated from the continent by ……..8. The capital of England is….. 9. Wales is . . 10. The capital of Wales is …… 11. Scotland lies …… 12. The capital of……… Scotland is 13. Northern Ireland occupies…….. 14. The southern part of Ireland belongs to……… .15. Almost all the area of Northern Ireland is ………….16. The capital of Northern Ireland is…….. 17. The population of the UK is ………. 18. Four of every five people……. 19. The population of England is . 20. The average density…….. 21. The most thickly people part of Great Britain is ...........22. The official language of the UK is ……. 23. The climate of the UK is……….

Exercise 2. Translate the following sentences into English

1. Объединенное Королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии расположено на Британских ост­ровах к северо-западу от Европы. 2. Площадь Великобритании 2446,1 тысяч квадратных километров. 3. Великобритания отделена от Европы проливом Ла-Манш. 4. С востока Великобритания омывается Северным морем. 5. На севере Англия граничит с Шотландией. 6. Франция на юге граничит с Испанией. 7. Нидерланды на востоке граничат с Германией. 8. Уэльс расположен на полуострове иа западе Вели­кобритании. 9. Площадь Уэльса 20, 8 тысяч квадратных километров. 10. Шотландия расположена на севере Великобритании. 11. Площадь Шотландии 78,8 тысяч квадратных километров. 12. Северная Ир­ландия расположена на севере острова Ирландия. 13. На юге острова Ирландия расположено незави­симое государство - республика Ирландия. 14. Население Великобритании - около 61 миллионов чело­век. 15. Население Шотландии - 6 миллионов человек. 16. Население Уэльса - 3 миллиона человек. 17. Население Северной Ирландии -1.5 миллиона человек. 18. Средняя плотность населения Великоб­ритании - 228 человек на квадратный километр. 19. Официальным языком Великобритании является английский язык. 20. Шотландцы, уэльсцы и ирландцы хранят свои национальные традиции.

Exercise 3. Answer the questions below to complete the crossword.

1
														c
										3	2			a
														n
				5										a
			4											d
														a
														8
6						9					7
											10
	11
				12

Down

l. Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia are all regions of…...

3. The Algarve region is a popular tourist destination in which country?

5. Which European country is surrounded by Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary?

8. Which continent now has 22 countries?

9. What is the capital of Egypt?

Across

2 In which country are the remains of the ancient city of Pompeii? 4 Lake Geneva is situated in south-west… .

6. In which Asian country is Mount Fuji situated?

7. Which nationality of people started the Olympic Games?

10. The Black Forest is in which country?

11. What nationality was the painter Pablo Picasso?

12 .Which language do people speak in Brazil?

Lesson 7

The British Parliament and the Electorial System

Political system

Grammar: Perfect Active

Reading