- •Lecture 1
- •The united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland
- •Geography of great britain
- •The united states of america
- •Geography of the usa
- •Lecture 2
- •From the history of great britain
- •1.1 The celts
- •1.2.The roman conquest of britain
- •1.3. The anglo-saxon invasion (5th – 11th cent.)
- •1.4. The scandinavian invasion. Establishment of the kingdom of england
- •5. The norman conquest of england
- •2. The most important historical events in the united states
- •Lecture 3
- •National symbols of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland
- •National flag of great britain and the united states of america
- •1.2. The royal coat of arms
- •1.3. The british national anthem
- •God, save our gracious Queen!
- •National emblems
- •1.5. The patron saints of england, wales, scotland and ireland
- •National symbols of the united states of america
- •2.1.National flag of the united states of america
- •2.2. The coat of arms of america
- •2.3. The statue of liberty
- •1.4. The bald eagle
- •Lecture 4
- •Religion in today’s britain.
- •Religion in the united states today
- •Major religious holidays in britain and the usa
- •Lecture 5
- •1. Classification of the people of britain into classes
- •2. Social stratification in american society
- •Lecture 6
- •The political system of great britain
- •The political system of the usa
- •Lecture 7
- •The system of education in great britain and america
- •The system of education in great britain and america
- •Lecture 8
- •Traditins in great britain
- •Traditins in the united states of america
- •Lecture 9 Theme: culture in great britain and the usa
- •Culture in great britain
- •Culture in the usa
1.3. The british national anthem
God Save the King was a patriotic song first publicly performed in London in 1745, which came to be referred to as the National Anthem from the beginning of the 19th century. The words and tune are anonymous and may date back to the 17th century.
There is no authorized version of the National Anthem as the words are a matter of tradition. The words used are those sung in 1745, substituting “Queen” for “King” where appropriate. On official occasions, only the first verse is usually sung, as follows:
God, save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God, save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and Glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God, save the Queen!
National emblems
The symbol of England is a rose. The symbol of Northern Ireland is a shamrock and red hand. The symbol of Scotland is a thistle. The symbol of Wales is a daffodil or leek.
1.5. The patron saints of england, wales, scotland and ireland
ST. PATRICK is the patron saint of Ireland. His feast-day is 17 March.
ST. GEORGE is the patron saint of England. His feast-day is 23 April. On this day some patriotic Englishmen wear a rose pinned to their jackets.
ST. ANDREW is the patron saint of Scotland. His feast-day is 30 November. On this day some Scotsmen wear a thistle in the buttonhole.
ST. DAVID is the patron saint of Wales. His feast-day is 1 March. This day is regarded as the national holiday of Wales On this day many Welshmen wear either a daffodil or a leek pinned to their jackets.
National symbols of the united states of america
2.1.National flag of the united states of america
The horizontal red and white stripes on the American flag represent the original thirteen states that formed an independent country in 1776. The stars on the flag — white on a dark blue field — represent the number of states making up the United States nowadays.
National flag represents the past and the present of each country and expresses the hopes and ideas of the people who live in it. As a rule, it is connected with the history and symbolizes the particularly important details by means of colour and symbols. For instance, the Canadian flag consists of three vertical stripes, two red ones to the right and left and of a white stripe which has a maple leaf in the middle.
2.2. The coat of arms of america
The Coat of Arms of the US represents an eagle with wings outspread, holding a bundle of rods – the symbol of administering – in the left claw and an olive twig – the emblem of love – in the right claw. The motto on the coat of arms is the one that has been mentioned before, that is “E Pluribus Unum”.
2.3. The statue of liberty
The Statue of Liberty is made of copper and it is empty inside. 225 tons of metal were used for its construction. Inside there is a circular stairway from the base to the crown. There is also a lift in it. The figure shows a young woman holding a torch in her right hand above her head and in her left hand is a tablet with the date “July 4th, 1776” on it, which symbolizes the Declaration of Independence. The torch lights up at night, the statue stands on the east side of the Manhattan Island. The Great State Building stands in the centre of New York, on Manhattan, and presents beautiful views around the horizon night or day, in wet weather or dry, to visitors from all over the world. It has 102 floors and 448 meters high. The Manhattan was the world’s tallest building until the towers of the World Trade Centre were opened in 1972. The Trade Centre’s triumph was short; a new skyscraper was built two years later. In 1974, the 110-storied Search Tower was completed in Chicago. It reached a height of 1,454 feet.