Reading Part l Geographical Outline of Great Britain

Great Britain, which comprises England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Irel­ and, is situated on the British Isles. The western coast of the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, the eastern coast is washed by the North Sea.

Britain is separated from the continent of Europe by the English Channel. The official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

In the main the country has a sloping suiface, but in the Scotland and in the West of England there are mountains and hills of which Ben Nevis is the highest.

There are many rivers in the country. The Thames, on which London, the capi­ tal of Britain is situated, flows into the North Sea and is very deep.

The climate in Britain is mild and damp. The country is rather rich in natural resources.

England, once "the workshop of the world", was the first to become a highly developed industrial country. The following branches are developed in Britain's economy: shipbuilding, woolen and cotton textile industry, engineering and metal manufacturing, coal-mining and light industry.

Great Britain lives by manufacture and trade. Its agriculture provides only half of thefood it needs, the other half of itsfood has to be imported.

Britain is one of the most industrialized countries in the world: for every per­ son employed in agriculture, eleven are employed in mining, manufacturing and building. The industrial centres of Great Britain are London, Liverpool, Sheffield and others.

In the heart of England about 112 miles northwest of London is Birmingham.

Birmingham is a city with thepopulation over a million.

It is the centre of iron industry. The district around Birmingham is known as the Black Country. It is the land of factories and mines. Steam engines, motorcars, railway carriages, bicycles and agricultural implements are manufactured in thefac­ tories of the Black Country.

Manchester is the centre of the cotton industry. With its large suburb Salford Manchester has a population of nearly one million. Manchester is rich in libraries and schools. The University of Manchesterfounded in 1880 isfamous for its studies.

Notes

1. manufacture (manufacturing) - rrpoH3BOCTBO

2. mining - ropHasr rrpoMDIIIIJieHocTb (cp. m ne - maxTa,py)J;HHK)

3. building - CTpOHTeJibCTBO

4. iron industry - MeTarrrrypmqecKasr rrpoMDIIIIJieHHOCTh

5. cotton industry - TeKCTHJibHasI IIpOMhllliJieHHOCTh

6. agricultural implements - c\x opyIDI

7. suburb - rrp11ropo

8. Salford - Ha3BaHHe rrp11ropoa

England

Of the 4 parts which make up Great Britain, England is the largest, the indus­ trial and most densely populated part of the UK Thegreatest concentrations of popula­ tion are in London, Birmingham and north-west industrial cities. It is interesting to note that the sea has been important in the history of England. It was a good protection against the attacks of outside peoples. Fishing has always been an important industry, especially in the east. The wood industry is centred in Leeds and Bradford, the cotton industry in Manchester, iron ore goes to the steel, heavy machinery and shipbuilding industries of Newcastle and other cities. The industries of the Midlands, with Bir­ mingham as its chief city, produce metal goods, from motor cars and railway en­ gines to pins and buttons. The Midland plain makes good farmland. The Lake Dis­ trict in Northern Er.gland with its lakes, mountains and valleys is afavourite holiday area.

In Southern England arefound some of the oldest British settlements and trac­ es of ancient monuments such as Stone-henge.