UNIT 1 THE UNITED KINGDOM

Using your background knowledge, answer the following questions:

1. What isles is the United Kingdom located on?

2. How many countries does the UK consist of? What are these countries?

1. Read the following words and remember their pronunciation:

area ['eəriə], canal [kə'næl], manufacture [mænju'fækt∫ə], European [ֽjuərə'pi:ən], Edinburgh ['edinbərə], Hebrides ['hebrədi:z], Irish ['airi∫], Ireland ['aiələnd], minority [mai'nɒrəti], anthem ['ænθəm], choir [kwaiə], throughout [θru'aut], castle [ka:sl], conquer [kɒŋkə], moor [muə], county ['kaunti], myth [miθ]

2. Read the following text and write down Russian equivalents for the words and expressions in bold type. England

1. Historically England proper is divided into the following economic regions: The South Industrial and Agricultural region (the South of England), Central England or the Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Northern England.

2. Nearly half of England's 47 million population lives in the south of England and most of the people live in London and the area around London, since that is where most of the jobs are based.

3. The port of Bristol became rich in the nineteenth century by importing sugar, rum and tobacco and also by exporting slaves. It is still a rich city and is now the centre of the aviation industry. Rolls Royce makes aeroplane engines just outside Bristol.

4. The Roman town of Bath is near Bristol. Bath was settled by the Romans because of its natural hot spring, the only one in Britain. They built a temple to the goddess Minerva in front of the spring. In the eighteenth century, the town became popular with the royal family and the aristocracy. They came to bathe in the hot spring, drink the spa water from the fountain and socialize with their upper-class friends.

5. The south-western tip of Britain, or the West Country, is the only region in Britain with an increasing population of both young and old. It has the country's mildest weather and is the most popular tourist area in the United Kingdom for British people. Holiday resorts in the counties of Devon and Cornwall often have palm trees growing on the sea front. St Ives, a Cornish fishing village, has always attracted painters and in 1993 a new modern art gallery was opened.

6. The Industrial Revolution began in the Midlands. The Midlands and the North of England became the centre of the iron and steel industries. Newcastle became known for its shipbuilding and Birmingham became known for making cars.

7. Now there is no shipbuilding in Newcastle and there is only one major car company in Birmingham. Many towns in the Midlands and the North of England have high unemployment rates.

8. There are now only 16 coal mines in Britain and they are mostly near Nottingham. Britain used to have over 160 pits only ten years ago.

9. Wool has been associated with Yorkshire for centuries. Until the fifteenth century, wool from the North of England was sent to Flanders to be made into cloth. By the sixteenth century, the towns of Leeds and Bradford were themselves becoming important centres for wool and goods made from wool.

10. During the nineteenth century, Manchester became a very important centre for the production of cotton. It was even known as "Cottonopolis". Raw cotton came from the USA to the port of Liverpool, on the north-west coast. The cotton was transported by canal (after 1789) or by train (after 1830) to the nearby city of Manchester, where cotton goods were manufactured. They were then exported to the rest of the world.

11. Many foreign companies have opened factories in Britain. The Japanese car company Nissan opened a car factory near Sunderland in 1986. During 1993, Nissan became Britain's biggest car exporter sending 182,207 vehicles to 36 countries in the world. Toyota and Honda also have their main European factories in Britain. The Korean electronics company Samsung opened a factory in Sunderland in 1995. The foreign companies give jobs to many local people. All major car manufacturers in Britain are owned by foreign companies. Rover is owned by the German company, BMW.

Comprehension check