Wales – the Land of Song

Wales is a land of mountains and valleys. The highest mountain is Mount Snowdon in the Snowdonia National Park. Wales is almost entirely mountainous.

Wales has some wonderful holiday towns. And the beaches are beautiful.

There are castles everywhere in Wales. Most were built by the English to keep the Welsh under control.

The English and Welsh have been very bad neighbours for centuries. The English invaded Wales many, many times. And the Welsh invaded England.

The most populated part of Wales is the south around Cardiff. Cardiff is the capital, principal seaport and shipbuilding centre. In this part of Wales coal has been mined for two hundred years. Coal is the most valuable mineral resource of Wales.

The Welsh take great pride in their choirs and songs. Choral singing is a popular and characteristic part of Welsh musical life. Welsh people speak the Welsh and English languages.

WRITING TASK

Write about National Parks in our country. Have you ever visited any National Park?

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Scotland

Scotland is the modern, dynamic country and also the home of whisky, golf and bagpipes, the part of Scottish tradition.

Scotland is known for its beautiful scenery: mountains, valleys and lochs (lakes). To the north and west lie remote and unspoilt islands. The landscape of Scotland can be divided into three regions: the Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands. More than one-half of the surface of Scotland is occupied by the Highlands.

Scotland is characterized by a lot of streams and lakes. Most lakes are long and narrow. Scotland has significant reserves of coal.

Scotland's capital and busy city is Edinburgh, with its castle, old houses and narrow streets. Glasgow is a huge city and the industrial heart of Scotland. Shipbuilding was once a great industry. But now it has been replaced by new, high technology industries, and by commerce and tourism.

WRITING TASK

Write about some parts of Russian tradition. Would you like to visit the famous Loch Ness and the Loch Ness Monster? Do you think it’s the part of Scottish tradition?

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Australia

Australia geographically is the sixth-largest country in the world and the only one to occupy the entire continent. Its neighbouring countries include New Zealand to the southeast and Indonesia to the north.

The Commonwealth (содружество) of Australia is a Constitutional monarchy. The Queen of Australia is considered to be the Head of State. But under the Australian constitution the role of the Queen is almost entirely ceremonial. The highest executive power belongs to the Cabinet, whose members are chosen by the governing party or by the Prime Minister.

Australia is divided into six states. Most of the Australian population descends from the 19th and 20th century immigrants mostly from Great Britain and Ireland, but from other countries in later years.

English is the main official and spoken language in Australia. A considerable number of first and second-generation immigrants are bilingual.

Much of Australia's culture comes from Europe and more recently America, but distinctive Australian features have come from the environment, aborigine culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbours.

WRITING TASK

Write about the roots of Australian culture. Why are there so many bilinguals in Australia?

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Malta

Today, Malta is a popular holiday island in the Mediterranean Sea, but it was not always an island: thousands of years ago, there was a large desert between Europe and Africa, but at that time there were no people there.

Between 7000 and 5000 BC, people travelled across the sea to Malta. They built the famous temples on the island. People used the island's natural harbours for their ships, and they also traded with other countries around the Mediterranean from these harbours. During the Roman Empire, Rome also controlled the island for seven centuries.

The Arabs lived there for two centuries and gave the modern Maltese language many words. The Spanish, the French and the British all came and left the island, and, finally, in 1964, Malta became independent and can make its own laws and protect its own people.

WRITING TASK

Write about any holiday island and its people. Would you like to live on a holiday island?

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