Lesson 16 travelling by air

For me there is nothing like travel by air: it is more comfortable, more convenient and, of course, far quicker than any other method. There is none of the dust and dirt of a railway or car journey; none of the trouble of changing from train to steamer, pushing your way through crowds to get from the boat to the Cus­toms (if you travel abroad) and then to another train. A taxi or bus of the Airline Service takes you to the airport.' There on the runway you see a sleek and beautiful jet passenger liner ready to carry you to your place of destination. When the formalities of registering yourself and weighing your baggage are over, you get up the gangway and board the plane. If you are travelling for the first time, you may apply to the stewardess and she will see you to your seat and give you all the information you need as, how to strap your belt, how to adjust your seat and so on. If you feel hungry, you will be provided with an excellent lunch.

But it is not only on account of the convenience, comfort and speed that like air travel. The whole experience is a spiritually thrilling thing for me. I enjoy greatly the feeling of flying. As you leave the earth behind you, you seem to belong to another world, a bigger, wider world than the one you left. What loveliness there is on earth when you see it from above; the rapid changing scenes below are of indescribable beauty.

What can compare in beauty with the view one beholds when flying, for instance, from Kyiv to London? Just as the early tinges of dawn flush the sky you take off from the Kyiv airport leaving behind the huge city in deep slumber; the sun has not risen, but the bird-like machine is flying to greet it. Looking down you gain a magnificent view of a charming landscape — to the right are fields carefully cultivated, to the left — pasture-lands, ahead — a cheerful river winding its way through the lowland. On you fly past villages and cities, hills and valleys, each following the other in quick succession. There in the far distance you perceive the outlines of a mountain range.

You scarcely have time to realize that the mountains ribbed with sharp steep ridges and clothed with vegetation on both sides are the Carpathians when you find them below you and in another minute or two far behind On and on you fly with the ever-changing scenes below till you safely land at the airport in London.

No, you will never make me believe that there is a better way of travelling than by air

Lesson 17 the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland

The United Kingdom is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands. Great Britain and Ireland, and a great number of small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometres.

The British Isles are separated from European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.

Northern Ireland occupies one third of the island of Ireland. It borders on the Irish Republic in the south.

The island of Great Britain consists of three main parts: England (the southern and middle part of the island), Wales (a mountainous peninsula in the west) and Scotland (the northern part of the island).

There are no high mountains in Great Britain. In the north the Cheviots (the Cheviot Hills) separate England from Scotland, the Pennines stretch down North England almost along its middle, the Chambrian mountains occupy the greater part of Wales, and the Highlands of Scotland are the tallest of the British mountains. Ben Nevis, the tallest peak of the Highlands, is only 1,343 metres high

Most of the rivers flow into the North Sea. The Thames is the deepest and longest of the British rivers, it is over 300 kilometres long. Some of the British greatest ports are situated in the estuaries of the Thames, Mersey, Tyne, Clyde and Bristol Avon.

Great Britain is not very much rich in mineral resources, it has some deposits of coal and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea.

The warm currents of the Atlantic ocean influence the climate of Great Britain.

The population of the United Kingdom is over 56 million people. The main nationalities are: English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish. Great Britain is a highly developed in­dustrial country. Ship-building, coal-mining, metallurgical and textile industries are the older fields of industry. The newer ones are aircraft, automobile, chemical industries, electronic engineering. The main industrial centres are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

The capital of Great Britain is London. Oxford and Cam­bridge are called University towns.

Administratively Great Britain is divided into 55 counties.

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy. The Queen is formally the head of the state, but in fact the country is ruled by the Parliament. The parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The prime minister is the head of the government.

Word list:

The United Kingdom - Соединенное Королевство

the British Isles - Британские острова

Great Britain – Великобритания

Ireland - Ирландия

kilometre - километр

to separate - разделять

European - Европейский

channel - канал

English Channel - Ла-Манш

coast - побережье

to be washed by - омываться

the Irish Sea - Ирландское море

to border on - граничить с

to consist of - состоять из

Wales - Уэльс

Scotland- Шотландия

the Cheviots - Чевист-Хилс

the Cambrian mountains - Кембрийские горы

the Thames - Темза

estuary - устье реки

the Mersey - река Мерси

the Tyne - река Тайн

the Clyde - река Клайд

the Bristol Avon - река Бристольский Эйвон

to discover - обнаружить, открыть

current -течение

to influence - влиять

highly-developed - высокоразвитый

ship-building - кораблестроение

coal-mining - угледобыча

metallurgical - металлургический

textile - текстильный

aircraft - авиация

automobile - автомобильный

chemical - химический

electronic engineering - электронная техника

Birmingham - Бирмингем

Glasgow - Глазго

Manchester - Манчестер

Liverpool - Ливерпуль

Edinburgh - Эдинбург

Cardiff – Кардифф

Oxford - Оксфорд

Cambridge - Кембридж

parliamentary monarchy -парламентская монархия

the head of the state - глава государства

to rule - управлять

the House of Commons - палата общин

the House of Lords - палата лордов

the Prime Minister - премьер-министр

government – правительство

THE CLIMATE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA

As we know, the climate of each country depends on the geographical position of the country. Western winds that blow from the Atlantic Ocean influence the climate of Great Britain. The British Isles, which are surrounded by the ocean, have an insular climate; thus the climate is moister and more equable than that of Central Europe. The British Isles are situated in the temperate zone, between the parallels on which Moscow and Kyiv are situated. The climate is mild, and strong frosts are rare. Due to the moderating influences of the sea and of the Gulf Stream, the winter temperature is higher and the summer temperature is lower than in any other country of the same latitude. That is why the British ports are ice-free and its rivers are not frozen throughout the year. There is an abundance of rainfall in the west. As a result, there are thick fogs which last for days and weeks at a time during autumn and winter

The greater portion of the territory of the USA is situated between 30° and 49° N Latitude. Hudson Bay in Canada is a great reservoir of cold because of its connection with the Arctic Sea and closeness to the Labrador Sea current. From these vast masses of cold air flow over the land and lower the temperature, especially in the eastern part of the country. The warm sea current of the Atlantic Ocean — the Gulf Stream — has less influence upon the climate of the USA than upon that of West Europe, due to the fact that the west winds of the temperate belt in Europe blow from the sea to the continent, but in the eastern part of North America they blow from the continent to the sea. Along the western coast the climate is warm, because the land there is protected from the cold winds of the north by the great mountain range (the Rocky Mountains and is open to the influence of the warm winds of the Pacific Ocean). The climate in the southern part of this coast line is hot and dry, the soil is arid, the rainfall is low and irrigation must be provided against drought. In the northern section of the Pacific coast line, along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and of the Gulf of Mexico, there is much rainfall. There are fluctuations in climate on the eastern coast of the USA.

Word List:

to depend on - зависеть от

the wind - ветер

to blow - дуть

the Atlantic Ocean - Атлантический океан

to influence - влиять

British Isles - Британские острова

to be surrounded by - быть окруженным

insular climate - климат, свойственный острову, островной

moist – влажный

Central Europe - Центральная Европа

to be situated in - быть расположенным в, располагаться в

mild [maild] - мягкий

strong frosts are rare - сильные морозы бывают редко

due to - из-за, благодаря

moderate - умеренный

latitude - широта

ice-free - не покрытый льдом

abundance - изобилие

rainfall - осадки в виде дождя

as a result - в результате

thick fog - густой туман

N. latitude - северная широта

bay - бухта, залив

Canada - Канада

reservoir - бассейн, резервуар, запас

connection - связь

the Arctic Sea - Северное море

current - течение

vast masses - огромные массы

to have less influence - иметь меньшее влияние

temperate belt - умеренный пояс

coast - побережье

to be protected from something - быть защищенным от чего-либо

dry - сухой

soil - почва

arid - бесплодный

drought - засуха, засохший

irrigation - орошение, ирригация

fluctuation - неустойчивый, колебание