2. Work in pairs. Ask your partner what facts above are already known to him (her) and what are not.

II. Britain in Sights and Pictures

1. Check up yourself.

Match the sights of London with the appropriate pictures.

❒ Tower Bridge ❒ St Paul’s Cathedral

❒ The Houses of Parliament ❒ Buckingham Palace

❒ Westminster Abbey ❒ Big Ben

2. What pictures do you think refer to the UK countries? Give the suitable number to the pictures (A-D).

1. England. 2. Ireland.

3. Wales. 4. Scotland.

III. General Information about the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Flags of the UK Countries

1. Read the information about the UK.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign statelocated off the north-western coast ofcontinental Europe. The termBritain is often used as synonym for the United Kingdom. The term Great Britain, by contrast, refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England (the capital is London), Scotland (the capital is Edinburgh) and Wales (the capital is Cardiff) in combination.

The country includes the island of Great Britain(a term sometimes loosely applied to the whole state), the north-eastern part of the island ofIreland, and many smaller islands.Northern Irelandis the only part of the UK that shares aland borderwith another state: theRepublic of Ireland. (The capital is Belfast). The UK’s form of government is a constitutional monarchywith aparliamentary system, and itscapital cityisLondon.

Flags of the UK

TheUnited KingdomofGreat BritainandNorthern Irelanduses as its national flag the royal banner known as theUnion Jack or Union. It consists of the red crossofSaint George(patron saintofEngland), edged in white, laid on theCross ofSt Patrick(patron saint ofIreland), which are laid on the cross ofSaint Andrew(patron saint ofScotland).Wales, however, is not represented in the Union Flag by Wales’s patron saint,Saint David, as at the time the flag was designed Wales was part of theKingdom of England.

2. Discuss the information in the table with your desk partner. The country The patron The Symbol and Description England St.George The association of the red cross as an emblem ofEnglandcan be traced back to theMiddle Ages, and it was used as a component in the design of theUnion Flagin 1606; however, the English flag has no official status within theUnited Kingdom. Since the 1990s it has been in increasingly wide use, particularly at national sporting events. Scotland St. Andrew TheFlag of Scotland, On a BluefieldaWhite(Argent) saltire. Also known as Saint Andrew’s Cross or the Saltire, is the national flagofScotland. As the national flag, the Saltire, rather than theRoyal Standard of Scotland, is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both their loyalty andScottish nationality. According to legend, the ChristianapostleandmartyrSaint Andrew, thepatron saintof Scotland, wascrucifiedon an X-shaped cross. Wales St. David Theflag of Wales, meaning “The Red Dragon” consists of areddragonpassanton agreenandwhitefield. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardized and many renderings exist. Ireland St. Patrick St. Patrics Saltire is used by the government to represent Northern Ireland alongside the other countries of the United Kingdom. It is represented by two red diagonal crosses on the white field.