IV. Основные экономические регионы страны. Часть 3.

Прочтите текст D и составьте таблицу из двух граф, в первой приведите географическое название, во второй – отрасли и производимую продукцию. Информация для таблицы выделена курсивом.

Text d. Lancashire, yorkshire and the north

These regions are situated to the north of the Midlands. Lancashire is a historic centre of British industry, it is the birthplace of capitalism and it was here that the Industrial Revolution started. We may distinguish two major centres: Merseyside centred on Liverpool and Greater Manchester. Liverpool grew from a small fishing village to become Britain's leading port in the 19th century. Today the city and its industry are in a difficult position. The chemical industry developed here based on the salt deposits nearby, and later the motorcar industry. At Birkenhead located nearby shipbuilding and ship repairing developed.

Greater Manchester, like Merseyside includes a number of towns. In the past Manchester was a major centre of the textile industry. The Industrial Revolution started here. The building of canals contributed to the development of the city, and especially the Manchester Ship Canal built in 1894 which made the city a seaport though it is 50 km from the sea. Today general engineering is the leading industry in Manchester and the surrounding towns. Of the towns situated on the shore of the Irish Sea most important is Blackpool, which is a popular resort in northern England. Due to extensive industrial development agriculture is less developed.

In Yorkshire situated to the east of the Pennine mountains we may distinguish three main industrial centres: Sheffield, located in the south; Leeds, Bradford and Scunthorpe in the west, and the Humber ports of Hull, Immingham and Grimsby. Sheffield produces a wide range of steel goods besides cutlery. The main industry of Leeds is the manufacture of clothing, though engineering is also important. Bradford has long been the leading centre of worsted and woollen manufacture. In the north of Yorkshire the largest town is York. It is a very old town famous for its minster (cathedral) and ancient city walls, which attract lots of tourists. On the North Sea coast the most popular holiday resort is Scarborough. On the basis of local ore the iron and steel industry developed in Scunthorpe. The city has large integrated steelworks where all the stages in steel manufacture take place. Scunthorpe today has become one of the leading steel-making centres in the country.

The estuary of the Humber is one of the most spacious in Britain, and it is well located for trade with Europe. Thus a number of seaports have grown up there, and two of them, Immingham and Grimsby have become very important. Grimsby developed mainly as a fishing port as well as Hull, though today this industry has difficulties because less fish are being caught. The economy of Yorkshire was always closely connected with wool. This is reflected in the development of agriculture, 'there is much sheep grazing on the rough pastures of the area.

In North England we may distinguish two main centres of industrial activity: one situated in the north-east around the estuaries of the rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland and Teesside; and the other in the north-west in Cumberland (Workington, Whitehaven, Barrow-in-Furness). Most important is the North-East. In the past it was an area of coalmining, steel-making and shipbuilding, but today these industries are in decline. New industries have been attracted to this area. They included electrical engineering and engineering connected with construction work for the production of North Sea oil.

At Teesside the chemical industry has made serious progress. Industrial development in the North-West is less extensive than in the North-East. Besides the iron and steel industry based on the local deposits of coal and iron ore shipbuilding also developed at Barrow-in-Furness. Abundance of water, due to the heavy rainfall, is one of the chief natural resources of the region. This was an important factor in building a nuclear power station, which needs plenty of water for cooling. At CalderHall the first nuclear power station was built in Britain in 1956. Agriculture is affected by the wet climate and relief. The village of Seathwaite is said to be the wettest place in England. Sheep grazing is the main occupation of the farmers. In the North-East the farmers raise more beef cattle than dairy cattle.