Text b national symbols of great britain The National Flag

The flag of Britain, commonly known as the Union Jack, represents the emblems of three countries under one Monarch. The emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of three patron saints: the red cross of St. George, for England, on a white ground; the white diagonal cross of St. Andrew, for Scotland, on a blue ground; the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, for Ireland, on a white ground.

The final version of the Union Flag appeared in 1801, following the union of Great Britain with Ireland, with the inclusion of the cross of St. Patrick for Ireland. The cross remains on the flag although now only Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom.

Wales is not represented in the Union Flag because when the first version of the flag appeared, Wales had already united with England. The national flag of Wales, a red dragon on a field of white and green, dates from the 15th century. It is called the Welsh dragon.

The National emblem (Royal Crest)

The Royal Crest – a lion bearing the Royal crown – is used to denote articles of Queen’s personal property or goods bearing the Royal Warrant. The lion, “the king of beasts” has been used as a symbol of national strength of the British monarchy for many centuries.

The British National Anthem

The British National anthem was first performed in 1745. There is no authorized version – the words used are a matter of tradition. On official occasions it is usual to sing the first verse only, the words of which are as follows: “God save our gracious Queen! Long live our noble Queen! God save the Queen! Send her victorious, happy and glorious; long to reign over us! God save the Queen!”

Exercise 8 Complete the following sentences using the facts from text B. Translate them.

1 There are crosses and colours on the National Flag of the U.K.

2 The National Flag of Great Britain is also known as .

3 There are symbols of countries on the National Flag of the U.K.

4 The National Anthem of Great Britain is more than years old.

5 There is a on the Royal Crest of Great Britain.

Exercise 9 Answer the questions.

1 What is the design of the national flag of the UK?

2 What is an informal name of the national flag of Britain?

3 How is the Welsh flag called?

4 Why is Wales not represented in the Union Jack?

5 Why is lion used on the national emblem of Great Britain?

6 What is the origin of the national anthem of Great Britain?

Reading comprehension

Exercise 1 Read and translate the text. Find out: a) information about different types of constitutions; b) parts of the British constitution; c) the differences between the constitutions of the USA and Great Britain.

Text c constitution – standard of legitimacy*

Every state has a constitution, since every state functions on the basis of certain rules and principles. The United States has a written constitution but that the constitution of Great Britain is unwritten. In the United States there is a formal document called the Constitution, but there is no such document in Great Britain.

However many parts of the British constitution exist in written form, but important aspects of the American are wholly unwritten. The British constitution includes the Magna Carta*, the Petition of Right Act*, the Habeas Corpus Act*, the Bill of Rights*, the Act of Settlement*, the Parliament Act of 1911, the successive Representation of the People acts (which extended the suffrage), the statutes* dealing with the structure of the courts, the various local, government acts, and many others. These are not ordinary statutes. Even though they were adopted* in the ordinary legislative way, they are not codified within the structure of a single orderly document.

But some codified constitutions are much too detailed. An overlong constitution invites disputes and litigation. It is rarely read or understood by the ordinary citizen in cases in which flexibility* is often preferable. Since a very long constitution says too many things on too many subjects, it must be amended* often, and this makes it still longer. The 1949 constitution of India, with 395 articles, is the wordiest of all national constitutions. In contrast, the US Constitution is one of the shortest, containing about 4,300 words, not counting the amendments. Some of the world’s new constitutions, such as those of Japan and Indonesia, are also very short.

legitimacy – законність

Magna Carta – Велика хартія вільностей (1215)

The Petition of Right Act – Закон про права громадян, звертатися до суду

The Habeas Corpus Act – Закон про процесуальні права громадян, правилах арешту та притягнення до суду (1679)

the Bill of Rights – Білль про права (1689)

the Act of Settlement – Закон про престолонасдідування (1701)

statute – статут, закон

to adopt – приймати

flexibility – гнучкість

to amend – вносити поправки

Exercise 2 Are the statements true or false according to the text. Correct the false ones. Translate them.

1 The British constitution is described as rigid* because it cannot be amended by Parliament in the ordinary legislative way.

2 The United States Constitution is one of the longest constitutions.

3 Every state functions on the basis of certain rules and principles.

4 In the United States there is no formal document called the Constitution.

5 No part of the British constitution exists in written form.

rigid – фіксований, не гнучкий

Exercise 3 Complete the following sentences based on the information from text C.

1 Every state has а ...

2 The British Constitution includes …

3 The British constitution is described …

4 However many parts of ...

5 An overlong constitution ...

Exercise 4 Give the main ideas of the text. Make a plan of it in the form of questions and answers. Write down the summary of the text according to your plan.

Exercise 5 Read text 3 from “additional reading materials to unit 1” for more information on this topic.

Exercise 6 Supply the missing members of these word families. Define their parts of speech: n (noun), v (verb), adj (adjective), adv (adverb). Check your answers with the dictionary. The first word is done for you:

Model: 1) economy (n) – economic (adj), economics (n), economy (n), economist (n), economically (adv), to economize (v);

2) to govern, 3) to elect, 4) to employ, 5) to educate, 6) to qualify, 7) to corrupt, 8) democrat, 9) nature, 10) to support, 11) to contribute, 12) power, 13) industry, 14) law, 15) to solve, 16) politics.

Exercise 7 Read the information and translate it into Ukrainian, taking into consideration the meaning of the modal verbs: