7. Discuss with your partner the questions.

1. Are there a lot of immigrants in Britain?

2. What countries do they come from?

3. What are the reasons for settling in Britain?

4. What do you know about the racial tension in Britain?

8. Now read the text below about people living in Great Britain and decide if your answers are true or false.

People have been coming to settle in Britain for centuries from many parts of the world. Some came to avoid political or religious persecution, others to find a better way of life or an escape from poverty.

The Irish have long made homes in Britain. Many Jewish refugees started a new life in the country towards the end of the nineteenth century and in the 1930s and after 1945 large numbers of other European refugees settled in Britain. The large communities from the West Indies and South Asian subcontinent date principally from the 1950s and 1960s. There are also groups from the United States and Canada, as well as Australians, Chinese and various European communities such as Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Italians and Spaniards.

The non-white population of Great Britain is about 4 million (some 5.5 per cent of the total population), about half of whom were born in Britain.

9. Read the text again and make a list of nationalities settling Britain and what countries they come from during the centuries.

NATIONALITY	COUNTRY
Irish	Ireland

10. Rearrange the words to create a short conversation between Kristina and Alexander.

K: of – I – country – of – the – usually – as – immigrants – a – think – US – of. Would – immigrants – of – Britain – lot – a –has – say –you?

A: Well, lot – a – quite – but – the – US – as –many – so – not.

K: Europeans – they –mostly – Are?

A: Oh, no. Britain – in – be – world – to – over – people – all – practically – from – see – the – surprised – would – You.

K: Would – Commonwealth – British – the – mostly – of – countries – the – from – say – you?

A: Well, are – immigrants – the – of – many.

K: Is – Britain – in – a – such – as – tension – racial – thing – there?

A: Certainly, cities – with – the – inner – which – deprivation – greatest – of – areas – the– in – concentrates – in – non-white – especially – population.

11. Helen is going to make a report about the UK. Complete her speech with words from the box. If you don’t know some facts consult the Internet or other sources containing the geographical information.

England	Irish Sea	Scotland	France	Wales
Irish Republic	situated	Spain	London	Atlantic
Edinburgh	Northern Ireland	Cardiff	Europe	Belfast
Strait of Dover	islands	North Sea	England	English Channel
Wales	European	Scotland	Northern Ireland	consists

The UK ¹ …… of four main countries which are: ²……, ³……, ⁴…… and ⁵…… . Their capitals are ⁶……, ⁷……, ⁸…… and ⁹…… .

The UK is an island state: it is composed of some 5,500 ¹⁰…… , large and small. Two main islands are Great Britain (in which are ¹¹…… , ¹²…… and ¹³……) to the east and Ireland (in which are ¹⁴…… and the independent ¹⁵……) to the west. They are separated by the ¹⁶…… .

The UK is one of the world’s smaller countries (it is twice smaller than ¹⁷…… or ¹⁸……). The UK is ¹⁹ …… off northwest coast of ²⁰…… between the ²¹ …… Ocean on the north and northwest and the ²²…… on the east and is separated from the ²³ ……continent by the ²⁴ …… (or La Manche) and the ²⁵…… (or Pas de Calais).