7. Culture of Britain

The culture of the United Kingdom is rich and various. It considerably influences on culture on a global scale.

Great Britain possesses strong cultural ties with the former colonies, especially with those where English is state language.

Influence of English literature on the Russian acts with big force in the XVIII century and reaches the apogee during a romanticism era when Byron, Walter Scott and other English writers of that time caused the compositions literary movement in all Europe, directed against the French pseudo-classicism. Ideas of English literature were reflected in Russia mainly in two directions: in journalism and at theater.

Great Britain made solving impact on development of the musical industry of the second half of the 20th and the beginnings of the 21st, first of all at the expense of a large quantity become famous for the whole world English fate of groups: from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple to The Prodigy.

the reputation of British kitchen is not too distinguished, but British pay attention to quality of components, which are usually made by local production. Sauces and seasonings(приправы) of traditional British cookery also are rather simple and they are used to emphasize natural taste of food, instead of to change it.

The English cinema always stood a little independently from other European. In Great Britain by the time of distribution of a cinema there was a world famous actor's school and considerable cultural traditions. World famous British actors are Blum Orlando, Stetkhem Jason.

8. USA: Geography, Political Situation

The United States of America is another important English-speaking country. It consists of fifty different states and the District of Columbia joined together under one government.

The USA covers an area of almost 9400000 square kilometres and is twice as large as all the countries of Europe combined. It is placed in the middle of the North American continent and is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Pacific Ocean in the west. Placed between two oceans, the USA has a free access to the trade routes of the world.

The USA is divided into three areas: Eastern area — a highland. Central area — a plain, and the Western area which is mountainous. The north-western part of the USA includes five lakes. The whole central plain constitutes the basin of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi is one of the longest rivers in the world.

On the whole the USA has a continental climate. It is at the same time one of the coldest and one of the hottest countries, one of the wettest and one on the driest.

The flag of the United States is called “Stars and Stripes”. The 50 stars represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent 13 original English colonies, which in 1776 became free and independent of England.

The USA is governed by Congress and by the President. Congress consists of the Senate (100 senators — 2 from each state) and the House of Representatives (435 Congressmen). The President, who is also the head of the government and the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces, is elected every four years.

The capital of the United States is Washington. It is situated on the Potomac River not far from the Atlantic coast. Washington is not a very large city. Such cities as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Orleans and some others are more larger.

The USA is one of the most developed country in the world. It is a country of great contrasts. There are a lot of unsolved problems in the country such as unemployment and inflation, but nevertheless it is one of the greatest countries in the world.

9. Great Britain is situated on the British Isles. It consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and is one thirtieth the size of Europe. Great Britain is surrounded by seas on all sides and is separated from the continent by the North Sea and the English Channel.

There are many rivers in Britain. They are not long but some of them are deep. The longest river is the Severn. There are many mountains in the north of England and in Scotland but they are not very high. The highest mountain in Great Britain is Ben Nevis. There are many lakes in Scotland. The most beautiful is Loch Lomond.

Great Britain has a very good position as it lies on the crossways of the sea routes from Europe to the other parts of the world. There are many countries which are connected with Great Britain by sea. Thanks to Gulf Stream the climate of Great Britain is mild. It is often foggy and rainy. The summer is not very hot and the winter is not very cold.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It lives by manufacture and trade. Its agriculture provides only half the food it needs, the other half of its food has to be imported. Britain is one of the most highly industrialised countries in the world: for every person employed in agriculture, eleven are employed in mining, manufacturing and building. The main branches of British economy are engineering, mining, ship-building, motor vehicle manufacturing, textile, chemistry, electronics, fishing and food processing. The industrial centres of Great Britain are London, Manchester, Eirmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and others.

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. It consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England, Wales and Scotland occupy the territory of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is situated in the northern part of Ireland. The territory of the United Kingdom is about 244 square kilometres. His the 75th place among other countries in the world. The population is over 55 million. About 80% of the population is urban. The capital of the country is London.

2. Geographical position and physical features:

The surface of Great Britain varies greatly. The northern and western part of the country is mountains and is called the Highlands. All the rest (south, east and centre) is a vast plain which is called the Lowlands. The mountains are not very high. The rivers are not long. The most important of them are the Severn and the Thames. There are many beautiful lakes in the mountainous parts of the country.

3. Climate

The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream influence the climate of Great Britain.

The weather in GB is very changeable. A fine morning can change into a wet afternoon and evening and the wrong side out. The English people say: "Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather." The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when it rains all day long.

The best time of the year in GB is spring(of course, it rains in spring too). The two worst months in Britain are January and February. They are cold, damp and unpleasant. Summer months are rather cold and there can be a lot of rainy days. So most people who look forward to summer holidays, plan to go abroad for the summer.

4. National economy

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of iron and steel products, machinery and electronics, chemicals and textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding.

Great Britain is a country with old cultural traditions and customs. The most famous educational centres are Oxford and Cambridge universities. They are considered to be the intellectual centres of Europe. The education is not free, it is very expensive.

5. Politic system

The United Kingdom is a monarchy and the Queen is the head of state. But in practice it is ruled by the elected government with a Prime Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the London, the Conservative and the Liberal parties, The Conservative party is the ruling party nowadays.

10. New York is the largest city in USA. It is an economic, financial, scientific and cultural center. Dutch settlers founded the city in 17 century. The heart of the New York is Manhattan. It was hear that the Dutch built the first building of the town. The name Wall Street remained from our days. The business center of New York is near Wall Street. Another famous street is Broadway. It is the longest and the widest street in New York. It is the street there most famous theaters are situated. New York is the city of famous skyscrapers. The highest buildings are Impure State Building and the united national building.

New York is one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is over 11 million people. New York is an industrial and cultural centre of the country. Most business is centred in Manhattan Island. The whole area is very small, that's why the sky-scrapers were invented in New York and, especially, in Wall Street. Wall Street is a narrow street with big houses, but it is well known all over the world as the busiest street in the USA. People do business there. There are two more world-famous streets — Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Broadway is the centre of the theatres and night life. It is known as “The Great White Way” because of the electric signs which turn night into day.

It is the city that never goes to sleep. Buses and sub-way run all night. There are many drugstores and restaurants which never close their doors. There are cinemas with films that start at midnight. Fifth Avenue is the great shopping, hotel, and club avenue.

New York is the largest port in America. More than half the trade of the United States goes through this city.

There are many places of interest in New York. They are: the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations Building, Empire State Building, Columbia University, City Hall, New York Public Library and others. When you come to New York you see lots of cars, big and small, black and yellow, old and modem; you do not see any trees or flowers in the streets, but only cars. You'll see and hear advertisements everywhere. There is no getting away from them. Advertisements fill the newspapers and cover the walls, they are on menu-cards and match-boxes, they are shouted through loud speakers and shown in the cinemas.

Manhattan is an island just 13 miles long and 2 miles wide . It is the centre of American finance, advertising , art theatre, publishing , fashion - and much more. The borough of Manhatten is what most people think of New York, one of the most exciting cities in the world.

Manhattan is divided into the East Side and the West Side. The dividing line is Fifth Avenue. So, for example , East 47th Street begins at Fifth Avenue, as does West 47th Street.

Manhattan is also divided , wuth less exactnes, into Lower (Downtown), Midtown and Upper (Up-town) Manhattan. As you go North, or uptown, the street numbers get higher. Lower Manhatta refers to street numbers below 14th Street and Central Park, and Upper Manhattan to the renaming, northern, part of the island.

11. London

When we think of Paris, Rome. Madrid, Lisbon and other European capitals, we think of them as "cities'. When we think of the whole of modern London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, that great area covering several hundred square kilometres, we do not think of it as 'a city. not even as a city and its suburbs. Modem London is not one city that has steadily become larger through the centuries; it is a number of cities. towns, and villages that have, during the past centuries, grown together to make one vast urban area.

London is situated upon both banks of the River Thames, it is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Its population is about 7 million people.

London dominates the life of Britain. It is the chief port of the country and the most important commercial, manufacturing and cultural centre. There is little heavy industry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry in Greater London.

London consists of three parts: the City of London, the West End and the East End.

The City extends over an area of about 2.6 square kilometres in the heart of London. About half a million people work in the City but only less than 6000 live here. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices and Stock Exchange. But the City is also a market for goods of almost every kind, from all parts of the world.

The West End can be called the centre of Tendon. Here are the historical palaces as well as the famous parks. Hyde Park with its Speaker's Corner is also here. Among other parks are Kensington Gardens, St.James's Park. In the West End is Buckingham Palace. Which is the Queen's residence, and the Palace of Westminster which is the seat of Parliament.

The best-known streets here are Whitehall with important Government offices. Downing Street, the London residence of Prime Minister and the place where the Cabinet meets. Fleet Street where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street where the highest paid doctors live, and some others.

Trafalgar Square is named so in commemoration of Nelson's great victory. In the middle stands the famous Nelson Column with the statue of Nelson 170 feet high so as to allow him a view of the sea. The column stands in the geographical centre of the city. It is one of the best open air platforms for public meetings and demonstrations.

One of the "musts" for the sightseer are the Houses of Parliament, facing the Thames, on one side, and Parliament Square and Westminster Abbey, on the other. The House of Commons sits to the side of the Clock Tower (Big Ben), the House of Lords - to the Victoria Tower side.

Westminster Abbey is the crowning and burial place of British monarchs. It has its world famed Poet's Corner with memorials to Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, the Bronte's sisters. Tennyson. Longfellow, Wordsworth, Burns, Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy, Kipling and other leading writers. Only a few however, are actually buried there.

Here too is that touching symbol of a nation's grief. The Grave of the Unknown Warrior.

The name "West End" came to be associated with wealth, luxury, and goods of high quality. It is the area of the largest department stores, cinemas and hotels. There are about 40 theatres, several concert halls, many museums including the British Museum, and the best art galleries.

It is in the West End where the University of London is centred with Bloomsbury as London's student quarter.

The Port of London is to the east of the City. Here. today are kilometres and kilometres of docks, and the great industrial areas that depend upon shipping. This is the East End of London, unattractive in appearance, but very important to the country's commerce.

In recent times London has grown so large. that the Government has decided that it must spread no farther. It is now surrounded by a "green belt" - a belt of agricultural and wooded land on which new buildings may be put up only with the permission of the planning authorities.

12. Protection of environment is a major issue nowadays. Global warming, ozone layer problem, air and water pollution, industrial wastes are in the centre of different state and public actions. Acid rains that kill enormous amounts of fish in the world are also in the centre of attention. They are caused by smoke from factories and power stations and exhaust fumes from transport. It is produced when coal and oil are burnt. The government should provide smoke control programmes. New power plants will have to meet very tight limits on emission of chemical gases. Over the last years local authorities of many countries are carrying on tests of drinking water. Nuclear waste from nuclear plants is discharged into Seas. There also have been numerous leaks of radioactive matter to the atmosphere. Water pollution from shipping and oil platforms, mostly in the North Atlantic, is great.

Water pollution programmes are being worked out in Great Britain nowadays. Ten National parks have been established in England and Wales, four — in Scotland. Their aims are to conserve the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage. Each park is administered by an independent National Park Authority. Trees Preservation Orders enable local authorities to protect trees and woodlands. Once a tree is protected it is, in general, an offence to cut it down without permission. Responsibility for pollution control is divided between local authorities and central government. Local authorities are responsible for collection and disposal of wastes, keeping the streets clear of litter, control of air pollution. It is a criminal offence to leave litter in any public place in the open air except in designated places. The fines for it vary from 25 up to 2500 pounds.

The system of ecological training and education existing in Russia has to be improved on the basis of a deep philosophical and psychological-pedagogical comprehension of the problem with regard for the social-cultural functions of ecology in the society. Also taken into consideration must be the traditions, and historical experience of people in this sphere as well as the peculiarities of the ecological and economic situation in the country. It is coexistence which should serve as a key principle in cooperation between human society and nature, and not excessive consumption and violence.

There is no single system of ecological training and education, which could form a basis for such training and education. Ecology is not taught at secondary educational institutions as an independent discipline but as a component of courses of natural sciences and geography. Obligatory-selective courses of ecology or analogous courses are offered at specialized educational institutions. A series of education programmes “Ecological Education of Scholars” have been published for these institutions.