Great Britain

Great Britain is formed of the following parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and is situated on the British Isles which lie to the west of the continent of Europe. Great Britain is separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. It is washed on the western coast by the Atlantic Ocean and by the Irish Sea, the latter separating England from Ireland.

Great Britain being an island, its climate is rather mild.

There are many rivers in Britain: the Thames, the Mersey, the Aire and others but none of them is very long. Many of the rivers are joined by canals, so that it is quite possible to travel by water from one end of England to the other.

Great Britain is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the average density being over 2000 people per square kilometre, 80 per cent of the population live in towns. The population of Great Britain is about 56 million.

England is one of the most powerful capitalist countries in Europe. There are many big industrial cities here, such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Sheffield and many others. London, its capital, which is situated on the river Thames, is one of the biggest commercial centres of the world.

One of the leading industries of Great Britain is the textile industry. Coal, iron and steel as well as various machines are also produced there. Shipbuilding and motor industry are highly developed too.

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. Officially the head of the state is the queen (or king) but it is the Prime Minister and his cabinet who run the state. The British Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the Party that has the majority in the House of Commons.

My First Day in London

I shall never forget, as long as I live, the day when I first set foot in London. I came from a quiet little town in Switzerland and I had never before lived in a big city, so London was a new world to me and I was dying to find out more about it¹ for myself.

The general opinion abroad is that London has fog or rain, or both every day of the year, but on the day that I arrived it was fine and warm, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was cloudless. The next day was just as beautiful; a slight wind was blowing and you could smell the spring in the air. I went for a walk in Kensington Gardens. I found the way there quite easily. When I got my first sight of the gardens² the beauty of it took my breath away³. The trees were just bursting into leaf, fresh and green⁴, and there were beds of spring flowers, red and yellow and blue. People in light spring clothes were walking about, and to my surprise, they were walking not only along the paths but also across the grass. I passed a pool in which ducks were swimming: children were playing in playgrounds.

It was time for me to go home, but which way was it? I hurriedly turned down one path that I thought would take me back⁵ — and found myself in Hyde Park. I ran to the left and to the right, asked several men for the way to the street where I had stayed, but I found to my horror that I could not understand a single word they said in reply. I wandered on till I came to a big open place where men were standing on a chair, or on a platform, or on the ground. They were speaking or preaching, and people of all kinds were listening or asking questions or making remarks and sometimes laughing at the speaker. Other groups were singing loud. This was the famous Hyde Park meeting. Meanwhile, the sun went behind the cloud, I was terribly tired. At last I got to the park gate and came out into the street, but this was worse than ever⁶. Motorcars, bicycles, buses were running, people were climbing in buses or hurrying along. In despair I crossed the street on to an island⁷ where I found a policeman who explained the way to me.

Notes

1 I was dying to find out more about it	– я помирав від бажання дізнатися про нього ще більше;
2 When I got my first sight of the gardens	– коли я вперше побачив цей парк;
3 took my breath away	– у мене перехопило дихання;
4 bursting into leaf, fresh and green	– розпускалися бруньки та з’являлися молоді зелені листочки;
5 would take me back	– поверне мене;
6 this was worse than ever	– тут було ще жахливіше;
7 an island	– безпечне місце, «острів», посередині вулиці, площі.