The Welsh
T
here
is no other part of the British Isles where national traditions are
more cherished than in Wales. The Welsh still proudly wear their
national dress on festive occasions. The Welsh language is still
very much a living force and is taught side by side with English in
schools of Wales. And Welshmen, who have a highly developed artistic
sense, have a distinguished record in the realm of poetry, song and
drama.
Wales really begins with the Anglo-Saxon victories in the 6 th and 7th centuries which isolated the Welsh from the rest of their fellow -Britons. Until the ll th century the Vikings made frequent raids on the coast. Then came the Normans who penetrated into the south of the country and established many strongholds, in spite of strong resistance organized by the Welsh. However, the subjection of the people was completed by Edward I who made his son, afterwards Edward II, the first Prince of Wales.
Welsh is spoken by half a million people, 20 per cent of the population of Wales. Welsh and English are both official languages in Wales. Nearly all Welsh speakers are bilingual, although most would think of English as their second language. The Welsh language is a Celtic branch of the Indo-European languages and has some roots in common with them.
The Welsh call their country Cymru, and themselves they call Cymry, a word which has the same root as «comrade, friend».
Vocabulary
the Welsh [welʃ] - уэльсцы
Cymru ['kimru] - валл. Уэльс
Cymry ['kimri] - валл. уэльсцы, валлийцы
to cherish - лелеять, хранить в памяти
festive occasion - праздник
side by side - плечо к плечу; рука об руку
artistic sense - художественное чувство
to have a record - иметь репутацию
distinguished - известный, выдающийся
to penetrate into - внедряться, вторгаться
to establish - основывать
stronghold - оплот, укрепленный населенный пункт
resistance - сопротивление
bilingual - двуязычный
root - корень, происхождение
Answer the questions.
1.What language do the Welsh speak? What are the roots of the Welsh language?
2. Who do we call “bilingual speakers”?
3. How do the Welsh call their country and themselves? What is the origin of these words?
Some Facts from the History of Ireland
1
155
King Henry II of England was made King of all Ireland by the Pope. There were still native Irish kings of parts of Ireland.
1541
King Henry VIII of England, self-declared head of a new English Protestant church, was recognized as King of Ireland by the English parliament. Later his daughter Elizabeth I broke the power of the Irish kings. She was afraid they would help Catholic Spam in its war against England.
1609
I
n
a further move against Irish Catholics, their land was given to tens
of thousands of Protestants from England and the Scottish Lowlands.
Ulster soon had more Protestants than Catholics.
1689
The Dutch Protestant William the Orange had been invited by the English parliament to become King of England instead of the current king, James II, who was a Catholic. James still claimed to be King of Ireland, but the Protestants in Ulster fought against him.
1690
William the Orange finally defeated James II in Ireland at the Battle of the Boyne. Since then there has been no Catholic king or queen in Britain.
1703
By this time, in Ulster-Protestants owned 95 per cent of the land.
1800
Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland.
1845-1849
The Great Famine. Repeated failure of the Irish potato harvest caused death and suffering. Between 1840 and 1900 the population of Ireland fell from 8. 5 million to 4. 5 million. Two million people emigrated to the United State of America, Canada and Australia.
1916
The Easter Rising. Irish nationalists rebelled during the First World War (1914-1918). The Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein (Gaelic for «Ourselves Alone») developed a military wing, the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
1
922
Partition of Ireland. The Catholic South became the Irish Free State (later the Irish Republic), with its parliament in Dublin. The North continued to be part of the United Kingdom, but with its own local parliament in Belfast.
1969
The British Army was sent to the Northern Ireland after disturbances between Protestants and Catholics.
1985
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed in Belfast, giving the government of the Republic of Ireland a part in the future of Northern Ireland.
Answer the questions.
Who was the first king of all Ireland?
What measures were taken against Irish Catholics?
When was the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland signed?
When was the Irish Republican Army created?
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1. Read the text and complete it with verbs from the box.
T
he
United States of America
1. The United States of America ___ in the central part of the North American Continent between the two oceans: the Atlantic Ocean to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West.
2. The USA ___ of three separate parts. They are the Hawaiian Islands, situated in the central part of the Pacific Ocean, Alaska separated by the Canadian territory and the rest major part of the USA.
3. There ___ many big cities and towns in the USA: New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles are the biggest of them.
4. The USA ___ a parliamentary republic. The government is divided into three branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court).
5. There ___ two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic and the Republican. The US President is both head of state and government. He is elected for a four-year term.
6. The USA ___ as a nation of 13 states. The original 13 colonies were then located in the area today occupied by 16 states and 34 other sates were admitted to the union one by one.
7. Washington, in the District of Columbia, ___the national capital. It was named in honour of George Washington, the first US president. The District of Columbia, which was named for Christopher Columbus, discoverer of America, is not part of any state.
|
is lies are are consists began is |