Great britain

WORD LIST:

highly високо

to develop розвивати

coast узбережжя

total повний (увесь)

to be separated бути розділеним

to surround окружати

rule правило

natural resources природні ресурси

coal вугілля

sheep вівця

chemicals хімікати

Influence вплив

to elect обирати

to belong to належати до

government уряд

saint святий

exception виключення

The Great Britain is a highly developed country, which is situated on the largest island of the British Isles in the North-West coast of the European continent. Britain consists of the following parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The total area makes up 244,100 square kilometers. The population of the country is about 58 million.

The sea is in great importance for the British Isles. The Great Britain is surrounded by seas from all sides and is separated from the continent by the North Sea and the English Channel.

The climate of the British Isles is not very cold in winter and never hot in summer. As a rule there is no ice on the lakes and rivers in winter and snow never lies on the ground for long. The fact is that there is too much rain during a year. There are many rivers and the longest of them are the Thames, the Severn, the Shannon.

The country is rich in natural resources such as coal, natural gas, oil and some others. Scotland is famous by its wool and sheepskin. Concerning the industrial aspects one should say that coal-mining is important industry in South Wales. Steel and chemicals are produced in the North Wales. The main shipbuilding centers are London, Glasgow in Scotland, Belfast in Northern Ireland and others.

London is the capital of the country. With a population of about 9 million it is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest cities in the world.

London is an important commercial and cultural centre. It attracts millions of tourists from overseas each year.

The names of such famous English scientists as Newton, Faradei, Darvin, writers and poets as Shakespeare, Byron, Dickens, Shaw and many others are well-known all over the world.

The Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. But it is well-known that nowadays the monarchy has less power, less political influence in political sphere as it used to have.

British laws are made in Parliament, which consists of two Houses, as they are called the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The members of the House of Lords are not elected by the population as they are in the House of Commons. They are elected for a period of 5 years.

Members of the House of Commons belong to different political parties. The government of the country is formed by the party, which has the greatest number of members elected to the Parliament.

The Conservative party or a party of Business Directors was founded in 1867. The term “conservative” and “tory” are just the same. The conservative party serves the interests of bourgeoisie, big business and trade union congress.

The Labour party consists of workers. But when the party won the elections and formed the government, the Labour party became bourgeoisie. The social system is almost unchanged.

The flag of the U.K. is known as Union Jack, which is made up of 3 crosses, which represent saints if England, Scotland and Ireland. The Welsh flag is called the Welsh dragon. St. Edward Crown is used exceptionally at coronations.

In spite of the difference in social and political systems, the people of Great Britain and of Ukraine have always been looking for mutual understanding. The leaders of both countries make official friendly visits for further development of the economic and cultural relations. We can also see the increase of contacts between fraternal cities of Britain and Ukraine: Kiev – Manchester, Lugansk –Cardiff, Kharkiv – Leeds.

TASK 2: Suggest Ukrainian equivalents:

Highly developed country, as a rule, on the west coast of England, total area, concerning the fact, it attracts people, to have less power and influence, political sphere, to be founded in XIX century, interests of bourgeoisie, trade union congress, to win the elections.

TASK 3: Say whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Britain is a part of Irish islands.

2. British Isles are surrounded by seas from all sides.

3. Coal-mining is important industry in Great Britain.

4. English Channel separates the country from the European continent.

5. The Parliament rules the country.

6. There are many political parties in British Parliament.

7. The National Flag represents the saints of England, Scotland and Ireland.

8. People can elect the members of the House of Lords.

9. The members of House of Commons are elected for long life period.

10. The queen wears the Crown every day.

TASK 4: Choose the correct variant and fill in the gaps:

1. Britain …… of 4 parts.

a) consist c) contain

b) consists d) contains

2. Britain have always ….. many tourists.

a) attracted c) attraction

b) attractive d) attract

3. The Great Britain ….. from the continent by the English Channel.

a) is divided c) is separated

b) is shared d) is parted

4. ….. centres are mainly concentrated in London and Glasgow.

a) coal-mining c) heavy industry

b) chemicals d) shipbuilding

5. The party “Tory” was formed in…. .

a) 1967 c) 1867

b) 1776 d) 1807

6. The members of the parties …. by the English people.

a) to erect c) to elect

b) are chosen d) are elected

7. The prominent English scientists …. into world science.

a) did big improvement c) made huge contribution

b) done successful achievement d) enabled great development

8. Main rivers of Great Britain such as the Thames, the Severn ….. the whole country.

a) stretch c) go along

b) run over d) flow across

9. There … rain in Britain.

a) is much c) are few

b) is many d) are much

10. St. Ed. Crown …. British monarchy and exceptionally used for coronations.

a) introduces c) includes

b) represents d) presents

TASK 5: Translate into English:

1. У порівнянні з давнішіми часами монархія сьогодні вже не має такого впливу на політичні рішення.

2. Велика Британія розташована на північно-західному узбережжі Європейського континенту.

3. Країна багата на природні ресурси, такі як вугілля, газ, мінерали тощо.

4. Консервативна партія Британії відстоює інтереси великого бізнесу.

5. Британский та українські народи завжди намагаються знайти взаєморозуміння і тому встановлюють економічні та культурні зв’язки.

TASK 6: Read and translate with the dictionary additional texts and answer the questions: