Topic 3 great britain

Great Britain is the largest island in Europe, it consists of England, Scotland and Wales. Together with Northern Ireland it forms the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which is the official title of the country. Great Britain covers the total area of about 90,000 square miles.

From the European continent the British Isles are separated by the English Channel and the North Sea. The UK is washed in the east by the North Sea, and in the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.There are many rivers and lakes in the British Isles. The largest river of Great Britain, the Severn, is 390 km long. Among other important rivers are the Trent, Tyne, Clyde, Thames and others. The largest lakes in Great Britain are Loch Lomond (70 sq. km) and Lock Ness (56 sq. km). The mountains are mainly situated in Scotland and Wales. The highest mountain, is Ben Nevis (1,343) in Scotland. The population of the country is about 60 million. Britain’s population is urban, with 89.4 percent living in urban densely populated urban areas.

Due to the warm waters of the Gulf Stream the climate of Britain is mild throughout the year. In general, temperatures are ordinarily around 15°C in summer and around 5°C in winter. The capital of the United Kingdom, London, is one of the largest cities in the world with the population of about 7 million. It is the industrial and political centre of the country. In terms of population other important cities in Great Britain include Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, the latter four of which are situated in the north of England.

Britain has the richest energy resources in the European Union (EU), mostly in the form of oil and natural gas discovered in the North Sea. Today Britain is the world’s 8th largest producer of crude oil and natural gas liquids. Refined oil products are one of Britain’s major exports today, most of which are sold to European nations. Other energy sources include coal and nuclear power.

Today Britain is a major producer of industrial goods and provider of services as well as a centre of world trade and finance. In Britain highly developed are such industries as shipbuilding, coal, iron and steel, aircraft, textile, engineering, food processing, etc. It produces machine-tools, electric power equipment, motor vehicles, paper and paper products, clothes and other consumer goods. British industrial production also expanded into communication equipment including fiber optics, computers, computer-controlled machine-tools and robots. Britain remains an important manufacturing country although it imports large quantities of manufactured goods from overseas, particularly vehicles and electronic equipment.

The United Kingdom (UK) is a constitutional monarchy which means that the head of the state is a monarch with limited powers. The present monarch is Queen Elizabeth II. The work of the monarch largely consists of signing papers and performing ceremonial functions.

The political structure of the country comprises two Houses of Parliament: the House of Lords and the House of commons. The House of Lords today is more a place of discussion and debate than of power. The House of Commons is the source of real political power in the U.K. The general election is held every 5 years and the leader of the party who gains the most votes becomes Prime Minister.