Scotland

Scotland is a land of mountains, lochs and legends.

Geographically Scotland consists of three main parts: Lowlands in the South, Highlands in the North and Uplands in the West.

Most of the large Scottish cities and towns are in the Lowlands. This is an industrial region of Scotland.

The Highlands is a region of mountains, rivers, small towns and villages. The Highlands is a country of great sea-lochs. On the sides of some lochs there are farms which can only be reached by boats. Loch Lomond and Loch Ness are the famous Scottish lakes. Loch Lomond is the largest one, and Loch Ness is the mysterious one. The legend about the Loch Ness monster is known all over the world.

Scotland has a vast territory of about 79000 sq. km, but the population of Scotland is only 5mln people. The majority of people live in the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee.

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. It is a mysterious city of black and brown stone, the city full of supernatural legends. It has a lot of historic buildings and churches.

The Scots have the national colourful costume. The part of this national dress is a kilt. A kilt is a type of chequered skirt. A typical Scotsman should play the bagpipe, which is the national Scottish musical instrument.

A lot of Scottish family names start with "Mc" (and "Mac"), like McDonald. MacMillan, or McHale. "Jook" is a popular Scottish name for John or Jack.

The Scots speak English, but with their own accent. For example, when a Scot says the word "arm", be says [arm], so that you can hear the sound "r".

The Highlanders are fond of Highland Games. It is a traditional Scottish meeting with sport competitions, dancing and bagpipe playing. When the games begin, the Highlanders march several kilometers round the villagers before they reach the place of the Games. The pipers march in front playing the bagpipes. Big and strong Highlanders take part in the Games. They compete with each other in throwing the Hammer or Tossing the caber. The Hammer is very heavy, and the caber is like a telegraph pole.

References: Loch = lake; vast = large; mysterious-таинственный; supernatural-сверхъестественный; kilt – килт; reach – достигать; piper – волынщик.

Ex.1. Find in the text sentences proving that:

1. Scotland is a land of lochs.

2. Scotland isn’t densely populated.

3. Scotland is a land of legends.

4. The Scots are traditional about clothes.

5. The Scots have their own accent.

6. Highland Games are very popular in Scotland.

Ex.2. Answer the questions.

1. How many parts does Scotland consist of?

2. What is the industrial region of Scotland?

3. What are the Highlands famous for?

4. Where do most of people live?

5. What is the capital of Scotland?

6. Do the Scots have their national costume?

7. What competitions take place during Highland Games?

Ex.3. What do you know about:

1. the geographical position of Scotland (parts of Scotland)?

2. its population?

3. the capital of Scotland?

4. national traditions of Scotland?

5. the language of Scotland?

6. traditional Scottish sport competitions?

WALES

Wales - one of the most beautiful parts of the British Isles - lies in the west of Britain. There are a lot of mountains and valleys in North Wales. You can see a lot of sheep and not many people here. Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, is here in the North.

There is much industry and a lot of coal-mines in South Wales. Port Talbot is the centre of steel Industry. Cardiff and Swansea are both very important ports.

If a coal-miner from South Wales wants a holiday, he goes to North Wales. If a sheep-farmer from North Wales wants a holiday, he goes to South Wales. But both parts of Wales are popular places for tourists.

They speak English and Welsh there. Jones, Williams, Morgan and Evans are very common Welsh family names. The Welsh love music: they like to play the harp. Wales is called "A land of Song". They like to sing very much and it is difficult to find a village without a choir. During music festivals singers often wear colourful national costume. A welsh woman wears a red cloak, a long skirt, an apron and a higblack hat.

Every year there is a National Eisteddfod - a meeting of Welshmen interested in Welsh poetry, Welsh songs and music. It lasts for a week. About 15 thousand people come to Eisteddfod every day. Some of them want to listen to poems, some-to listen to singing and some... just to speak Welsh. You won’t hear much English at an Eisteddfod. Usually there are competitions for the best Welsh poem and song of the year and the best singer. The competitions are organized by the Druids.

References: Eisteddfod - ежегодный фестиваль бардов ( в Уэльсе ); Druids - друиды(жрецы).

Ex.1. Agree or disagree.

1. Wales is situated in the east of Britain.

2. Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales.

3. South Wales is an industrial center.

4. They speak only Welsh in Wales.

5. Swansea is the capital of Wales.

6. There are many popular places for tourists in Wales.

Add some more right and wrong statements. Exchange them with your friends.