- •Great britain
- •Exercises:
- •I. Read the following words from the text:
- •II. Correct the wrong statements. Begin your answers with the following expressions: That's right. Exactly so. I agree with it. No, that’s not right. Nothing of the kind.
- •III. Find English equivalents and use them in the sentences, of your own:
- •IV. Open the brackets:
- •V. Prove that:
- •VI. Read the following text and describe each constituent of the United Kingdom.
- •VII. A) Study the following speech-patterns:
- •VIII. Put questions to the sentences:
- •IX. Use the appropriate forms of the irregular verbs in the following sentences:
- •X. Read the text about the climate of Great Britain and answer the questions after the text.
- •Questions:
- •XI. Answer the questions:
- •XII. Read the following text and enumerate the peculiar British traditions which have been kept up till nowadays.
- •XIII. Find the Russian equivalents to the proverbs, characterizing the main traits of the national English character.
- •XIV. Translate the following passage in writing:
- •XV. Define the main idea of the following extracts:
- •It Is Interesting To Know
- •XVI. Express your opinion answering the questions:
- •XVII. Learn the decimal values of some English measures. Give the decimal equivalents to the figures below:
- •XVII. Tell as much as you can about Great Britain.
- •Exercises:
- •I. Read the words:
- •II. Find in the right column the meaning of the words given in the left column.
- •III. Find the sentences about:
- •IV. Complete the following sentences:
- •V. Learn the following expressions from the text and use them in the sentences or situations of your own:
- •VI. Answer the questions:
- •Exercises:
- •I. Read the following words:
- •II. Using the material of the text correct the wrong statements, if any, begin your answers with these expressions:
- •III. Complete the following sentences:
- •IV. Use the Passive Voice in the following sentences:
- •V. Learn the following expressions from the text and use them in the sentences of your own:
- •VI. Answer the questions:
- •VII. See how many of these famous Englishmen and their works you know:
- •XII. Read the following texts and retell them (in Russian). From the History of British Painting
X. Read the text about the climate of Great Britain and answer the questions after the text.
The climate of the United Kingdom is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The south-western winds carry the warmth and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid.
The weather is so changeable that the English often say that they have no climate but only weather. Therefore it is natural for them to use the comparison «as changeable as the weather». The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when it rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say: “It’s raining cats and dogs”.
Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest months are from October to January. The average range of temperature (from winter to summer) is from 5 to 23 degrees above zero. It seldom snows heavily in winter, frost is rare. The coldest part of the country is the Highlands of Scotland. It's as frosty there as it is in St. Petersburg. January and February are usually the coldest months, July and August - the warmest. Still the wind may bring winter cold in sprits or summer days. Sometimes it brings whirl-winds or hurricanes. Droughts are rare.
So, we may say that the British climate has three main features: it is mild, humid and changeable. That means that it is never too hot or too cold. Winters are extremely mild. Snow may come but melts quickly.
This humid and mild climate is good for plants. Trees and flowers begins to blossom early in spring.
Questions:
1. What influences the climate in Great Britain?
2. What are the main features of the British climate?
3. What is the weather like in Great Britain?
4. What are the well-known English jokes connected with the climate of the country?
5. What is the winter like in Great Britain?
6. What is the average summer (winter) temperature?
7. What is the coldest part of the country?
8. What are the warmest (the coldest) months?
9. What is the British climate good for?
JOKE
- “The harder it rains, the better I like it”.
- “You must be an optimist”.
- “No, I am an umbrella seller”.
XI. Answer the questions:
1. Name the parts of the UK.
2. What parts does Great Britain consist of?
3. How is Great Britain often referred to?
4. What is the climate of the country?
5. What influences it?
6. What is the longest British river?
7. What is London? Where is it situated?
8. Where are lots of mountains concentrated in Great Britain?
9. Is the population in Great Britain 93,5 or 68 million people?
10. What kind of people are the English reputed to be?
11. What are the symbols of the English home?
12. Is the UK a highly developed agricultural (industrial) country?
14. What is the state system of the country?
-
What body does the executive (legislative) authority belong to in Great Britain?
XII. Read the following text and enumerate the peculiar British traditions which have been kept up till nowadays.
One of the most peculiar features of life in England which immediately strikes any visitor to this country is the cherishing and preserving of many traditions, sometimes very archaic as they may seem. When one sees the warders at the Tower of London with their flat hats, their trousers bound at the knee, and the royal monogram on their breast, one feels carried back to the age of Queen Elisabeth I. Tourists visiting London are usually eager to see Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the Queen. The colourful ceremony of the Changing of the Guard before the Palace is of great interest for all the foreigners. Whenever the Irish Guards are responsible for the guard duties at Buckingham Palace an Irish wolfhound appears on regimental ceremonial parades and marches at the head of the band. A number of other ceremonies are of a similarly formal character, such as the Queen's receptions and the State Opening of Parliament.
English people tend to be rather conservative. The conservative attitude consists of an acceptance of things, which are familiar. All the same, several symbols of conservatism are being abandoned. The metric system came into general use in 1975. The twenty-four-hour clock was at last adopted for railway timetables in the 1960s - though not for most other timetables, such as radio programmes. The decimal money was introduced, but the pound sterling as the basic unit was kept, one hundredth of it being a new penny. Temperatures have been measured in Centigrade as well as Fahrenheit for a number of years, though most people tend to use Fahrenheit for general purposes.
NOTES:
Changing of the Guard - торжественная церемония смены караула королевских гвардейцев, проводится ежедневно перед Букингемским дворцом.
wolfhound ['wulfhaund] волкодав
decimal money ['mAnI] десятичная денежная система
pound sterling ['paund 'stWlIN] фунт стерлингов
centigrade ['sFntIgreId] стоградусный
Fahrenheit ['fxrqnhaIt] шкала Фаренгейта предложена в 1724 году. (Точка таяния льда имеет температуру +32ºF, точка кипения воды +212ºF, +20ºC = +68ºF, -10ºC = +14ºF).