САНКТ – ПЕТЕРБУРГСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ

УНИВЕРСИТЕТ

Британия

Учебные задания

Санкт - Петербург

Утверждено на заседании кафедры иностранных языков для математических факультетов.

Составитель: асс. И.А. Бадеева

Рецензенты: ст. преп. Д.Х. Ибрагимова,

cт. преп. Н.П. Васильева

Учебные задания способствуют расширению познаний студентов о Соединенном Королевстве Великобритании и Северной Ирландии, национальных символах и политическом строе страны. Пособие снабжено упражнениями на отработку навыков произношения, освоение основных лексических единиц, связанных с данной темой, а также на развитие коммуникативных навыков учащихся. Издание предназначено для студентов математических факультетов университета.

Britain Overview. National Symbols.

«I have seen much to hate here, much to forgive. But in a world where England is finished and dead, I do not wish to live». Alice Duer Miller. White Cliffs*.

The official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK for short). It consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, their capital cities being London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. The UK is situated on the British Isles and is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The largest of the British Isles is Great Britain which contains England, Wales and Scotland. The second largest island of the British Isles is called Ireland. Northern Ireland (which is a part of Britain) occupies the north-eastern part of the island. Its capital city is Belfast. The larger part of Ireland is the Irish Republic, an independent state with its capital in Dublin.

The national flag of the United Kingdom is known as the Union Jack. It is made up of three crosses: the cross of St. George (the patron saint of England), the cross of St. Andrew(the patron saint of Scotland) and St. Patrick’s cross representing Northern Ireland. The Union Jack was set up in 1801, and the combination of colours and crosses of the flag reflects the peculiarities of the existing at that time national flags of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Each part of the United Kingdom has its own national symbol: a red rose became the emblem of England after the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485). The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. According to the old legend it saved the country from the enemy. The leek or daffodil is Welshmen’s national emblem. The Irish people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by wearing the shamrock, their national emblem.

The total population of the UK is over 57 million people. London is the largest city with population of more than 7 million people. As to the other cities, one can name such important industrial and cultural centres as Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham and Leeds.

For many centuries a large number of countries all over the world were included into the British Empire and were ruled by Britain. Nowadays most of these countries are independent states. In 1949 Britain and many former members of the British Empire founded an association, called the Commonwealth. It includes such countries as the Irish Republic, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Queen of Great Britain is the official head of the Commonwealth and the countries which constitute it. The Union Jack is incorporated into the national flags of many countries of the Commonwealth.

* Alice Duer Miller (1874 – 1942) – an American journalist and writer. " White Cliffs " (1940), her best known short story, owes its name to the famous White Cliffs, a dramatically picturesque tourist attraction near Dover.

the United Kingdom	[jH'naItId'kINdqm]	Соединенное Королевство
Northern Ireland	['nLD(q)n'aIqlqnd]	Северная Ирландия
the British Isles	['brItIS'aIlz]	Британские острова
the English Channel	['InglIS'Cxnl]	принятое в Великобритании название пролива Ла-Манш
the Strait of Dover	['streItqv'dquvq]	Дуврский пролив (принятое в Британии название пролива Па-де-Кале)
Wales	[weIlz]	Уэльс
Scotland	['skOtlqnd]	Шотландия
London	['lAndqn]	г. Лондон
Cardiff	['kRdIf]	г. Кардиф
Edinburgh	['edInb(q)rq]	г. Эдинбург
Belfast	['belfRst]	г. Белфаст
Dublin	['dAblIn]	г. Дублин
patron saint	['peItr(q)n 'seInt]	святой покровитель
St. George	[snt 'dZLdZ]	Святой Георг (покровитель Англии)
St. Andrew	[snt 'xndrH]	Святой Эндрю (покровитель Шотландии)
St. Patrick	[snt 'pxtrIk]	Святой Патрик (покровитель Ирландии)
thistle	['Tisl]	чертополох (эмблема Шотландии)
leek	[lJk]	лук-порей (эмблема Уэльса)
daffodil	['dxfqdIl]	нарцисс (эмблема Уэльса)
shamrock	['SxmrOk]	трилистник (эмблема Ирландии)
Manchester	['mxn(t)SIstq]	г. Манчестер
Liverpool	['lIvqpHl]	г. Ливерпуль
Glasgow	['glRsgqu]	г. Глазго
Birmingham	['bWmINqm]	г. Бирмингем
Leeds	[lJdz]	г. Лидс
the Commonwealth	['kOmqnwelT]	Содружество наций