5. Great Britain

1. Read and memorize the following words and word-combinations:

parliamentary monarchy	парламентська монархія
total area	загальна площа
minority	меншість, менша частина
isle	острів, острівець
to separate	відокремлювати
to surround	оточувати
peninsula	півострів
health resort	літній курорт
coast	узбережжя
humid	вологий
thinly	рідко, негусто
decline	занепад
temperate	помірний
highland	узгір’я, високогірна місцевість
to divide	ділити, розділяти
cradle	колиска
military base	військова база
hereditary	спадковий
signature	підпис
upper house	верхня палата
attractive scenery	привабливий пейзаж
unspoiled natural environment	незаймане природне середовище
maritime climate	морський клімат
to increase	збільшувати, зростати
plague	чума, моровиця
shipbuilding	суднобудування
to recover	відновлювати, відроджуватись
to expand	розширюватися, розвиватися
to prosper	процвітати
to define	визначати
to come into being	виникати, з’являтися
to introduce proposals	вносити пропозиції
to approve	схвалювати, затверджувати
to accept	прийняти (пропозицію)

2. Read the text and do the tasks that follow:

The official name of the state is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is designated as a parliamentary monarchy. The total land area is 244,000 sq. km or 94,500 square miles and the population is 58,200,000. The capital city is London. English is the official language, but there are many minority languages, notably those spoken by the various Asian communities in many British cities; Gaelic is spoken in the Highlands of Scotland, parts of Ireland and the Isle of Man. Welsh is the first official language in Western Wales.

The British Isles, which lie off the north-west coast of Europe, consist principally of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel islands. There are also many other small islands at the coast of Great Britain. The four main administrative components of the United Kingdom are England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands have a certain administrative autonomy.

Great Britain is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, north-west and south-west. It is separated from Europe by the North Sea and the English Channel. In the west, Great Britain is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea.

Lying in temperate latitudes and surrounded by water, the British Isles have a mild, temperate, cool and humid climate, though in the highlands of Scotland it is much more severe. The chief rivers of Great Britain are the Severn, the Thames, the Wye and the Tyne in England, and the Tay, the Clyde and the Tweed in Scotland. The largest cities in Britain are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds and Edinburgh.

Of the four countries which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland England is the largest. It occupies an area of 131,8 thousand sq. km and has the population of 46.1 m. people The mainland of England can physically be divided into Northern England, the Midlands, South-East England and South-West England.

Wales is a peninsula with a territory of 20,800 sq. km and a population of about 3 mln. It is a thinly populated region. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.

Scotland occupies an area of 78,8 thousand sq. km and has a population of 5.2 mln. people. Its territory can be divided into the industrialized Central Lowlands, the cradle of the Scottish nation, the Southern Uplands, famous for their attractive scenery and health resorts, and the Highlands with an unspoiled natural environment and strong historical traditions. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh.

Northern Ireland occupies the north-east section of the island of Ireland. The territory of Northern Ireland is 5,462 sq. miles and it has a population of 1.5 mln. It has a typical maritime, oceanic climate and is an agrarian-industrial region. On the coast, the chief occupations are shipbuilding and fishing. The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

London’s history begins about the year 43 A.D., when it was founded by the Romans as a military base. In the late 11^th century London became the capital of England. Ever since the beginning of the 14^th century, the reign of King Edward III, it has continued to increase in importance as a centre of commerce. In the 17^th century the plague and the Great Fire of London almost ruined the city. However, it soon recovered and continued to expand and prosper.

The U.K is defined as a constitutional monarchy. The British Parliament is the oldest in the world and is known as the “mother of parliaments”. It came into being in the late 13^th century and consists of two chambers – the House of Commons, consisting of 635 elected Members of Parliament (MPs), and the House of Lords, a mainly hereditary upper house. The political party which gains a majority of members in the House of Commons in popular elections forms the government. In recent history, the government has been in the hands of one of the two major parties, Labour or Conservative. The party in government introduces proposals for new legislation (known as “bills”) to Parliament. If, after three “readings”, i.e. debates, a bill is approved by a majority of MPs, it then goes before the House of Lords. If the Lords accept the bill, it is placed before the Queen for the formal signature of approval and becomes an Act of Parliament (it becomes law). Otherwise, the bill returns to the Commons for further debate. However, if it is passed a second time by the House of Commons, the House of Lords may not veto it and the bill becomes law. Any MP may introduce a bill, including members of the opposition parties.

The traditional industries of coal-mining, metal working, engineering and textile manufacture, which were concentrated in the Midlands and Northern England are now in decline. Even the more modern branches of industry such as electronics face strong competition from abroad and service industries are gaining in importance. Great Britain has made major contributions to science, art, literature and world culture.