Unit 6. Great Britain

1. Phonetic drills.

1) Listen and repeat the words.

The "Union Jack", the United Kingdom, Great Britain, Northern Irelands, the British Isles, England, Wales, Scotland, London, European, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea, the Severn, the Thames, the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf Stream, the Head of State, the Queen, the British Parliament, the House of Lords, the House of Commons, the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal party.

2) Read and translate the proverbs:

Every country has its customs.

My house is my castle.

2. Learn the new words:

World	Translation
urban	городской/ міський
myth	миф/ міф
separate	отделять, разделять/ відокремлювати, розділяти
influence	влияние/ вплив
changeable	изменчивый, непостоянный/ мінливий, непостійний
smog	смог
extremely	крайне/ украй
spread	распространяться/ поширюватися
reign	царствовать/ царювати
chamber	палата

3. Read the text. G reat Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelands is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consists of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometers. The population of the country is over 87 million and about 80% of it is urban.

The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales and doesn't include Northern Ireland. All these parts of the country are represented in Parliament in the capital of the United Kingdom London. England is noted for its "high-tech" and car industries. Scotland is a land of mountains, lakes and romantic castles. Wales is famous for its high mountains and pretty valleys, factories and coal mines, music and myths. Northern Island, with farming land, is beautiful too.

The British Isles are separated from European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.

There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one.

The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. The weather in Great Britain is very changeable. The English people say: "Other countries have a climate; in England we have 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.

The most unpleasant aspect of English weather is fog and smog. This is extremely bad in big cities especially in London. The fog spreads everywhere so cars move along slowly and people can't see each other.

The UK is constitutional monarchy. In law, the Head of State is the Queen, but in practice, the Queen reigns, but does not rule. The country is ruled by the elected government with the Prime Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the Labour, the Conservative and the Liberal parties.

Exercise 1. Give English equivalents of the word-combinations:

розташовується; складається з чотирьох країн; промисловість "високих технологій"; земля гір, озер і романтичних замків; чудові долини; сільськогосподарські землі; дуже мінлива; весь день; туман і смог; дві палати

Exercise 2. Point true and false statements. Correct false statements.

1. The British Isles is the place where the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelands is situated.

2. The British Isles consists of four large islands.

3. Scotland is a land of mountains, lakes and romantic castles.

4. The Severn is the longest river in Great Britain.

5. The United Kingdom is made up of three countries: England, Wales and Scotland.

6. There are two main political parties in Great Britain: the Labour and the Liberal parties.

7. The weather in Great Britain is very changeable.

8. All rivers in Great Britain are not very long.

Exercise 3. Answer the questions.

1. What is the text about?

2. Where is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelands situated?

3. How many islands do the British Isles consist of?

4. How many countries is the United Kingdom made up of? Name them, please.

5. What kind of rivers are there in Great Britain?

6. What kind of weather is there in Great Britain?

7. Whom is the country ruled by?

8. What is the main idea of the text?

9. What do you consider to be the most interesting/important in the text?

10. What new items have you learned from the text?

Exercise 4. Match the following.

1. urban	a) миф/ міф
2. include	b) в то время как/ тоді як
3. myth	c) изменчивая/ мінлива
4. castle	d) палата
5. while	e) замок
6. influence	f) включать/ включати
7. changeable	g) влиять/ впливати
8. chamber	h) городской/ міський

Exercise 5. Prove the statements.

1. All parts of the United Kingdom are very various.

2. Great Britain is a very developed country.

3. The weather in Great Britain is very changeable.

4. The most unpleasant aspect of English weather is fog and smog.

5. The UK is constitutional monarchy.

Exercise 6. Write down a plan of the text and give a title to each of the parts.

Exercise 7. Write down 4 – 5 key-words to each part of the text.

Exercise 8. Retell the text using your plan and key-words.

Exercise 9. Discuss the following using key-patterns.

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelands

2. total area

3. is made up

4. is noted

5. unpleasant aspect