7 Great Britain (Intermediate)

7.1 Pre-Text Exercises

7.1.1 Listen and read the following geographical names after the speaker

The British Isles, Europe, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, The Irish Sea, the English Channel, the Strait of Dover, the Atlantic Ocean, the United Kingdom, the Se­vern, the Thames, the Clyde, the Mersey, the Aire, Ben Nevis.

London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle.

7.1.2 Find all the names on the map

7.1.3 Read and remember the following words and word combina­tions

1 to include 2 to separate from 3 coast 4 surface 5 flat 6 to have a great influence on 7 deeply 8 damp 9 mild 10 commercial 11 vehicles 12 because of 13 lack 14 to supply 15 sufficient 16 mere 17 to reign 18 to rule 19 legislative 20 authority 21 chamber = house 22 to win 23 majority 24 to appoint

- включать - отделять от - побережье - поверхность - ровный, плоский - оказывать большое влияние на - глубоко - сырой - мягкий - торговый, зд. промышленный - перевозочное средство - из-за - недостаток, отсутствие чего-либо - снабжать - достаточный - простой, явный - править, царствовать - править, управлять - законодательный - власть - палата - побеждать - большинство - назначать

7.1.4 Topical Vocabulary

1 (Great) Britain England The English p1 собир. Englishman (p1 Englishmen) 2 Ireland Northern Ireland Syn. Ulster the Irish p1 собир. - 3 Scotland the Scotch p1 собир. 4 Wales the Welsh p1 собир. 5 Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

- Великобритания - Англия (название государства и название одной из составных частей Великобритании) - англичане - англичанин - Ирландия - Северная Ирландия - Ольстер - ирландцы - Шотландия - шотландцы - Уэльс - валийцы - королевство - Соединенное королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии (официальное название Англии)

7.1.5 Read and study the text. Use the information it contains for talks and discussions about Britain. Make up your own story about that country

Great Britain

The British Isles lie in the north-west of Europe. They consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and many smaller ones. Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, includes England, Scotland and Wales. It is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea and from the European continent by the North Sea, the English Channel and the Straits of Dover (Па-де-Кале). It is washed on the western coast by the At­lantic Ocean. Great Britain and Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom (UK).

The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but the surface of Scotland and Wales is mountainous. The mountains are almost all in the western part. The highest mountain in the United King­dom is Ben Nevis in Scotland (1343 m.) There are many rivers in Britain: the Severn, the Thames, the Clyde, the Mersey, the Aire and others but none of them are very long. The longest ri­ver is the Severn. It is in the south-west of England. The sea enters deeply into the land and has a great influence on the climate, which is damp but rather mild the winter is not very cold and the summer is not very hot.

Over 57 million people live in the United Kingdom. Most of the people of Great Britain live in big towns and cities.

The capital of the country is London. London, which is si­tuated on the river Thames, is one of the biggest commercial centers and ports of the world. More than 8 million people li­ve in London and its suburbs.

Britain is a highly developed industrial country. Its main industries are coal-mining, machinery, textiles and clothing, shipbuilding, vehicles, metal manufacture, electronics, chemi­cals, etc. The main industrial centres are as follows: London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and others.

English agriculture is also highly developed, but because of lack of cultivated lands, it cannot supply the country with sufficient food products. Britain has to import grain, meat, fruit, wine and other foodstuffs.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, though Britain has not any written constitution as one act and the monarchy is mere formality, English Kings reign but do not rule.

The Supreme Legislative authority in Britain is Parliament consisting of two chambers - the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The normal life of Parliament is fixed at five years. It sits for 160 days a year.

The main political parties in Britain are as follows: the Labour, the Conservative and the Liberal parties. The par­ty which wins the majority of seats at General Elections forms the cabinet. The leader of the majority party is appoin­ted Prime Minister.

Britain heads the so-called British Commonwealth of Nations, whose members, among others, are Canada, Australia and New Zealand.