1. Read and translate the texts.

2. Retell one of the the texts. The united kingdom Geographic Location

The official name of the country we usually call “England” and occasionally “Great Britain” is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is situated on the group of islands lying just off the mainland of northwestern Europe. The British Isles include Great Britain, Ireland and a number of smaller islands. The total area of the British Isles is 325,000 square km. Many ages ago the British Isles formed a part of the continent. The rocky highlands of Scotland, for example, resemble the Norwegian coast. Another evidence that the islands were the part of the continent is the shallow ness of the water between them and the mainland. Now Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrowest part of which is called the Strait of Dover. The British Isles are surrounded by the shallow waters of the Irish Sea and the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the North Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. There are wild desolate mountains in the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Pennine Range in northern England and the Cambrian Mountains in Wales are much lower. The rivers of the region are short and of no great importance as waterways. The longest of them is “the Father of London”, the Thames, which is a little over 200 miles. Britain’s principal ports are London, Liverpool,Manchester and Glasgow. They have splendid harbors, for the coast line is very indented. Owing to the shape of the country, any point in Great Britain is no more than 70 miles from the sea.

The Geographical Position of Great Britain

There are two large islands and several smaller ones, which lie in the north-west coast of Europe. Collectively they are known as the British Isles. The largest island is called Great Britain. The smaller one is called Ireland. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel. The country is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Great Britain is separated from Belgium and Holland by the North Sea, and from Ireland — by the Irish Sea. In the British Isles there are two states. One of them governs of the most of the island of Ireland. This state is usually called the Republic of Ireland. The other state has authority over the rest of the territory. The official name of this country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But it is usually known by a shorter name — “The United Kingdom”. The total area of Great Britain is 244,000 square km. They say that the British love of compromise is the result of the country’s physical geography. This may or may not be true, but it certainly true that the land and climate in Great Britain have a notable lack of extremes. The mountains in the country are not very high. It doesn’t usually get very cold in the winter or very not in the summer. It has no active volcanoes, and an earth tremos which does no more than rattle teacups in a few houses which is reported in the national news media. The insular geographical position of Great Britain promoted the development of shipbuilding, different trading contacts with other countries.

Active Words and Word Combinations:

оfficial – офіційний

situated - розташований

mainland – материк

islands - острів

coast - берег

separated – відокремлений

surround – оточувати

desolate - занедбаний, покинутий

waterways – морські шляхи

British Isles – Британські острови

to govern – управляти, керувати

to rattle – плескання, грохотання

volcano – вулкан

earth tremos - землетрус

to be separated – бути відокремленим

insular - острівний

Questions to the text 1

1. What is the official name of the country we call Great Britain?

2. Is United Kingdom situated on the mainland?

3. What are the evidences that the Islands were part of the continent?

4. What is the Strait of Dover?

5. What are the British Isles surrounded by?

6. Are there any rivers in that region?

7. What are main ports of Britain?

Questions to the text 2

1 .Where is Great Britain situated?

2.What is the total area of Great Britain?

3.What is the official name of this country?

4.Іs Great Britain a mountainous country?

5.What’s the result of the country’s physical geography?

Theme 1: text “London”