3 Текст для чтения. 9-11 классы

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Reading and Writing

1.   Scan the text "Great Britain" to get the full idea of it. Find the pa- ragraphs about:

–   geographical location of the UK;

–   landscape of the UK;

–   weather in the UK;

–   its industry.

2.   Find in the text the English equivalents to:

–   состоять из двух больших островов;

–   в повседневной речи;

–   "драгоценный камень в серебристом море";

–    быть умеренным круглый год (о климате);

–   "такой же изменчивый, как погода";

–    одна из ведущих отраслей промышленности страны.

3.   Read and translate the text for getting the detailed content.

GREAT BRITAIN

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Bri- tain and Ireland and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometers.

The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scot- land, and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Belfast respectively. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland, Wales and does not include Northern Ireland. But in everyday speech "Great Britain" is used to mean the United Kingdom. The capital of the UK is London.

The British Isles are separated from the 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.

Shakespeare called Britain a "precious stone set in the silver sea" because of its natural beauty. It has a varied countryside where you can find mountains, plains, valleys and sandy beaches. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest moun- tain, but it is only 1343 meters high.

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 impor- tant one.

The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole year round. The British often say: "Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather". The weather in Britain is very changeable. A fine morning can change into a wet afternoon and evening. And a nasty morning can change to a fine afternoon. That's why it is natural for the British to use the comparison "as changeable as the weather" of a person who often changes his mood or opinion about something.

The British 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 UK is one of the world's smallest countries. Its population is over 58 million. About 80% of the population lives in cities.

The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, air- craft, and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding.

The UK is a 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.

Names:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [ði ju`naitəd

`kiŋdəm əv greit britn ənd `no:ðən `ailənd] – Соединённое Королевство Ве- ликобритании и Северной Ирландии

the British Isles [ðə `briti∫ `ailz] – Британские острова

Edinburgh [`edinbuə] – Эдинбург Cardiff ['ka:dif] – Кардифф Belfast [`belfa:st] – Белфаст

the North Sea [ðə `no: θ `si:] – Северное море

the English Channel [ði `i:ŋgli∫ `t∫æn(ə)l] – Английский канал (принятое в Великобритании название пролива Ла-Манш)

the Atlantic Ocean [ði ət`læntik `əu∫(ə)n] – Атлантический океан

the Irish Sea [ði `airi∫ `si:] – Ирландское море

the Severn ['sevən] – река Севен

the Thames [`temz] – река Темза

the Gulf Stream [ðə `gΛlf `stri:m] – Гольфстрим

the House of Lords [ðə `haus əv `lo:dz] – палата лордов

the House of Commons [ðə `haus əv `komənz] – палата общин

the Labour [‘leibə], the Conservative [kən`sə:vətiv] and the Liberal [`liberəl] parties – Лейбористская, Консервативная и Либеральная партии

Vocabulary:

chamber ['t∫æmbə] – палата Парламента

changeable ['t∫eind3əbl] – изменчивый, неустойчивый

comparison [kəm'pæris(ə)n] – сравнение

government ['gΛvənmənt] – правительство

highly developed [`haili di`veləpt] – высокоразвитый machinery [mə'∫inəri] – машинное оборудование mild [maild] – мягкий, умеренный

nasty ['na:sti] – мерзкий, противный navigation [,nævi'gei∫n] – зд.: судоходство plain [plein] – равнина

population [,popju`lei∫(ə)n] – население respectively [ri'spektivli] – соответственно sandy – песчаный

total area [`toutl `eəriə] – общая площадь

the whole year round [`houl `jiə `raund] – круглый год

to be situated ['sitjueitid] – быть расположенным

to consist of – состоять из

to include [in'klu:d] – включать в себя

to mean [mi:n] (meant [ment], meant) – означать

to separate ['sepəreit] – разделять

to wash [wo∫] – омывать

to reign [rein] – царствовать

to rule [ru:l] – править

to elect [i`lekt] – выбирать

to influence ['influəns] – влиять

varied [`veərid] – разнообразный, меняющийся

valley ['væli] – долина

For self-examination

Answer the questions:

1.  The UK is an island state, isn't it? Where is it situated?

2.  What countries is the UK made of? What are their capitals?

3.  What channel separates the British Isles from the European continent?

4.  What's the highest mountain on the British Isles?

5.  Are there a lot of long and deep rivers in Great Britain? What are they?

6.   What is the climate on the British Isles? What do Britons say about their weather?

7.  What's the UK's population?

8.  What does the UK produce and export?

9.  The UK is a constitutional monarchy. What does it mean?

Fill in the blanks:

1.   The United Kingdom of Great Britain and                    is situated on the        .

2.   The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England,                 ,

                , and Northern Ireland.

3.   The British Isles are separated from the continent by the North Sea and

the

.

4.  The

is the longest river, while the              is the deepest and the

most important one.

5.  The weather in Britain is very                   .

6.  The UK is a highly                  industrial country.

7.  One of the chief industries of the country is                 .

8.  The UK is a                 monarchy.

9.   The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and     .

Put the words in the correct order to make a sentence:

1)    the, is made up, United Kingdom, of, countries, four;

2)    in, there are, rivers, Great Britain, a lot of;

3)    a nasty, to, a fine, morning, afternoon, can change;

4)    the, UK, is, smallest, one of, the world's, countries;

5)    UK, is, the, industrial country, a highly developed;

6)    the Queen, in practice, but, does not rule, reigns.

4.   Make up a plan (logical scheme) and then summarize the content of the text "Great Britain" in writing.