The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland (2) ( for advanced students)

The United Kingdom is situated on the north-west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean in the north-west and the North Sea in the east. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five hundred small islands The U. K. includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, contains England, Scotland and Wales. The British Islands are separated from the Continent by the North Sea, the English Channel and Strait of Dover. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.The United Kingdom has the area of 244,000 square kilometres (94,249 square miles). The capital of the country is London. English is the official language. The population of the U. K. is about 66 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns. Over 49 million people live in England. Over 4 million - in Wales. A little over 7 million - in Scotland, about 2 million- in Northern Ireland. London's population is over 8 million people. The British nation consists of the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. There are many people of all colours and races in the United Kingdom.

Britain has a remarkable variety of landscapes. The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but Scotland and Wales are mountainous To the north and west are highlands, to the east are flat plains, and in the south are lowlands with hills. Mountains here are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain, it is 1343 meters high..

The climate of Great Britain is mild. It is not too hot in summer or too cold in winter. It often rains in England. Rain falls in summer and in winter, in autumn and in spring. Snow falls only in the north and west of the country. The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but Scotland and Wales are mountainous. Many parts of the country have beautiful villages. There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river (350 km), while the Thames is the deepest and the most important river there.Many ships and barges go up and down the river.

There are many universities, colleges, libraries, museums and theatres in the country. The most famous universities are Cambridge University, Oxford University, Glasgow University. Oxford is the oldest university in the UK.

The U. K. is a parliamentary monarchy. The British Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of the government.

The United Kingdom has some mineral resources. Coal and oil are the most important of them. The United Kingdom is one of the world's most industrialized countries. The main industrial centres are Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester. The largest cities of the country are London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin. Agriculture takes an important sector in economy of the country. The British people grow wheat, fruit, vegetables, oats.

The Political System of Great Britain. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. It means that there is a Queen (or a King) and the Parliament. The Queen has almost no power in the country. Her power is limited by the Parliament. Laws are made by the Parliament. The Queen is only a formal ruler: she reigns but does not rule. In fact everything that she does is done on the active of her ministers, who are responsible for the royal acts. Thus, most of her functions are symbolic. The United Kingdom is governed by Her majesty's Government in the name of the Queen. But the Queen has all information, has the right to encourage and the right to warn. The Queen's residence in London is Buckingham Palace. Besides, she has some homes in England and Scotland.

Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. The British Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. Technically the Parliament is made up of three parts: the Monarch, the House of Lords; and the House of Commons. In reality the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power. The monarch serves formally as head of the state. But the monarch is expected to be politically neutral and should not take political decisions.

The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II. She was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953.

There are more than 1000 members in the House of Lords. Many seats are hereditary. The House of Commons has 635 members. They are elected by general elections (secret ballot). General elections are held every five years. The country is divided into 650 constituencies. All citizens aged 18 and registered in a constituency, have the right to vote. But voting is not compulsory in Britain. Only persons convicted of corrupt and certain mentally ill patients don't take part in voting.

There are few political parties in Britain thanks to the British electoral system. The main ones are: the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal / Social Democratic Alliance. Each political party puts up one candidate for each constituency. The one who wins the most votes is elected MP for that area. The party which wins the most seats in Parliament forms the Government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister. His first job is to choose his Cabinet. The Prime Minister usually takes policy decisions with the agreement of the Cabinet.

The functions of the House of Commons are legislation and scrutiny of government activities. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker. The Speaker is appointed by the Government. The House of Lords comprises about 1,200 peers. It is presided by the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords has no real power. It's in the House of Commons that new bills are introduced and debated. Any member may introduce a Bill and ask permission to bring it to the House for the first reading. After the third time reading if the majority of the members are in favour of a bill, it goes to the House of Lords to be debated. The House of Lords has the right to reject a new bill twice. But after two rejections they are obliged to accept it and if the Lords agree to a Bill, it will be placed before the Queen for signature. Only then it becomes law. Parliament is responsible for British national policy. Local governments are responsible for organizing education, police and many others.

 Presentation of the topic “Welcome to Great Britain”

Task 1 Pronounce the poem:

So many countries all over the world,

So many people and life-tales told!

Different cities, languages, poems,

Amazing traditions, legends, stories.

We travel East, we travel West,

To know so much is the best,

If South is warm, North is cold,

We start our trip and off we go

( Pesentation of the topic “The United Kingdom of Creat Britain”

Task 2 First of all, name all English-speaking countries. What are they? Where are they? Task 3 Answer the questions What do you know about Great Britain? What is the official name of Great Britain? What do you know about its position and its countries?

Task 4. Tell us about their geographical position

Task 5. Name the capitals,spek about people living in the UK and their languages

Task 6. The national flag of the UK

Task 7 Remember the following words and word-combinations from the texts:

Generally- обычно the Gulf Stream — Гольфстрим. Humid [‘hju:mid] - влажный It’s raining cats and dogs -- Дождь льет как из ведра. Wet - влажный Leek - лук- порей Oak - дуб Elm - вяз Beech - бук Pine — сосна Deer – олень

Text 1 The climate in the UK is generally mild because of the Gulf Stream. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, humid and changeable. The weather is so changeable that the English often say that they have no climate but only weather. One day may be fine and the next day may be quite different. The morning may be warm and the evening may be cool. The English also say that they have three kinds of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when it rains all day long. It often rains so heavily that people say “It’s raining cats and dogs”. The weather is not too hot in summer or too cold in winter. Winters are very mild.

Text 2

This humid and mild climate is good for plants. Trees and flowers begin to blossom early in spring. So Great Britain is a green country. Some of them have become the symbols in the UK. You may know that poppy is the symbol of peace, the red rose is the national emblem of England; the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. The daffodil and the leek are the emblems of Wales and the shamrock is the emblem Ireland. The UK used to be a land of big forests, mainly oak, elm and beech in England, pine — in Scotland. The animal life of the UK is much like that of Europe, to which it was joined. Many animals are now protected. About 50 land animals are found in the UK: foxes, hares, rabbits, and deer, among them.

Студенты делятся на 2 группы, и им дается 2 текста с заданием: Прочитать текст, выделить новую информацию и обменяться ею с другой группой. Заслушивание предложений из текста, содержащих новую информацию. (Обмен представителями из групп, задача которых передать содержание прочитанного текста)

Task 8.

Complete the sentences

1. The climate in Britain is usually described as

2. The English say that they have ... kinds of weather: 3. It often rains so heavily that people say "..."

Task 9

Read the text about plants. Match the flowers and the countries. Match the names of the countries with their emblems: 1. England a) shamrock 2. Scotland b) rose 3. Wales c) thistle

4. Northern Ireland d) daffodil

Task 10.

Read the sentences and say if it is TRUE or FALSE 1. The UK is a land of big forests. 2. The animal life is much like that of Europe. 3. 100 kinds of birds live in the UK. 4. Wildlife in the UK is not in danger. Task 11

Now I know: • about the UK • about … Now I can: • talk about the UK; • talk about different countries and their capitals.

London (1)

London is the capital of the United Kingdom, its economic, political and cultural centre. It is one of the world’s most important ports and one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is about 7 million people.

London is situated upon both banks of the river Thames. It is very attractive for tourists because there are a lot of historical buildings, monuments famous for their architecture.. There are four parts in London: the City, the West End, the East End and the Port.

The oldest part of London is the City with its narrow streets. It is the business and financial centre of the whole country. A lot of banks and offices are situated here.

The West End is associated with wealth, luxury, and goods of high quality. There are the finest theatres, cinemas and concert halls, the largest department stores, the most fashionable hotels there.

The East End and the Port of London are situated to the east of the City. They are unattractive, but very important to the country’s economy.

London is very rich in sights famous for their architecture: Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben, Buckingham Palace – the Queen’s residence, the National Art Gallery, the British Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower, which was first a fortress, then a prison and which is now a museum.

There are a lot of parks in London; the most famous of them is Hyde Park with its Speaker’s Corner.