greatbritain

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ АГЕНТСТВО ПО ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЮ

И СОЦИАЛЬНОМУ РАЗВИТИЮ Санкт-Петербургская

государственная химико-фармацевтическая академия

Great

Britain

Учебное пособие по страноведению для студентов фармацевтического факультета

Санкт-Петербург 2006

UNIT 1. GEOGRAPHY

are due to the warm sea current – Gulf Stream – which keeps the west milder in winter than the east.

The average monthly temperature in winter is +4 °C, and in summer it is +16 °C. Rains fall all the year round, the driest months are March to June, the wettest — October to January.

The island of Great Britain is just under 1,000 km long and just under 500 km across in its widest part. The relief of the British Isles is various. The Island of Great Britain can be divided into two main regions: lowland Britain and highland Britain. Highland Britain comprises all the mountainous parts of Great Britain and extensive uplands lying above 300 metres. The mountains are mostly in Scotland, the highest peak is Ben Nevis (1,342 m). Much of Wales is also mountainous and in England the Pennine Range, which is called the ‘backbone of England’, extends for 224 km. Unlike highland Britain with its old hard rocks and uplands, lowland Britain is mainly a rich fertile plain, suitable for agriculture, but even the large agricultural plains of East Anglia are not perfectly flat. In Ireland all the highland areas are around the edge, but there are no peaks over 1,100 m.

British rivers are short but owing to frequent rains they are deep. Nevertheless, none of the rivers are navigable very far inland for ocean ships. The longest rivers of Britain are the Severn, the Thames, the Trent and the Clyde. Lakes are found in the Lake District in the north of England and in the Highlands of Scotland.

The British Isles possess some mineral resources. They are coal, iron ore, tin, limestone, chalk, clay, slate and some others. The U.K. is rich in coal, but its production declined when a number of natural gasfields and oilfields were discovered in the North Sea. Natural gas began to be produced in the 1960s, and oil - in the 1970s. Britain is the world’s fifth largest oil producer. The oil is brought ashore by submarine pipelines to the refineries. There are also a series of onshore pipelines which carry refined products to major marketing areas. Offshore natural gas is distributed through 5,600 km of high-pressure pipelines and is used by industries and for commercial and household purposes. The main consumers of

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UNIT 1. GEOGRAPHY

Britain’s coal are thermal power stations which produce about onethird of Britain’s electricity.

Among the main trends in industrial activity in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s was the growth of the offshore oil and gas industries, the rapid development of electronic and microelectronic technologies, the development of the service industry (e.g., tourism).

Older industries, such as coal, steel, shipbuilding and textiles have steadily declined.

Over three-quarters of the land in Britain is used for agriculture. The farms are devoted to arable crops, dairying and beef cattle, pig and sheep production, poultry meat and eggs production.

Britain is one of Europe’s important fishing nations. The fishing industry provides about two-thirds of British fish supplies.

The population of Britain is about 57 million, and it is predominantly urban and suburban. The population is increasing very slowly and in 1982 it actually fell. The highest densities of the population are to be found in conurbations, which are groups of once separate towns that have grown to form a single community. The capital of the United Kingdom is London. The other largest cities are Bermingham, Glasgo, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bradford, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Belfast and Coventry.

The national language of the country is English, the other languages are Welsh (in Wales), Gaelic (in Scotland), and Irish (Irish form of Gaelic – in Ireland).

Vocabulary

a) agriculture, backbone, clay, consumer, coal, conurbation, crop, current, edge, extreme(s), feature, gasfield, gravel, highland, household, influence, isle, island, limestone, lowland, oilfield, ore, official, poultry, peak, pipeline, plain, range, refinery, relief, resource, rock, slate, tin, upland, abundant, ashore, arable, average, considerable, dairying (cattle), deep, dry, due to, fertile, frequent, hard, low-grade, mild, moist, navigable, onshore, owing to, predominantly, self-governing, scarce, suitable, (sub)urban, temperate, thermal;

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UNIT 1. GEOGRAPHY

b) to consume, to consist of, to extend, to govern, to make up, to prevail, to possess, to recognise, to refine, to separate, to shorten.

Exercises

1. Practice the pronunciation and translate the following words.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [jH`naItId kINdqmqv-`greIt`brItn-qnd`nLDqn`aIqlqnd], Ulster [`Alstq], Eire [`eIrI], the Isle of Wight [Dq`aIlqv`waIt], the Isles of Scilly [Dq`aIlqv`sIlI], the Isle of Man [Dq`aIlqv`mxn], Anglesey

[`xNglsI], the Hebrides [Dq`hebrIdJz], the Orkney Islands,

[Dq`LknI`aIlqndz], the Shetland Islands [Dq`Setlqnd`aIlqndz], the Channel Islands [Dq`Cxnl`aIlqndz], Normandy [`nOmqndI], Jersey [`GWzI], Guernsey [`gWnzI], Alderney [`OldqnI], Sark [`sRk], Wales [`weIlz], Scotland [`skOtlqnd], the Atlantic Ocean

[Dq-xt`lxntIk`quSn], the Irish Sea [Dq`aIrIS`sJ], the North Sea [dq`nLT`sJ], Europe [`juqrqp], the Gulf Stream [Dq`gAlf`strJm], Ben Nevis [`ben`neIvIs], the Severn [Dq`sFvqn], the Thames [Dq`temz],theTrent[Dq`trFnt],theClyde[Dq`klaId],theLakeDistrict

[Dq`leIk`dIstrIkt], London [`lAndqn], Bermingham [`bWmINgqm], Glasgo [`glRsgqu], Leeds [lJdz], Sheffield [`SefIld], Liverpool

[`lIvqpHl], Bradford [`brxdfqd], Manchester [`mxnCIstq], Edinburgh [`edInbqrq], Welsh [welS], Gaelic [`geIlIk].

2. Match the following geographical names with their correct definitions.

A. The North Atlantic Drift — a warm sea currant.

B. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and some 5,000 smaller islands.

C. A group of islands including Great Britain and Ireland. D. Mountainous region in England.

E. Northern Ireland

F. Britain’s highest peak

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UNIT 1. GEOGRAPHY

3. Use these geographical names to fill in the gaps in the following sentences. Consult the map and a dictionary if necessary: Liverpool, Glasgow, the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, Edinburgh, Northern Ireland, the Shetland islands, Cambrian Mountains, the Orkney islands, the Irish Sea, the Clyde, London, the North Sea, the British Isles, Belfast, Gaelic.

1.The western coast of Britain is washed be the __________.

2._____ is the principal port of Scotland. 3. The seas surrounding the ______ are everywhere shallow. 4. The longest river in Scotland is the _____. 5. The eastern coast of Britain is washed by the ____.

6.The southern coast of Britain is washed by the ____________.

_____ is the largest port of England. 7. _____ is in the Irish Sea, about half way between Great Britain and Ireland. 8.In 1922 Ireland was partitioned into two parts: _____ and the Irish Free State, now the Irish Republic. 9. _____ is the capital of Scotland. 10.The Isle of Man is situated in the ____. 11. ______, a Celtic language, is still used in some remote districts in the Highlands. 12.______ is famous for the ‘Beatles», the world known pop group. 13. _____

is the capital of Northern Ireland. 14. The_____ and the_____

are situated to the north of Scotland. 15._____are situated in the south-west of the island of Great Britain, in Wales.

4.Complete the paragraph below about your own country. Remember to use ‘the’ where it is necessary.

. . . is the first largest country in the world. In the north it is washed by . . . , in the north-west it is washed by . . . and in the east — by . . . . The best known rivers are . . . and . . . .

. . . flows into . . . and . . . flows into . . . . The most famous chain of mountains is . . . . The highest peak is . . . . . . . is the largest lake. . . . is the island in . . . .

The capital is . . . . The main cities in the European part of the country are . . . .

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UNIT 1. GEOGRAPHY

5.Answer the following questions to obtain the summary of the text.

1.Where is Great Britain situated?

2.What islands do the British Isles consist of?

3.What is the official title of the British state?

4.What parts does Great Britain consist of?

5.What seas and oceans are the British Isles washed by?

6.What separates the British Isles from the continent of Europe?

7.What are the characteristic features of the British climate?

8.How can you characterise the relief of Great Britain?

9.What does highland Britain comprise?

10.What is lowland Britain?

11.What are the main rivers in Great Britain?

12.Where are the lakes ?

13.What natural resources can be found on the British Isles?

14.Where is oil and gas obtained?

15.What industries decline and why?

16.What industries grow?

17.What agricultural production is developed in Great Britain? 18.What can you say about the population of the U.K.?

19.What cities in Great Britain do you know?

20.What languages do people speak in the U.K.?

6.Give a brief description of:

1.The geographical position of the British Isles.

2.The climate of Great Britain.

3.The relief of the British Isles.

4.The natural resources and industries of the U.K.

5.The population and cities of Great Britain.

7.Answer the following general knowledge questions.

1.What is the highest mountain in Europe?

2.Where are the Cape of Good Hope and the Straights of Gibraltar?

3.What is the longest river in Africa?

4.Who is Nessy? Where does it ‘live’?

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