XII. Make up sentences from the words given below

1. already; booked; a; destination; flight; a; has; he; his; on; seat; to.

2. the; according; destination; has; of; the; on; port; reached; schedule; ship; their; time; to.

3. and; been; continents; countries; has; he; lately; many; to.

4. air; brought; from; Gulf Stream; Gulf; has; the; Mexico; of; the; warm.

5. changed; the; has; store; the; times; with.

6. already; Britain; by; from; had; he; Monday; returned.

7. a; by; end; goods; the; Harrods; have; lot; of; stocked; the; will; of; year.

8. a; attracted; customers; great; has; of; store; the; variety.

UNIT 6

THE GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

BEFORE YOU READ

Answer these questions

1. Is Great Britain the name of an island or a country?

2. What is the full name of the country situated on the British Isles?

Reading tasks

A. Understanding main points

Read the text below about the United Kingdom and answer the questions, beginning your answers with the fol­lowing phrases: as a rule …; to tell the truth …; as far as I know …; the matter is that …; as far as I remember …; as far as I am concerned …; frankly/strictly speak­ing …; to make a long story short … .

1. Where is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland situated?

2. How many islands do the British Isles consist of and what is their total area?

3. What seas and oceans are the British Isles washed by? Are the seas surrounding Great Britain shallow and rich in fish?

4. What countries is the United Kingdom made up of? How many administrative counties do they con­sist of?

5. What island lies off the western coast of European continent?

6. What do you know about the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man?

7. What two main regions is the island of Great Britain subdivided into?

8. What parts of the British Isles have complete internal self-government? Who are they ruled by?

9. What does Lowland Britain comprise and what does Highland Britain consist of?

10. What is the humid and mild climate of the country good for?

11. What can you say about the population of the UK? What cities with popu­lations over 500.000 do you know?

12. What are the differences between England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland? What facts ex­plain them?

B. Understanding details

Mark the statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text. Give your reason using the fol­lowing phrases: as a matter of fact ...; I don't think so …; I'm of the same opinion …; in my opinion …; on the contrary …; strictly speaking ...; to my mind ... .

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles, lying off the southeast coast of continental Eu­rope.

2. The island of Great Britain is washed by the seas of the Pacific Ocean.

3. Lowland Britain comprises northern and western England and Highland Britain consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the Pennines, and the Lake District.

4. The highest mountains on the British Isles are Ben Nevis in Wales and Snowdon in Scotland.

5. The Severn is the swiftest flowing river in the British Isles, flowing along the border between England and Wales.

6. The climate in Britain is generally mild and temperate because of the Gulf Stream, which brings warm water and air across the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico.

7. In summer it is very hot in Britain and it is very cold there in winter.

8. Although Britain is densely populated, there are large areas which contain fewer than 100 people per square kilometre.

9. The UK is inhabited by the English, French, German, and Northern Irish, who constitute the British nation.

10. The British are the descendants of different peoples who settled on the British Isles at different times.

11. No differences in education, re­ligion and the legal systems can be found between England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles, lying off the northwest coast of continental Eu­rope. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousands five hundred smaller islands with the total area of over 244 000 square kilometers. The island of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast, north and northwest. It is separated from Europe by the North Sea, the Straits of Dover and the English Channel. In the west Great Britain is sepa­rated from Ireland bу the Irish Sea, North Channel and St. George's Channel. The seas surrounding Great Britain are shallow and rich in fish.

Great Britain is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom. With an area of 229.850 km it is the largest of the British Isles, an archipelago that also includes Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is the largest island in Europe, and ranks either eighth or ninth in size among the islands in the world, depending on how Australia is classified. It stretches over approximately ten degrees of latitude on its longer, northsouth axis.

The United Kingdom has the total area of about 242 000 sq. km. It is nearly 500 km. across at the widest point, and almost 1 000 km. long. It is made up of four countries: England con­sisting of 46 administrative counties, Wales – of 13 counties, Scot­land – of 33 counties, including the Hebrides, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands, and Northern Ireland (or Ulster), consisting of 6 counties. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. The capital of the UK is London. The largest cities of Britain are: London, Birming­ham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds and Edinburgh. The most important ports are: London, Liverpool, Southampton, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff.

There are two small parts of the British Isles which have special political arrangement. They are the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Each has complete internal self-government, including its own Parliament and its own tax system. Both are ruled by a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the British government.

Geographically, the island of Great Britain is subdivided into two main regions—Lowland Britain and Highland Britain. Lowland Britain comprises southern and eastern England. Highland Britain consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the Pennines, and the Lake District. The Pennine Chain extends southward from the Cheviot Hills into the Midlands, a plain region with low hills and valleys. England is separated from Scotland by the Cheviot Hills, running from east to west.

The highest mountains are in Scotland and Wales: Ben Nevis is 1.343 metres and Snowdon is 1.085 metres. In fact everything in the United Kingdom is rather small — the longest rivers are the Severn (354 kilometres), flowing along the border between England and Wales, tributaries of which include the Avon, famed by Shakespeare, and the River Thames (346 kilometres), which flows eastward to the port of London. The swiftest flowing river in the British Isles is the Spey. There are a lot of lakes in Great Britain. On the northwest side of the Pennine system there is the Lake District, containing the beautiful lakes which give it its name.

The climate in Britain is generally mild and temperate because of the Gulf Stream, which brings warm water and air across the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico. That means that it is never too hot or cold, too wet or dry. The humid and mild climate is good for plants and flowers. Some of them have become symbols in the UK. Poppy is the symbol of peace, the red rose is the national emblem of England, the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland and the Ed­inburgh International Festival. The daffodils and the leek are the emblems of Wales, the shamrock is the emblem of Ireland.

The United Kingdom is one of the world's smaller countries. Its population is over 57 million people. The distribution of the population is rather uneven. About 80 percent of the population is urban. Over 46 million people live in England, a little over 5 million live in Scotland, over 3 million in Wales and about 1.5 million in Northern Ireland. Although Britain is densely populated, there are large areas which contain fewer than 100 people per square kilometre. London's population is 7 million. There are only five cities with popu­lation over 500.000, although Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle also exceed this figure if neighbouring towns are included. The UK is inhabited by the English, the Scottish, the Welsh, and the Northern Irish, who constitute the British nation. The British are the descendants of different peoples who settled on the British Isles at different times. These various origins ex­plain many of the differences to be found between England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland — differences in education, re­ligion and the legal systems, but most obviously, in lan­guage.