The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is an island nation and constitutional monarchy in northwestern Europe, member of the European Union (EU). It is situated on the British Isles, which is the name for a collection of about 4000 islands including Great Britain and Ireland.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburg and Belfast respectively. All of these countries are represented in British Parliament.
Great Britain, known as Britain or GB, is the name for the largest of the islands. It includes England, Scotland and Wales and does not include Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster.
The United Kingdom is bordered to the south by the English Channel, which separates it from continental Europe, to the east by the North Sea, and to the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The only land border is between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland. The total area is 242,752 sq. km. The capital and the largest city is London.
Britain has been many centuries in the making. Its history dates back to the sixth century BC when the tribes conquered most part of Britain. In the modern world England was the 1st country where capitalism was established.
Geographically Great Britain is divided into Lowland Britain and Highland Britain. Lowland Britain comprises Southern and Eastern England. The highest mountain Ben Nevis - is in Scotland.
Relative to its size, the scenery of the United Kingdom is very diverse and can change dramatically within short distances.
There are many rivers in Great Britain. The Severn is the largest river; the Thames is the most important one.
Great Britain has "park-like" appearance. The art of gardening has very old tradition. The parks are pieces of country left in the middle of the town. Everything is quite and green. The people who come here admire the combination of sea and highland, the valleys and orchards of Kent, the lakes of Scotland, its fields, woods and parks.
Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The power of the Queen is limited by the Parliament, which consists of the two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The population of the United Kingdom is more than 56 million people, but it is one of the world's leading commercial and industrialized nations. In terms of gross national product (GNP) it ranks fifth in the world, with Italy, after the United States, Japan, Germany and France.
Task 1 Translate into English:
Британские острова – это название для группы более чем 4000 островов, включая Великобританию и Ирландию.
Соединенное Королевство включает в себя Англию, Шотландию, Уэльс и Северную Ирландию.
Британия создавалась на протяжении многих веков.
В соответствии со своими размерами, пейзажи Соединенного Королевства очень разнообразны и могут резко видоизменяться на небольших расстояниях.
Соединенное Королевство является конституционной монархией.
Власть королевы ограничивается парламентом, который состоит из двух палат – палаты Лордов и палаты Общин.
Что касается валового внутреннего продукта, Великобритания является пятой с Италией после Соединенных Штатов, Японии, Германии и Франции.
Task 2 Use the following phrases and word combinations to render the text:
1. As I understood from the text...
2. According to the text...
3. According to the author...
4. As it is described in the text...
5. As it is said in the text...
6. As the author puts it...
7. According to the figures (data, information, opinions) from the text...
Task 3 Draw a parallel between the geographical position of your country and that of Great Britain. Where do you think the geographical position is more favorable? Find the arguments in the text.
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