Great Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. It consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England, Wales and Scotland occupy the territory of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is situated in the northern part of Ireland.

The territory of the United Kingdom is about 244,000 square kilometres, it is the 75th place among other countries in the world. The population is over 56.5 million. About 80% of the population is urban. The capital of the country is London.

The Surface of Great Britain varies greatly. The northern and western part of the country is mountainous and is called the .Highlands. All the rest (south, east and centre) is a vast plain which is called the Lowlands. The mountains are not very high, the rivers are not long. The most important of them are the Severn and the Thames. There are many beautiful lakes in the mountainous parts of the country.

The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream influence the climate of Great Britain. It is mild the whole year round.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of iron and steel products, machinery and electronics, chemicals and textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is ship -building.

Great Britain is a country with old cultural traditions and customs. The most famous educational centres are Oxford and Cambridge universities. They are considered to be the intellectual centres of Europe. The education is not free, it is very expensive.

The United Kingdom is a .monarchy and the Queen is the head of state. But in practice it is ruled by the elected government with a 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. The Labour party is at power today.

Vocabulary

Urban –городской free -бесплатный

Vast plain –обширная равнина elected - выборный

Aircraft -авиационный chamber -палата

Our College

I’m lucky to be a student of the Higher State College of Communication. It is situated in Minsk in P. Brovka Street. Our college is one of the oldest educational establishments of our republic, built in1930.

Our college is known for its high standard of teaching, creative and stimulation atmosphere. All the teachers are well-trained, they are real professionals. They work closely with the students organizing group and individual tutorials. The full term of study in our college is seven years.

The students have to attend classes regularly and be very active. They often take tests, conduct experiments, prepare reports and take part in conferences.

We study many different subjects in the college. Some of them are very difficult, but so very interesting at the same time. To succeed we must be good at mathematics, physics, foreign languages. We have lectures and practical classes every day.

Social life in our college is rich in different events. All year round we have a varied program of evening activities including parties, discos, theatre visits and outings to different places of interest. We take part in various sport competitions, theatricals and concerts.

Our college has various facilities for studies. There are many labs in our college, well-equipped with TV sets, video-cassette recorders, tape-recorders and other necessary apparatus. We also have some computer class-rooms, a large conference hall, a gym, a great number of class-rooms.

The museum of the history of our college is our pride. It attracts visitors from all over the city. Our students themselves take care of the museum, they work there as guides.

In1993 one more building was built for our college. Now after four years of the specialized secondary education the most capable students have an opportunity to get higher education.

We have three hostels for those students, who have come from all over the republic. They are clean, cosy and comfortable. Our college doctor Tamara Vasiljevna takes care of our health.

There are rich libraries and reading-rooms in both buildings where we can borrow all the necessary books for our studies. The students can prepare for seminars and practical classes there.

A good education helps the graduates of our college to find a place in society, to guarantee high wages.