I. Fill in the blanks with the correct words.

1. Birmingham, Coventry and several other larger towns make the ___ of the Midlands.

2. Birmingham makes everything from a pin to a___.

3. Nottingham ____ Minsk and different contacts are maintained between the two cities.

4. Lancashire is a historic centre of British industry, it is the ___ ___and it was here that the Industrial Revolution started.

5. Sheffield produces a wide range of steel goods besides _______ .

6. Bradford has long been the leading centre of ___ and woolen manufacture.

7. The ___of the Humber is one of the most spacious in Britain, and it is well located for trade with Europe.

8. ___of water was an important factor in building the Calder Hall nuclear power station.

9. Due to the ___of the iron ores the steel industry in Wales faces serious problems.

10. Sheep raising is the main ___of the population in North Wales.

II. Complete the sentences with the best answer (a, b or c).

1. Scotland due to its physical features which influence the development of the economy

a) may be divided into two parts.

b) is divided into the Scottish Highlands, the Central Lowlands and the Southern Uplands.

c) is regarded as one mountainous region.

2. An activity which is extremely important in Scotland's export trade

a) is connected with the textile industry.

b) is the blending of Scotch whisky, produced in the distilleries located in the Highlands.

c) is connected with the export of coal and oil.

3. Edinburgh is often called "The Athens of the North"

a) because of its beauty and lots of tourists visit the city.

b) because of its architecture which resembles the capital of Greece.

c) because of its historical monuments.

4. Aberdeen's industry is expanding

a) because of the abundance of oil in the valleys nearby.

b) due to its electronics industry.

c) because of the rich resources of oil in the North Sea.

5. Northern Ireland is a unique region within the United Kingdom

a) due to its geographical position.

b) for in addition to economic problems there are political divisisons, which reflect the unsettled Irish problem.

c) because of the number of lakes located in this part of the U.K.

6. Quite often the Midlands was called the Black Country

a) because of the dark colour of the mountains of this region of England

b) due to its mass industrialization in the 19th and early 20th century'.

c) because of the bad weather when heavy rain clouds cover the sky most of the time of the year.

7. In the south-west of the Midlands lies a district known as the Potteries

a) because of the great number of ancient pots found by archaeologists during excavations.

b) with its centre Stoke-upon-Trent famous for its pottery and ceramics industry.

c) because annual pot fairs are held here when pots are brought and sold from different regions of Britain.

III. Are the statements true or false? Correct the false statements.

1. In the 20th century the Midlands has been one of the least developed regions of Great Britain.

2. Birmingham is a medium sized city in the U.K.

3. Agriculture has made little progress in the Midlands.

4. The famous Rolls Royce factories are located in Coventry, and they produce only cars which are known all over the world.

5. Today the industry of Liverpool is developing rapidly and its port is one of the busiest ports of the country.

6. Manchester is a major centre of the textile industry.

7. In Yorkshire we cannot distinguish any major industrial centres, because the economy of this region is based on sheep grazing.

8. Wales is mainly mountainous, therefore it is a typical agricultural region.

9. Grangemouth in Scotland is a fast expanding seaport, chiefly due to the development of the fish industry.

10. Northern Ireland depends almost completely upon three activities — farming, shipbuilding and the manufacture of textiles.