1. What countries is English the first language? Match English-speaking countries with their national flags and capitals.

the USA Australia Great Britain Canada the Republic of Ireland New Zealand

Washington D.C. Wellington London Ottawa Canberra Dublin

2. Do you know where English is the second official language? Rearrange the letters and read some of these countries, name their capitals.

ANIID ~ ESLRIA ~ ONGHOGNK ~ LMTAA ~ HETCEURBPILFOUHSTORAFIAC

Module 1 Across Britain

1. Match the facts about the UK with the places on the map.

The Royal Family residence is located here		e . A world renowned writer William Shakespeare was born in this town
The Legendary band Beatles started their career in this city		f. Prime Meridian (0 degree meridian) passes through this place
This prehistoric monument is one of the most famous sights in the world		g . It is the capital of the part of Great Britain where bagpipes are played
d. It is the UK’s2nd largest city in terms o f population		h. Thanks to this it takes just 35 minutes to get from England to France

READING 1: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

1. Study the vocabulary from Exercises b, e.

island	a piece of land completely surrounded by water
isle	a word for an island, used in poetry or in names of islands: the British Isles
peninsula	a piece of land almost completely surrounded by water but joined to a large mass of land
mainland	the main area of land that forms a country, as compared to islands near it that are also part of that country
coast	the area where the land meets the sea
off the coast	in the sea near the land
latitude	the distance north or south of the equator measured in degrees
mild	not to cold or wet, and sometimes pleasantly warm
temperatemoderate	a type of weather that is never very hot or very cold
extreme n	something that goes beyond normal limits, so that it seems very unusual and unacceptable
rainfall	the amount of rain that falls on an area in a particular period of time
spell n	a period of a particular kind of activity, weather etc, usually a short period: sunny spell
shower	a short period of rain or snow
gale	a very strong wind

B. Read and translate the text.

The British Isles is the geographical term for a group of about 5,000 islands off the north-west coast of mainland Europe. The largest island is Britain or Great Britain, which is also the largest island in Europe. It consists of England (south eastern part), Wales (south western part) and Scotland (northern part). The next largest island is Ireland, which is made up of Northern Ireland (or Ulster) and the Irish Republic (also known as Eire). Britain and Northern Ireland, together with a number of small islands, form the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, more commonly known as the United Kingdom. With a total population of 58 million people the UK ranks about fifteenth in the world.

Britain has a generally mild, temperate climate. The weather, however, tends to be very changeable as a result of constant influence of different air masses. South-western winds bring warm air from the Atlantic. There are few extremes in temperature, which rarely goes above 32˚C or below - 10˚C. In summer southern Britain is warmer than northern Britain because of its latitude but, in winter a warm sea current keeps the west milder than the east. Consequently Wales and the south-west peninsula have the most moderate climate and eastern England is the most extreme. The west and the north of Britain get more annual rainfall than its eastern and central parts. The reason is that western areas are more mountainous and higher than the rest of the country and therefore they get more rain.

C. Match the names with the maps.

			the British Isles the UK Great Britain England Scotland Wales
a)	b)	c)
d)	e)	f)

D. Speak about the weather features and its causes in Britain.

C auses

Weather features

1very changeable weather 2 few extremes in temperature 3 south warmer than North 4 west milder than East 5 west wetter than East

E. Match the weather forecast with the correct chart. Then write a weather forecast for the other chart.

W eather forecast

Cloud with a little rain will persist over south-eastern parts of England, but there will be sunny spells over much of the country. Showers will extend from the north west through western areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Some of these showers will be heavy on west-facing coasts. Temperatures will be quite mild for January, with a minimum of 7 degrees Celsius in northern Scotland and a maximum of 11 degrees Celsius in south-west England but there will be a strong westerly wind with gales in the far south-west.

F. Look through the texts again and find A) synonyms and B) antonyms for the following words and phrases.

A)	strong wind			B)	a little rain
	be made up of				above
	rainfall				the most moderate
	parts				changeable
	mild				minimum

G. What do we add to short regular adjectives to make comparative and superlative forms? What do we add to long adjectives? Translate the following sentences.

1. Великобритания – самый большой остров в Европе. 2) Ольстер более известен как Северная Ирландия. 3) Благодаря теплому морскому течению климат на западе мягче, чем на востоке. 4) В Уэльсе самый умеренный климат, а восточная часть Англии больше всего подвержена резким климатическим изменениям. 5) На севере и на западе Великобритании выпадает больше осадков, чем на востоке. 6) В западной части острова больше гор и возвышенностей.

READING 2: BRITAIN

1. Solve the quiz and check your answers.

The longest river in the UK is … the Severn the Thames the Avon	Ben Nevis is … a name of whiskey a football player a mountain
The symbol of Scotland is … bagpipe kilt thistle	The capital of Wales is … Swansea Cardiff Belfast
All the following languages are spoken in the UK except … Welsh Celtic Gaelic	The flag of the UK is called the … Stars and stripes Union Jack Maple Leaf

2. Study the vocabulary.

flat adj	smooth and level
valley	an area of land between two lines of hills or mountains, usually with a river flowing through it
plain n	a large area of flat dry land
range	a group of mountains or hills, usually in a line
rural	happening in or connected with countryside, not the city
agriculture	the practice or science of farming
dairy farming	the practice or business of keeping cows to produce milk
pasture	land or a field that is covered with grass and is used for cattle, sheep etc to feed on
sheet	a large flat area of something such as ice or water spread over a surface
plateau	a large area of flat land that is higher than the land around it

C. Read and translate the text.

England information file: Total population 49 mln. Capital - London. National day - St. George, April 23. National symbols - Red rose, lion, and bulldog. Language - English.

Of the four parts which make up Great Britain England is the largest and most densely populated part of the United Kingdom. The greatest concentrations of population are in London, Birmingham and north-west industrial cities.

England is mostly a lowland country. There are upland regions in the north and in the southwest, but the rest of England is almost flat. The coasts of England are washed by the North Sea, the Irish Sea, the English Channel and the Straight of Dover. There are many rivers in England. The longest is the Severn, the most important is the Thames.

Northwest England, the Midlands and Southern England – each part of England is different. The Lake District in Northern England with its lakes, mountains and valleys is a favorite holiday area. The Midlands contain major industrial centers of England as well as provide good plains for farming. Southern England is famous for some of the oldest British settlements and traces of ancient monuments such as Stonehenge. It is also where the capital of England is located, the city which being an important commercial and cultural centre dominates the life of Britain.

Wales information file: Total population – 2,5 mln. Capital – Cardiff. National day – St. David’s day, March 1st. National symbols – Dragon, leek, daffodil. Languages - English, Welsh.

It is the largest of the peninsulas on the western side of Britain. It consists of a complex of mountain ranges, which are called the Cambrian Mountains. The highest area occurs in the north, especially around Snowdon (1,085 m). In the upland areas sheep are the basis of the rural economy, and in the low-lying parts near the coast and in the valley bottoms dairy farming predominates.

The capital of Wales is Cardiff. It is an important industrial city and a port. It is also an administrative and educative centre.

The Welsh people, especially in rural areas, are fond of folk music, singing, poetry and drama. Welsh literature is one of the oldest in Europe.

S cotland information file: Total population – 5 mln. Capital – Edinburgh. National day – St. Andrew’s Day, November 30. National Symbols – Thistle, tartan. Languages - English, Scottish, Gaelic.

Although Scotland takes up one third of the territory of the British Isles it is not very densely populated mostly due to its northern location. Climatically the region has some of the most severe weather experienced in Great Britain. It is famous for its mountains. The Highlands of Scotland are among the highest mountains in the world. They reach their highest point in Ben Nevis (1,347 m). There are three lakes there, one of them, Loch Ness, is said to be the home of the “monster”.

The present-day economy of the region is dominated by agriculture. The region is clearly divided between the sheep pastures of the uplands & the more diversified farming areas of the lowlands.

The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh which is also the cultural centre of Scotland. It is associated with the names of George Gordon Byron and Walter Scott, Robert Luis Stevenson, Robert Burns and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Northern Ireland information file: Capital – Belfast. Patron saint - Saint Patrick. Languages - English, Irish, Gaelic. National Symbol – Shamrock.

The regional geography of the island is simpler than that of Great Britain, and especially than the regional geography of England. A large proportion of Ireland‘s territory consists of either uninhabitable mountain territories, or valleys & lowlands containing innumerable sheets of water. In the extreme north-east is the Antrim Plateau or Mountains of Antrim. Being geographically an island and a single unit, Ireland is politically divided into the Irish Free State & Northern Ireland or Ulster.

D. Draw the table and complete the information file on the UK.

	Capital	Total population	Language	National symbol	Famous people/places etc	Rivers	Mountains Highest points
England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland

E. Decide what part of the UK is described in the following sentences.

1) Most of the population and territory of the UK is concentrated here.

2) This mountainous country is well-known for its beautiful scenery and world famous writers.

3) Cattle breeding and farming play a vital role in the economy of this country.

4) It is located on an island the part of which is an independent state.

*Add one more sentence of your own about each part of the UK.

F. Rearrange letters and guess synonyms.

eht ttregaes oetonnnccrstia fo louatpionp	eyenlds tplaeoudp
wlo-gilny sptar	dallonw
rlaur nyecoom	gueilctaurr

G. Speak about the four parts of the UK using the prompts.

GRAMMAR: PROPER NOUNS & ‘THE’