The Geographical Position of Great Britain

There are two large islands and several smaller ones, which lie in the north-west coast of Europe. Collectively they are known as the British Isles. The largest island is called Great Britain. The smaller one is called Ireland. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel. The country is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Great Britain is separated from Belgium and Holland by the North Sea, and from Ireland — by the Irish Sea. In the British Isles there are two states. One of them governs of the most of the island of Ireland. This state is usually called the Republic of Ireland. The other state has authority over the rest of the territory. The official name of this country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But it is usually known by a shorter name — “The United Kingdom”. The total area of Great Britain is 244,000 square km. They say that the British love of compromise is the result of the country’s physical geography. This may or may not be true, but it certainly true that the land and climate in Great Britain have a notable lack of extremes. The mountains in the country are not very high. It doesn’t usually get very cold in the winter or very not in the summer. It has no active volcanoes, and an earth tremos which does no more than rattle teacups in a few houses which is reported in the national news media. The insular geographical position of Great Britain promoted the development of shipbuilding, different trading contacts with other countries.

 

Active Words and Word Combinations:

оfficial – офіційний

situated - розташований

mainland – материк

islands - острів

coast - берег

separated – відокремлений

surround – оточувати

desolate - занедбаний, покинутий

waterways – морські шляхи

British Isles – Британські острови

to govern – управляти, керувати

to rattle – плескання, грохотання

volcano – вулкан

earth tremos - землетрус

to be separated – бути відокремленим

insular - острівний

 

 

Questions to the text 1

 

1. What is the official name of the country we call Great Britain?

2. Is United Kingdom situated on the mainland?

3. What are the evidences that the Islands were part of the continent?

4. What is the Strait of Dover?

5. What are the British Isles surrounded by?

6. Are there any rivers in that region?

7. What are main ports of Britain?

 

 

Questions to the text 2

 

1.Where is Great Britain situated?

2.What is the total area of Great Britain?

3.What is the official name of this country?

4.Іs Great Britain a mountainous country?

5.What’s the result of the country’s physical geography?

 

Teacher ________________I.S.Kokovihinа

Theme “London”

1. READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT.

2. RETELL THE TEXT.

London

London is the capital of Great Britain its political, economic and cultural center. It is one of the largest cities in the worlds. Its population is more than 11 million people. London is situated on the river Thames. The cty is very old and beautiful. It was founded more than two thousand years ago.

Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the City, the West End, the East End and Westminster. The City is the oldest part of London., its financial and business center. The heart of the City is the Stock Exchange.

Westminster is the most important part of the capital. It’s the administrative centre. The Houses of Parliament, the seat of the British Government, are there. It’s a very beautiful building with two towers and a very big clock called Big Ben. Big Ben is really the bell, which strikes every quarter of an hour. Opposite the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey. It’s a very beautiful church built over 900 years ago. The tombs of many great statesmen, scientists and writers are there.

To the west of Westminster is West End. Here we find most of the big shops, hotels, museums, art galleries, theatres and concert halls. Piccadilly Circus is the heart of London’s West End. In the West End there are wide streets with heautifiul houses and many parks, gardens and squares.

To the east of Westminster is the East End, an industrial district of the capital. There are no parks or gardens in the East End and you can’t see many fine houses there. Most of the plants and factories are situated there.

London has many places of interest. One of them is Buckingham Palace. It’s the residence of the Queen. The English are proud of Trafalgar Square, which was named so in memory of the victory at the bathe. There in 1805 the English fleet defeated the fleet of France and Spain. The last place of interest I should like to mention, is the British Museum, the biggest museum in London. The museum is famous for its library - one of the richest in the world.

All London’s long-past history is told by its streets. There are many streets in London, which are known all over the world Among them Oxford Street, Downing Street and a lot of others can be mentioned. And tourists are usually attracted not only by the places of interest but by the streets too.

In conclusion I should say if you are lucky enough to find yourself in London some day you will have a lot to see and enjoy there

 

Teacher ________________I.S.Kokovihinа

Theme “Climate of Great Britain”

1. READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT.

2. RETELL THE TEXT.

The Climate of Great Britain

 

Great Britain is situated on islands. It is vashed by sea from al1 sides. That’s why the climate and the nature of Great Britain is very specific. The popular belief that it rains all the time in Britain is simply not true. In fact, London gets no more rain in a year than most other major European cities. Generally speaking, the further west you go, the more rain you get. The mild winters mean that snow is a regular feature of the higher areas only. The winters are in general a bit colder in the east of the country than they are in the west. While in summer, the south is slightly wanner and sunnier than the north. Besides Britain is famous for its fogs. Sometimes fogs are so thick that it is impossible to see anything within 2 or 3 metres.

Why has Britain’s climate got such a bad reputation? Maybe it is for the sanie reason that British people always seem to be taiking about the weather. There is a saying that Britain doesn’t have a climate, it on1y has weather. You can never be sure of a dry day, though it may not rain very much altogether. There can be cool and even cold days in July and some guite warm days in January. The weather changes very oflen. Mark Twain said about America “If you don’t like the weather in a New Endand., just wait a few minutes” but it is more likely to have been said about England. The lack of extremes is the reason why on the few occasions when it gets genuinely hot or freezing cold, the country seems to be totally unprepared for it. A bit of snow, a few days of frost and the trains stop working and the roads are blocked. If the thermometer goes above 27```C, people behave as if they were in the Sahara and the temperature makes front-page headlines. These things happen so seldom that it is not worth organizing life to he ready for them. Everyone who comes to Great Britain says that it looks like one great beautif ul park. The British people love their country and take care of it.

 

 

Teacher ________________I.S.Kokovihinа

Theme “Political system of Great Britain”

1. READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT.

2. RETELL THE TEXT.

POLITICAL SYSTEM

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. The Queen is the head of state. But according to the constitution, power in the country belongs to Parliament. The monarch can only reign with the support of Parliament. The British Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. They meet only on symbolic occasions, such as the opening of Parliament. In reality, the House of Commons has true power. New bills are introduced and debated here. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and then to the Queen for signing. Only then it becomes law. The House of Commons is made up of 650 elected members (MPs). They are elected by the people at a general election. Parliamentary elections must be held every five years. There are four political parties in Great Britain — the Conservative, the Liberal, the Labour and the Communist Parties. The political parties choose candidates in elections. The party, which wins the majority of seats, forms the Government. Its leader usually becomes the Prune Minister. The largest minority party becomes the Opposition. The majority party runs the country.The Prime Minister chooses about 20 MPs from his party and they form Cabinet of Minister. Each minister is responsible for a particular area of government. The leader of the Opposition chooses MPs too. They are responsible for opposing the government. They form the’ Shadow Cabinet ‘. The Conservative and Liberal parties are the oldest. Since 19th century they were the only parties elected to the House of Commons. The members of the House of Lords are not elected.

Parliament in London is responsible for deciding national policy, but many public are provided by local governments. They are responsible for organizing such services as education, libraries, police and others.

 

Active Words and Word Combinations:

head of state - голова держави

power - влада

bill – білль (законопроект)

majority - більшість

election - вибори

to vote - голосувати

to win - отримати перемогу

to depend on - залежати від

minority – меншість

to be responsible for - відповідати за що-небудь

shadow – тінь, тіньовий

agreement - угода

 

Answer the following questions:

1. What kind of country is the United Kingdom?

2. Who is the head of state?

3. What Houses does the British Parliament consist of?

4. Who has true power in the country?

5. When does a bill become law?

6. How many elected members are there in the Houses of Commons?

7. How many political parties are there in Great Britain?

8. Which party forms the government?

9. Who forms Cabinet of Ministers?

10. How is the” Shadow Cabinet” formed?

II.What is Parliament responsible for?

12. When are Parliamentary elections held?

Teacher ________________I.S.Kokovihinа

Theme “Natioal symbols of Great Britain”

1. READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT.

2. MAKE 10 QUESTOINS TO THE TEXT.