Study the following words and word combinations.

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. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. 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 kilometers, it takes the 75-th place among other countries in the world.

The population is more than 60 million people. About 80% of the population is urban. The capital of the country is London.

Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, which is 34 km wide in its narrowest point. The country is also washed by the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The landscape of Great Britain varies greatly. The northern and western parts of the country are mountainous and are called the Highlands. All the rest: south, east and the center are a vast plain, which is called the Lowlands. The mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1343m). There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very

long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The largest lake is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.

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. The summer is not very hot and winter temperature seldom falls below zero. It is often foggy and rainy. Weather is one of the favorite subjects for discussion when Englishmen meet.

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 textiles, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding. Liverpool and Glasgow are the main seaports, where it is highly developed. Glasgow is also associated with heavy industry. Birmingham is the country’s major engineering center. Manchester is the world’s leading producer of cotton goods and Leeds became the leading producer of woolen goods.

Great Britain is rich in coal, iron, non-ferrous metals. There is much coal in Wales. It is a big coal-mining district of the country. Great Britain is a country with old cultural traditions and customs. The most famous educational centers are Oxford and Cambridge Universities. They are considered to be intellectual centers of Europe. All British children study at school from the age of 5 until they are 16. Then they get higher education at universities and colleges of Great Britain. On the lowlands of south-eastern England there are almost no minerals. This part of the country is an agricultural region. Seven per cent of the population is engaged in farming and cattle breeding. Most of England’s wheat is grown there. Much of the soil in this part is under such crops as wheat, barley, rye and oats. Fruit-growing is extensively developed. An Englishman is fond of gardening. He is at heart a great lover of Nature. England in truth looks like one great well-ordered park with its old trees and green meadows.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and the Queen is the head of the state. But in practice it is ruled by the elected government with the Prime Minister at the head. The Queen’s power is limited by Parliament. The legislative power in the country is exercised by the Houses of Parliament. The Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is composed of hereditary or life peers and peeresses. The members of the House of

Commons are elected by people. The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. Prime Minister is the majority party leader and is appointed by the Queen. The judiciary branch of the Government determines common law and is independent of both legislative and executive branches.

Study the following words and word combinations.

1. to be composed of (to consist of) - состоять из

2. among - среди, между

3. urban - городской

4. landscape - ландшафт, пейзаж

5. wide - широкий

6. narrow - узкий, незначительный

7. to vary - отличаться

8. mountainous - гористый

9. vast plain - огромная равнина

10. influence - оказывать внимание

11. mild - мягкий

12. seldom - редко

13. to fall - падать

14. machinery - машинное оборудование

15. chemicals - химикалии

16. aircraft - самолеты

17. navigation - судоходство

18. shipbuilding - кораблестроение

19. custom - обычай

20. to be considered - считается, что

21. the head of the state - глава государства

22. to rule - править

23. to elect - выбирать

24. legislative - законодательный

25. to be exercised by - осуществляться кем-либо

26. a chamber - палата

27. hereditary or life peers and peeresses - наследственные или пожизненные пэры и пэрэссы

28. executive - исполнительный

29. the majoring party leader - лидер партии большинства

30. to be appointed by - назначаться кем-либо

31. judiciary branch - судебная власть (ветвь)

32. to determine common law - определять гражданский закон

33. to be independent of - не зависеть от

34. at heart - в глубине души

35. to look like - выглядеть

36. well-ordered - упорядоченный

37. a meadow - луг

38. cotton and woolen goods - хлопчатобумажные и шерстяные изделия

Answer the following comprehension questions.

1. Where is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland situated?

2. What parts does it consist of?

3. What is the territory and the population of Great Britain?

4. What is the capital of the country?

5. What is Great Britain separated from the continent by?

6. What seas and oceans is Great Britain washed by?

7. What is the landscape of the country? What parts does it consist of?

8. Are there any rivers, mountains and lakes?

9. What is the climate of Great Britain?

10. What goods does the British industry produce?

11. What are the main industrial cities of the country and what do they produce?

12. Are there any educational establishments in Great Britain?

13. When do students start education?

14. Which part of the country is an agricultural region?

15. What crops are grown in Great Britain?

16. Are Englishmen fond of gardening?

17. Who is the head of the state?

18. How many chambers does the British Parliament consist of?

20. What are the main political parties of Great Britain?

21. Who is the Prime Minister of Great Britain nowadays and what party does he represent?

Translate the sentences into English.

1. Британские острова расположены на континентальном шельфе.

2. Считается, что Шотландия такая же красивая как Голландия.

3. Уэльс - один из крупнейших угледобывающих районов.

4. Сегодня Великобритания – крупный производитель железа и стали, электронного и машинного оборудования, изделий текстильной и химической промышленностей.

5. Кембриджский Университет состоит из 19 колледжей.

6. Глава государства – королева, но она не правит, ее власть ограничена Парламентом.

7. Глазго является центром кораблестроения и судоходства.

8. Англичане – почитатели природы; они платят больше налоги для того, чтобы сохранить сады и парки в стране.

9. Манчестер известен как мировой производитель хлопчатобумажных изделий.

10. Англия считается огромным упорядоченным парком с ее зелеными лугами и большими деревьями.

LONDON.

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and commercial centre. It is one of the largest cities in the world and the largest city in Europe. It covers more than 600 square miles and consists of 33 separate boroughs, including the City, the West End, the East End and houses of over 12 million people.

London is situated on the river Thames. The city is very old. It has more than a 20 century-old history.

The heart of London is the City – its commercial and business centre.

Numerous banks, offices and firms are concentrated here, including the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and the Old Bailey. Few people live in the City but over a million come to work here. Two masterpieces are situated within the City: St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London. The Tower of London was founded by Julius Caesar and in 1066 rebuilt by William the Conqueror. It was used as a fortress, a royal residence and a prison. Now it is a museum of Armour and the place where Crown Jewels are kept. St. Paul’s Cathedral, the greatest English church, was built in the

17th century by a famous English architect, Sir Christopher Wren. Westminster is the aristocratic official part of London. It includes Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives and the Houses of Parliament stretching for nearly 1000 feet along the north bank of the Thames. The Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament is famous for its big hour bell, known as “Big Ben”. Westminster Abbey is the place where coronation

of nearly all kings and queens has taken place. Many of them are buried here as well as some other famous people of the country (G. Chaucer, Tennyson, Newton, Ch. Dickens, T. Hardy, R. Kipling, etc.).

The West End is the richest and the most beautiful part of London. It

is a symbol of wealth and luxury. The best hotels, restaurants, shops, clubs, parks and houses are situated there.

Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of London. It was named in the memory of Admiral Nelson’s victory at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The tall Nelson’s Column stands in the middle of the square.

Opposite the Nelson’s monument there is the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. The National Gallery was founded in 1824 and shows a representative collection of great paintings from European schools. Not far from the National Gallery there’s the British Museum – the biggest Museum in London. It contains a priceless collection of different things (ancient manuscripts, coins, sculptures, etc.). The British

Museum is famous for its library (about 7 000 000 books). The famous Tate Gallery was opened in 1897 with the financial support of Sir Henry Tate. The Gallery contains a unique collection of British paintings from the 16th century to the present day.

There is a number of museums in London, which are neither art museums nor galleries. You are sure to know about Madame Tussaud’s Museum. It contains hundreds of wax figures, which are sculpture portraits of famous personalities, political figures, painters, musicians, sportsmen and even criminals.

You cannot leave the city without visiting Hyde Park. When you are walking along its shady avenues, sitting on the grass or watching swans and ducks floating on the ponds, it seems almost unbelievable that all around there is a large city with its heavy traffic and smoke.

The East End is an industrial district of London. There are many factories and the Port of London there. The East End is especially famousMas the centre of the clothing industry in London and as the market place. Every Sunday morning it becomes one of the sights of London. Old residents of the East End are proud to be called cockneys, which means true Londoners, hereditary inhabitants of the area. They love the district very much.

MOSCOW.

Moscow is the capital of Russia, its administrative, economic, political and educational centre with the population of about 10 million people. Its total area is about 1000 square kilometres. The city was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147. At that time it was a small frontier settlement. By the 15-th century Moscow had grown into a wealthy city. In the 16-th century under Ivan the Terrible, Moscow became the capital of the state of Muscovy. In the 18-th century Peter the Great transferred the capital to St. Petersburg, but Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That is why it became the main target of Napoleon’s attack in 1812. During the war of 1812 three quarters of the city were destroyed by fire but by the middle of the 19-th century Moscow was completely rebuilt. The present-day Moscow is the seat of the government of the Russian Federation. President of Russia lives and works here; governmental offices are located here, too.

Moscow is a major industrial city. Its leading industries are engineering, chemical and light industries.

There are a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches, monasteries and monuments in Moscow.

Moscow is known for its many historical buildings, museums and art galleries as well as for the famous Bolshoi, Maly and Art theatres. There are more than 100 museums in Moscow. The largest museums are the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery. The Tretyakov Gallery houses a unique collection of Russian painters. Almost all famous Russian painters are represented there. The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts displays cultural and artistic relics of various times and nations, from the 4-th millennium B.C. up to the present. Other unique museums in Moscow include the All-Russian Museum of Folk Arts, the Andrey Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art, Alexey Bakhrushin Theater Museum, Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture and many others.

Moscow has a large concentration of educational institutions, and its centers of higher education draw students from throughout Russia. Moscow Sate University (1755) is the leading educational institution. The city’s many specialized educational institutions include the MoscowTimiryazev Academy of Agriculture and the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatoire.

The oldest part of Moscow is the Kremlin. This is the main tourist attraction in Moscow. The Kremlin stands at the heart of the city. The word “Kremlin” means “fortress” and the Moscow Kremlin used to be a fortress. Twenty towers of the Kremlin wall were constructed at the end of the 17-th century. By that time Moscow had already ceased to be a fortress. The towers were built for decoration and had no military

significance. Five of towers were gates. If the Kremlin is a symbol of Russia, then the Spasskaya Tower is the symbol of the Kremlin. It was built in 1491 and got its name from the icon of the Spas. The star-topped tower is 71 metres high. It is notable for its clock, whose melodious chimes are well-known to all those who listen to Moscow radio. At the first sight the clock does not seem very large but this impression is an illusion. Its diametre is 6 metres 12 cm and the figures are 72 cm high. The melody is produced by ten bells, the smallest of which weighs 320 kg and the largest – 2,160 kg.

Granovitaya Palata is a masterpiece inside the Kremlin wall. Moscow tsars held magnificent receptions in honour of foreign ambassadors there. The Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell attract crowds of tourists too.

Outside the Kremlin Wall there is the famous Red Square. Tourists can look at the magnificent Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, the Lenin Mausoleum and the monument to K.Minin and D.Pozharsky.

Moscow is growing day after day and is becoming more and more beautiful. Some old buildings are being repaired, a lot of new buildings appear in different districts of Moscow. Among the new sights that have appeared recently are the Monument in Poklonnaya Gora and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in the centre of Moscow.

The Russian Federation.

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. The current population is about 150 million people according to the last census of the population.

Russia covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Russia is washed by 12 seas and 3 oceans. The oceans are: the Arctic, the Pacific and the Atlantic. The seas are: the White sea, the Okhotsk sea, the Black sea, the Baltic sea and others.

Russia borders on many countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China in the South-east, Finland and Norway in the north-west, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine in the west, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south–east.

The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys. The main mountain chains are the Urals, the Caucasus and the Altai. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes on the territory of Russia. The Volga is the longest river in Europe. The main Siberian rivers are the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena. The largest lakes are Ladoga and Baikal. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world (1600 meters) and its water is the purest on the earth.

The climate in Russia is very diverse: it is cold in the north, severe and continental in the east, subtropical in the south and mild in the west.

Russia is rich in natural and mineral resourses. It has deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, iron, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, other non-ferrous metals, gold and diamonds. Three quarters of all the mineral wealth are concentrated in Siberia and the Far East.

There are many beautiful cities and small villages in Russia.

The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow.

Russia is a highly industrialized agrarian country. Agriculture is a major branch of our economy. About 10 million people are engaged in agriculture. They produce grain, meat, milk and other dairy products. The farmers raise cattle, pigs, sheep, horses and poultry. They also grow wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, potatoes, fruit and vegetables.

The Russian Federation is multinational parliamentary state. The head of the state is the President. The government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The president controls each of them.

The legislative power is exercised by the Federal Assembly. It consists of two chambers: the Council of Federation and the State Duma. The President and the members of the Federal Assembly are elected by the peoplе for four years.

The executive power belongs to the Government - the Cabinet of Ministers. The government is headed by the Prime Minister.

Today the state symbol of the Russian Federation is a three-coloured banner. It has three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe symbolizes the earth, the blue one stands for the sky and the red one symbolizes liberty. A new national emblem is a double – headed eagle. The national anthem of Russia is “the Patriotic song” by A.B Alexandrov and S.V Mikhalkov.

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. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. 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 kilometers, it takes the 75-th place among other countries in the world.

The population is more than 60 million people. About 80% of the population is urban. The capital of the country is London.

Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, which is 34 km wide in its narrowest point. The country is also washed by the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The landscape of Great Britain varies greatly. The northern and western parts of the country are mountainous and are called the Highlands. All the rest: south, east and the center are a vast plain, which is called the Lowlands. The mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1343m). There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very

long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The largest lake is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.

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. The summer is not very hot and winter temperature seldom falls below zero. It is often foggy and rainy. Weather is one of the favorite subjects for discussion when Englishmen meet.

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 textiles, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding. Liverpool and Glasgow are the main seaports, where it is highly developed. Glasgow is also associated with heavy industry. Birmingham is the country’s major engineering center. Manchester is the world’s leading producer of cotton goods and Leeds became the leading producer of woolen goods.

Great Britain is rich in coal, iron, non-ferrous metals. There is much coal in Wales. It is a big coal-mining district of the country. Great Britain is a country with old cultural traditions and customs. The most famous educational centers are Oxford and Cambridge Universities. They are considered to be intellectual centers of Europe. All British children study at school from the age of 5 until they are 16. Then they get higher education at universities and colleges of Great Britain. On the lowlands of south-eastern England there are almost no minerals. This part of the country is an agricultural region. Seven per cent of the population is engaged in farming and cattle breeding. Most of England’s wheat is grown there. Much of the soil in this part is under such crops as wheat, barley, rye and oats. Fruit-growing is extensively developed. An Englishman is fond of gardening. He is at heart a great lover of Nature. England in truth looks like one great well-ordered park with its old trees and green meadows.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and the Queen is the head of the state. But in practice it is ruled by the elected government with the Prime Minister at the head. The Queen’s power is limited by Parliament. The legislative power in the country is exercised by the Houses of Parliament. The Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is composed of hereditary or life peers and peeresses. The members of the House of

Commons are elected by people. The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. Prime Minister is the majority party leader and is appointed by the Queen. The judiciary branch of the Government determines common law and is independent of both legislative and executive branches.

Study the following words and word combinations.

1. to be composed of (to consist of) - состоять из

2. among - среди, между

3. urban - городской

4. landscape - ландшафт, пейзаж

5. wide - широкий

6. narrow - узкий, незначительный

7. to vary - отличаться

8. mountainous - гористый

9. vast plain - огромная равнина

10. influence - оказывать внимание

11. mild - мягкий

12. seldom - редко

13. to fall - падать

14. machinery - машинное оборудование

15. chemicals - химикалии

16. aircraft - самолеты

17. navigation - судоходство

18. shipbuilding - кораблестроение

19. custom - обычай

20. to be considered - считается, что

21. the head of the state - глава государства

22. to rule - править

23. to elect - выбирать

24. legislative - законодательный

25. to be exercised by - осуществляться кем-либо

26. a chamber - палата

27. hereditary or life peers and peeresses - наследственные или пожизненные пэры и пэрэссы

28. executive - исполнительный

29. the majoring party leader - лидер партии большинства

30. to be appointed by - назначаться кем-либо

31. judiciary branch - судебная власть (ветвь)

32. to determine common law - определять гражданский закон

33. to be independent of - не зависеть от

34. at heart - в глубине души

35. to look like - выглядеть

36. well-ordered - упорядоченный

37. a meadow - луг

38. cotton and woolen goods - хлопчатобумажные и шерстяные изделия

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