Great Britain. Study the words and expressions

Study the words and expressions

the British Isles – Британские острова

Wales – Уэльс

Northern Ireland - Северная Ирландия

the United Kingdom – Соединенное Королевство

the English Channel – Английский канал или Ла-Манш

mild – мягкий

Gulf Stream – Гольфстрим

the Thames - река Темза

constitutional monarchy – конституционная монархия

the House of Lords – палата лордов

the House of Commons – палата общин

to appoint – назначать

law - закон

the Labour party – Лейбористская партия

A Read the text quickly and put these sentences in the correct order.

1 Scotland is famous for its beautiful lakes.

2 English is spoken in many countries.

3 The official name of the country is the United Kingdom.

4 The UK is a constitutional monachy.

Great Britain is situated to the north-west of Europe on the British Isles. It is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The official name of the country is the United Kingdom (U.K.). Great Britain is separated from the Continent by the English Channel and is connected with many countries by sea.

The climate of Britain is mild and warm because of the warm Gulf Stream. Most of the mountains are in the north, in Scotland, but they are not very high. Scotland is also famous for its beautiful lakes. The rivers in Great Britain are not long, but many of them are deep. The longest rivers are the Clyde and the Thames. London, the capital of the country, is situated on the Thames. The most important industrial cities are Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh, Birmingham and others. Cambridge and Oxford are famous university cities.

The U.K. is a constitutional monarchy. The official head of the state is the king or the queen. But the power of the monarch is limited by the Parliament which is made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Members of the House of Lords are appointed, and members of the House of Commons are elected by people. Parliament makes laws. The head of the Government is the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party in power. At present there are four main political parties in Great Britain: the Labour, the Conservative, the Liberal and the Social-Democratic Party.

The official language of Great Britain is English. It is now spoken in many countries of the world: the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and others.

B Read the text again. For questions 1-3, choose the best answer from a, b, c

or d.

1 Where is Great Britain situated?

a To the north-west of the Continent.

b To the east of Ireland.

c On two big islands – Great Britain and Ireland.

d Across the English Channel.

2 Where are the longest rivers in Great Britain?

a There are no long rivers in Great Britain.

b The longest are the Clyde and the Thames.

c They are in the south and in the north of Great Britain.

d In Scotland, which is also famous for its lakes.

3 The UK is a constitutional monarchy which means that

a it has Parliament.

b there are two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

c it has a monarch and Parliament.

d the monarch rules the country.

C Which of these adjectives from the text might you use with the nouns below?

A constitutional b main c conservative

d official e mild f important

1 city 2 head 3 monarchy 4 party 5 climate