Ex. II Listen to the text.

The British Isles lie to the north-west of the continent of Europe and consist of two main islands, the larger of which is Great Britain, the smaller is Ireland. There are over 5 hundred small islands known collectively as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with a to­tal area of 244, 100 square kilometres and population of 58, 837 thousand people. Great Britain is made up of Eng­land, Wales and Scotland.The north-west and west of Great Britain is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. In the west the country is also washed by the Irish Sea. The eastern coast is open to the waters of the North Sea. The south­eastern tip of Great Britain is separated from France by the English Channel which is 32 kilometres wide at its nar­rowest point. Northern Ireland which lies to the west of Great Britain is separated from it by the North Channel and is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.

The seas surrounding Great Britain are not very deep, they are good for fishing.

The island of Great Britain is quite distinctly divided into two parts: mountainous (north and west) and lowland, some­times hilly (south and east). The most important mountain territories are those located in the north of Scotland. Geologi­cally these mountains are among the oldest in the world. The largest valley — the central lowlands — divides these mountain ranges into the Southern Uplands and the North­ern Uplands. The narrow valley of Glen separates the North­west mountains from the Grampians where the highest point of the British Isles Ben Nevis (1343 metres) is with its ma­jestic beauty. From the Southern Uplands of Scotland the mountains stretch to Wales Peninsula. To the south of the deeply inlanded Solway Firth Gulf, along the Western Coast runs the mountain range of Cumberland. To the east of this massif lies the central upland known as the Pennines. Lowland Britain ex­tends from the mouth of the river Tyne in the north-east of England to the mouth of the river Exe.

The rivers of Britain are short, their direction and char­acter are determined by the position of the mountains. Most of the rivers flow in the eastward direction.

Due to the humid climate the water-level is always high. The rivers seldom freeze in winter, most of them remain ice-free but they are not navigable for ocean liners. The most important rivers are the Severn, the Thames, the Ouse, the Tyne, the Tees, the Tweed, and the Eden.

Characteristics. There are certain stereotypes of national character which are well-known in Britain. For instance, the Irish are supposed to be great talkers, the Scots have a reputation for being careful with money, and the Welsh are famous for their singing abili­ty. These characteristics are, of course, only caricatures and are not reliable descriptions of individual people from these countries.

The Union Jack. The flag of the United Kingdom is known as the Union Jack. (Jack is a sailing name for a flag). It has been used as the Britfth flag since 1603, when Scotland and England were united. The original design combined the red cross of England with the white diagonal cross on a blue background of Scotland. The red diagonal cross of Ireland was added in 1801, when Ireland became part of the United Kingdom. Wales is not represented on the Union Jack because it is a principality of England. The red dragon of Cadwallader, which is now often used as the national flag of Wales, dates from the 1950s. The Union Jack is most often seen flying from public buildings or at sports events. Children may wave small Union Jacks when a member of the royal family visits their town. During national celebrations strings of small flags are hung across the street as bunting.

Most of the population live in the cities of the UK. The most densely populated re­gion is the Southeast of England, London and the Home Counties of Surrey, West and East Sussex, Kent and Berk­shire, also Essex to the north of London. The least densely populated region is the Highlands of Scotland, this is due to the harsh terrain and inclement weather. The largest and most important city in Britain is, without a doubt, London. It has an average population of nearly eight million.

Birmingham is Britain’s “second city”, its population is over a million. Thirty years ago it was one of the most impor­tant coal and metal mining centres. It is the heart of an area known as “black county”, a name thought to derive from the industrial pollution of this time.Birmingham is in the county of West Midlands and along with Coventry (40 km. away) is an important centre of man­ufacturing industry especially the motor car factories which dominate the area’s economy and employment.

Glasgow in the county of Strathclyde in Scotland is situ­ated on the Clyde river which flows into the Atlantic. Today Glasgow’s leading industries are shipbuilding, iron and steel working, marine and aero engines. The city also produces a variety of cottons, woollen carpets and hosiery.

Liverpool is situated on the rivers Mersey and Pee in the county of Merseyside. It has a population of three quarters of a million. It is an important import and export centre for inter­national trade, especially to the other side of the Pond. It is also an important centre for flour milling and sugar refining. Across the Mersey from Liverpool is the town of Birkenhead, famous for its shipbuilding. Liverpool was the home of Britain’s most famous export, The Beatles, and many items of memorabilia can be found in the museums and shops of the city.

Manchester, situated in Greater Manchester, has a pop­ulation of slightly more than Liverpool but is geographically less important as it stands on the Irwell, a tributary of the Mersey.

Its main industries are electrical and heavy engineer­ing.

Sheffield, situated in South Yorkshire, is still today the centre of the famous English cutlery industry and is an im­portant steel working area. Its population is around six hun­dred thousand.

Sheffield also has many new industries.

Leeds, with a population of over half million is a large in­dustrial centre situated in West

Yorkshire. It is well known for its wool and clothing factories and its engineering plants.

It is also a centre for aerospace and motor vehicle engineering.

Edinburgh with a population of only half a million is not as large as Glasgow but it is the capital of Scotland. It is situated on the Forth and is home to the famous bridge of the same name. The major employment areas of the city are in government administration and tourism. It is a town steeped in history and is architecturally very important. The

Forth Bridge linking Edinburgh to the north takes one year to paint. So when the painters get to the end they have to start again from the beginning!

Dover, often called the gateway to Europe. It is one of the busiest ports in the world linking Britain to France by ferry, hovercraft, Seacat, Jetfoil and the newly completed tunnel under the

English Channel. It is quicker to travel from Dover to Paris than it is to travel from Dover to Birmingham.