Ex. II Read and translate the text. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Brit­ain and Ireland, and more than 5,000 smaller islands.

The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Brit­ain and Ireland, and more than 5, 000 smaller islands.

The British Isles are divided into two independent states: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (the Irish Republic).

Britain or Great Britain is England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is sometimes called the province of Ulster. It also belongs to Great Britain.

The Republic of Ireland is southern Ireland. It is inde­pendent and has its own government in Dublin, the capital of the republic.

London is the capital of the United Kingdom or Britain. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, Cardiff of Wales and Belfast of Northern Ireland.

Great Britain can be divided into two parts: lowland Brit­ain and highland Britain. Lowland Britain is in the south-east and highland Britain is in the north-west. The Highlands of Scotland are the highest mountains in the British Isles. The highest peak in the Highlands is Ben Nevis (1, 343 m.). Snowdown is the highest mountain in Wales. Lowland Britain is a rich plain.There are many hills there, but they are never higher than 300 m.

British rivers are not very long but they are deep. Big ships can enter ports at some distance from the coast. In the south of England the Thames (336 km.) is navigablefor big ships as far as the city of London.

Lakes are found in the Lake District in England and in the Highlands of Scotland, where they are called lochs.Loch Ness, which is one of the largest lakes in Scotland, is famous for the “Loch Ness monster”. In Great Britain there are about 4, 000 km. of navigable canals.

Woods make up only about 8 per cent of the territory of Britain. At one time oak forests covered the greater part of lowland Britain, but there are only a few oak forests left.

Britain is very rich in coal. Natural gas and oil have been discovered in the British sector of the North Sea.

Britain has mildwinters, not very hot summers and a lot of rain all the year round. The mild climate is due to the warm Gulf Stream flowing from the Gulf of Mexico to west­ern Europe.