The United Kingdom

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four main countries which are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are: London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. The UK is an island state, it is composed of some 5500 islands, large and small.

2. The UK is one of the world’s smaller countries. It is situated off the northwest coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the North Sea to the east, and is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover¹.

3. One can see two animals on British royal coat of arms. One of them is the lion. The “King of beast” has been used us a symbol of national strength and of the British monarchy for many centuries. The other one is the unicorn ². It is a mythical animal that looks a horse with a long straight horn growing from its forehead, and is a symbol of purity.

4. The formal name of the British national flag is Union Jack. It combines the St. George’s cross of England, St. Andrew’s cross of Scotland and St. Patrick’s cross of Ireland. The United Kingdom or UK is a political term. All of four countries are represented in Parliament and the abbreviation UK is used on most official documents.

5. The class system is very important in Britain. It is created by complex system of accents ³, school and family. Social position is often based on the traditions or history of the family, not is money. Many people’s class can be identified immediately by the way they speak.

6. Britain is split up into counties. County councils are elected to runthings ⁴, such as education, housing, town planning, rubbish disposal ⁵.

7. Britain is a constitutional monarchy. But the monarch’s constitutional role is mainly symbolic.

Пояснения к тексту:

1. Дуврский пролив

2. единорог

3. говор

4. управлять делами

5. уборка мусора

VII Прочитайте 5-й абзац и вопрос к нему. Какой из вариантов ответа соответствует по содержанию одному из предложений текста?

What created class system in Britain?

1. The way people speak created the class system.

2. Class system was created by traditions and the way people speak.

3. Complex system of accents, school and family created class system.

Контрольное задание № 1

Вариант 2

I. Перепишите следующие предложения. Определите по грамматическим признакам, какой частью речи являются слова, оформленные окончанием – s и какую функцию это окончание выполняет, т.е. служит ли оно:

А) показателем 3-го лица единственного числа глагола в Present Simple;

Б) признаком множественного числа имени существительного;