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Text 9. Britain






The North Sea, the Strait of Dover and the English Channel separate Great Britain from the continent.

Britain is a highly industrialized and developed country. Britain lives by manufacture and trade. For every two persons employed in agriculture eleven people are employed in mining, manufacturing and building (about 80 % of the population is urban).

The UK is one of the world’s largest exporters of manufactured goods per head of population.

Apart from coal and iron ore Britain has very few natural resources and mostly depends on imports. Its agriculture provides only half the food it needs. The other half and most of the raw materials for its industries such as oil and various metals have to be imported. Britain also has to import timber, cotton, fruit and farm products.

In the past century Britain secured a leading position in the world as manufacturer, merchant and banker. After World War I the world demand for the products of Britain’s traditional industries fell off, and Britain began expanding trade in new engineering products and electrical goods. Britain mostly produces articles requiring skilled labour, such as precision instruments, electronic equipment, chemicals, and high quality consumer goods.

Glasgow and Newcastle became great centres of shipbuilding. Lancashire produces cotton goods and Yorkshire woolens, with Sheffield concentrating on iron and steel. Birmingham developed light engineering. Great progress was made in the development of new industries, such as aircraft, automobile, electronic industries.A number of atomic reactors were made.

The Constitution of the UK developed over time and is not written in one place. It consists of various elements including laws made by Parliament, important court cases and established practices. The key principles of the Constitution are the rule of law (everyone is subject to the laws of this land) and the sovereignty of Parliament. There are no restrictions on the laws that Parliament can pass).

Today, the monarch represents the people as the Head of the State in Britain, but the real power lies in parliament with the elected representatives of the people.

London, the capital of England, is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. With its population of Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Africans, West Indians, Cypriots, Chinese and much more it is in some ways as much a Commonwealth city as a British city. And it is, of course, an international centre for tourism. The tourist season in London, which was mainly in the summer months, is now all year round, and of the fifteen million people who visit Britain each year, most spend at least a few days in London.

But London is more than this. It is the centre of Government and the home of the Queen. It is also the financial centre of Britain. When people talk about ”the city” they are referring not to London itself, but to a small area called the city of London. The City of London contains the Stock Exchange, the Bank of England, and all the major financial institutions. Over a million people enter the City in the daytime on business. At night it is practically deserted. In keeping with tradition no reigning monarch may enter the City without the permission of the Lord Mayor, whose functions are mainly ceremonial nowadays.

Although London is a city of monuments, history and traditions, its people are undoubtedly the most interesting feature. London is a big cultural centre. There are many clubs, the English “pub” (short for the public house) or “the local” is a significant national institution. For millions of Englishmen it is a regular lunch time meeting place, a club, a debating chamber, a television lounge, a show place and a refuge from the family. Pubs are quite respectable institutions, where women come unescorted.

 


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