The United Kingdom of Great Britain
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 1922 includes England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and a lot of smaller islands. British Isles are a group of islands lying off the north-west of Europe. England, Wales and Scotland are in Great Britain. Northern Ireland is situated in the north-eastern part of Ireland. The larger part of Ireland is the Irish Republic. "Britania" is the ancient name of Britain.
The United Kingdom is washed by the North Sea in the east, the English Channel and the Strait of Dover in the south, the Atlantic Ocean in the north. In the west the United Kingdom is separated from the Irish Republic by the Irish Sea and the North Channel. The total area of the country is 94,249 square miles, and its population is 57 million people. The UK is an island state: it is composed of 5,500 islands, large and small. The two main islands are Great Britain (in which are England, Wales and Scotland )to the east and Ireland (in which are Northern Ireland and the independent Irish Republic) to the west. English is the official language of the United Kingdom. The inhabitants of the country are the English, the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish; these four nationalities have their own language and culture.
The capital of the whole country is London (7 mln); the capital of Wales is Cardiff (284 th); the capital of Scotland is Edinburgh (470 th); the capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast (440 th). There are 46 universities in Britain. The oldest and best known are located in Oxford, Cambridge, London, Edinburgh.
The climate of the United Kingdom is classified as temperate, cool. All parts of the British Isles get a lot of rains in all seasons. It is not very cold in winter and never very hot in summer. The average temperature in winter is +5C° and in summer is +20°C.
The chief rivers of the country are: the Severn (the longest), the Thames, the Trent, the Clyde and the Mersey. The seas around the country provide good fishing grounds. There are 6 beautiful lakes in England, this part is called "Lake District". Windermere is the largest among them. Scotland also has a lot of lakes which are called "lochs" there. The largest lake in the whole country is situated in Northern Island, it is Loch Neagh. One of the most attractive lake in Wales is Vyrnwy. These admirable places attract tourists from different countries.
The surface of England and Northern Ireland is flat, but Scotland and Wales are mountainous. The Pemurie Range in northern England and the Cambrian Mountains in Wales are rather low. Lowland Britain is a rich plain with chalk and limestone hills. The highest mountain top in the country is Ben Nevis in Highlands of Scotland , it is 1343 metres. The second highest mountain is in Wales, it is Snowdon, it is 1085 meters high. Many parts of the country have beautiful green meadows and hills.
The fauna of the British Isles is similar to that of Europe. The number of such large animals as bear, reindeer is very small. Here one finds foxes, hares, red deer, badgers, wild cats in most rural areas. Otters and seals may be seen on various parts of the coast. There are about 430 kinds of birds on the territory of the British Isles. Characteristic of the birds are sea gull, duck, goose, red grouse, dove, black cock, mountain eagle and others. The most numerous are blackbird, sparrow and starling. Robin redbreast is the national bird of the country.
There are three kinds of snakes of which only one is venomous. Sea and river fish are-trout, salmon, pike, grayling and so on. Fish farming production is centered mainly on salmon and trout.
As for the flora of the British Isles it is relatively poor comparing with that of many other countries. The most common trees are oak, beech, pine, birch, alder; maple, elm. Heather and moss dominate in the damp soils.
The United Kingdom has few mineral resources, of which the most important y are coal and oil. The largest coal fields are in England and Wales. The Welsh coal is considered to be the best in the world.
The oil fields are situated in the North Sea, along the coast of Scotland and England. Other minerals are natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, slate, lime stone, chalk, copper.
Metallurgy, chiefly iron and steel, is vital to other key industries such as shipbuilding, ship-repairing, automobile and aircraft industries, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering. Electronics, printing, pharmaceutics are the largest of all manufacturing sectors.
Production of textiles is spread throughout the country and British wool is well-known in the world. At the same time the textile machinery industry is an important sector of British industry. The United Kingdom now is one of the largest exporter of manufactured goods. Though the United Kingdom is a highly developed industrial country, agriculture remains the major sector of economy. The chief agricultural products of Britain are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, sugar-beet, milk, beef, mutton and lamb. Britain has a long tradition of sheep production. Sheep can be seen in many parts of England and Scotland. Now the country can boast of more than 40 breeds . British poultry industry is growing quickly, and pig production is to be found in most parts of Britain.
The horticultural industry produces a lot of fruit, vegetables and flowers. Scotland is known for its large raspberry plantations in the world. Strawberry is widely grown.. in England. Black currants is grown in all parts of the country. The raising of flowers is very popular now. In England you can see fields of tulips stretched for miles. Mushrooms are also grown in specially constructed sheds in many parts of the country.
The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy. The country has no Constitution, but a set of laws.
The head of the country is the Queen. The official residence of Queen Elizabeth the II is Buckingham Palace. The Royal Standard flying over the Buckingham Palace is the sign that the Queen is in the residence ; the absence of the Royal Standard means that the Queen is absent. Every year 6 million pounds is spent for keeping on monarchy. Everything in the country officially is done in the name of the Queen. The Queen's image appears on stamps, notes and coins.
British Parliament sits in the Palace of Westminster in the center of London. There are two towers in the Palace of Westminster: the Victoria Tower and The Clock Tower (called Big Ben). The British Flag (called the Union Jack) flying from the Victoria Tower shows that Parliament is in session. The light in the Clock Tower also indicates that Parliament is in session.
The Queen's power is limited by Parliament, which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Queen enters the Palace of Westminster only on the day of the opening of Parliament at the beginning of a session. She makes her speech from the Throne in the House of Lords.
The members of the House of Commons, are elected by the population for a period of five years. There are 651 members of the House of Commons, most of them are professional politicians, lawyer*;. The members of the House of Commons belong to different political parties. The Speaker is the chairman of all the debates in the House of Commons. His duty is to keep order. He sits on a beautiful chair, a gift from Australia and Canada to Mother Country. The Speaker is elected by the Members of the House of Commons. He never votes with other members. The government of the country is formed by the party which has the majority of members elected to Parliament. The Queen appoints its leader the Prime Minister. As the head of the Government the Prime Minister appoints about 100 ministers, of whom about 20 are in the Cabinet. The British Government is in the Whitehall.
The Prime Minister of the country is responsible for the policy conducted by Parliament. As for the House of Lords many people consider this system undemocratic because the number of Lords is 1000-1200 but they are not elected by the population. The House of Lords consists of princes, marquises, viscounts, barons, peers, Bishops of the Church. The chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor, he sits on the wool sack, a large bag of wool, covered with a red cloth. This shows that wool made England rich. The House of Lords has no real power but acts rather as advisory council for the House of Commons.
The session in Parliament begins at the end of October and lasts for about 160 days.There are three main political parties in the United Kingdom: the Labour, the Conservative and the Liberal parties.
One of the oldest flags in the world is the British one. Its crosses stand for the patron saints of England (St. George's flag which has a red cross with extended horizontals on a white field), Scotland (St. Andrew's flag which has a white cross on a blue field), and Ireland (St. Patrick's flag which has a red cross on a white field).The arms of the crosses do not meet at the center. Some historians say that the British flag got the name of Union Jack from James 1 under whom Scotland and England were united in the 17th century.
The national anthem of the country is " God Save the Queen".
Questions
1 .What is the official name of Great Britain?
2. Where is it situated?
3. What parts does it consist of?
4. What territory does the United Kingdom occupy?
5. Why is the climate of the British Isles milder than that one of the Continent?,
6. The United Kingdom is a highly developed industrial country isn't it? Prove bit.
7.Are there any famous educational establishments in Great Britain?
8.What can you say about the political system of the country
9.What city is the capital of Great Britain?
10. Who is the Prime Minister of Great Britain?
WHO ARE -THE BRITISH?
Are they one people? How did they evolve? How many are there? What are their rights? What jobs do they do? How do they live? What-do they believe? What do they enjoy?
The answers to these questions provide a broad profile of ordinary citizens living in Britain today - their traditions, aspirations, talents, differences and habits. The following text traces the historical assimilation of the people of Britain, and identifies the political, economic, social and cultural influences and pursuits that determine and typify the British way of life.
GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
Britain lies off the north-west coast of mainland Europe. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain comprising England, Scotland and Wales. Although Britain is a unitary state, the constituent countries have separate national identities, variations in culture and tradition, and different physical characteristics.
With an area of some 242,000 sq km (93,000 sq miles), Britain is just under 1,000 km (about 600 miles) from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland and just under 500 km (300 miles) across in the widest part.
England is predominantly a lowland country, with upland regions in the north (such as the Pennine Chain, the Cumbrian mountains and the Yorkshire moorlands) and the downs in central southern England, which are low chalk hill ranges. Whales is a country of hills and mountains, the highest being Snowdon at 1,085 m (3,560 ft). Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis (1,343 m, 4,406 ft), is in the central highlands of Scotland, which contains large areas of wild, unspoilt landscape. Northern Ireland is at its nearest point only 21 km (13 miles) from Scotland. It has a 488-km (303-mile) border in the south and west with the Irish Republic. At its centre lies Lough Neagh, Britain's largest freshwater lake (396 sq km, 153 sq miles).
Britain has frequent weather changes through the seasonal cycle of winter, spring, summer and autumn, although temperatures rarely exceed 32°C or fall below -10°C. Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year.
People in the four lands of Britain derive from a host of ancestral sources, notably: the prehistoric cultures which produced such impressive monuments as the stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge; the ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited western and central Europe; the Romans who occupied Britain for over 300 years from the invasion in AD 43; the Angles, Saxons and Jutes - Germanic peoples who began raiding and settling in Britain from the third century; Scots from Ireland, who began to settle in what became known as Scotland in the sixth century (merging with the indigenous Picts to form one kingdom under Kenneth Macalpin in the ninth century); the Vikings from Scandinavia, who pillaged and settled areas of Britain and Ireland from the end of the eighth century; and the Normans from France, who invaded England in 1066.
The last thousand years have witnessed the assimilation of all these strands -and many new ones besides, following on from global exploration, the expansion of trade and international rivalry, and the growth of the Empire.
At the same time political, social, economic and religious trends, pressures and crises have all evolved to create the beliefs, lifestyle and expectations that are prevalent among the people today.
PAST EVENTS - MODERN LEGACIES ROMAN RULE
Roman rule was very influential in Britain's evolution, not least in the founding of towns and cities so many of which are familiar to the people today. For example, London and Lincoln largely preserve their Roman names - Londinium and Lindum Colonia respectively - while others, such as Chester, Gloucester and Colchester, betray their origins by the '-Chester' or '-cester1 ending. This name, derived from the Latin castra, was given to the Roman sites by the Anglo-Saxons.
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
Christianity - which had been introduced to Britain under the Romans - was reintroduced to pagan England in the sixth and seventh centuries. The Catholic Church sent St Augustine to preach and establish bishoprics in 597. Since that time, Christianity has remained the predominant faith among people in Britain.
REIGN OF ALFRED THE GREAT
From the fifth century onwards a number of small kingdoms emerged in England. These gradually evolved into fewer, larger groupings - particularly Northumbria in the north, Mercia in the midlands and Wessex in the south. During the ninth century Vikings from Scandinavia overran all these kingdoms except Wessrx, where Alfred the Great, who reigned from M71 to 899, successfully resisted the invaders, hi the tenth century the Wessex dynasty came to rule the whole of England. The present Royal Family is partly descended from the royal line of Wessex.
NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND
The last successful foreign invasion of England took place in 1066, when Duke William of Normandy defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings. The
Norman Conquest led to closer links with the mainland of Europe. Normans and others from France came to settle, and French became the language of the nobility and the law courts for the next three centuries,
MAGNA CARTA AND THE BEGINNINGS OF PARLIAMENT
hi 1215 King John signed Magna Carta (Great Charier) in the face of demands by barons. It secured feudal rights and established areas over which the King had no jurisdiction, and has been interpreted throughout English history as guaranteeing certain political and civil liberties. The rest of the 13th century saw the development of Parliament as a gathering of feudal barons and representatives of counties and towns summoned by the King. By the end of the century, it had adopted its basic makeup of Lords and Commons, and it had established the right to approve taxation. It also soon acquired the right to approve new laws.
THE ENGLISH REFORMATION
Between 1534 and 1540 King Henry VIII of the Tudor dynasty broke with the Papacy in Rome, heralding the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England. Despite the suppression of the monasteries, the Church remained largely unaffected until the reign of his son Edward VI (1547-53), when Protestantism became the official religion of England.
Popular hostility to the Papacy remained widespread for centuries, hi Ireland, differences between the religious traditions remain very marked to this day.
UNION OF ENGLAND AND WALES
The subjugation of Wales by the English had been completed in the late 13th century by Edward I, who gave his infant son, later Edward II, the title of Prince of Wales - still carried today by the monarch's eldest son. Between 1536 and 1542 Acts of Union integrated England and Wales administratively and legally and gave Wales representation in Parliament.
CIVIL WAR AND THE EXECUTION OF CHARLES I
Hostility between Parliament and the Crown led to the outbreak of civil war in 1642. The eventual victory of the Parliamentary army heralded the execution of Charles I in 1649, the temporary abolition of the monarchy (until 1660), and the rule of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.
THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS
In 1685 James II, a Roman Catholic, became king (succeeding his brother, Charles II). However, as he lost popularity for his autocratic rule and pro-Catholic policies, his Protestant Dutch son-in-law, William of Orange, was invited by leading politicians to intervene. The result was the bloodless or 'Glorious Revolution* in which James found himself practically without support and was overthrown. The crown was offered jointly to William and his wife Mary. The following year the Bill of Rights was passed, establishing the political supremacy of Parliament.