The Highlands of Scotland a
re among oldest mountains in the world. The highest of them is Ben Nevis. The lakes in Scotland are called «lochs»
. The beautiful Loch Lomond with its thirty islands is the largest. One-third of the people in Scotland live in or near its capital, Edinburgh,
and its great industrial centre, Glasgow. The national symbol of Scotland is a thistle. Northern Ireland was a part of Ireland as a whole before the early 20-th century and developed in the middle ages as the Kingdom of Ulster, later the Province of Ulst
er. The territory is small. It is a land of lakes, rivers and a varied seacoast. Some places are known for their wild beauty, the Glen of Antrim among of them. The capital city is Belfast. The capital of
Great Britain , London, stands on the Thames, which flows into the North Sea. The Thames is the busiest and the most important river in
Great Britain , but it is not very long. The Severn, which flows into the Irish Sea, is the longest British river. The climate of
Great Britain is mild. The Atlantic Ocean and
the warm waters of the Gulf Stream affect the weather of the British Isles. The summer is usually cool and rainy. There is much rain and fog in autumn and in winter. Great Britain
is a very damp country.
===================================



Great Britain (3)


The official name of the country the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is situated on British Isles off the northwest coast of Europe. The British Isles consist of two large islands: Great Britain and Ireland and about five
thousand small islands. Their total area over 244.000 square kilometres. They are separated from continent by the English Channel and the Straits of Dover. The west coast of the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea; the east coast is
washed by the North Sea.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are Lon¬
don, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. The population of the country is over 57 million people; about 80 per cent of them live in cities and towns.

Many centuries ago the islands were inhabited by Celts. Their tribes were developing into kingdoms when Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C. The Roman invasion began in AD 43. The Romans withdrew in 4
07. The tribes of Angles and Saxons crossed the Channel and overran all England except Cornwall and Wales. Christianity was introduced in the 6th century by missiona¬ries from Rome.
The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotlan
d is mountainous and is called the Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. The north and the west of England are mountainous, but all the rest Ч east, centre and south-east Ч
is a vast plain. The mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1343 m).
There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one.

The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole year round.

But the climate is not the same in all parts of England. The western part of England is warmer than the east and i
t also has more rain. There is much humidity in the air of England. It is well known as a foggy country. The United Kingdom is a monarchy. The Queen is the official head of state. In practice the country is ruled by an elected parliament. The British Parl
i
ament has two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. There are three main political parties: the Labour, the Conservative and the Liberal. In 2001 a general election was held. The Labour party achieved a majority in the House of Commons, a
nd the leader of the party Tony Blair was appointed Prime Minister by the Queen.
The United Kingdom is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft
and navigation equipment.

Oxford

No one knows Oxford's
age. The city was first mentioned in 912. The city is famous for the university. Oxford
University is over 800 years old. Today it consists of 35 independent colleges and 5 halls. It also has central libraries and laboratories.
There are some museums and art galleries in Oxford
, too. For example, the Ashmolean Museum which is the oldest museum in Britain. It has a good collection of antiques, European paintings, sculptures and silver. In the Chri
st Picture Gallery you can see works of Italian painters from the 14-th to the 18-th century.
The Museum of the History of Science is the home to many scientific instruments of the 16-th century, collections of ancient chemical machines, watches and clocks and medical instruments.

Oxford
is a very beautiful town with narrow streets, small shops and markets. Every year it attracts tourists from all over the world. They visit the famous university and get to know about studentsТ life in
Oxford . I would love to go there one day to feel the atmosphere of this old educational centre of England.


Stratford-upon-Avon ( Стратфорд на
Эйвон )

The town is called Stratford-upon-Avon
because it stands on the river Avon. This town is very much popular with tourists
. This is because William Shakespeare, the greatest English dramatist and writer, was born and brought up there. Stratford is small, but it has a lot of places of interest. Among them is the house where Shakespeare was born. Nowadays this is a museum whic
h has a big exhibition illustrating Shakespeare's life and work.
New Place is the house where William Shakespeare spent his last years and died. Ann Hathaway's Cottage attracts tourists too, because this is the house of Shakespeare's wife. The Holy Trini
ty Church is the place where the Shakespeares are buried.
The Butterfly Farm is a wonderful place with ponds, streams and waterfalls. Different exotic flowers grow up there. The Insect City has a large collection of spiders and other insects that are ke
pt in glass cages.
The Teddy Bear Museum houses a great collection of bears from all over the world.

British Holidays and Traditions
(Праздники и
традиции Великобритании)



Great Britain is an old country and it has a lot of holidays and interesting traditions. Holidays in the country are historic and public. Most public holidays are called bank holidays because banks, companies and mo
st shops do not work on these days. Such holidays include New Year's Day, Easter Monday and others.
At Easter, the British give each other chocolate eggs, which they eat on Easter Sunday.
Christmas is on the 25-th of December. Families spend this da
y together. For many people this is the most important holiday of the year. Family members wrap up their presents and put them under the Christmas tree. Children hang colourful socks at the end of their beds for presents. They believe that Father Frost pu
ts presents inside the socks.
New Year's Day is not as important in Britain as it is in Russia. People usually make promises to themselves such as to give up smoking, to change their lifestyle and others.

St. Valentine's Day is celebrated on the 14-
th of February. This is the traditional day for those who are in love. Young people give flowers and greeting cards to their Valentines and celebrate this day together.
Halloween is a holiday loved by all children. It takes place on the 31-th of October
. There are a lot of parties and people dress up in costumes of witches and ghosts and make lanterns of pumpkins with a candle inside. People also play different games and have fun. Children usually go from one house to another with empty baskets or bags,
knock on doors and say: Trick or treat. People should give them something, or they will play a trick on them.
Among historic holidays, Guy Fawkes Night can be mentioned. In the 15-th century, a group of people with Guy Fawkes as their leader decided to
blow up the Houses of Parliament. They did not manage to do this and Guy Fawkes was caught and hanged. Since then the British celebrate this day burning a doll made of straw and dressed in old clothes on a bonfire. Children dress in old clothes and beg in
the street saying: A penny for the Guy.

There are a lot of customs in Great Britain. One of the most famous is gardening. Most of the English keep small gardens full of flowers behind their houses or around them. In spring, there are a lot of flower-sho
ws and vegetable-shows with prizes for the best exhibitions.
In Northern Ireland there is a holiday called St. Patrick's Day. It is celebrated on the 17-th of March. On this day people wear green clothes and drink Irish beer. There are carnivals and bar
beques all over the country.

Education in Britain ( Образование в Великобритании)



Schools in Britain are of two types: free state schools and public schools, which are for money. There are four kinds of state schools: county schools, voluntary schools, special schools and self-governing schools.

Abou
t 93 per cent of pupils in Great Britain get free education while the others go to public schools. Compulsory education begins at the age of five in Britain and at the age of four in Northern Ireland, when children go to infant schools.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50