Ex.5 Choose the right variant.

1 The United Kingdom has …of the world’s people.

a) 1%; b) 5%; c) 10%.

2 The north of Scotland has …

a) plains; b) mountains; c) beautiful valleys;

3 The most important river in Great Britain is:

a) the Severn; b) the Themes; c) the Avon.

4 In the 18^th century the British chief manufacture was:

a) Shipbuilding; b) coal mining; c) wool cloth.

5 They say that the fact that Britain is an island resulted in the British love for:

a) nature; b) privacy; c) animals.

6 There are special halls in Britain for playing;

a) Chess; b) darts; c) bingo.

Ex.6 Can you guess what sport popular in Great Britain is described?

1. A game like a famous American one. Played with a long bat held in one hand. The person batting hits the ball and then tries to reach first, second, third or last post before the other team gets the ball back again.

2. The scoring in this game is a mystery even to many British people. Each team takes it in turns to bat. The bat is held with both hands, the bottom of the bat resting on the ground. The other team bowls and gets the ball back. Players usually wear white clothes.

3. Played with a large leather ball. Each team tries to score goals by throwing the ball through the other team’s net.

4. Perhaps the most popular game in the world, played in many streets as well as on the fields.

5. The goalposts in this game are in the shape of the letter «H». The ball looks as though someone has sat on it. There is a lot of pushing.

6. Each player has a stick with which to heat the ball. This game is played on a pitch similar to a football pitch. The ball is small and hard.

Ex.7 Do you think those ideas are true?

1. According to the way you speak the British can say what class you belong to. 2. The upper class in Great Britain speak proper English. 3. The English have a dry sense of humour. 4. The British prefer to live in cities rather than in the country. 5. The British are less fashionable than other European nations. 6. Football is traditionally a working class sport. 7. Bowling is played mostly by the young. 8. Golf is a game of businessmen. 9. Military service is obligatory in Great Britain. 10. A person who leaves a cat to starve in an empty house while he goes for his holiday, he can be sent to prison.

Ex.8 Translate.

1. Хотя 70 стран мира больше Великобритании по территории, а ее население составляет 1% от мирового, она является одной из важнейших стран на протяжении столетий. 2. Британцы начали научно-техническую революцию и подарили миру многих знаменитых ученых, исследователей и политиков. 3. Север Великобритании – это горы, а юг представляет собой красивые долины и равнины. 4. Горы, близость океана и Гольфстрим смягчают климат Великобритании. 5. Погода в Англии очень переменчива: если с утра солнечно, вечером может пойти дождь. 6. Ведущие отрасли промышленности в Великобритании – тяжелое машиностроение, химическая промышленность, приборостроение, а также Великобритания производит многие потребительские товары. 7. Британцы известны своим сдержанным чувством юмора, любовью к природе и животным. 8. Британцы делают ставки практически на каждом виде спорта, популярном в стране.

 

 

Text 3

Ex.1 Translate the following words and word combinations.

Populous, to account for, mainland, land border, urban area, unified state, tribe, cultural and legal impact, place of origin, parliamentary democracy, rolling hills, natural harbour, temperate climate, plentiful rainfall, prevailing wind, chemical and pharmaceutical sector, aerospace, arms industry, software industry, intertwined, to reside, spectator sports, secular country.

Ex.2 Read the text.

England

England is the largest and most populous country of the UK. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population while its mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Capital is London, the largest urban area in Great Britain, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most, but not all, measures.

England became a unified state in the year 927 and takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled there during the 5th and 6th centuries. It has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world being the place of origin of the English Language, the Church of England and English law. It is home to the Royal Society, which laid the foundations of modern experimental science. England was the world's oldest parliamentary democracy and consequently many constitutional, governmental and legal innovations that had their origin in England have been widely adopted by other nations.

England is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 52 km sea gap. The Channel Tunnel directly links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel.

Much of England consists of rolling hills, but it is generally more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The largest natural harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Some regard it as the second largest harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia, although this fact is disputed.

England has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round, although the seasons are quite variable in temperature. However, temperatures rarely fall below −5 °C or rise above 30 °C. The prevailing wind is from the south-west, bringing mild and wet weather to England regularly from the Atlantic Ocean. It is driest in the east and warmest in the south, which is closest to the European mainland. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, although it is not that common away from high ground.

England's economy is the second largest in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. As part of the United Kingdom, England is a major centre of world economics. One of the world's most highly industrialized countries, England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry and the manufacturing side of the software industry.

With 50,431,700 inhabitants (84% of the UK total), England is the most populous and most ethnically diverse nation in the United Kingdom. England has a vast and influential culture that encompasses elements both old and new. The modern culture of England is sometimes difficult to identify and separate clearly from the culture of the wider United Kingdom, so intertwined are its composite nations. However the English traditional and historic culture remains distinct albeit with substantial regional differences.

The English have played a significant role in the development of the arts and sciences. Many of the most important figures in the history of modern western scientific and philosophical thought were either born in, or at one time or other resided in, England. Major English thinkers of international significance include scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, Charles Darwin, many philosophers, economists, and the team that developed the first atomic bomb began their work in England, under the wartime codename tube alloys.

Several modern sports were codified in England during the 19th century, among them cricket, rugby, football, tennis and badminton. Of these, football, cricket and rugby remain the country's most popular spectator sports. Due to immigration in the past decades, there is an enormous diversity of religious belief in England, as well as a growing percentage that have no religious affiliation. England is classed largely as a secular country even allowing for the following affiliation percentages: Christianity: 71.6%, Islam: 3.1%, Hindu: 1.1%, Sikh: 0.7%, Jewish: 0.5%, and Buddhist: 0.3%, no faith: 22.3%.

Ex.3 Answer the questions.

1. What part of the population of the UK lives in England? 2. Which countries does England border on? 3. What is London? 4. Where does England take its name from? 5. Why does England have a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world? 6. Is England far from continental Europe? 7. What is England’ relief like? 8. What kind of climate does England have? 9. Which are the leading branches of England's economy? 10. What is England’s population? 11. What is England’s role in the development of the arts and sciences? 12. Which are the most popular English sports? 13. What does a “secular country” mean?