IX. Study Vocabulary Notes and translate the illustrative examples into Russian

X. Supply suitable words (consult Essential Vocabulary I):

1. The English..., in its narrowest part (the... of Dover) is only 32 km wide. 2. The... of Scotland is noted for its wild and desolate beauty. 3. The rivers of Great Britain are of no great... as waterways, some of them are joined by means of.... 4. The relief of Great Britain... to a remarkable degree. 5. They took... of their stay in London to brush up their English. 6. The chief grain.. are oats and barley. 7. Rivers in England are seldom frozen.... are ice-free. 8. Next to coal and iron, stone and slate are most... minerals in England. 9. The rich... of south-east England is well culti­vated. 10. The Welsh Mountains are very... and difficult to climb. 11. The seas surrounding the British Isles are very..., usually less than 300 feet deep. 12. Britain's complex geolo­gy is one of the main reasons for its rich... of scenery. 13. In winter eastern Britain faces the colder continent whereas western Britain faces the... warm Atlantic. 14. In most areas the farmer... only the valley lands and the... where soils are deeper and richer. 15. There are... types of wild vegeta­tion, including the natural flora of woods, fens and marches. 16. The Lake District is famous for its....

XI. Express the same idea in your own words or explain the following substituting synonyms for the words in italics:

1. Tom Ramsay spent two happy years in the various cap­itals of Europe. 2. Blodwyn, gazing at the dark out/me of mountains before her, knew that rain would fall before night-time. 3. The windows of semi-circular shape were on the level of the floor. 4. He was wandering about with two pence in his pocket and nowhere to go for the night. 5. It was the string of pearls Miss Robinson was wearing and it was valued at 50 thousand pounds. 6. Larry had a wonderful­ly melodious voice with a singular variety of tone. 7. The children appreciated the mechanical toys they had never seen before. 8. His hands were long, but not large for his size, beautifully shaped and at the same time strong. 9. She has twenty years advantage over me. 10. Both had the ad­vantage of speaking good and fluent French. 11. They have just had a terrific scene. 12. I used ro wander about the sweet-smelling meadows in the evening. 13. He was not in­terested in your views on the social and moral value of their relationship. 14. Though she had lost the fresh bloom of ex­treme youth, there was not a line on her forehead or under her hazel eyes. 15. The climate is sufficiently varied for both sub-tropical and sub-arctic plants to be cultivated within the extent of the British Isles. 16. The British farmer cultivates a comparatively small tract of land producing a variety of products. 17. Tom ran around and stopped within a foot or two of the flower. 18. Owing to numerous rapids the river is not navigable. 19. Julia Pendleton liked to sit cross-legged on the couch just to show her shapely legs in silk stockings.

XII. Fill in prepositions. Make a study of the text'

Just off the coast... the mainland... north-western Eu­rope and only nineteen miles distant... it... the nearest point lies the small group... islands known as the British Isles.

The British Isles include Great Britain, Ireland and a number... small islands. Great Britain consists... England, Scotland and Wales. The southern two thirds... Ireland are occupied... the Irish Republic which borders... Northern Ireland. Great Britain is a region... varied lowlands, rolling hills and few mountains. Although the highest peak, Ben Nevis... the Grampians... Scotland, rises... 4, 400 feet, such-heights seldom occur. The Pennine Range... northern England rises only slightly;.. 3, 000 feet, as do the Cambrian mountains... Wales.

... the extreme south... England are the famed chalk hills some... which form the Dover Cliffs.

The rivers... the region are short and... general flow... the central and southern lowlands... the surrounding seas. Many... them are connected... each other... canals. The coasts... the British Isles are washed... the Atlantic Ocean, the Norwegian, North and Irish seas and two big channels (the English Channel and the North Channel).