Семестр. Great Britain has the official name — The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (or UK — for short)

Тема №1

GREAT BRITAIN

Great Britain has the official name — The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (or UK — for short). It is situated on the British Isles. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the parts of Great Britain. Administratively the UK is divided into 55 counties. The total territory is over 244 thousand square kilometers (the 75^th place among other countries in the world).

The population of the UK is over 57 million. Great Britain is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The majority of the British population lives in cities and towns.

The country is washed by the North and Irish Seas, the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. North and West of the country are highlands, South and East — lowlands.

There are many rivers in the country. The longest and most important of them are the Severn, the Thames and the Clyde. The climate is mild due to the moun­tains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial pow­er. It possesses some mineral resources: coal, iron ores, oil, gas and some metals.

The country is known as one of the world largest producers and exporters of electronics and machin­ery, chemicals and textile, various aircraft and navi­gation equipment. Among the main industrial branch­es are also coal-mining, automobile, ship-building and metallurgical.

Great Britain is a country with old cultural tradi­tions and customs. The official language of the state is English. The national symbol of the UK is «Union Jack» - the British state flag having 3 white and red crosses on the dark blue field. The weave of crosses symbolizes power and might.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Officially the head of the state is the Queen. But her power is not absolute, it is limited by the Parliament. The British Parliament consists of 2 chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

There are several political parties in the UK. The largest and most influential of them are the Conserv­ative (the Tory), the Liberal (the Whigs) and the La­bour Party.

Give English equivalents:

конституционная монархия; высоко развитая промышленная держава; густонаселенная страна; общая территория страны; располагаться на Британских островах; мягкий климат; крупнейший в мире производитель и поставщик оборудования; официальный язык государства; страна богатых культурных традиций; символизировать власть и могущество; ограничивать власть королевы; состоять из Палаты общин и Палаты лордов; влиятельные политические партии.