GREAT BRITAIN

The United Kingdom today consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was created by Act of Parliament in 1801 and its peoples are known as British. The United Kingdom is separated from the continent of Europe by the English Channel and the North Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is

244 000 square kilometres.

Great Britain is an island. Therefore it has maritime climate with frequent rains, strong winds and continuous fogs. The weather changes very often but temperatures rarely exceed 32˚C or fall below -10˚C. The climate is not good for agriculture and many agricultural goods are imported from other countries.

Britain is a constitutional monarchy. This means that the monarch, at the moment Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State. Today the queen is not only the Head of the State, but also an important symbol of national unity, a symbol of British traditions. The British Parliament has two houses, or chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is the most powerful and decides national policy.

At present there are two main political parties that come alternately to power: the Conservative party (or Tory), and the Labour party. The leader of the winning party automatically becomes Prime Minister. The party who comes second is the Opposition. British Prime Ministers have lived at 10 Downing Street since 1731. People often talk about “Downing Street” when they mean the Prime Minister and his or her Cabinet.

The country has a well-developed industry. Steel manufacture and shipbuilding were the oldest ones. In the last few decades service industries, especially banking and retailing, have expanded. But manufacturing still plays a important role and many high-technology industries have been developed.

Britain is a densely populated country with some 57 million people.

The majority of the working population is engaged in industry. 80 per cent of its population lives in towns. There are many big industrial cities here: Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and many others.

There are a lot of institutions of further or higher education. Most students in Britain are taking full-time post-school education courses. There are also part-time courses, half of which are for adult people. There are some 79 universities, Oxford and Cambridge being the oldest of them. They are famous for their first-class education as well as their beautiful buildings.

USA

The Untied States of America stretches from the Atlantic seaboard, across the central plains, over the Rocky Mountains to the densely populated west coast, then halfway across the Pacific to the island state of Hawaii.

America is a land of physical contrasts, including the weather. The southern parts of Florida, Texas, California, and the [entire state of Hawaii, have warm temperatures year round; most of the -United States is in the temperate zone with four j distinct seasons and varying numbers of hot and cold days each season, while the northern states and Alaska have extremely cold winters.

The United States is also a land of numerous rivers and lakes. The northern state of Minnesota is known as land of 10,000 lakes. The broad Mississippi River world's third river after the Nile and the Amazon. A canal south of Chicago joins one of the tributaries of the Mississippi to the five Great Lakes. The St. Lawrence Seaway connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.

American farmers plant spring wheat on the cold western plains: raise corn, wheat and fine; beef cattle in the Midwest. Florida and California are famous for their vegetables and fruit production, and the northwestern states are known for apples, pears, berries and vegetables.

A wealth of minerals provides a solid base for American industry.

The United States of America was founded in 1776. The Constitution was/adopted in 1787. 26 amendments have been introduced since then. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of the Rights (1790). The Constitution operates today and sets the basic forms of the US government

At present the population of USA is about two hundred and thirty nine million. The USA is called the "nation of immigrants". The country was settled, built and developed by generations of immigrants and their children. Many different cultural traditions, ethnic sympathies, racial groups and religious affiliations make up the people of the USA.

There are many big cities in the USA, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, etc.

The nation's capital Washington, D.C. with more than 3,4 million people is the largest metropolitan area in the country. Laid out by the French architect in the late eighteenth century, it was the world's first city especially planned as a centre of government.

The USA became the world leading country at the beginning of the twentieth century.