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Топики по английскому языку (English topics)

Страноведение / Великобритания

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Great Britain

• The official name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

• Other names:
  Great Britain (Britain), named after its main isle
  England, named after its primary historic area
  The British Isles,which contain the British Isles
  Albion, which is the ancient name of the British Isles given by the Romans, from the Latin “alba”, meaning “white”. The Romans were impressed by the white chalk cliffs.

• A constitutional monarchy
  The head of state is either a queen or king. She or he inherits the title, and so is not elected by the people. The government is made up of Members of Parliament (MP's) who are elected officials. The British Parliament consists of 2 Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of government. The main political parties are the Labour, the Conservative and the Liberal parties.

• The territory of the British Isles

  The UK is an island state, and is composed of 5,500 large and small islands.

  The 2 main islands are:
  Great Britain,consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales
  Ireland, consisting of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic

  Some other islands include:
  The Orkney and the Shetland Islands in the north
  The Hebrides in the northwest
  Anglesey,near North Wales
  The Scilly Island ['sili], off the southwest coast of England, near Land's End
  The Isle of Wight, in the south

• The UK is one of the world`s smallest countries (twice smaller than France or Spain), with an area of 242, 900 km2 (per Wikipedia). Great Britain is just under 1,000 km long from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland. It is just under 500 km wide.

  UK 244,500 km2
  Great Britain 228,400 km2
  England 131,800km2
  Wales 20,800 km2
  Scotland 77,000 km2
  Northern Ireland 14,000 km2

• Is situated off the northwest coast of Europe. The seas around Britain provide
  exceptionally good fishing grounds.

  Is washed by
  the Atlantic Ocean in the northwest
  the North Sea in the east

  Is separated
  from Ireland by the Irish Sea
  from the European continent by the English Channel (La Manche) and its narrowest part the Strait of Dover (Pas de Calais) which is only 32 km wide.

• The official language is English, but there are some other languages spoken too.

  The Gaelic language (Scottish) is still used in parts of the Scottish Highlands and islands.

  Wales is officially bilingual, using Welsh and English

  Irish (a form of the Gaelic language)

  English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish.

• Stonehenge is situated in the southwestern part of England near the city of Salisbury. It is one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in Europe. It was built over 4000 years ago on Salisbury plain in Wiltshire. The largest stones reach about 7 metres above ground and 3 metres below ground. On the 21st of June it is the longest day of the year, when the sun rises over the heelstone and shines into the center of the circle.