Unit 12. Lesson 20. THE UNITED KINGDOM OF AND NORTHERN IRELAND

The Map of the British Isles

Reading There are two independent countries on the British Isles. They are:

• the United and Northern Ireland (consisting of , , and Northern Ireland), the capital is London;

• the Irish Republic or the Republic of Eire, the capital is Dublin.

1. The Names of the Country

• The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – Соединенное Королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии (official) or the United Kingdom – Соединенное Королевство (less official) or the UK (spoken English).

• Great Britain (geographically, an island). It is also called Britain.

• England (geographically, a part of the country).

• Britannia is the historical name of the country. It means the Land of Britons in Latin; a Briton – бритт.

• Albion is the poetic name of the country, which is a White Land in Latin. It was Julius Caesar who called the country Albion in 55 B.C. because of the chalky cliffs, which he first saw on a bright sunny day.

2. The UK National Symbols

The British National Flag is the Union Flag, commonly known as the . It has the (St. George’s Cross), the (St. Andrew’s cross) and Saint Patrick’s cross, representing Northern Ireland. Wales is not represented in the Union Jack.

The Royal Coat of Arms depicts the symbols which represent the parts of the country.

The Statue of The national bird

of the UK is Robin Britannia in Redbreast Plymouth is the (красногрудая symbol of the малиновка). UK.

God Save the Queen is the national anthem of the UK. In fact, it was a patriotic song, first performed in 1745. It became known as the national anthem at the beginning of the 19th century. The national anthem is played whenever the British monarch makes a public appearance. It is also played by the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC) every night before closedown. Besides, it is sung at the end of all important ceremonies, including football matches and other sports events.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen, God save the Queen: Send her victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us: God save the Queen.

O Lord, our God, arise, Scatter her enemies, And make them fall. Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks, On Thee our hopes we fix, God save us all.

Thy choicest gifts in store, On her be pleased to pour; Long may she reign: May she defend our laws, And ever give us cause To sing with heart and voice God save the Queen.

When the monarch is a man, “Queen” is replaced by “King”. The motto of the UK is Dieu et mon droit (French) that means God and My Right.

3. The Status and the Government of the UK

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy.

The monarch of the UK represents the royal power. The king or the queen of the UK is the head of the state. This monarch is also the head of the state of the fifteen other Commonwealth countries. It is a well-known fact that the monarch of the country reigns but doesn’t rule. Buckingham Palace is the official winter residence of the Royal family in London. It was built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1705 and bought by King George III in 1761.

Windsor Castle is another official residence of the British monarch. It has been a Royal home and fortress for over 900 years. Today the Castle is a working palace, used as a summer residence.

The Parliament or Westminster Parliament is the legislative body of the UK. It is located in the Palace of Westminster. The Parliament is made up of the monarch and two houses. • The elected House of Commons is the lower house: it plays the major role in law- making and consists of 659 members of the Parliament (MPs for short); this house is presided over by the Speaker.

• The appointed is the upper house: it consists of peers and lords (пэры, лорды); this house is presided over by the Lord Chancellor who sits on a special seat, called the Woolsack.

General elections to the Parliament are held every five years.

The UK’s three major political parties are the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Party. They appeared in Britain at the end of the 17th century. • The Conservative Party, which is the ruling party in the UK, is often called the Tory Party. The word “tory” means an Irish highwayman (разбойник) and was applied to the conservatives by their opponents.

• The Labour Party is the other ruling party that was founded by the Trade Unions, and has always been the opposition to the Conservative Party.

• The members of the Liberal Party were called Whigs by the Tories. A whig was a Scottish preacher, who could go on for four or five hours at a time preaching moralizing sermons. The party stopped existing in 1988.

• The Party of Liberal Democrats was formed in 1988 on the basis of the Liberal

Party and the Social Democratic Party; the latter appeared in 1981.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties are the oldest parties. They were the only parties elected to the House of Commons until the end of the 19th century.

The four branches of power in the UK are represented by:

• the Monarch (the royal power);

• the Parliament and its Houses (the legislative power);

• the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (the executive power);

• the Monarch, the Constitution and the High Court (the independent judicial power).

The currency of the UK is the pound sterling or the British sterling, represented by the symbol £. It is the third-largest currency after the U.S. dollar and the euro. 4. The Geography of the UK and its Location The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country to the northwest of Europe. The UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The English Channel is also called “Пролив Ла-Манш” (it is the official name of the channel in French). The narrowest part of the English Channel has two names. The English name is the Strait of Dover (Дуврский пролив) because Dover is an English town, but the French name of this strait is Pas de Calais (Па-де-Кале) as Calais is a French town. There are no very big rivers in the UK. The biggest are the Severn (the longest) and the Thames (the deepest). There are quite many lakes in the UK. The sixteen of them are in the Lake District. There are a lot of mountains in the UK. The biggest mountain chains are the Cheviot Hills (the Cheviots), which separate England from Scotland, and the Pennine Chain (the Pennines), which is also called the backbone of England. The ten tallest mountains in the UK are all located in Scotland. The highest point of the UK, Ben Nevis, is in the Scottish Highlands, too. The parts of the UK are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• England: London is the capital. The English – an Englishman (woman); British English is the state language.

Scotland: Edinburgh is the capital. The Scots) = the Scottish and

the Scotch: a Scotsman (woman) in English, a Scotchman (woman) in Scottish; British English is the state language, Scottish ) is the national language.

Wales: Cardiff is the capital. The Welsh– a Welshman (woman); British English is the state language, Welsh is the national language.

Northern Ireland (Ulster): Belfast is the capital. The Irish – an Irishman (woman); British English is the state language, Irish is the national language.

Symbols: England – Red rose. Scotland –Thistle. Wales – Daffodil, leek. Northern Ireland – Shamrock. The capital of England is LONDON. The capital of Scotland is EDINBURGH. The capital of Wales is CARDIFF. The capital of Northern Ireland is BELFAST. The official language is English.

Task 1.

Put the geographical names on the map. Mind the articles.

Task 2. “Flags and English speaking countries”

1) America 2) Canada 3) Great Britain 4) Australia 5) New Zealand 6) Ireland Questions: 1. Which is the ? (4) 2. What country consists of four parts? (3) 3. What country is situated to the north of the USA? (2) 4. About 57 million people live in …. in what country? (3) 5. In what country there are two official languages: English and French? (2) 6. What flag do the English call the Union Jack? (3)

1 2

3 4

5 6

Task 3. “Cities and capitals” 1) London 2) Liverpool 3)Edinburgh 4) Cardiff 5) Dublin 6) Belfast Questions: 1. What is the capital of Northern Ireland? 2. What is the capital of Scotland? 3. What is the capital of Wales? 4. What is the capital of Great Britain? 5. What is the capital of The United Kingdom? 6. What city is the birthplace of the most famous group “Beatles”? 7. London Liverpool

1 2 Edinburgh Cardiff

3 4 Dublin Belfast

5 6

Task 4. “Geographical position and physical characteristics of the UK” 1) The British Isles 2) The Arctic ocean 3) the Atlantic ocean 4) the Gulf Stream 5) the English Channel 6) the Irish Sea Questions: 1. Where is Great Britain situated? 2. What separates two large isles from the continent? 3. What is Great Britain washed by? 4. What influences the climate of Great Britain? 5. What is Ireland washed by?

The British Isles The Arctic ocean

1 2 The Atlantic ocean The Gulf Stream

3 4 The English Channel The Irish Sea

5 6

Task 5. “Rivers” 1) the Thames 2) the Severn 3) the Avon 4) the Mississippi 5) the Potomac river Questions: 1. The deepest and the most important river in the UK is ….. 2. The longest river in Great Britain is …. 3. What river does London stand on? 4. The Tower Bridge is situated across what river? 5. What is the longest river in America?

The Thames The Severn

1 2 The Avon The Mississippi

3 4 The Potomac river *****

5 6

Task 6. “Surface” 1) England 2) Scotland 3) Wales 4) Northern Ireland 5) Ireland 6) America Questions: 1. Where are Highlands situated? 2. Where are Lowlands situated? 3. Where are beautiful valleys and plains situated? 4. Where is the highest mountain Ben Nevis situated? 5.Where do men wear kilts?

England Scotland

1 2 Wales Northern Ireland

3 4 Ireland America

5 6

Task 7. “Political system” 1) a constitutional monarchy 2) a parliamentary republic 3) the House of Lords and the House of Commons 4) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 5) Britain 6) the queen Questions: 1. What is the political system of Great Britain? 2. Who is the Head of State? 3. What is the official name of G.B.? 4. What chambers does The British Parliament consist of?

A constitutional A parliamentary monarchy republic

1 2 the House of Lords and the United Kingdom of the House of Commons Great Britain and Northern Ireland 3 4

Britain The Queen 5 6

Task 7.Fill in the table:

Country Capital People Language Patron Saint Symbol Interesting [peitrən seint] information London

Scotland

The Welsh St. David

Shamrock

Task 8. Fill in the blanks with articles a)1.___UK is situated on _____ British Isles. 2. ____ English Channel separates ____ Britain from the continent. 3. _____ Irish Republic is an independent country. 4. People who live in _____ Wales are called_____ Welsh. 5. The capital of ____ Northern Ireland is ____ Belfast. 6. ____ Thames is the most famous river in ___ United Kingdom. 7. ____ UK is washed by ____ Atlantic Ocean in the east. b)1…British Isles are a group of islands where….UK is situated. 2 ….Thames is the most famous river in …. UK. Most of the rivers flow into …North Sea. 4.The main nationalities are …. English, …Welsh,….Scottish and ….Irish. 5…UK is…..parliamentary monarchy. …Oxford is the home of the oldest university of ….England. 7….Irish population is devided into two groups: ….Protestant and ….Catholics. 8…Welsh is an ancient….Celtic language. 9….Scotland is devided into three natural region ….Southern Uplands, …Central Lowlands and ….Highlands and ….islands. The flag of ….Great Britain is known as ….Union Jack.

Task 9.Complete the sentences using the next words: (is situated, producer, washed by, consists of, separated)

1. The main islands are ----- from the continent by the English Channel. 2. The UK ----- in the north- west coast of Europe. 3. Britain is a ----- and exporter of ships. 4. The United Kingdom ----- four parts. 5. The West coast of the country is ----- the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Task 10. Write a short paragraph about the UK