Acquaintance with Great Britain
Geographical position. People. Great Britain is the political term describing the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland made on 1 May, 1707 under Queen Anne of England - "the two kingdoms of Scotland and England shall...be united into one kingdom by the name of Great Britain" It existed until 1801 when Great Britain and Ireland united to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain is also the name of the ninth largest island in the world. With a population of 58.9 million people (England/Scotland/Wales only) it is the third most populated island on Earth. It lies to the northwest of Continental Europe, with Ireland to the west, and makes up the largest part of the territory of the country the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is surrounded by over 1000 smaller islands and islets. England, Scotland and Wales are mostly situated on the island, along with their capital cities, London, Edinburgh and Cardiff respectively.
Political System. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The Monarch is the official head of state and an integral part of Parliament in her constitutional role. She has mostly representative functions. The Monarch gives the royal assent to the bills passed by the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Prime Minister is the head of government. He is the leader of the party with the majority seats in the House of Commons. He chooses the Cabinet which consists of 20 ministers. The Cabinet determines government policies and coordinates government departments. British Parliament consists of the House of Lords (over 1,100 permanent, non-elected members; examines and revises bills from the House of Commons) and the House of Commons (about 650 elected members; makes laws and discusses political problems).
LONDON London, the capital of Great Britain, is a very old town. It is two thousand years old. Many years ago London was a small town on the Thames. There were a lot of villages round it and after many years London and three hundred villages grew into a very large city. Some of the names of those villages you can find in the names of the streets in modern LondonKensington, Westminster and others. There were many wars in those days and people from other countries came to Great Britain and destroyed London, but new houses of stone grew up. London Stands not far from the sea and many ships from other countries came to the port of London and brought cotton, food and other things. Factories grew in London and other cities. Many shops were opened in the centre of London. In 1863 the first Underground railway began to work. It was very short in those days. Now London is a beautiful city with large squares and parks. London is one of the biggest cities in the world.
The Sights. THE TOWER OF LONDON The Tower of London is a very old building in London. It is nine hundred years old. The Tower of London Stands on the Thames. In the early days of the history of England the English kings lived in the Tower. Then it was a prison where many people died, black ravens had much food near the walls of the Tower in those years. The black ravens live in the gardens of the Tower now. The English people like them very much. A man looks after the ravens and gives them meat in the morning and in the evening. Now the Tower of London is a museum and many other countries come to see it. They see the dark stone halls with small windows and thick doors. The walls of the Tower are five metres thick. In the museum they can see many old guns. At ten oclock every evening the guards lock the big doors of the Tower for the night.
BIG BEN The Houses of Parliament is a very large building which stands near the Thames. There are two tall towers at the corners of the building and one of them is the Clock Tower. The English people built the tower and the clock in The clock has four faces and a very big loud l bell. The bell weighs 13 tons. The man in Charge of the building was Sir Benjamin Hall. This man was very tall, and the workers and his friends called him Big Ben. So they called the bell Big Ben too. Sometimes people call the clock and the Clock Tower Big Ben. The people of London who live near the Houses of Parliament can hear the sound of the bell every hour. Other people hear it on the radio. On New Years night people come to the Clock Tower to see the New Year in.
LONDON BRIDGE London Bridge is two thousand years old. The first bridge was of wood. Then people built the bridge of stone and called it London Bridge. There were houses and shops on it and people paid money when they crossed the bridge. In 1831 a new bridge rose on the place of the first bridge. But the city grew very quickly and in 1960 the people of London wanted to build a large new bridge at that place. A very rich American bought the old London Bridge as people buy old things. He wanted to show the old bridge in America to people for money. The people of London liked their old London Bridge. But the city needed money for the new bridge. The American brought the parts of the bridge on a ship to Arisona in the USA. Workers built the old bridge but there was no river under it now, only a street. No ships pass under it now, only people walk along the street and look at the old bridge. In 1973 the new London Bridge was opened on the place of the old bridge over the Thames.
Beefeaters The name Beefeaters is thought to come from the French word - buffetier. Buffetiers were guards in the palace of French kings. They protected the king's food. Beefeaters were originally established in 1485 as King Henry VII's bodyguard, immediately after is victory at Bosworth. They are best known for their scarlet and gold dress uniforms which date from 1552 and are worn on state occasions.
Customs and Traditions. Englishmen. Many Englishmen eat porridge with milk for breakfast. English people often take sugar in their porridge. But porridge is a Scotch dish, and the Scotch always put salt in it, and never sugar.. English people drink a lot of tea. Some English people have tea for breakfast, tea in the middle of the morning, tea after dinner, tea in the middle of the afternoon, tea at tea-time and tea with supper. At work they take five or ten minutes in the middle of the morning and the afternoon to have a cup of tea. At tea-time they have one, two, three or more cups of tea, bread and butter, or cakes. Some English families have "high tea" or big tea, and no supper. For high tea they may have cold meat, bread and butter, cakes, and, of course, a lot of tea. The English always drink tea out of cups, never out of glasses. In England many people usually drink tea with sugar and milk. Tea with lemon in it is called "Russian tea" in England. Englishmen always eat bread with their soup. With meat and vegetables they never eat any bread. Some Englishmen only eat one thin piece of bread at dinner.
Customs and Traditions. Scotsmen. A Scotsman's traditional clothes are socks, shoes, a kilt, a tie, a jacket and a bonnet. Now people in Scotland wear a kilt but very seldom. They put on their traditional clothes only on holidays and wear them with pleasure. Scottish people wear just the same clothes as the English. Scottish people speak English but with their own accent. For example, when a Scotsman uses the word arm he says «ar- r-m» so that you can hear the sound «r».They often use their native words such as loch which means lake. People say that Scotsmen work hard: many good doctors and engineers come from Scotland. Scottish people like to dance very much. They say that they dance better than English people. Glasgow (the biggest city of Scotland) has more dancing schools than any other European city. A lot of people enjoy Scottish dancing. There are dances for groups of people and there are some other dances - more difficult ones - which are only for one or two people. Every Scotsman belongs to a clan. A clan is a family group: all the people of the same family belong to the same clan. Everybody with the name MacGregor is a member of the MacGregors clan; everybody called Finaly is a member of the Farquharson clan. (You see that the family name and the name of the clan are sometimes different). There are about 300 different clans in Scotland.
Customs and Traditions. The Welsh. People in Wales speak English but they have their own language Welsh. Some Welsh people learn Welsh before they learn English - and some of these people never learn much English. Some Welsh families speak Welsh to each other at home, but they read English newspapers and English books, that is why when they speak Welsh they sometimes put in English words. Welsh people are very proud of their national language -and they are proud of Wales, too. The Welsh wear the same clothes as the English. But on holidays a Welsh woman wears a red cloak, a long black skirt, an apron and a high black hat on her head. The men do not have a national costume. They smile, «We have no money after we have bought clothes for our wives! »
Quiz: 1. Where is the UK situated? a) The UK is situated on the British Isles b) The UK is situated in the south of Europe c) The UK is situated in the southeast of Europe d) The UK is situated in the north of Europe 2. What is the UK washed by in the north? a) The UK is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north b) The UK is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the north c) The UK is washed by the Arctic Ocean in the north d) The UK is washed by the Indian Ocean in the north 3. What is between Great Britain and Ireland? a) The Pacific Ocean is between Great Britain and Ireland b) The Atlantic Ocean is between Great Britain and Ireland c) The Irish Sea is between Great Britain and Ireland d) English Channel is between Great Britain and Ireland 4. What parts does the United Kingdom consist of? a) The United Kingdom consists of Highlands and Lowlands b) The United Kingdom consists of England and Scotland c) The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales. d) The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland and Wales.
Quiz: 5. What is the largest part of the UK? a) The largest part of the UK is Britain b) The largest part of the UK is Scotland c) The largest part of the UK is Wales d) The largest part of the UK is England 6. What is the capital of Wales? a) The capital of Wales is London b) The capital of Wales is Edinburg c) The capital of Wales is Cardiff d) ) The capital of Wales is Sydney 7. What parts is Scotland divided into? a) Scotland is divided into Deserts and Canyons b) Scotland is divided into Deserts and Highlands c) Scotland is divided into Highlands and Canyons d) Scotland is divided into Highlands and Lowlands 8. Whom does the power in the country belong to ? a) The power in the country belongs to the Queen b) The power in the country belongs to the Queen and to the British Parliament c) The power in the country belongs to the British Parliament and to the British Government d) The power in the country belongs to the Queen and to the British Government
Quiz: 9. Who is the Head of State in Great Britain? a) The Head of the State is the Queen b) The Head of the State is the Prime Minister c) The Head of the State is the British Parliament d) The Head of the State is the British Government 10. How many members are there in the House of Commons? a) There are 650 members in the House of Commons b) There are 600 members in the House of Commons c) There are 500members in the House of Commons d) There are 580 members in the House of Commons 11. How often do the British people elect the members of the House of Commons? a) The British people elect the members of the House of Commons every five year b) The British people elect the members of the House of Commons every four year c) The British people elect the members of the House of Commons every six year d) The British people elect the members of the House of Commons every three year 12. What is the favourite topic to discuss in Great Britain? a) The favourite topic to discuss in Great Britain is weather b) The favourite topic to discuss in Great Britain is mone c) The favourite topic to discuss in Great Britain is education d) The favourite topic to discuss in Great Britain is politics
Quiz: 13. When do people celebrate Guy Fawkes Day? a) People celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on the 5th of November b) People celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on the 7th of November c) People celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on the 5th of December d) People celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on the 7th of December 14. Where can you see ravens in London? a) We can see the ravens in the Tower of London b) We can see the ravens in the London of Tower c) We can see the ravens in the Tower d) We can see the ravens in the London 15. Why do the ravens live in the Tower of London? a) One of the old English legends says that London can be the capital of the Country, reach and great, until twelve black ravens live in the Tower of London b) The ravens live in the Tower of London because they are very beautiful c) The ravens live in the Tower of London because they are hungry d) The ravens live in the Tower of London because they dont want to fly away
Check your answers: 1. Where is the UK situated? a) The UK is situated on the British Isles 2. What is the UK washed by in the north? a) The UK is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north 3. What is between Great Britain and Ireland? c) The Irish Sea is between Great Britain and Ireland 4. What parts does the United Kingdom consist of? c) The United Kingdom consists of four parts: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales 5. What is the largest part of the UK? d) The largest part of the UK is England
Check your answers: 6. What is the capital of Wales? c) The capital of Wales is Cardiff 7. What parts is Scotland divided into? d) Scotland is divided into Highlands and Lowlands 8. Whom does the power in the country belong to ? c) The power in the country belongs to the British Parliament and to the British Government 9. Who is the Head of State in Great Britain? a) The Head of the State is the Queen 10. How many members are there in the House of Commons? a) There are 650 members in the House of Commons
Check your answers: 11. How often do the British people elect the members of the House of Commons? a) The British people elect the members of the House of Commons every five year 12. What is the favourite topic to discuss in Great Britain? a) The favourite topic to discuss in Great Britain is weather 13. When do people celebrate Guy Fawkes Day? a) People celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on the 5th of November 14. Where can you see ravens in London? a) The ravens we can see in the Tower of London 15. Why do the ravens live in the Tower of London? a) One of the old English legends says that London can be the capital of the Country, reach and great, until twelve black ravens live in the Tower of London
Your Scores: correct answers – 5 12 correct answers – correct answers – 3
Thanks for being patient and attentive by Anna Shteinbreher