Read a magazine article about two people who came from other countries to live in Britain.

Unit 3

Welcome to Britain

Text 1

Britain forms the greater part of the British Isles, which lie off the north-west coast of mainland Europe. The full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The territory of Britain is historically divided into four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Of four countries which make up the United Kingdom, England is the largest. It borders on Scotland in the north and in the east it is washed by the North Sea. In the south it is separated from the continent by the English Channel. In the west it borders on Wales and is washed by the Bristol Channel and by the Irish Sea.

In the North of Britain there are many old industrial towns. Outside the towns, much of this part of England is beautiful countryside, with green hills, lakes and sandy beaches. The centre of England (the Midlands) is also an important industrial area. But everywhere, even in the heart of a modern city, there are buildings from older Britain – cathedrals, castles and houses built hundreds of years ago.

Scotland is the most northern of the countries. There are two Scotlands. The first is the modern, dynamic country on the edge of Europe. The second is the legend of Scotland: the home of whisky, golf and bagpipes.

Scotland’s two busy cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are the focus of today’s country. Both have benefited from North Sea oil and have an optimistic view of the future.

Shipbuilding was once a great industry. But now it has been replaced by new, high technology industries, and by commerce and tourism.

Outside the two main cities there is some beautiful scenery: mountains, glens and lochs. There are also many castles.

The history of Scotland is marked at every step by the history of England. Scotland and England have fought many wars. The last and most famous ended at Culloden when the English defeated the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie. The prince escaped to the Isle of Skye and then to France. One of Scotland’s most beautiful songs was written about him crossing over to the Isle of Skye.

Two best known products of Scotland are: whisky, to drink and haggis, to eat.

Wales is a peninsula washed by sea on three sides. It is an area of high mountains, deep valleys, waterfalls and lakes. The highest mountain is Mount Snowdon in the Snowdonia National park. It is a favourite holiday and hiking spot for the Welsh and the English. Wales has some wonderful holiday towns where there are beautiful beaches.

There are castles everywhere in Wales. Most were built by the English to keep the Welsh under control. The English and Welsh have been very bad neighbours for centuries. The English have invaded Wales many times and the Welsh have invaded England.

The most populated part of Wales is the south around Cardiff. This is where the coal is. In this part of Wales, coal has become part of everyday life. Wales is the land of songs. The Welsh take great pride in their choirs and their songs have traveled the world from the “Singing Valleys”. Eisteddfod is a festival of Welsh culture. It includes competition in prose, poetry and singing.

Since 1921 Ireland has been divided into two. In the south, the republic of Ireland (called Eire since 1949) is independent and predominantly Roman Catholic. In the North, Ulster is a part of the United Kingdom and is predominantly Protestant.

The Irish call their island the Emerald Isle because it is so green. In the mountains and lakes of Ireland you can enjoy walking and fishing. In the West, in Kerry and Galway you face the Atlantic in all its force and beauty. Two Irish drinks are famous throughout the world: Guinness and Irish whiskey.

Languages. Most British people speak English, but Gaelic is also spoken in the west and north of Scotland and in Northern Ireland. Welsh is spoken by over half a million people in Wales.

Flag. Britain’s flag is called the “Union Jack”. It is really three flags on top of each other – the red cross on white background of St. George for England, the white “X” on blue background of St. Andrew for Scotland, and the red “X” on white background of St. Patrick for Ireland. Of course, each country in Britain also has its own flag.

Vocabulary:

Bagpipe- волынка

To benefit from- извлекать пользу

To be replaced by- быть замененным

Glen- узкая долина

Loch –озеро

Peninsula- полуостров

coal-уголь

to take pride in –гордиться

emerald – изумруд

Notes:

Culloden- Каллоден

Haggis- традиционное шотландское блюдо

Bonnie Prince Charlie (1720-1788) -Прекрасный принц Чарли

Isle of Skye – остров Скай

Eisteddfod – айстетвод, состязание бардов (фестиваль валлийских певцов, музыкантов и поэтов)

Gaelic - Гаэльский язык

St. George – святой покровитель Англии

St.Andrew- святой покровитель Шотландии

St. Patrick – святой покровитель Ирландии

1.Answer the questions:

1.How many parts are there in Britain?

2. Which country is the largest?

3.What separates England from the Continent?

4.What is the traditional musical instrument of Scotland?

5. What has shipbuilding been replaced by?

6. What can you say about the last war between Scotland and England.

7. What are the best known products of Scotland?

8. What can you say about the surface of Wales?

9. What is the most populated part of Wales?

10. What is Eisteddfod?

11. How do the Irish call their island and why?

2. Comp l ete the sentences:

1.The territory of G.B. is historically divided……..

2. In the south England is separated….

3. The second Scotland is the legend Scotland: the home of….

4. Glasgow and Edinburgh have benefited from…

5. The last and most famous war between Scotland and England ended…

6. Wales is an area of….

7. The Walsh take a great pride in……

8. Now Eisteddfod is a……

9. 10.Britain’s flag is called…..

Text 2

Read a magazine article about two people who came from other countries to live in Britain.

Kimiko – Japan

There are now more than two dozen Japanese companies in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England. Many Japanese families now live there. Kimiko Kinoshita Wood came to Britain as a bride six years ago. “There is much more freedom for women here”, she says. “It is sometimes difficult for Japanese women to adjust.” For Kimiko the change was easy because she is a translator and speaks English fluently. Also she has an English husband. Attitudes to women are very different”, she says. ‘Japanese wives come to Britain and after a while they discover they can have a life of their own outside the home. They don’t have that kind of freedom in Japan.

In Japan it is unusual to see man shopping with their wives, helping in the house or babysitting. But Kimiko’s husband, John, a shipping engineer, happily lends a hand with the children.

Education is one thing that worries Kimiko. In Japan children go to school six days a week and work much harder than English children.

Xavier – France

When Xavier Dupont came to Britain, his friends in Paris said he’d hate it. However, Xavier, a 26-year-old chef, says they were wrong.

“French people imagine that Britain is a cold, miserable country where everyone dresses badly, you can’t see anything for fog, and the food is the worst on the planet. I don’t agree.

Xavier insists that the British look good because they don’t follow fashion so seriously. He enjoys shopping in Britain because there are so many fresh things in the supermarkets. He particularly likes the street markets.

However he has some complaints. He thinks that British men don’t show enough consideration or appreciation of the women.

2. Which statements are true and which are false?

1.Kimiko thinks there is much more freedom for women in Britain.

2. She says that women can’t have a life of their own outside the home in Britain.

3. Kimiko’s husband doesn’t help her.

4. Kimiko likes everything in Britain.

5. Xavier thinks the British dress well.

6. He has a good opinion of British men.

7. He enjoys shopping in Britain.

3. Find the facts in the text and say what you have learned about British people.

Text 3.

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