Introduction

The United Kingdom is very small compared with many other countries in the world. However, there are only nine other countries with more people, and London is the world’s seventh biggest city. The main areas of high land are in Scotland, Wales and Cumbria. In the centre of England is a range of hills called the Pennines, which are also known as the “backbone of England.” The highest mountains are in Scotland and Wales: Ben Nevis is 4,406 feet (1,343 m.) and Snowdon is 3,560 feet (1,085 m.). Of course, these are very small compared with other mountains in the world – Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is 29,000 feet (8,839 m.). In fact everything in the United Kingdom is rather small – the longest rivers are the Severn (220 miles, 354 km.) and the river Thames (215 miles, 346 km.) Compare these with the river Amazon in South America which is 4,195 miles (6,751 km.) long, or the Dnieper in Ukraine which is 1,400 miles long!

1. 1,085 m. 2. 346 km. 3. 8,839 m. 4. 354 km. 5. 1,343 m.

1. Snowdon 2. Dnieper 3. Thames 4. Everest 5. Amazon 6. Severn 7. Ben Nevis 8. Pennines

Despite its size, there is a great deal of variety within the islands of the United Kingdom, and the course on the British studies aims to show the particular character of each country and region.

Britain which is formally known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political unity of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The name “Britain” is believed to be the anglicized Greek or Roman form of Celtic origin. It is often used to designate the British Isles as a whole. “Britannia” is known to be the ancient name of Britain. Nowadays Great Britain is definitely personified under the name of “Britannia”, as a helmeted woman seated on a globe leaning with one arm on a shield and grasping a spear with her free hand.

The first known settlers of Britain were the Celts who came to the island from northern Europe in the 5^th or 6^th century B. C. In 55 Julius Caesar invaded the island for a short time but in the 1^st century a long Roman occupation began which lasted till the early 5^th century. After the withdrawal of the Roman army Britain was invaded by Anglo-Saxons and Jutes who forced the Celts to retreat westward. The setting up of the United Kingdom as a state is a result of continuous wars of aggression and a policy of annexation and aggrandizement.

The oldest colony of Britain is Ireland and its conquest started a long time ago. Though Northern Ireland has officially become part of the United Kingdom only in the 20^th century the English started their attempts at conquering it as early as the 12^th century. The Irish stubbornly resisted the English, fiercely defending their territory and fought to protect their independence. Their resistance was broken by the English and they were forced to accept the rule of the English in 1949 when the name of Northern Ireland comprising six counties was added to the title of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

1. 1949 2. 1301 3. 1707 4. 1536 5. 1978

1. The name Scotland was added 2. The name Northern Ireland was added 3. England with Scotland were united 4. England with Wales were united 5. The union of the parliaments of England and Scotland took place 6. The union of Great Britain took place 7. The union of the parliaments of England and Wales took place 8. The devolution was rejected in Wales

In the same way as Ireland both Wales and Scotland failed to capitulate voluntarily to the English rule and had to be attacked in force. They fell under the onslaught of England and were annexed. The union of England with Wales dates from 1301 when Edward I’s son was created Prince of Wales. The name Great Britain started to be used at the beginning of the 17^th century after James VI of Scotland had succeeded to the English throne. In 1707 it was formally adopted after the union of the parliaments of England and Scotland.

The United Kingdom is a monarchy. Officially the supreme legislative authority in the United Kingdom is the Monarch and the two Houses of Parliament – the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons. The monarchy is the oldest secular institution in England, dating back to the ninth century. Whilst the executive powers the monarch traditionally enjoyed have largely been transferred to representative institutions such as the Prime Minister and Parliament, those the crown retains are highly significant and it remains the symbol of all executive authority. Its formal powers include the right to withhold legislation, to dissolve parliament and to declare war. The monarchy is controversial. Its supporters claim that it acts as a unifying force above party politics, that its ceremony legitimizes government and provides a focus of loyalty, and that it generates money. Its opponents argue that an unelected head of state is undemocratic, that the monarchy reinforces conservative values and that its functions are meaningless. In recent years enthusiasm for the monarchy has decreased, and the Royal Family experienced a huge loss of support in the wake of the death of Princess Diana.

The British Isles lie off the north-west coast of Europe. Their total area is about 244,100 square km. The two largest islands are Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain, which forms the greater part of the British Isles, comprises England, Wales and Scotland. Ireland comprises Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The Isle of Wight is off the southern coast of England. The Isle of Scilly is off the south-west coast of England and Anglesey is off North Wales. The Orkneys and Shetlands are to the far north of Scotland. The Isle of Man is in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands are between Great Britain and France. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not part of England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. They have a certain administrative autonomy.

Great Britain is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the north-west, north and south-west. It is separated they we, the straits of Dover or Pas de Calais, and the English Channel or La Manche, a French name which means “a sleeve”. The North Sea and the English Channel are often called the “Narrow Seas”. They are not deep but frequently are rough and difficult to navigate during storms, which used to make crossing from England to France sometimes far from pleasant. On the west Great Britain is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea and the North Channel.

1. La Manche 2. The North Sea 3. Edward I’s son 4. Henry Tudor 5. King Henry YIII

1. “a sleeve” 2. “Wide Sea” 3. “Narrow Sea” 4. “Prince of Wales” 5. “Prince of England” 6. “a shirt” 7. King Henry YII 8. united England and Wales 9. united Scotland and Wales 10. “Prince of Scotland”

Officially there are 11 regions in the United Kingdom: Greater London and the South-East Region, South-West England, East Anglia, West Midlands, East Midlands, North-West England, Yorkshire and Hampshire, Northern England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. However, in geographical descriptions, Britain is usually divided into two major regions, Highland Britain and Lowland Britain. The hilly parts are in the north and in the west toward the ocean. The agricultural plain of England lies toward the Channel and the Continent of Europe.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-18