Look through the following quotations and try to outline the problems to be discussed.

1. “When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the United Kingdom, sometimes the British Isles – but never England”. George Mikes (1912-1987)

2. “When two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather.” Samuel Johnson

3. “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

4. “… every government is the exact symbol of its people, with their wisdom and unwisdom…” Thomas Carlyle

5. “I hope succeeding generations will be able to idle. I hope that nine-tenths of their time will be leisure time…” Richard Jefferies

2. a) Try to complete the following information about Britain. Then read the text and check. Speak of the characteristic features to your partner.

There are various ways to describe the two large islands and several small islands that are situated off the coast of France:

1. The British Isles refer to … 2. The United Kingdom refers to … 3. Great Britain, or simply Britain refers to …   The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a country and sovereign state that lies to the northwest of Continental Europe with the Republic of Ireland to the west.

The United Kingdom is a political union made up of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It occupies all of the island of Great Britain and the northeast part of the island of Ireland, sharing a land border with the Republic of Ireland.

The United Kingdom is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, and its ancillary bodies of water, including the North Sea, the Strait of Dover, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea. The United Kingdom is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel, which is located in the south-east of England. The United Kingdom also has fourteen overseas territories, including Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Pitcairn Island group, British Indian Ocean Territory, the Falkland Islands, and British Antarctic Territory among others. The dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formally possessions of the Crown, form a federacy with the United Kingdom collectively known as the British Islands.

The constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth II is also the Queen and Head of State of 15 other Commonwealth Realms such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. Despite the dissolution of the British Empire and the decline of the UK's influence throughout the world, it remains a significant player in world diplomacy and a Great power.

The United Kingdom is a developed country with the fifth largest economy in the world and second largest in Europe, estimated at $2.2 trillion. It is the third most populous state in the European Union with a population of 60.2 million and is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations (UN), where it holds permanent membership on the Security Council. The UK is a major military power and is an acknowledged nuclear power.

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