Flags of the UK

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland uses as its national flag the royal banner known as the Union Jack or Union. It consists of the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England), edged in white, laid on the Cross of St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which are laid on the cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland). Wales, however, is not represented in the Union Flag by Wales’s patron saint, Saint David, as at the time the flag was designed Wales was part of the Kingdom of England.

2. Discuss the information in the table with your desk partner.

The country	The patron	The Symbol and Description
England	St.George	The association of the red cross as an emblem of England can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and it was used as a component in the design of the Union Flag in 1606; however, the English flag has no official status within the United Kingdom. Since the 1990s it has been in increasingly wide use, particularly at national sporting events.
Scotland	St. Andrew	The Flag of Scotland, On a Bluefield a White (Argent) saltire. Also known as Saint Andrew’s Cross or the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. As the national flag, the Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both their loyalty and Scottish nationality. According to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross.
Wales	St. David	The flag of Wales, meaning “The Red Dragon” consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardized and many renderings exist.
Ireland	St. Patrick	St. Patrics Saltire is used by the government to represent Northern Ireland alongside the other countries of the United Kingdom. It is represented by two red diagonal crosses on the white field.

IV. History. England. The Great Mystery of Stonehenge

1. Read the text about one of the world’s wonders.

Who Built Stonehenge?

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, about 2 miles (3,2 km) west of Amesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. The question of who built Stonehenge is largely unanswered, even today. The monument’s construction has been attributed to many ancient peoples throughout the years, but the most captivating and enduring attribution has been to the Druids. Julius Caesar and other Roman writers told of a Celtic priesthood who flourished around the time of their first conquest (55 BC). By this time, though, the stones had been standing for 2,000 years, and were, perhaps, already in a ruined condition. The best guess seems to be that the Stonehenge site was begun by the people of the late Neolithic period (around 3000 BC) and carried forward by people from a new economy which was arising at this time. These “new” people began to use metal implements and to live in a more communal fashion than their ancestors. Some think that they may have been immigrants from the continent, but that contention is not supported by archaeological evidence. It is likely that they were indigenous people doing the same old things in new ways.

Construction of the Henge

In its day, the construction of Stonehenge was an impressive engineering feat, requiring commitment, time and vast amounts of manual labor. In its first phase, Stonehenge was a large earthwork; a bank and ditch arrangement called a henge, constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. It is believed that the ditch was dug with tools made from the antlers of red deer and, possibly, wood. It was then loaded into baskets and carried away. Modern experiments have shown that these tools were more than equal to the great task of earth digging and moving.

The list of unknown words:

to attribute – вносить вклад

to flourish – процветать

captivating – очаровательный, пленительный

enduring – длительный, долгий, продолжительный

Druids – друиды, жрецы и поэты у древних кельтских народов, организованные в виде замкнутой касты и тесно связанные с властью вождя

in a ruined condition – в разрушенном состоянии

implements – орудия труда

indigenous – аборигенный, местный, туземный

earthwork – земляные работы, земляное сооружение

2. Answer the following questions:

1. What is Stonehenge?

2. Who built the construction?

3. Was it a difficult task to make such a construction that time?

4. Do you think it is possible to solve the mystery of how Stonehenge
was built?

V. Festivals and Traditions. Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day

1. Guess the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:

Irish-at-heart, feast day, commemorate, diaspora, folklore, creature.

Дата добавления: 2015-12-01