Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is the smallest component of the United Kingdom. It occupies northeast of the island of Ireland, only one sixth of its territory. Its capital is Belfast. If you ask an Irishman far from home what he misses most about Ireland, he will probably say “the greenness”. Irish poets call their country “the Emerald Islands”. Is the grass really greener in Ireland? The fact is that the winds usually flow from the Atlantic Ocean and make the air and soil warm and damp. Grass grows well in such climate and it makes the island so beautiful.

The population of Northern Ireland is about 1.5mln people; 53% of them live in urban areas. The whole economy of Northern Ireland is closely integrated with the economy of Great Britain. It has three basic industries: agriculture, textiles and shipbuilding. The largest industry agriculture is conducted for the most part on small family farms.

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Part 4. British Way of Life

Names

British people have two names: a first name and a surname or family name. Family members or friends always use first names. It’s usually a good idea to use surnames until people ask you to use their first names. When people want to be formal, or when they do not know each other very well, they use surnames with Mr. (pronounced “mister”), Mrs. (pronounced “missis”) for married women, and Miss for unmarried women. Some women don’t like to say if they are married or not. When they write their name, they use Ms (pronounced “miz” or “mez”), not Mrs. or Miss. Many people have second or middle names: Jacqueline Lee Onassis, Winston Spencer Churchill. When a woman marries, she usually takes her husband’s surname. The children have their father’s surname too. Thus, John Smith marries Susan Brown. She becomes Susan Smith and their children are Elizabeth Smith and Tom Smith.

“Sir” is a British title for men who have done many good things for their country. “Sir” is used with the first name, not with the surname alone: Sir Winston, or Sir Winston Churchill (not Sir Churchill).

Sportsmen, musicians and actors often have nicknames. A nickname is not your real name, but a name that people call you. Ringo Starr was the drummer with the Beatles. His real name is Richard, but Ringo is his nickname.

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