The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island is situated on the British Isles not far from Europe. It consists of the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of Ireland and a

The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island is situated on the British Isles not far from Europe. It consists of the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of Ireland and a great number of small islands, such as the Orkneys, the Hebrides, the Isle of White and many others.

If you look at the map of Europe you will see that Great Britain is not large. It takes 6 hours to travel in a fast train, from London, the capital of England, to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. And the journey from London to Plymouth takes a little over 4 hours by train.

There are four parts of Great Britain: England, Scotland with capital of Edinburgh, Wales, with capital of Cardiff and Northern Island with capital of Belfast. Great Britain is separated from Europe by the North Sea and England Channel. The channel in it's narrowest part The Strait of Dover is only 32 kilometers.

The Gulf Stream, a warm ocean current, warms the seas around the British coast, moderating the climate. This results in cool summers and mild winters. The temperature in winter seldom falls below zero and fields and meadows are green all year.

Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch and Queen Elisabeth II reigns as the head of state. The British constitution, isn't spelled out in a single document. Instead, it is made up of a combination of laws and conventions, the oldest is of the 13-th century. In 1215 the nobles forced King John to accept the Magna Carta, which took away some of the king's powers. In later centuries this was seen as the first occasion whereby the king was forced to take advice.

The monarchy's absolute power has been progressively reduced over time. The Queen is impartial in her decisions and acts on the advice of her ministers. The Queen and the Royal family continue to take part in many traditional ceremonies. British Queen is also formally considered to be a queen in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and some more countries.

The laws and taxes are accepted by the Parliament divided into House of Commons and House of Lords. The role of the last one is constantly decrеasing.

Britain contributed world science and art with such a great number of names that it isn’t possible to list even a bit of them. I’d like to tell about _______

Few Facts about English

There are about 400 million native speakers. This makes it the second most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese. About 200 million people speak it as a second language and there are as many as a billion people to speak it at least a basic level. The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are, in descending order: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Nigeria, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand.

English began when Cermanic tribes of Angles, and Jutes came to Britain from IV till VI AD from the territory of modern Denmark. They made their home in the south and east of the island, interacting with the local Celtic tribes. The Celts were in majority, but their language was ousted by the Germanic dialects. Those of different tribes became Old English. The word "English" comes from the name of the Angles - Englas. It goes back to the root "ang" – sharp item. The Angles were fishers and used sharp hooks for fishing. The world "Angles" is suggested to mean “people using sharp items”, “fishers”.

Many other people came to England later at different times, speaking different languages, and these languages added more words to make today's English. For example, around 800 AD, many Danish and Norse pirates, also called Vikings, came to the country and English received many Norse loanwords. Their languages were Germanic languages, like Old English.

After William the Conqueror from the territory of modern France called Normandy conquered England in 1066 AD and became king, he brought his nobles, who were French. They became the new government. They stopped English from being taught in schools for 300 years and the language changed greatly, because it was mostly being spoken instead of written. English borrowed many words from Old French relying to political life and law. In spite of the fact that England is the motherland of parliament, the word being French, as the Parliament started in the period of the French-speaking nobles.

As Latin and Greek were the languages of intellectual interaction in medieval Europe, English got a lot of words from these languages. Nowdays about 80% of the words in scientific, technical or juridical texts are of Latin and Greek origin.

English has a rather intricate system of spelling but simple grammar, having practically no gender for the nouns. That is one of the reasons of its turning the lingva franka of the modern world.

The British Universities

School training in England lasts 13 years. Young people who are going to enter universities have to stay at school up to 18. They choose only 3-4 disciplines. This program is called Foundation. According to results the school leavers are admitted to universities.

University programs usually last 3 years for a degree of the bachelor and from 1 till 4 years to get a degree of the master. The English use to say “to read at university”, for example «she reads in civil law».

Students spend in auditoriums not more than 20-25% of their training hours, they have 1 or 2 lessons a day, lectures or lessons with tutor. Tutors are people who help students to choose subjects and ways of training, also they analyze and criticize students’ work.

The major time the students write essays and prepare for their written exams. Written works (essays) are the central part of preparation. Students get original task, write the work, and then it is analyzed in a small group with the teacher. The process is called “reading under guiding». It is considered, that creating of written texts develops logic and analytical abilities best of all. Besides, such way of training prepares for the independent work. Exams in special subjects are passed in writing, so that the results can be rechecked by independent experts.

The universities take care of the high standard of their degrees, that’s why the demands for the undergraduates are very strict. Only 2-3 % of graduates get First (the maximum estimation) at final examinations. The higher is the level of the university, the lower are the marks. They students get a degree in the end of their education. The lower degrees are called BS or BA, that mean "Bachelor of Science" and "Bachelor of Arts", specialist in science or humanities.

Scotland

This part of the UK is called Alba in Gaelic, the language spoken by 70 000 of 5 million population.

A complex series of wars resulted in Malcolm II becoming King of Scotland basically in its modern form about 1000 АD. Edward I of England in XIV century had succeeded conquering most of Scotland, but Robert the Bruce had then won back most of the English gains.

Even with James I of XVII century and his successors on both the English and Scots thrones, the two countries were treated as separate kingdoms. When William of Orange became king, he insisted that every clan must swear an oath of loyalty to him, or suffer reprisals. To head off a war between the two nations the English pushed through a Union between the two nations, closing the Scottish Parliament and giving Scots representation in Westminster. After 1745, British authorities acted to destroy the Scottish clan system in parliamentary acts of extreme vengeance. All aspects of Highland culture including the language were forbidden on pain of death. Highlanders were forced into the British Army to serve in the wider British Empire.

Scotland became recognizable with the exploitation of the Scottish coalfields. Glasgow and Edinburgh began to grow at a tremendous rate at the end of the XVIII century. In recent times coal has been replaced by oil from the North Sea, and then there is a debate as to whether this oil is Scottish or British. In 1997 a referendum in Scotland voted to institute a Scottish parliament with “tax varying powers”. The government hopes to hold a referendum on Scottish Independence before 2011. If a referendum is held, an opinion poll in late 2007 suggested the result could be close as support for independence had reached 40% with just 44% supporting retention of the Union.

The Scots contributed to culture with father of modern Economics, Adam Smith, the creator of steam engine James Watt, James Maxwell, the founder of the modern theory of electromagnetism, the telephone pioneer Alexander Bell, the biologists Charles Darwin and Alexander Fleming, poet Robert Burns, and Sir Walter Scott, a writer of ballads, poems and historical novels. His romantic portrayals of Scottish life in centuries past still continue to have a disproportionate effect on the public perception of “authentic Scottish culture,” and the pageantry, he organized for the visit of King George IV to Scotland, made tartan and kilts into national symbols.

Scottish literature includes texts written in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, French, and Latin. Robert Burns wrote in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and in a “light” Scots dialect which is more accessible to a wider audience. Similarly, the writings of Sir Walter Scott and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were internationally successful during the late XIX and early XX centuries. More recently, Joanne Rowling has become one of the most popular authors in the world through her Harry Potter series, which she began writing in a coffee-shop in Edinburgh.

Ireland

The Normans invaded Britain in 1066, they landed in Ireland a century later in 1169. To ensure continuing control over the troublesome province of Ulster in the North of Ireland, the land was confiscated and given to small Scottish farmers. The idea was to ensue that they remained there and helped the English kings to control the country. During the Reformation Ireland didn’t accept the protestant doctrine, except the Ulster Scottish farmers.

The next major event was the Cromwellian army’s campaign in Ireland immediately after the English Civil War. Cromwell was short of cash to pay his troops at the end of the war, and confiscated 80% of the land for his troops instead of money. It increased the hostility to England and Protestants.

The next British attempt to solve the “Irish Problem” was the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland in 1801. But the new name didn’t solve the problems of Ireland. The Irish peasants owned little peaces of land, cultivating potatoes. In 1845- 1848 potato blight caused famine: million people died. Since that emigration had become the constant feature of the Irish history. Between 1840 and 1900 the population of Ireland fell from 9 to 3 million. In the same period the population of England grew from 16 to 32 million.

The series of conflicts and guerrilla war with cruelties on both sides ended in 1921 the formation of Independent Ireland and Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. Today 50% of inhabitants are Protestants and would like to remain in the United Kingdom. 40% are Catholics feeling they have the right to be part of a united Ireland. It is clear today that the Northern Irish problem has not been solved – whether it ever can be is the question.

Economically Northern Ireland is a prosperous part of Britain Belfast is the major shipbuilding centre. Ireland is famous for its green countryside, it is also known as the “Emerald Isle”. The Irish language has the third oldest literature in Europe after Greek and Latin. The well-known English writes Oscar Wild and Bernand Shaw came from Ireland.

Wales

The Celts had fled westwards under sustained invasions from Romans, Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo Saxon English kings had not ruled Wales, and at the Norman invasion there was a collection of small kingdoms. It took the Normans some 200 years to gain control of the whole of Wales. Finally the Act of Union in 1536 “incorporated, united and annexed” Wales to England. Since then English law and government have ruled in Wales. Until the middle of the XVIII century Wales remained a rural backwater. Then the exploitation of coal and iron brought the Industrial revolution to Wales.

The need for labour in the south Wales coalfields brought an influx of English into this area which brought about an erosion of the Welsh language, though Welsh continued to be spoken extensively in North Wales. Today the mining of Welsh coal has all but disappeared, but the language continues to be spoken reasonably widely as a second language.

Wales has been governed from London via the Welsh Office, under a cabinet minister. Following the referendum on limited devolution in 1997, the Welsh were seen to be virtually equally spilt on the subject, with the more rural “Welsh” areas being for devolution, and the more industrial areas being against it.

The USA

The United States of America is one of the largest countries in the world based on both population and land area. It has a relatively short history compared to other world countries, has one of the world's largest economies, and has one of the world's most diverse populations. Although English is the most commonly spoken language used in the USA and is the language used in government, the country has no official language.

It is world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India) about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union.

Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions (заморские владения). On the American flag the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies.

The two most tragic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy (Конфедерация сепаратистов) of 11 southern slave (рабовладельческий) states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.

The USA is a vast country, single and diverse. Each state represents its own peculiar fun.

Montana has 3 times more cattle than people. Alaska has a longer coastline than all the other 49 states put together. Some state laws are based on precedents and if not abrogated still act. Thus in Baltimore you can’t come to theatre with lion. It’s forbidden tying giraffes to pillar in Atlanta. Don’t wake up polar bears in Alaska in order to take their photos. And in Utah never walk on the heels higher than 3,8 cm!

New-York

“To Europe, she was America. To America, she was the gateway of the earth.

But to tell the story of New York would be to write a social history of the world.”
H. G. Wells

New York City is the largest city in the United States. In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up the river that now bears his name, reached the place now New-York stays at. Five years later, a permanent settlement was established at what is now New York, but it was originally called New Amsterdam by the Dutch governors. One of them, Peter Minuit, was said to have bought Manhattan Island from the Indians in exchange for beads, buttons, and trinkets (безделушки). In 1664, Great Britain’s Duke of York sent a fleet that quietly seized the settlement from the Dutch without bloodshed and renamed the colony in honor of the duke. Control of New York passed to the young USА at the end of the Revolutionary War, and George Washington was inaugurated president in New York’s old City Hall. Congress met in New York from 1785 to 1790, it was a capital then.

It’s a major world capital and a world leader in finance, the arts, and communications. The city is the home of the UN and is headquarters for some of the world’s largest corporations. The city is also the center of advertising, fashion, publishing, and radio broadcasting in the United States.

New-York has a population of about 21 million people. One of surveys rates cities by living quality and defines the top 50. New York is the base city with a score of 100 points. It has the 48 place comparing with the 1 and 2 of Zurich and Geneva (Switzerland), 3 of Vancouver (Canada), 4 of Vienna, 33 of Paris and 39 of London.

Why is New York called the Big Apple?

”The Big Apple” was the catchphrase of New York Morning Telegraph track writer John Gerald in the 1920s. He admitted this twice and it was the name of three of his columns. He picked up the term from stable hands (служащих) at the Fair Grounds racetrack. They called so the biggest race of New York. Fitz Gerald’s first New York Morning Telegraph “Around the Big Apple” column, on February 18, 1924, declared: “The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York”. The “Big Apple” racing cercuit had meant “the place where the big money was to be won”. Horses love apples, and apples were widely regarded as the mythical king of fruit. In contrast, the smaller, poorer tracks were called the “leaky roof circuits”. This excretion was also used by jazz musicians. To conquer New-York meant for them to get a big luck, “a big apple”. TheAmericans gave nicknames to some other cities: Beantown (Boston), Big Persimmon (Tokyo), Big Smoke (London).

Statue of Liberty, statue on Liberty Island in Upper New York Bay

The statue, originally known as Liberty Enlightening the World, was proposed by the French historian Édouard Laboulaye in 1865 to commemorate the alliance of France with the American colonies during the American Revolution and, according to scholars, was originally intended as an antimonarchy and antislavery symbol. Funds were raised by the Franco-American Union, and people coined the Funds both in France and America. Statue was designed by the French sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi in the form of a woman with an uplifted arm holding a torch. The inner construction was designed by the Eifell's engineering company, known for Eifell Tower in Paris. The face was modeled after that of Charlotte Bartholdi, the sculptor's mother.

Believed to be the tallest metal statue ever made, 46 m in height, it was constructed of copper sheets with a steel basin inside and a golden cover of the torch. It was shipped to New York City in 1885, assembled, and dedicated (открыта) in 1886, ten years after the hundredth anniversary of the American Revolution it had originally been devoted to.

The base of the statue is an 11-pointed star, part of old Fort Wood. On it is a tablet, affixed in 1903, inscribed with “The New Colossus,” the famous sonnet of Emma Lazarus, welcoming immigrants to the United States. By the early 20th cent, this greeting to the arriving stranger had become the statue’s primary symbolic message. Broadening in its meaning, the statue became a symbol of America during World War I. An elevator runs to the top of the pedestal, and steps within the statue lead to the crown, which carry seven beams, symbolizing seven continents. Through 24 windows under the beams one could enjoy the astonishing sight of New York. After the events of September 11 2001, visiting the Stature was restricted, and only the lower part of the construction available.

Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world. There are more lakes and inland waters in Canada than any other country, in fact 7.6% is made up of fresh water. Most images of Canada refer to the Mounties, bears, snow or the Rocky Mountains with the amazing lakes. Tourism is a large part of the economy with the abundant natural resources quickly turning Canada into a rich and vibrant country that is a permanent listing at the top of the best places to live. There are two official languages – English and French – and Montreal in Quebec is the world's largest French-speaking city outside of France. All of the services offered by the Federal Government are in English and French. Almost every product you buy has English and French on the labels and most public services are available in both languages. Outside of Quebec the majority of people speak English; about 18 percent of Canadians are fluently bilingual.

The First Nations or Indian people were the original inhabitants of Canada and the name comes from their language and means “Village” or “Community”. The Vikings, who arrived in the 11th century and didn't stay for long, were the first Europeans to land in Canada. Canada still belongs to the Commonwealth of Nations, British queen is it’s head. Canada is a Democratic Federation and has both a Federal and Provincial Governments. Public education is the responsibility of each Provincial Government and is paid for through taxes. Canada has a public healthcare system; essential medical treatment is available to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Some facts

1) Canada has the longest coast line in the world. 2) Every person may attend any session of the Parliament 3) Ottawa means “a change” in Indian, it was a place of the Indian market. 4) The big part of the Ottawa clerks gets their work skating in winter 5) The Rideau channel in Ottawa is the longest skating ring in the world. It has 8 km. 6) There is The Museum of skis in Ottawa. 7) The war with the USA in 1812 showed the vulnerability (уязвимость) of major Canadian cities to American attack. Surrounded by a dense forest Ottawa was chosen as a capital.

Australia

The name “Australia” is derived from the Latin Australis, meaning “Southern”. Legends of an “unknown land of the south” (terra australis incognita) date back to Roman times and were commonplace in medieval geography, but were not based on any actual knowledge of the continent. The first records of European mariners sailing into ‘Australian’ waters occurs around 1606, and includes their observations of the land known as Terra Australis Incognita (unknown southern land). Australia is the smallest continent, but the sixth largest country in the world. It’s only slightly smaller than the contiguous (близкий) 48 United States.

Modern Australian population is about 21 million people, much less than the number of kangaroos. The kangaroo is Australia’s largest marsupial. Kangaroos travel by hopping on their long hind legs, using their tail for balance. They can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour and can jump distances of eight metres and heights of around three metres. They thrive (процветать, бурно расти) wherever a regular water source is available. The introduction of European farming methods has established regular water supplies and allowed the kangaroo population to grow dramatically. It is estimated that there are around 50 million kangaroos in Australia.

The history of Australia records that the first settlers were Aboriginals from Southeast Asia who arrived about 40,000 years ago. Boomerangs are primarily associated with Australian Aboriginals, but other forms are found amongst peoples of North East Africa, America and in India. The oldest boomerang found so far was discovered in a cave in Poland and is believed to be about 20,000 years old. Nowadays boomerangs are made in an infinite variety of shapes and sizes. They can range from the traditional v-shape to ones shaped like the rest of the letters of the alphabet. At least one boomerang maker has made a collection of boomerangs shaped like every letter from A – Z. Some are in the shape of animals or people or just weird looking.

Before Europeans there had been 500 to 600 distinct groups of Aboriginals, which spoke about 200 different dialects. Many groups were wiped out, and about 50 of the dialects are now extinct as well. In more recent years, the Australian Government gave back to the Aborigines a small degree of their autonomy and in 1992 it was decreed that the Aborigines have the right to own property.

The first European ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was captained by Dutchman, Willem Janszoon. For about a century the land was called “New Holland”. The first territorial claim was made in 1770, by Captain James Cook, who took possession in the name of the British Empire. In 1901, the English colonies united and became federated as the States of the Commonwealth of Australia. The government is democratic, has an elected Prime Minister, and recognizes the British Monarch as sovereign. The Monarch is represented by a Governor General who is appointed upon recommendation of the Prime Minister. Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita general product slightly lower than that of the UK, but higher than those of Germany, and France. The country was ranked third in the United Nations’ 2007 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index.

Canberra is Australia’s capital city. With a population of approximately 320,000 and situated in the Australian Capital Territory, Canberra is roughly half way between the two largest cities Melbourne and Sydney. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation’s capital in 1908 as a compromise between age-old rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely purpose-built, planned city. Following an international contest for the city’s design, a design by the Chicago architects was selected and construction commenced (начинать) in 1913. The city’s design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title “bush capital”.

Sydney Opera House must be one of the most recognizable images of the modern world – together with the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building – and one of the most photographed. Not only is it ecognizable, it has come to represent ‘Australia’. The Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point, which reaches out into the harbour. It consists of a lot of buildings shaped as sails. The skyline of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the blue water of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House, viewed from a ferry or from the air, is dramatic and unforgettable. Ironic, perhaps, that this Australian icon – the Opera House was designed by renowned Danish architect – Jorn Utzon. In the late 1950s the New South Wales Government established an appeal fund to finance the construction of the Sydney Opera House, and conducted a competition for its design. Utzon’s design was chosen. The irony was that his design was beyond the capabilities of engineering of the time. Utzon spent a couple of years reworking the design and in 1961 he had solved the problem of how to build the distinguishing feature – the ‘sails’ of the roof. But in 1966 the arguments about cost and the interior design reached crisis point and Jorn Utzon resigned (отказываться) from the project. The building was eventually completed by others in 1973.

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