Choose the correct answers to the questions.

1. British degree courses are usually: a) five years long; b) three years long; c) two years long

2. The British government gives loans to help students pay for: a) their education; b) their living expenses; c) both

3. a) Every b) Some c) No student receives loans of £4,ooo per year.

4. Students have to pay back their loans as soon as: a) they finish their degree. b) they get a job. c) they start earning a certain sum.

5. a) There is always b) There is sometimes c) There isn't a time limit on the repayment of student loans.

GREAT BRITAIN. COUNTRY, STATE, PEOPLE: WHAT SOME NAMES MEAN

1. The word Britain derives from Britannia, the name given by the Romans to the area, inhabited by Brits, and which is now England, Scotland and Wales.

2. The national emblem of England is the rose. The national emblem of Scotland is the purple thistle. The national emblem of Ireland is the shamrock. Wales has the leek as its national emblem. The Welsh flag, called the welsh dragon, bears the red dragon on the white and green background. St. David is the patron saint of Wales.

3. Albion is a poetic name for Britain; it comes from the ancient name of Britain, specifically England. The Romans associated the term with albus ("white"), and identified it with the Dover chalk cliffs.

4. The expression "from Land's End to John o'Groats" means "all over Great Britain", since Land's End is a rocky point in Cornwall, the south-western tip of England, and John o'Groats is a spot on the coast of Scotland (where a Dutchman called Johan de Groot built a house in the 16th century), usually considered the northernmost point of Britain.

Notes:

Britannia Британия, латинское название Британских островов; поэт. Великобритания; Британия (олицетворение Великобритании в виде женской фигуры на монетах и т.п.)

Brits ист. бритты (кельтские племена / Celtic tribes /, составлявшие основное население Британии с 8 в. до н.э. до 5 в. н.э.)

sovereign королевство

thistle чертополох

shamrock трилистник

leek лук-порей

Albion Альбион (поэтическое название Англии)

chalk cliffs меловые утесы (юго-восточного берега Англии)

(the) Commonwealth (the (British) Commonwealth of (Nations) Британское Содружество (Наций)

MEASURING UP TO EUROPE

Despite being a member of the European Union since 1975, other countries are often puzzled by the UK's apparent reluctance to integrate with the rest of Europe. Many British people feared that the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 would mean an end to Britain's unique island status, but it seems as if Britain's reputation for 'splendid isolation' has never been stronger. Britons still talk about going 'to Europe' or 'to the continent' when they cross the Channel, and foreign visitors to a British pub today are still served beer in pints, and still have to pay for those pints in pounds sterling.

The metric system has been taught in British schools since 1974 and today's teenagers use it without thinking, but most Britons over 40 still cling on to imperial measurements. Since 2000, all food retailers have been obliged by law to price and weigh their food in metric measurements, but they are also allowed to show the imperial equivalents. This double-labeling, which will have to end in 2010, has led to a number of compromisers. Milk and butter are still produced in their standard, recognised 1-pint cartons or 8-ounce packages, but proudly display the odd metric equivalents, and market traders often advertise the imperial prices of their fruit and vegetables much more clearly than the metric prices.

Feelings run high on this issue, with many people resenting the 'interference' of Brussels in the traditional British way of life. In 2002, five 'metric martyrs', all market traders, were taken to court for not displaying metric prices on their goods. Their spokesman, Neil Herron, said that their defeat meant 'the death of democracy", but the five received the huge support from the public, who raised £250,000 to help pay their legal costs. Britain has also constantly delayed adopting the euro, which other major European countries such as Germany, France and Italy accepted as their currency without fuss in 2002. The British government has promised to hold a referendum on the subject and let the British people decide if they want the new currency or not, but with an estimated 65% of voters currently opposed to joining the euro, it is very uncertain when this will take place.