Great britain: the country and its people.

УЧЕБНЫЕ ТЕКСТЫ

Text I

GREAT BRITAIN: THE СOUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE

(Part I).

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the U.K.): Since 1922, this is the official designation of the British Kingdom, including England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and a number of smaller islands.

Britain can be referred to in several different ways: Britain, Great Britain, the British Isles.

Flag, known as the Union Jack: The flag has the red cross of St. George of England, the White cross of St. Andrew of Scotland, and the red cross of St. Patrick of Ireland, all on the blue background.

Anthem: "God Save the Queen/King".

Currency: Pound.

Following the decimalization of the currency, effective February 15, 1971, the pound consists of 100 pence.

Location: The British Isles lie off the northwest coast of the continent of Europe. They include Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), Ireland (Northern Ireland and the independent Irish Republic), and some 5,500 smaller islands. The biggest island is Great Britain.

Climate: Britain has a temperate climate due to the influence of the Gulf-stream.

Regions: The United Kingdom can be divided into four large historical areas: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland,

The word "region" is used to refer to any of the large areas of the country: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the South (southern England), the Midlands (central England), the North (northern England), etc.

The chief regional administrative units are called "counties" in England and Wales, "regions" in Scotland, and "districts" in Northern Ireland.

Languages: English is the official and predominant language; Gaelic is spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, while Welsh is the first language in most of the western counties of Wales and at least formally enjoys equal status with English as the official language of the area. There is a growing movement in Wales and Scotland for a revival of the culture and native languages.

There is one standard literary English that is characterized by the Received Pronunciation, but there are also several regional and social dialects.

Population: The population of the United Kingdom is 56,2 mln people. The British population is predominantly urban and suburban, About half the people live in a belt across England with southern Lancashire and western Yorkshire at one end and London at the other, having the industrialized Midlands at its centre. /Иностранные языки в школе 1, 2, 1987» с 77-78./

Пояснения и тексту

Union Jack - Union Flag - "Юнион Джек"- государственный флаг Соединенного королевства Великобритании и Северной Ирландия

St. George - Святой Георгий

Anthem - гимн

Currency - денежное обращение (напр. фунт стерлингов)

Gaelic - гельский язык

Received Pronunciation- нормативное произношение /особенно выпускников привилегированных частных школ/

Lancashire - графство Ланкашир

Yorkshire - графство Йоркшир

Midlands - центральные графства Англии

Слова и выражения для активного запоминания

to refer to - ссылаться на что-нибудь

different – различный

background - фон

to include – включать

influence – влияние

to divide – делить

country – графство

to reply – отвечать

language – язык

revival- возрождение

to receive – получать

received - общепринятый

urban – городской

Questions to the text.

1. What does the United Kingdom consist of?

2. What is the Union Jack?

3. Is English the official language in the United Kingdom?

4.What do you know about the population of the United Kingdom?

Text 2

GREAT BRITAIN: THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE.

(Part 2).

Ethnic composition: The contemporary Briton is descended mainly from the varied racial stocks that settled in the British Isles before the end of the 11th century. The earliest known people in Britain were of Iberian origin. After about 700 B.C. the Celts invaded. They developed the use of iron, the Druid religion, and the system of tribes. Julius Caesar visited Britain in 55 and 54 B.C., and the Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 A.D., under Claudius. By 80 A.D. the Romans had conquered Britain as far north as the Scottish Lowlands. Britain wаs Romanized, and was given the name Britannia. Christianity wаs first introduced from Ireland in the 4th century. The Romans left early in the 5th century; during the 5th and 6th centuries the Angles and Saxons invaded, driving the Celts into Wales and Cornwall. Christianity was brought back by missionaries from Rome in 598. The Danes invaded in the 8th to 1Oth centuries, and settled in the Danelaw. In 1066 came the Normans, the last of a long succession of invaders, pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norse influences were blended into the Briton of today (the English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish).

Migration: There is traditionally an outflow of people from Britain to other parts of the world. Emigration in post-World War II years, featuring the so-called "brain drain" of skilled professional personnel mainly to the United States has produced negative economic and social effects.

As to the immigration, it radically changed the ethnic and social picture of Great Britain. In the 1950s large numbers began to enter Britain from Commonwealth countries, particularly the West Indies, India and Pakistan (including what is now Bangladesh). In the period 1966 - 1976 some 2.9 million entered Britain from overseas.

The British are accustomed to seeing people of other colors and races. For many years there have been Chinese quarters in Liverpool and London -whole streets where the houses are occupied by people of Chinese descent. In Cardiff, a busy seaport in Wales, for many years foreign seamen of many races have been living in the streets near the docks. Many of them have left the sea, have married and settled down. Sоmе of them still go to seа. There are schools in Cardiff where half the pupils have dark faces - black, brown, yellow. They are all British subjects and know no language but English.

g.d. Tomakhin. Иностранные языки в школе № 2, 1987, с.78

Пояснения к тексту

Druid - друид, жрец у древних кельтов

Julius Caesar -Юлий Цезарь

the Lowlands - южная, равнинная часть Шотландии

Danelaw - часть северной и восточной Англии

brain drain - утечка мозгов

Commonwealth countries - страны британского содружества, в которое вхoдят 36 государств

Слова и выражения для активного усвоения.

contemporary a. - современный, одновременный

contemporary n. – современник

to descend from - происходить