Great Britain (its geographical position, climate, relief)

To begin with I’d like to say that Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK- for short), England, and the British Isles – different names used to denote the same thing. There is one more name: Albion. But they are sometimes used wrongly. Let’s start with some definitions, for which a map would be useful.

On the North West coast of Europe lie two substantial islands. The larger one, a straggling irregular triangle about 1,200 kilometers in length is called Great Britain. The other, to the west which is roughly rectangular is Ireland. Since 1922 most of Ireland has been an independent republic which took the name Eire in 1937. The north-east corner of Ireland, sometimes known as Northern Ireland, sometimes as Ulster, is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island. Officially it is not a country but a province or «constituent region». The capital of Northern Island is Belfast.

Great Britain, an island country in northwestern Europe, is divided into three countries: England, Scotland, and Wales with capitals London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff respectively. It is separated from mainland Europe by the North Sea on the east and by the English Channel on the South. It is a well-known fact that there is no place to be far from the sea in Britain.

The British Isles consist of the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of Ireland and a great number of small islands. Such as: Orkney Islands, the Hebrides, the Isle of Wight and many others.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The territory of the United Kingdom is about 244000 (two hundred and forty four thousand) square kilometers, that is the 75-th place among all other countries in the world.

Great Britain has a very good geographical position. The sea connects Britain with most European countries such as: Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Russia and some other countries. The surface of the British Isles varies very much. It is manly low-lying meadow and forests, but there are mountains in Scotland and Wales, so we can say that the northern and the western parts of the country are mountainous. All the rest is a vast plain. The mountains are not very high. The rivers are not very long. The biggest of them is Thames while the longest one is the Severn. It rises in the mountains of Wales and follows a circulation route for over 200 miles before reaching the Bristol Channel and the sea. There are many beautiful lakes in the mountainous part of the country in Scotland.

The climate of Great Britain is mild due to the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf Stream’ warm waters, and the mountains. The country weather often changes. The summers are not cool. The winters are cold, with plenty of snow.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland isn’t rich in mineral resources but it is known as one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of electronics and machinery, chemicals, and various aircraft and navigation equipment.

Topical vocabulary

to denote	oбозначать, указывать, значить
substantial	основной, главный, большой,
straggling	состоящий из разрозненных частей, разбросанный
irregular triangle	неправильнй треугольник
Eire	Эйре (официальное название Ирландской республики с 1937 по 1949)
Ulster	Ольстер (историческая область на севере Ирландии; большая её часть после раскола страны в 1921 была включена в качестве автономной провинции в состав Соединённого Королевства).
Orkney Isles	Оркнейские острова (бывшее графство Шотландии)
Hebrides	Гебриды, Гебридские острова (архипелаг в Атлантическом океане, к западу от Шотландии; территория Великобритании)
Isle of Wight	(остров) Уайт (в проливе Ла-Манш, принадлежит Великобритании)
to be used wrongly	ошибочно использоваться
to be separated from	быть отделенным от чего-либо
a great number	большое количество
geographical position of a country	географическое положение страны
the surface	поверхность
low-lying	низкорасположенный, низменный
mountainous part	гористая часть
circulation	движение
a county	графство (административно-территориальная единица в Великобритании)
a rumor	cлух, молва

Exercise1.