Text 1. English - speaking countries in general

Fig.

I. Warm-up activities

1.1. Read the following words properly:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK), the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the St. George’s cross, Independence Day, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, theHouse of Commons, the Senate, the Southern Hemisphere, the Tasmania Island, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Southern Cross.

1.2. Pronounce the words properly and state the part of speech:

Nature, common, island, isles, except, official, to symbolize, another, climate, though, dense, southern, occupy, percent, society, multicultural, beneath, numerous, parliamentary, dominion, flightless.

Translate the words and words combinations given in the text in bold.

1.4. Match the words with their definitions:

1. custom	1. a long-established custom or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another
2. tradition	2. a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place, or time
3. dense	3. in, relating to, or characteristic of a town or city
4. native	4. a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country and occupied by settlers from that country
5. urban	5. closely compacted in substance
6. colony	6. a local inhabitant
7. constellation	7. point out or describe the resemblances with
8. to compare	8. a group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure
9. continent	9.the territory of a sovereign or government
10. dominion	10. any of the world’s main continuous expanses of land (Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia, Antarctica).

II. Reading

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand are English speaking countries. They are situated in various parts of the world and differ in many ways.

The nature of these countries, their weather and climate and way of life of their people differ. Each country has its own history, customs, traditions, its own national holidays. But they all have a common language: English, the language of the people who left England to make their names in new countries.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of 4 parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The British Isles are a group of islands located in the north-west coast of the continent of Europe. There are no high mountains, no very long rivers, no great forests in the UK.

It is interesting to know that all parts of the UK have their symbols. The symbol of England is a red rose. More than that, there are other national symbols of England. They are the St. George's cross (usually seen as a flag) and the Three Lions crest (usually seen as a badge). The symbol of Scotland is a thistle. The symbol of Wales is a daffodil. The symbol of Northern Ireland is a shamrock and a red hand.

Exceptfor the United Kingdom there are some other countries in the world where people speak English and this language is one of the official languages. The largest and most important of them are the USA, Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand. The United States of America is one of the largest countries in the world. People of various nationalities live in the USA: the English, the German, the Chinese, the Hindu, the Greekand so on.

The USA has 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area where Washington, D.C., the capital of the country, is situated. The flag of the USA has 13 red and white stripes, which symbolize the original 13 states. 50 stars on the blue field in the left upper corner are for each of the 50 states of the country in our days. The USA as any other country has its own symbols, traditions and holidays - for example, the Independence Day, the Thanksgiving Day, Memorial Dayand others. The national symbol of America is thebald eagle. Another American symbol is Uncle Sam.

The world’s second-largest country is Canada. The total area of Canada equals to almost 10 million square kilometres. The climate in Canada isn’t mild. It has four very distinct seasons, it can be very hot in summer –
to 35 °C above zero and higher, and quite cold in winter – 25 °C below
zero and even colder. Though Canada is one of largest countries in the world, its population isn’t dense. There are only about 30 million people living in Canada which is very little if we compare the territory of Canada with the UK where over 63 million people live.

Canada has two official languages - English and French. Many Canadians speak both languages very well. The leading cities of Canada are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. The official head of Canada is the Queen of the United Kingdom. But practically there is a Prime Minister of the Canadian government to rule the country. Besides Canada has a democratic parliament, which is situated in Ottawa and consists of the House of Commons and the Senate.

The official emblems of Canada are the beaverand the maple leaf. The colours of Canada are white and red.

Australia, a continent and a state, is situated in the Southern Hemisphere, in the southern part of Asia, between the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is about 8 million square kilometres. Australia occupies the Tasmania Island and a number of smaller islands too. Australia is the sixth largest country in area. It has a wide climate range, from tropical in the north to temperatein the south-east.

Australia is divided into 8 administrative areas. The population of Australia equals to about 18 million people and 70 percent of them live in urban areas – in Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide and other large cities. The capital of Australia, Canberra, is not very large, but it is lovely.

Australia has a multicultural society. People of about 200 nationalities live there. The aborigines, the Australian natives, represent about 1.5 percent of the population.

The Australian flag is blue. There is the flag of the UK on the Australian banner, a large seven-pointed star beneath it and the Southern Cross constellation.

The most popular Australian animals as well as informal Australian symbols are the koala, emu and kangaroo.

New Zealand is the country in the Pacific Ocean where people speak English as an official language. It is located not far from Australia – only the Tasman Sea separates them by a distance of about 1,600 km. New Zealand occupies two large islands - the North Island and the South Island as well as numerous small islands. New Zealand isn’t very large in area.

Many people live in urban areas, and about 50 percent of them live in the largest cities – Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Dunedin. The first of them is an important seaport and industrial centre. The capital of New Zealand is Wellington.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. New Zealand stays in close association with the United Kingdom as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. And the formal head of the state is the Queen of the United Kingdom.

The New Zealand flag represents the Southern Cross, the stars of it are red with white edgings. The flag of the United Kingdom in the left upper corner shows the recognitionto the historical foundations and the fact that New Zealand was once a British colony and dominion.

The national emblem of New Zealand is a flightlessbird kiwi. The
silver fern is a sporting emblem.

III. Comprehension check

3.1. Answer the following questions:

1. What English-speaking countries do you know?

2. Do they differ?

3. How many parts does the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consist of?

4. What are the symbols of these parts?

5. What states do the USA consist of?

6. What are the American symbols?

7. How many official languages are there in Canada?

8. What are the colours and the symbols of Canada?

9. Where is Australia situated?

10. Australia has a multicultural society, hasn’t it?

11. Is Sydney the capital of Australia?

12. Where is New Zealand located?

13. What is the capital of New Zealand?

14. New Zealand isn’t very large in area, is it?

15. What are the symbols of New Zealand?

3.2. Decide whether these statements are true, false or information is not available:

1. There are the following English speaking countries: the UK, the USA, Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand.

2. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of five parts.

3. There are no big lakes in the UK.

4. The symbol of England is a daffodil.

5. The symbol of Wales is a thistle.

6. The symbols of Northern Ireland are a red rose and the St. George’s cross.

7. The symbols of Scotland are a shamrock and a red hand.

8. The United States of America is another English-speaking country.

9. Canada is the world’s third-largest country.

10. The official emblems of Canada are a bald eagle and Uncle Sam.

11. Australia is one of the largest countries in the world.

12. The aborigines, the Australian natives, live in urban areas.

13. New Zealand is located on two large islands - the North Island and the South Island as well as on numerous small islands.

14. Hamilton is the capital of New Zealand.

15. New Zealand was once an American colony and dominion.

16. The climate in New Zealand is mild.

TEXT 2. Great Britain

The world is a book, and those

who do not travel, read only a page.

St. Augustine

I. Warm-up activities

1.1. Pronounce the following words properly:

The English Channel, the Strait of Dover, the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the Irish Sea, Eire, the Severn, the Thames, the Highlands of Scotland, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Edinburgh, the House of Commons, the House of Lords, the Conservative, the Labour Party, the Liberal Party.

1.2.Read the words properly and state the part of speech:

Precious, countryside, feature, latitude, to classify, equipment, raw, foodstuffs, steel, industry, parliamentary, monarchy, legislative, comments, bloom, changeable.