Great Britain (Intermediate)

Pre-Text Exercises

7.1.1 Listen and read the following geographical names after the speaker

The British Isles, Europe, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, The Irish Sea, the English Channel, the Strait of Dover, the Atlantic Ocean, the United Kingdom, the Se­vern, the Thames, the Clyde, the Mersey, the Aire, Ben Nevis.

London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle.

7.1.2 Find all the names on the map

7.1.3 Read and remember the following words and word combina­tions

7.1.4 Topical Vocabulary

7.1.5 Read and study the text. Use the information it contains for talks and discussions about Britain. Make up your own story about that country

Great Britain

The British Isles lie in the north-west of Europe. They consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and many smaller ones. Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, includes England, Scotland and Wales. It is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea and from the European continent by the North Sea, the English Channel and the Straits of Dover (Па-де-Кале). It is washed on the western coast by the At­lantic Ocean. Great Britain and Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom (UK).

The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but the surface of Scotland and Wales is mountainous. The mountains are almost all in the western part. The highest mountain in the United King­dom is Ben Nevis in Scotland (1343 m.) There are many rivers in Britain: the Severn, the Thames, the Clyde, the Mersey, the Aire and others but none of them are very long. The longest ri­ver is the Severn. It is in the south-west of England. The sea enters deeply into the land and has a great influence on the climate, which is damp but rather mild the winter is not very cold and the summer is not very hot.

Over 57 million people live in the United Kingdom. Most of the people of Great Britain live in big towns and cities.

The capital of the country is London. London, which is si­tuated on the river Thames, is one of the biggest commercial centers and ports of the world. More than 8 million people li­ve in London and its suburbs.

Britain is a highly developed industrial country. Its main industries are coal-mining, machinery, textiles and clothing, shipbuilding, vehicles, metal manufacture, electronics, chemi­cals, etc. The main industrial centres are as follows: London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and others.

English agriculture is also highly developed, but because of lack of cultivated lands, it cannot supply the country with sufficient food products. Britain has to import grain, meat, fruit, wine and other foodstuffs.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, though Britain has not any written constitution as one act and the monarchy is mere formality, English Kings reign but do not rule.

The Supreme Legislative authority in Britain is Parliament consisting of two chambers - the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The normal life of Parliament is fixed at five years. It sits for 160 days a year.

The main political parties in Britain are as follows: the Labour, the Conservative and the Liberal parties. The par­ty which wins the majority of seats at General Elections forms the cabinet. The leader of the majority party is appoin­ted Prime Minister.

Britain heads the so-called British Commonwealth of Nations, whose members, among others, are Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Post-Text Exercises

7.2.1 Your friend is studying English and he wants to know as
much as possible about England and Englishmen. Answer his
questions

1 What's the official name for the main country of the English language?

2 What parts does the United Kingdom consist of?

3 What other countries - members of the British Commonwealth of Nations - do you know where English is spoken?

4 What's the population of the United Kingdom?

5 What is the supreme legislative authority in Britain?

6 What chambers (houses) does the British Parliament consist of?

7 What are the main political parties in Britain now?

8 What party has the majority of seats in the House of Commons today?

9 What are the most important industrial centers in Britain?

10 What items of British export (import) do you know?

7.2.2 Memorize these dialogues. Practise them in pairs changing
the text

1 Parliamentary Monarchy

Student: As far as I know Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. How's that?

Teacher: It's simple: there's the King, or the Queen, and there's a parliament enjoying the right to pass laws and elect the government.

Student: I see. And speaking about the British Parliament, how many chambers are there in it?

Teacher: There are two of them - the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

2 Are the Seats Hereditary?

Student: The seats in the parliament are hereditary, aren't they?

Teacher: Not exactly. The seats are hereditary in the House of Lords, but as to the members of the House of Commons, they are elected every five years.

Student: Which chamber is more important and how many members are there in each of them?

Teacher: The House of Commons is surely considered more important. As to the members, it's like this. There are 630 MPs in the House of Commons (as far as I remember). But the number of peers is considerably greater.

7.2.3 Tell the class everything you know about Great Britain. Here is some information to help you

Great Britain.

(Situated оn two islands; consists of four parts: Eng­land, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (Ulster); capital - London, on the river Thames; many industrial towns: Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, York, Glasgow, etc.; produces and exports many machines; a capitalist country.)

7.2.4 Read the following text and choose the words and expressions you need to speak about

1) London as a capital;

2) the parts of London;

3) the places of interest.

More about London

London is the capital of Great Britain. It is the largest city in Europe and one of the oldest towns in the world.

The central part of London is full of historical remains. Nearly every building, every bridge, every street, palace, house and stone - each of them has its own story, its own past. In London past and present are so mixed together that they cannot be easily separated and when you are in London you see the past in the present and the present in the past.

The oldest part of London is the City. In the City the streets and pavements are very narrow and the traffic is very heavy on week-days. That is because the most important Lon­don firms and banks have offices there. But at week-ends the City is almost dead.

The most fashionable and the most expensive part to live in is West End. It is situated between the City and Hyde Park. The City and the West End are the heart of London; they are the parts which everybody who comes to London must see and wants to see, because they are more interesting than any other part of London. All the most interesting buildings, shops and offices are situated here.

The Tower of London, the Bank of England, the Mansion Hou­se where the Lord Mayor lives, the Law Court, and many interesting old churches are in the City. The Houses of Parliament with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the National Gallery and many Theatres and good shops are in the West End.

The East End of London includes the port, docks and factories.

Notes:

1) narrow - узкий;

2) traffic - движение, транспорт;

3) expensive - дорогой.

Conversations

1) - Which are the most notable picture galleries in London?

- Well, the National Gallery, to begin with, then comes the National Portrait Gallery, then the Tate Gallery.

- Yes, but what about the British Museum? I've heard a lot of it.

- Oh, surely, you ought to go there, but the British Museum is not a museum of Fine Arts. In the first place it's a museum of history, archaeology and ethnography. It's also one of the largest libraries in the world.

2) - I suppose you've been to Covent Garden?

- Covent Garden? I'm afraid not. I have only been to Green Park, Regent's Park and Kensington Gardens.

- Dear me! Don't you know what Covent Garden is? It's the Royal Opera House. I was just pulling your leg_. ( to pull smb's leg - разг. разыгрывать кого-либо)

3) - I think we'll get off the bus near the Circus.

- Do you mean to invite me to a circus show? I'd love to see one in London.

- Oh, no, I mean Piccadilly Circus, it's just a square.

- I see. Why, is it called that? Is it round or what?

- Well, it isn't exactly round. As a matter of fact, any open space where a number of streets meet can be called a circus. You can come across them all over England. But when a Londoner speaks of the Circus he means Piccadilly Circus.

7.2.5 Disagree with the statements avoiding a single negation

Model: - The British Prime Minister lives in Buckingham Palace.

- No, I don't think that's correct (exact, logical, etc.) The Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street. Buckingham Palace is the London residence of the English Kings.

1 The members of the House of Lords are elected by the people.

2 The population of Great Britain is about eight mil­lion.

3 Manchester is a sea-port in Scotland.

4 The English Channel separates the British Isles from Scandinavia.

5 Britain never joined the European Economic Community. (the Common Market).

7.2.6 Read and translate the following text

Political System of Great Britain

Britain is a constitutional monarchy in which the crown is hereditary.

The legislative power resides in Parliament which consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Sovereign has the title of King (or Queen) of England.

The executive power belongs to the Sovereign but it is entrusted to the Cabinet Ministers who are called Ministers of the Crown. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister (or Premier) is the principal Statesman in the British Parliament and he chooses from the Lords or the Commons the men numbering about 60 to fill the principal offices. He obtains the King's permission for their appoint­ment and they form the Ministry, from these are chosen from fifteen to twenty ministers to form the Cabinet, whose meetings are always secret.

That party which obtains the majority in the House of Commons is called the Government and the others the Opposi­tion. There are many political parties in Britain. But only two of them are strong. They are the Conservative Party (the Tory) and the Labour one. Traditionally the Tory Party is the businessmen's party and Tory rules their rule. In fact, how­ever, the Labour Government also administers the country in the interests of big business. It functions as the second party of capitalism in the so-called traditional British two-party system.

Notes:

7.2.7 Memorize these dialogues

Pavlov: Why, it's No. 10 Downing Street. I often come across this address while reading newspapers.

Brown: That's right. This is where the Prime Minister of Britain lives.

Pavlov: I see. And where's the residence of the Queen?

Brown: The London residence of the British monarch is Buckingham Palace. When the Queen is in residence the Royal Standard is flown at the mast-head. (флагшток)

- What's "Trooping the Colour"? I often heard of it but I never know what it means.

- Oh, it's one of the most colourful spectacles of the year. It's the ceremony which celebrates the birthday of the Queen. It's performed by troops of the Household Brigade in full dress uniform.

- When and where is it held?

- It's held near St. James Park in June.

7.2.8 Topical Vocabulary

1) the House - палата (парламента)

Syn. chamber

2) the House of Commons - палата Общин

The House of Commons has 630 members elected by ballot in the various constituencies of Great Britain. В палате Общин заседает 630 членов парламента, избира­емых тайным голосованием в различных избирательных округах.

3) the House of Lords - палата лордов

lord - 1- лорд, пэр; 2 - член палаты лордов

Syn. peer

4) Lord Chancellor - лорд канцлер (председатель палаты лордов и верховный судья Англии)

5) the Speaker - спикер (председатель палаты общин)

6) bill - законопроект, билль

to pass a bill- принять законопроект

to reject a bill - отклонить законопроект

The Lords can reject a bill only оnсе. - Палата лордов может отклонить какой-либо законопроект только один раз.

7) Division - парл. разделение голосов во время голосования; голосование.

to call for a division - объявить голосование

to divide - парл. голосовать

Divide! Divide! - возгласы, требующие прекращения прений и перехода к голосованию.

8) show - зрелище, спектакль, выставка

Syn. pageant - пышное зрелище; инсценировка, карнавальное шествие

Lord Mayor's show - пышная процессия в честь вступления в должность лондонского лорд-мэра.

Lord Mayor's Show has been annually held on the 9^th of November since 1215. - Ежегодно 9 ноября, начиная с 1215 г., проводятся пышные процессии в честь нового лондонского лорд-мэра.

9) ceremony - церемония

The ceremony of coronation of English kings takes place in Westminster Abbey. - Церемония коронации английских королей происходит в Вестминстерском аббатстве.

10) service - служба (церковная), церемония

The Cenotaph Commemoration Service - церемония возложения венков и почтения памяти солдат, погибших в I и II мировых войнах, у Кенотафия (ул. Уайтхолл), происходящая ежегодно в ближай­шее к 2 ноября воскресенье, обычно в присутствии королевы.

Supplementary Reading

7.3.1 Give a short summary of the text in Russian

On English Climate

The climate of England is milder than that of other countries. English people are apt to complain of it as being damp and rainy, and foreigners laugh at it and say, that the English summer is made up of three fine days and a thunderstorm.

It is hard to say that England has typical weather becau­se of the sudden changes that occur - showers from what was only a few hours before a clear blue sky; sunshine that makes you want to leave off most of your clothes followed by winds that set you wishing for two overcoats.

There is an abundance of rainfall in the west. As a re­sult, there are thick fogs which last for days and weeks at a time during the autumn and winter.

The three things that chiefly determine the climate of England are: 1)the position of the island in the temperate belt; 2) the fact that the prevailing wind blows from the west and south-west; 3) the warm current - the Gulf Stream that flows from the Gulf of Mexico along the western shores of England.

All this combined makes the climate more moderate - that is, the winters warmer and the summers cooler. The win­ters are never cold enough to freeze the rivers and the sum­mers are seldom hot.

Notes:

1) to be apt to complain - быть склонным жаловаться;

2) thunderstorm - гроза;

3) sudden - неожиданный, внезапный;

4) shower - ливень;

5) abundance - избыток;

6) to determine - определять;

7 ) temperate belt - умеренный пояс;

8 ) current - течение;

9 ) moderate - умеренный.

7.3.2 Read the text and tell the class what you learnt about English cities

English Cities

The most important cities of Great Britain are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

London is the largest city in Europe. It is a busy port and an important industrial centre. Londoners say that the most famous sights of London are Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and St. Paul's Cathedral with "the Great Paul" on it - the largest bell in England.

Glasgow, the second largest town in the British Isles, situated on the river Clyde is the centre of the British ship-building industry. More than half of British-made ships are built in Glasgow ship-building yards.

Birmingham is the greatest metal-working centre of Bri­tain. Various articles are produced there from steam engines to nails, pens and pins.

Manchester is the centre of cotton industry. It is a very beautiful city. There are over 50 parks in Manchester - more than in any other English town.

Sheffield is another big town in the centre of England, which is famous all over the world for its manufacture of steel goods.

7.3.3 Substitutional Patterns

7.3.4 Translate the following text into Russian in written form

Traditions of the British Parliament

Speaking about old English customs and habits we can't but mention in the first place those that are kept in Parlia­ment. They have a long history and some of them look rather funny now.

The Lord Chancellor, chairman of the House of Lords, still sits on the large sack of wool covered with red cloth. Many, many years ago, when wool was the main product of Eng­land, it naturally was the symbol of the country's power. Today the Woolsack is a mere tradition.

Many traditions are found in the House of Commons, too. When its new chairman, the Speaker, is elected, he is dragged to his chair putting up a show of resistance. This custom dates from the times when it was dangerous to be the Speaker.

Now take the voting procedure in the House of Commons. After the discussion of a bill the Speaker asks if it has the approval of the House. In case the approval is not unanimous some of the members shout "Aye" (which is derived from the old French word meaning "Yes") and others shout "No". Then the Speaker "calls for division", or in other words, puts the bill to the vote. This is called "division" since the voting is done by dividing the members leave their seats and pass into the corridors through different doors, to show which way they are voting. The votes are counted as the members go through.

And here is another Parliament tradition. In the House of Commons there are benches and not separate seats as in most European parliaments. The first strange thing about those benches is that they don't provide seats for all 630 members of the House, but only for the two-thirds of the number. So, in case all the MP's appear at the session there won't be enough room for sitting. The second thing is that the rows of benches face each other while the Speaker's chair is in the centre of the House, between those rows of benchers.

The front benches on the Speaker's right are for the members of the Government, the front benches on his left are for the leaders of the Opposition. The back benches are occupied by the ordinary members who are called "back-benchers".

These traditions of Parliament as well as many other England's customs and habits do not change.

Notes:

1) resistance - сопротивление

2) approval - одобрение

3) Aye [ai]

4) MP's = Members of Parliament

7.3.5 Do You Know That …

1) … the Circus is not only a kind of show, but it is also a circular open space in a city or town where a number of streets meet? You know Piccadilly Circus, Ludgate Circus and some others. The word square is used if the open space is rectangular in shape. You know Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Hanover Square, Gavendish Square and some others.

2) … Covent Garden is the principal vegetable, fruit and flower market in London? The Royal Opera House known as Covent Garden is almost inside the market.

3) … the biggest of London Parks are: Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park, Victoria Park, Richmond Park, Finsbury Park, Palace Park and Kew Gardens?

4) … the typical Londoners of the East End are called cockneys?

5) …in 1603 Scotland and England became one Kingdom - Great Britain?

6) … between 1411 and 1594 Scotland established four universities, at St. Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, while England had but two - Oxford and Cambridge?

7) … Britain's first Labour Party, the Scottish Independent Labour Party, was founded by the pioneer Labour leader Kein Hardie in 1888?

8) … Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, was a Scotsman too. That he was born on August 6, 1881, and died on March 11, 1955?

9) … Belfast became the capital of Northern Ireland in 1920?

10) … in his speech in Parliament on April 21, 1812 George Byron expressed his disapproval of the policy of the British Government towards the Irish people and demanded independence for Ireland?

7.3.6 Learn the poem by heart

Roadways

By John Masefield

One road leads to London,

One road leads to Wales,

My road leads me seawards

To the white dipping sails.

One road leads to the river,

As it goes singing slow.

My road leads to shipping

Where the bronzed sailors go.

My road calls me, lures me

West, east, south and north.

Most roads lead men homewards,

My road leads me forth.

Notes:

1) to dip - спускать парус;

2) sails - паруса;

3) to lure - завлекать, соблазнять;

4) homewards - домой, к дому.

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