Presentation of the project

1. Presentation of the project "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"

2. Plan • Geographical location • Climate in Britain • Political system • Cities in Britain • Work and unemployment • English language • British culture and traditions • Literature • Science • Mass media • Education in Britain • Health in the UK • Sports in Britain • Ecological problems

3. The full name of the country the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland occupies one third of the island of Ireland. It borders on the Irish Republic in the south. The island of Great Britain consists of three main parts: England (the southern and middle part of the island), Wales (a mountainous peninsula in the West) and Scotland (the northern part of the island). In general the territory of the UK is about 244,000 square kilometers. The population is urban. The capital of the country is London. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel. The British Isles are surrounded by the shallow waters of the Irish Sea and the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the North Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers of the region are short and of no great importance as waterways. The longest of them is the Thames, which is a little over 200 miles. The surface of GB varies greatly. The northern and western parts of the country are mountainous and are called the Highlands.

4. England is the largest and the richest country of Great Britain. The capital of England is London but there are other large cities, such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, York, Chester. Oxford and Cambridge. Stonehenge is one of the most famous prehistoric places in the world. This ancient circle of stones stands in Southwest England. It measures 80 meters across and made with massive blocks of stone to four meters high. Stonehenge Cambridge Scotland is a country in the north of Great Britain. It is a part of the UK. Scotland is divided into three natural regions: the Southern Uplands, the Central Lowlands and the Highlands and islands. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, well known for its castle. Glasgow is the industrial capital of Scotland. It is the third largest city in Great Britain. The typical products of Scotland are timber, whisky, salmon. Edinburgh

5. Wales is the country in the west of Great Britain. It is mainly a mountainous land with a chiefly agricultural economy and an industrial and coal-mining area in the south. The landscape is beautiful. Many English people move to Wales when they retire. Cardiff, a large city in the south, was chosen as the capital of Wales in 1955, mainly because of its size. Cardiff Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster, is still a part of the United Kingdom. It is made up of six countries: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, and Tyrone. One third of the population lives in and around the capital, Belfast. Belfast is also the most important port and commercial and industrial centre. Some parts of the territory, those that are not close to the capital, have remained mainly rural. The Irish population is divided into two groups: the Protestants and the Catholics. Belfast

6. Britain has a variable climate. The weather changes so frequently that it is difficult to forecast. Fortunately, as Britain does not experience extreme weather conditions, it is never very cold or very hot. Contrary to popular opinion, it does not rain all the time. There is certainly steady rainfall throughout most of the year, but the months from September to January are the wettest. Thanks to the rain, Britain's countryside is famous for its deep green color. Due to the geographic location of Great Britain the type of the climate is oceanic.The grass remains green all the year round. Thanks to climate conditions, Britain in truth looks like one great well-ordered park with its old trees, green meadows and hedges

7. Political system Parliament is made up of two chambers — the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The members of the House of Lords are not elected: they qualify to sit in the House because they are bishops of the Church of England, aristocrats who have inherited their seats from their fathers, people with titles. There has been talk of reform in this century because many Britons think that this system is undemocratic. The House of Commons, by contrast, has 651 seats which are occupied by Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the British public.The Queen, who is the Head of State, opens and closes Parliament. All new laws are debated by MPs in the Commons, then debated in the Lords, and finally signed by the Queen. All three are part of Parliament in Britain. The party which wins the most seats in the General Election forms the government in Britain. The leader of the winning party becomes Prime Minister. Britain is administered from the Palace of Westminster in London. This is also known as the Houses of Parliament.

8. Cities Nobody can deny that a great example of these cities is London- capital of Great Britain. London is one of the most famous capital cities of the world, and every year it attracts crowds of visitors from home and abroad. London is a city of great contrasts. Its western part is the richest part of the town with its cosy mansions, beautiful avenues, shops, restaurants and hotels. The East End is the district inhabited by the poor. The heart of London is the City — its commercial and business centre. Here is situated the Tower of London that comes first among the historic buildings of the city. St Paul's Cathedral, the greatest of English churches, is situated not far from the Tower. Westminster Abbey is a national shrine where the kings and queens are crowned and famous people are buried. Walking around London one can also see Trafalgar Square. The square was so named to commemorate Nelson's Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and the monument in the centreis surmounted with a Statue of Nelson. From the centre of Westminster Bridge, one can have a splendid view of the Houses of Parliament and the Clock Tower Big Ben which spread magnificently by the north bank of the Thames. London has buildings that express all the different areas of its history, for London manages in a unique way to reflect its past and at the same time to fulfil the functions of a modern city.

9. Work and unemployment Like every developed country the United Kingdom has a problem of unemployment and finding a job. A lot of people don’t have any job at all, they are unemployment. Even in the UK this problem is taking place. I don’t think that to live people must earn their bread in the sweat of their brows and live hand to mouth. It is very humiliating. The most important and, career-track and solid professions are teacher, economist, doctor and political worker. These jobs require skills and responsibilities, are challenging enough, attract idealistic types only and of course pay a lot of money. For many people high earrings are more important than job satisfaction, so, I think, that person, who likes this job is rather soulless. His true to say that today the level of unemployment in UK is 3,1%. It is rather low, but not enough.

10. English language English is spoken practically all over the world. It is spoken as the mother tongue in Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A lot of people speak English in China, Japan, India, Africa and other countries. It is one of 6 official languages of the United Nations. It is studied as a foreign language in many schools. Many English words were borrowed from the language of Angles and Saxons. Hundreds of French words came into English. These French words didn't crowd out corresponding Anglo-Saxon words. There exist «act» and «deed», «beautiful» and «pretty», «form» and «shape». Many new words were brought by traders and travellers. These words came from all parts of the world: «umbrella» —from Italian, «skates» — from Datch, «tea» — from Chinese, «cigar» — from Spanish. Some words came into English directly from Latin, which was the language of the church and the universities in the Middle Ages. Some of the English words of today are derivatives. One way of creating new words is to put together two or more older English words. For example, the words «railway», «football», “newspaper” are made in this way. Many of the new English words — especial new scientific ones — have been made from Latin and Greek words instead of English ones. «Telephone» for instance, was made from Greek words “far” and «talk».

11. Culture and traditions England - St. George and the RoseThe national flower of England is the rose.The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose). Northern Ireland - St. Patrick and the ShamrockThe national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock,a three-leaved plant similar to clover. Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem: Scotland - St. Andrew and the Scottish BluebellThe national flower of Scotland iscommonly thought to be the thistle. However, the national flower is infact the Scottish bluebell. Wales - St. David and the Daffodil The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable called leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.

12. The flag of UK is called Union Jack, it unites three flags in one: • the flag of England (red cross on white background, St. George’s flag) • the flag of Scotland (white diagonal cross on blue background, St. Andrew’s flag), • the flag of Ireland (red diagonal cross on white background). The flag of Wales

13. Britain is rich in its historic places which link the present with the past. Liverpool, the «city of ships», is England's second greatest port, ranking after London. The most interesting sight in the Liverpool is the docks. They occupy a river frontage of seven miles. The University of Liverpool, established in 1903, is noted for its School of Tropical Medicine. And in the music world Liverpool is a well-known name, for it's the home town of "The Beatles". Stratford-on-Avon lies 93 miles north-west of London. Shakespeare was born here in 1564, and here he died in 1616. Cambridge and Oxford Universities are famous centers of learning. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument, presumably built by Druids, members of an order of priests in ancient Britain. Tintagel Castle is King Arthur's reputed birthplace. Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England. The British Museum is the largest and richest museum in the world. It was founded in 1753 and contains one of the world's richest collections of antiquities. The Egyptian Galleries contain human and animal mummies. Some parts of Athens' Parthenon are in the Greek section. Madam Tussaud's Museum is an exhibition of hundreds of life-size wax models of famous people of yesterday and today. The collection was started by Madam Tussaud, a French modeller in wax, in the 18 century. Here you can meet Marilyn Monroe, Eiton John, Picasso, the Royal Family, the Beatles and many others: writers, movie stars, singers, politicians, sportsmen, etc.

14. Traditionally English people have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is served in the morning. It used to be a large meal. But such a large breakfast takes a long time to prepare and is not very healthy. Nowadays, Britain's most popular breakfast consists of cereal, toast with marmalade, juice and yogurt with a cup of tea or coffee. Lunch is a light meal. Most people have no time to go back home for lunch so they eat at school, cafes, pubs or restaurants. The main meal is dinner, which is usually between 6 and 7 p.m. A typical evening meal is a meat dish with vegetables and dessert. The most important meal of the week is the Sunday dinner, which is usually eaten at 1 p.m. You can reach England by plane, by train, by car or by ship. The fastest way is by plane. London has three international airports: Heathrow, the largest, connected to the city by underground; Gatwick, south of London, with a frequent train service; Luton, the smallest, used for charter flights if you go to England by train or by car you have to cross the Channel. There is a frequent service of steamers and ferryboats which connect the continent to the south-east of England. People in Britain drive on the left and generally overtake on the right. The speed limit is 30 miles per hour (50 km/h) in towns and cities. When you are in London you can choose from four different means of transport: bus, train, underground or taxi. The typical bus in London is a red double-decker.

15. Literature Books and literature play a really big role in the life of British people. There are a lot of people there who like books, because they help them understand the world we live in. They transport them into new worlds, introduce them to amazing people who lived exiting lives and leave a mark on them. William Shakespeare was one of the greatest writers of the world. Many people know and like his works but many facts of Shakespeare's life are still unknown. . William Shakespeare lived in Stratford until he was twenty-one. He got married and had three children. At the age of 21 William left Stratford for London to join a company of actors. He was a very good actor and an excellent playwright. William Shakespeare lived and worked in London for 25 years. By the end of the 16th century William Shakespeare and his friends had enough money to by build their own theatre — the Globe.Since 1879 Shakespeare's Festival has been held every year at Stratford-upon-Avon. Besides plays Shakespeare wrote a lot of poetry, which is translated into many languages and is well-known through- out the world. William Shakespeare died in 1616. But his creations are still popular now and millions of people still admire them. Stratford-on-Avon, where Shakespeare was born, is now one of the most popular tourist centers.

16. Science and scientists It is practically impossible today to live without science. All our life contains of different science facts and discovers. Science help us to investigate why we act the way we do, separate the hope from the hype and, of course, understand the secrets of life. Mankind owes a lot to the great English scientist, astronomer, and mathematician- Sir Isaak Newton- who invented a new kind of mathematics, discovered the secrets of light and colour, and showed how the universe is held together. Newton is most famous for his discoveries on the laws of motion and theories of gravitation published in 1687. This work, usually called PRINCIPIA is considered one of the greatest single contributions in the history of science. It explained what happens on earth and in the heavens.Newton's discoveries in optics laid the foundation for the science of spectrum analysis. This science allows us to determine the chemical composition, temperature and even the speed of such hot, glowing bodies as a distant star or an object heated in a laboratory. So if there were no scientists at all, now we would live in another building and couldn’t understand different natural phenomena. Scientists play a very big role in the life and society of Great Britain.

17. Mass media • Today people all over the world have much more television, than ever before and become a coach potato. Great Britain is a very developed country with very developed television. The British Media consists of the press and radio and TV broadcasting. The most famous TV company in the UK is BBC. They are appointed by the Queen on advice from ministers. British TV companies prefer to show daily ten-minute snapshot of local crime, put too much political output, interview people live and show films made for TV. Many British people like to read newspapers. There are a lot of gossip newspapers. Most of them are tabloid and have a lot of interesting pictures, like in magazines. There are two main types of newspapers: the "popular" papers and the "quality" papers. The popular papers are less in size, with many pictures, big headlines and short articles. They are easy to read. They are such papers as "Daily Express", "Daily mail", and others. The "quality" papers are for more serious readership. These papers are bigger in size, with larger articles and more detailed information. The "quality" papers are - "The Times", "The Guardian", "Financial Times".

18. Education in Britain Today there is a great number of schools in Britain. Education is compulsory from 5 till 16 years. Other 16-year-olds choose to go to a college of further education to study for more practical diplomas. Universities and colleges of higher education accept students from 18. Most students graduate at 21 or 22 and are given their degree at a special graduation ceremony. Most independent schools are called prep (preparatory) schools because they prepare the children for the Common Entrance Exam which they take at the age of 11. This exam is for entry into the best schools. The most famous schools are called "public schools" and they have a long history and traditions. The majority of independent secondary schools, including public schools, are single-sex. Independent schools also include religious schools (Jewish, Catholic. Muslim etc.) and schools for ethnic minorities.

19. Health in Britain People all over the world suffer from different diseases: indigestion, depression, burns, severe complications and other. Today they became a real part of our life, that’s a pity. So I can say, that people in Britain also pain. British have an excellent medical service.All people in Britain go running every morning or jogging, do very energetic exercises or at the end frequent discotheques. It is a great advantage, that being healthy is very modern in British society. They prefer not to smoke, because smoking can be a dangerous addiction, leads to lung cancer, is a deep-rooted habit and is very bad for your health. Also it is forbidden in some places. Surgeon general’s warning: smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and may complicate pregnancy. So a sound mind is in a healthy body.

20. Sports in Britain • People all over the world are fond of sports and games. People take up sports in order to be legendary, display skills and physical powers, become folk heroes, reach celebrity status, improve spiritually and emotionally and be media stars. The British have a reputation for being mad about sports. In fact they like watching sports more than playing them. The British are spectators and the most popular spectator sports are cricket and football. Rugby-is another popular British sport which is played in other countries. It is also called rugby football. There are two forms of rugby football: the amateur game and the professional game. The two games have different rules. Football is the favourite winter game in Britain and cricket is the favourite summer sport. Cricket is considered to be the English National game. Golf is the Scottish national game.The most famous British championship is Wimbledon, played annually during the last week of June and the first week of July. Those are the most popular kinds of sport in the UK. But there are many other sports such as rugby, swimming, golf horse-racing and the traditional fox-hunting.

21. Ecological problems When it comes to protecting the environment, actions speak louder than words. The sharpest problem in Britain is a problem of the environment. It is Man who ignoresand spoils the environment. Man demands much of the Earth's resources and too often is an ignorant, selfish and thoughtless caretaker because mineral wealth of the earth can not be recreated. We have a moral duty to look after our planet. The British Government will play a fall part in working out international solutions through bodies like the United Nations, the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the European Community. The British Government will aim: • to preserve and enhance Britain's natural and cultural inheritance; • to encourage the more prudent and efficient use of energy and other resources; • to make sure that Britain's air and water are clean and safe, and that controls over wastes and pollution are maintained and strengthened where necessary. The Government is supporting international efforts for a global agreement to protect species of plant and animal life.