The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Geography, Climate, and State Symbols

1. THEME: THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NOTHERN IRELAND

2. AIMS: • TO DRAW A CONCLUSION FROM THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE COUNTRY • TO KNOW NEW FACTS ABOUT IT • TO CHECK EVERYTHING WE KNOW

6. Geographical position

8. DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE AMONG • BRITISH ISLES • GREAT BRITAIN • THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NOTHERN IRELAND?

9. CLIMATE • British Isles are as far north as Siberia. Edinburgh is on the same latitude as Moscow but climate there is quite different. The temperature rarely exceeds 32 degrees in summer or falls below -10 degrees in winter • The climate of the British Isles is strictly influenced by the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The western winds are warm and laden with moisture. (Наполненный влагой). It is often foggy and rainy. Snow falls very occasionally and it doesn`t remain for long (except in the Scottish mountains). Rainfall is well distributed throughout the year. The wind brings rain from the Atlantic to the hills of the west. Britain is famous for the rapid changes in the weather, sometimes they are even unpredictable, that is why it is one of the most favorite subjects for discussion when Englishmen meet.

10. British State Symbols

11. British State Symbols The state flag of the Kingdom was approved in1801. The main color of it is blue. On the main background it has white and red crosses. In reality the flag is a combination of some flags. The banner of England – St. George's flag, which has a horizontal red cross on a white field, the banner of Scotland – St. Andrew's flag, which has a white cross on a blue background and Ireland – St Patrick's flag with a red cross on a white field, because of it the flag of the United Kingdom of great Britain and Northern Ireland is called “ Union Jack”

12. POPULATION AND LANGUAGES • About 57 million people live in Britain. 94% of them are of different European origin. Most of the population live in cities and work in industry. The living standard is rather high. • The main language and also state one is English. It is a language of Germanic family. Anglo-Saxons contributed to the formation of English most of all. English grammar has much in common with modern German language. English alphabet came from Latin. Christian Monks, who spoke Latin brought it from Ireland. It is very strange that Celtic language didn't brought many words to modern English. Other languages are also used in the UK by people whose native language isn't historically English and who came to the country from other places.

13. In Wales only about 19% of the population speak Welsh (a Celtic language) as their first language, though nearly all of them also speak perfect English. The study of Welsh is now compulsory in many primary and secondary schools. Television and radio services in Wales give about half their time to Welsh language programmers. Most public signs are in Welsh as well as in English. • In Scotland 2% of the population speak Gaelic, another Celtic language, as well as in English. • Many immigrants are bilingual. Many Indians, for example, speak both Hindi and English, a lot of Chinese speak both Chinese and English. Many Turks speak English and Turkish. • There are a number of different regional accents in the UK. Some people in England speak “Cockney” in Birmingham – “Brum”, in Newcastle - “Geordie”. There is a variety of English which belongs to no particular region. It's Standard English, which is usually taught to foreigners.

15. Political system • A MONARCH The UK is the constitutional monarchy. It means that the country has a monarch at the head but its power is limited by the parliament. The head of the UK is Queen Elizabeth II. The royal title in Britain is “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”. In law the Queen is head of the executive ( ) an integral part of the legislature ( ), head of the judiciary ( ), the Commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crown ( ), and the Supreme Governor of the established Church of England. In practice the monarch has no actual power: they say, the monarch reigns but doesn't rule. The Queen summons( ), prorogues ( ) and dissolves Parliament. She opens each session with a speech. It is her duty to make appointments to all important state offices. She has the power to conclude treaties, to declare war and make peace. All the affairs are conducted in the name of the Queen, but really the Prime Minister is responsible for every measure submitted to Parliament. • Parliament is the supreme legislative authority in Britain and the Prime Minister is the virtual ruler of the country.

17. Political system • PARLIAMENT • The British Parliament works in a large building called the Palace of Westminster. The Palace has offices, committee rooms, restaurants, libraries and even some places of residence and also two large rooms where the members of the Parliament meet: one for Lords the other for members of the House of Commons. The British Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The last one is more important for the country. This division dates back as 700 years. • The House of Commons is made up of 650 elected members. Each session lasts 160-170 days. Traditionally members don't start their work in the morning. They begin its business at 2.30 p.m. when they are at work there is a flag above the Palace. During the sessions the M.Ps have no free weekends the members of the House of Commons propose laws. If the majority of MPs vote for the bill, it is sent to the House of Lords, when the Lords agree it is taken to the Queen for Royal assent. The person who chairs and control discussion in is the Speaker. He decides which member is going to speak next and makes sure that the rules are followed. During the sessions he sits on the wool sack which is the symbol of the country wealth. • Members of the House of Lords (“peers”) are not elected. They are holders of an inherited aristocratic title ( ). The House of Lords has more than 1,000 members, but only about 250 take an active part in the work of the house. The House of Lords has little real power nowadays.

20. THE TOWER OF LONDON • The Tower of London was build by William the Conqueror as a fortress and palace. Later kings made it larger and stronger and kept soldiers, amour, weapons, treasure, and sometimes important prisoners there. For five hundred years coins of realm (королевство) were minted at the Tower and official documents stored in some of the castle buildings. There was even a zoo there which began as the king’s private collection of animals. • Nowadays it is busy with thousands of visitors. In fact the Tower today is like a traditional English village. The ravens are certainly among the most important residents in the Tower, for – so the story goes – if they ever leave, the Tower will fall and England with it. These days there are usually about six ravens hopping and pecking (клюющие) around the Tower lawns (газон) in the daytime. One of the Yeoman Warders (дворцовые стражи) cares for them. He feeds them on raw meat, (сырое мясо) fruit and eggs. He tаkеs them back into their cage every night, and from time to time clips (подрезать) their wings – just to make sure that they never leave.

21. The Yeoman Warders have guarded the Tower since reign (правление) of Henry VIII. Every day at the Tower ends with the ceremony of the Keys. The soldiers of the Tower Guard escort the Chief Yeoman Warder as he locks the outer gates. When this is done the guard salute “the Queen’s keys” and the Chief Warders calls out “God preserves Queen Elizabeth.” Then he takes the keys to the Governor in Queen’s House. The Tower of London is save and secure for the night. It is a very old ceremony – 700 years old.

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