Great Britain: Geography

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political name of the country which is (0) ..B.. up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast (1respectively. Nothern Ireland is sometimes called Ulster in the name of the ancient Irish province. The poetic name for Ireland is Emerald Isle due to its green countryside. The Welsh name for Wales is Cymru.

The UK is rather small with an area (2) of some 242 thousand sq. km. and the population of nearly 58 million people. It is (3) separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel, the narrower part of which is called the Strait of Dover. From the west the UK is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, from the east by the North Sea. The Irish Sea lies (4) inside England and Ireland.

The surface of Eastern England is flat. Scotland and Wales are mountainous. The mountains are not very high; the highest one is Ben Nevis in Scotland which is 1343 m. in (5) height. In the west the Cambrian Mountains occupy the greater part of Wales; in the north the Cheviot Hills separate England (6) from Scotland. The Pennines, known as the “backbone of England”, are famous for the number and beauty of (7) their lakes. There are 16 lakes here. This picturesque place is called the Lake District and is situated in the county of Cumbria.

There are (8) many rivers in Britain but very few of them are navigable. Many of the rivers have been connected with each other by means of canals. The principal rivers (9) many the Severn, the Thames and the Trent. The Severn is the longest river in Britain but the Thames is the most important one.

The seas (10) surrounding the British Isles are shallow and it is in some way an advantage. Shallow water is (11) warmer than deep water and helps to keep the shores from extreme cold. It is too the home of plenty of fish, a million tons of which are caught every year. Britain’s coastline contains numerous harbours serving as convenient ports, among (12) which are London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Portsmouth, Southampton, Cardiff and others.

0	A done	Bmade	Cconstructed	Dset
1	A respectively	Bpreviously	Clikewise	Dsimilarly
2	A in	Bwith	Cof	Dwhich
3	A situated	Bshared	C separated	Djoined
4	A in the middle	B inside	C among	D between
5	A height	Blength	Cwidth	Dweight
6	A of	Bfrom	C by	Dto
7	A this	Bits	Cthem	Dtheir
8	A few	B many	Clittle	Dmuch
9	A is	Bam	Care	D be
10	A surrounding	Bover	Cconnecting	Dacross
11	A more warm	Bmost warm	C warmest	Dwarmer
12	A what	Bwhose	Cthat	Dwhich

British Symbols

The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of 3 (0) ..A... The upright red is the cross of St George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross (with the arms (1) going into the corners) is the cross of St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. St David is the patron saint of Wales.

The anthem is (2) based on a 17^th century song “God save the Queen”. The word “Queen” is (3) replaced with “King” in the lyrics whenever the monarch is male. The anthem was established as such in 1745, making it (4) the oldest in the world.

(5) Since 1837 the royal coat-of-arms has depicted a shield which is supported by an English lion and the Scottish unicorn. They are (6) standing on a field with the emblems of England (the rose), Scotland (the thistle) and Ireland (the shamrock). Below this is the royal motto “Dien et mon droit” (God and my right).

The Red Dragon, part (7) of the Welsh flag design, is a popular symbol of Wales. The leek and the daffodil are the national emblems of Wales.

The Lion is a national animal of England. Lion was the nickname of England's medieval warrior rulers with a reputation for (8) bravery, such as Richard I known as Richard the Lionheart. Lions are frequently depicted in English heraldry. They also appear in sculpture and sites of national importance, such as Trafalgar Square. The lion is used as a symbol of English sporting (9) teams, such as the England national symbol in cricket.

The Horse is also considered to be an important animal in the culture of Great Britain. It is used in (10) heraldry (as a horse, as a seahorse and as a unicorn), in architecture, in geographical names; it appears in folklore and modern books; it can be seen at different traditional festivals. Horse-racing and fox-hunting (hunters are traditionally on horseback) are the most popular sporting (11) events in this country.

The (12) third significant animal is the Sheep. For many centuries wool was the UK's most important export and led to the development of many of the nation's industrial towns. Today the UK remains 7th largest producer of wool in the world.

0	A crosses	Bsquares	Ccircles	Dlines
1	A go	Bgoes	Cgoing	Dgone
2	A based	Btaken	Cplaced	Dset
3	A varied	Bswitched	Cresolved	Dreplaced
4	A most old	B oldest	C the older	D the oldest
5	A Since	BIn	C By	DUntil
6	A stand	Bstanding	C stood	Dstands
7	A in	Bof	Con	Dfor
8	A cowardice	B brewery	Cbravery	Dcourageous
9	A teams	B commands	Ccrews	Dbands
10	A peasantry	Bhospitality	Cheraldry	Dhusbandry
11	A evidence	Bmishaps	C exhibitions	Devents
12	A three	Bthird	Ctertiary	Dtriple