- •Англоязычные страны: факты, культура, традиции
- •I. The British Commonwealth of Nations
- •Fast Facts
- •II. The Commonwealth Members
- •Australia
- •1. English is … most spoken language in the world.
- •2. Work in pairs. Ask your partner what facts above are already known to him (her) and what are not.
- •IV.History. England. The Great Mystery of Stonehenge
- •1. Read the text about one of the world’s wonders.
- •V. Festivals and Traditions. Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day
- •1. Guess the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:
- •2. Read the text and be ready to answer the questions below.
- •VI. Culture. Scotland. Kilt. Bagpipe
- •1. Tell if the statements about kilt are true or false.
- •2. Work in pairs. Match the following English words with Russian equivalent. For help use the picture.
- •3. Read and translate the text paying attention to the words in bold.
- •VII. Languages. Wales. The Welsh Language
- •1. Look at the example of Welsh language and compare it with English. Have both languages anything in common?
- •2. Read the text about the Welsh language and be ready to answer the questions.
- •VIII. British Prominent People
- •1. Read the information about some of the most famous Britons.
- •2. Great Britain is also famous for other eminent people. What do you know about them? Match the person to the appropriate field of his/her activity
- •Us History Facts Chart
- •II. The United States of America: General Facts
- •III. Us Sights and Cities
- •IV. Some Facts AboutUs Higher Education
- •Ivy League
- •Ivy League Facts Chart
- •V. Some Facts about American Way of Life
- •2. Mayflower is …
- •Оглавление
2. Work in pairs. Ask your partner what facts above are already known to him (her) and what are not.
II. Britain in Sights and Pictures
1. Check up yourself.
Match the sights of London with the appropriate pictures.
❒ Tower Bridge ❒ St Paul’s Cathedral
❒ The Houses of Parliament ❒ Buckingham Palace
❒ Westminster Abbey ❒ Big Ben
2. What pictures do you think refer to the UK countries? Give the suitable number to the pictures (A-D).
1. England. 2. Ireland.
3. Wales. 4. Scotland.
III. General Information about the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Flags of the UK Countries
1. Read the information about the UK.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign statelocated off the north-western coast ofcontinental Europe. The termBritain is often used as synonym for the United Kingdom. The term Great Britain, by contrast, refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England (the capital is London), Scotland (the capital is Edinburgh) and Wales (the capital is Cardiff) in combination.
The country includes the island of Great Britain(a term sometimes loosely applied to the whole state), the north-eastern part of the island ofIreland, and many smaller islands.Northern Irelandis the only part of the UK that shares aland borderwith another state: theRepublic of Ireland. (The capital is Belfast). The UK’s form of government is a constitutional monarchywith aparliamentary system, and itscapital cityisLondon.
Flags of the UK
TheUnited KingdomofGreat BritainandNorthern Irelanduses as its national flag the royal banner known as theUnion Jack or Union. It consists of the red crossofSaint George(patron saintofEngland), edged in white, laid on theCross ofSt Patrick(patron saint ofIreland), which are laid on the cross ofSaint Andrew(patron saint ofScotland).Wales, however, is not represented in the Union Flag by Wales’s patron saint,Saint David, as at the time the flag was designed Wales was part of theKingdom of England.
2. Discuss the information in the table with your desk partner.
The
country
The
patron The
Symbol and Description England St.George
The
association of the red cross as an emblem ofEnglandcan be traced back to theMiddle
Ages, and it was used as a component in the design of theUnion Flagin 1606; however, the English flag has no official status
within theUnited
Kingdom. Since the 1990s it has been in increasingly wide
use, particularly at national sporting events. Scotland
St.
Andrew
TheFlag
of Scotland,
On a BluefieldaWhite(Argent)
saltire.
Also known as Saint
Andrew’s Cross
or the Saltire,
is the national
flagofScotland.
As the national flag, the Saltire, rather than theRoyal
Standard of Scotland, is the correct flag for all
individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to
demonstrate both their loyalty andScottish
nationality.
According
to legend, the ChristianapostleandmartyrSaint
Andrew, thepatron
saintof Scotland, wascrucifiedon an X-shaped cross. Wales
St.
David
Theflag
of Wales,
meaning “The
Red Dragon” consists of areddragonpassanton agreenandwhitefield.
As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the
dragon is not standardized and many renderings exist.
Ireland
St.
Patrick
St.
Patrics Saltire is used
by the government to represent
Northern Ireland alongside the other countries of the United
Kingdom. It is represented by two red diagonal crosses on the
white field. |