Great Britain

The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are situated on the British Isles. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometers. The coasts of Great Britain are washed by the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the English Channel, which separates it from Europe.

Great Britain consists of three parts: England, Scotland and Wales/Northern Ireland belongs to the United Kingdom and borders on the independent Irish Republic, which occupies a bigger part of the island.)

There are many rivers in the U.K., the longest and the deepest of them are the

Themes and the Severn. The mountains of the island are not very high. Great

Britain has some mineral resources, first of all, the deposits of coal and iron ore,

(which were the basis for British industrial revolution. Not long ago vast deposits of oil and gas were discovered in the North Sea.)

The climate of Great Britain is mild because of the influence of the warm current, the Gulf Stream. Winters are not too cold and summers are rather cool. The weather is not stable and changes all the time. The Great Britain is highly developed industrial country, one of the leading states of the world.

The population of the United Kingdom is about sixty million people of various nationalities. The capital of the U.K. is London. Other big and important cities are: Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester.

Politically, Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy with strong democratic traditions. Nominally, the country is ruled by the King or the Queen. But in fact, the real head of the state is the Prime-Minister.

Vocabulary:

1. The United Kingdom Объединенное Королевство

2. Ireland Ирландия

3. Isles острова

4. total area полная площадь

5. Irish Sea Ирландское море

6. Europe Европа

7. climate климат

8. mild умеренный

9. The Gulf Stream Гольфстрим

10. a parliamentary monarchy парламентская монархия