In Great Britain. The typical products of Scotland are timber, whisky,

salmon. Golf is the Scottish natural sport it seems to have originated in

this country.

The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland.

The Scottish national costume (Highland dress) includes a kilt worn by

men. For day wear, the kilt is worn with a tweed jacket, plain long socks,

a beret and a leather sporran, that is, a pouch hanging from a narrow belt

round the hips. The Scottish beret - tam-o'-shanter - is a woollen cap

without a brim but with a pompon or a feather on top, traditionally worn

pulled down at one side. It got its name after Tam o' Shanter, the hero of

Burns's poem of that name.

Wales

Wales is a country situated in the West of Britain. St. David is the patron saint of Wales. On 1st March, St. David’s Day, patriotic Welsh people wear a leek or a daffodil, both symbols of Wales. The population of Wales is about three million. The area of Wales is 20,764 sq. km. Wales is agricultural, there are few cities there, rather small and unimportant. The west coast, mid Wales and North mountain in Britain. Snowdon looks very peaceful and beautiful. Cardiff, the modern capital of Wales, has a Roman castle and a modern shopping centre. Cardiff is an industrial city, which also has a cathedral, a university. Every year, an international festival called Eisteddfod is held in the town of Llangollen. People come from all over the world to recite poetry, sing and dance in this colourful competition. There are two national languages in Wales - the Welsh language, which is spoken widely, especially in the North of the country and English. Both these languages are taught in schools. There is also Welsh and British TV channels. Rugby is the national game of Wales. The rules of the game are quite difficult. A team consists of fifteen players. The game is played with an egg-shaped ball. There are three National Parks in Wales. These parks are protected by law because of their natural beauty, but some people live and work there. The flag of Wales, with its red dragon, is one of the oldest in the world. It was brought to Britain by the Romans. The Welsh call their country Cymru and themselves Cymry, a word which has the same root as a “camrador” (friend, comrade).

Wales has been united with England for seven hundred years, and through all this time England and Wales have formed one single political and administrative unit.

The territory of Wales is about 8.000 square miles. The population of Wales is about 3 m. people.

Central and North Wales are farming regions, while South Wales is the industrial part of the country. It is rich in coal. Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is also a large port.

Wales is a very popular place for spending holidays. Every year, thousands of people take their holidays at the seaside on the North Wales coast or, if they prefer, enjoy peace in villages far from town life. Some people choose Snowdonia. This is a national park around Snowdon, which is ideal for walking or hiking holidays.

Among the best-known Welsh characteristics are certain romanticism and love of poetry and music. The annual bardic festival known as the National Eisteddfod of Wales has a 1.200-year-old history: choral singing of hymns is a national art. Oratory is another. Singers, dancers, musicians and poets come from all over the world to complete for the awards at the festival. They often wear national costumes. At the festivals Welsh girls wear the nationals dress – a tall black hat, a red skirt and a white apron.

Another source of national pride is Rugby football.

In the whole of Wales, 99 per cent of the people can speak English, and the Welsh language, which is a Celtic one and very different from English, is, in fact, declining.

Wales

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. Since 1536, Wales has been governed by

England and the heir to the throne of England has the title of Prince of

Wales, but Welsh people have strong sense of identity. There is a Welsh

National party which wants independence from the United Kingdom and the

Welsh language is still used in certain parts of the country.

Welsh is an ancient Celtic language, similar to Breton, spoken in

Brittany, France. In the 60’s Welsh was given equal status with English as

an official language and is used in the law courts. It is taught in school

and some TV program is broadcast in Welsh. However, only about 20% of the

population speaks Welsh.

Wales

The Welsh people call their country Cymru ['kimru]. Wales is the land of rocks, mountains and valleys. There is a region in the high Cumbrian Mountains called Snowdonia. Its scenery is the pride of Wales. Snowdonia is named after the highest peak of these mountains — Snowdon at 1,085 metres above sea level.

The largest cities in the south of Wales are Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. The greatest concentration of people lives in these cities. Cardiff is the principality's capital and the main seaport and Swansea is its industrial centre. Cardiff has been the capital since 1955.

The largest town in the north of Wales is Wrexham.

The Welsh language is spoken widely, especially in the north of the country. It is one of the Celtic languages. It is still the first language for many people.

Wales is often called "the land of song". The Welsh people, especially in rural ares are fond of poetry, singing folk songs and playing the harp. There are a lot of choirs in Wales.

The Welsh are great storytellers. You will hear tales of King Arthur and Merlin the Magician, of kingdoms lost beneath the sea and battles between dragons, of haunted castles and knightly deeds.

Each of the major periods of history has left its mark on Wales, some more attractive than the others. Wales is "the land of castles". And the Normans were the first to build castles here.

Wales is famous for Eisteddfod [ai'steðvɔd]. It is the largest and oldest festival of Welsh culture, which is held every year in different areas of Wales. "Eisteddfod" literally means "a sitting" ("eistedd" in Welsh is "to sit"), perhaps a reference to the hand-carved chair traditionally awarded to the best poet or musician in the ceremony "the Crowning of the Bard".

Eisteddfod is actually an association of poets, writers, musicians, artists and individuals who have made a significant and distinguished contribution to the Welsh language, literature, and culture. Competitions of bards and singers take place during Eisteddfod. Its members are known as druids who wear long robes. Their leader is always a poet. The colour of their costumes — white, blue or green — is indicative of their various ranks.

St. David is the Patron Saint of Wales. March 1st is St. David's Day, the national day of Wales and has been celebrated as such since the 12th century.

Wales has two national symbols — the daffodil and the leek.

The proud and ancient battle banner of the Welsh is called the Red Dragon and consists of a red dragon on a green and white background

Wales

Wales is a country of lakes and mountains. It’s about the half the size of Switzerland, and it has a population of two and three quarter million. On the north of Wales is some of the most beautiful scenery in the British islands, the Snowdon mountain. Snowdon is Britain’s second highest mountain.

Wales is not an independent nation. In 1292, the English king, Edward, invaded Wales and built fourteen huge castles to control the Welsh people. His son, Edward, became the first prince of Wales, since then all the kings and queens of England have given their eldest sons the title, Prince of Wales. Prince Charles became the twenty-first Prince of Wales. Although the English have ruled Wales for many centuries, Wales still has its own flag, culture, and, above all, its own language. In the towns and villages of North Wales, many people speak English only as a second language. Their first language is Welsh. In Llanberis, a small town at the foot of Snowdon, eighty-six per cent people speak Welsh as their first language. At the local primary school children have nearly all their lessons in Welsh. The children should be bilingual by the time that they are eleven years old. It is not a problem for children to learn two languages at the same time. Children have insight into two cultures, so have all the folk tales of two languages. Children like Welsh because in Welsh you spell things just how you say them, in English there are more silent letters.

Welsh is one of the oldest languages in Europe. It’s a Celtic language, like Breton in France, Gaelic in Ireland, or Gaelic in Scotland. Two and a half thousand years before these languages were spoken in many parts of Europe. They died out when the Romans invaded these areas, but some of them survived in the northwest corner of Europe. But over the last hundred years the number of Welsh-speaker has fallen very quickly. Now only twenty per cent of Welsh people speak Welsh. Here are some of the reasons for the decline.

In the nineteenth century people thought that Welsh an uncivilized language. If you wanted to be successful in life you had to learn English, the language of the British Empire. So in many schools children were forbidden to speak Welsh.

At the beginning of the twentieth century many English and Irish people moved to South Wales to work in the coalmines and steel works. They did not learn Welsh.

People, especially young people, moved away from the Welsh-speaking villages and farms of north and west Wales to look for work in the big towns and cities, so the Welsh-speaking communities became much smaller. In the 1960s and 1970s many English people bought holiday cottages in villages in Wales. Most of them did not learn Welsh. This also pushed up the price of houses so that local Welsh-speaking people could not afford them.