III. Complete the following sentences:

1. Novosibirsk is situated …

2. The names of the town were…

3. The small river - side village was chosen as the crossing point of the Ob for the building…

4. The city’s history is connected with…

5. The founder of Novosibirsk…

6. The railway bridge was completed…

7. The railway thoroughfare became…

8. The length of the West – Siberian Railroad is …

9. The population of Novosibirsk is …

10. The first line of the underground was opened …

11. Today’s industrial enterprises produce …

12. Opera and Ballet theatre had been built …

13. In Novosibirsk there are a lot of educational institutions …

14. The Siberian Science Centre is situated … and was established in …

15. The main aim of this scientific centre is …

16. The total area of Novosibirsk is …

IV. Answer the questions:

1. What event is the foundation of Novosibirsk connected with?

2. When was it founded?

3. Who was the founder of Novosibirsk?

4. Where is the town situated?

5. What is the population of Novosibirsk?

6. When was Novosibirsk granted to the town status?

7. Why is Novosibirsk the most powerful vital transportation hub?

8. What were the names of the town before 1925?

9. How long did it take Novosibirsk to become a city with a million residents?

10. When was the first line of the Metro opened?

11. What type of industry was in the town before the revolution?

12. What interesting facts can you tell about culture, education and science in Novosibirsk?

Great britain

Great Britain (GB) is the largest island in the British Isles. It consists of England, Wales and Scotland.

The British Isles is the geographical term for all the islands (5,000) surrounding and including Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

The United Kingdom (U.K) is the name for Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

History. The political unification of the four nations was a gradual process that took several hundreds of years, and a lot of armed struggle was involved to form a single state. The Parliaments of England, Wales and Scotland were united in 1707. In 1922 Northern Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish are very different from each other, because about 2000 years ago the British Isles were inhabited by people, who originally came from continental Europe. Then the Romans came from Italy; Angles and Saxons from Germany, Denmark and Netherlands; the Vikings arrived from Denmark and Norway and the Normans came from France. These various origins¹ explain many differences in education, religion, the legal system and in language. Each country in the British Isles has a national symbol:

England (the rose), Scotland (the thistle – чертополох), Wales (the daffodil – нарцисс), Ireland (the shamrock – трилистник).

Population. The total population of the United Kingdom is about 57 million: 46 million live in England; 5 million live in Scotland; about 3 million live in Wales and 1.5 million live in Ireland. The total area is 244,000 sq. km. The average population density² is about 239 per sq. km.

Landscape. Great Britain is separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic ocean on the western coast and by the Irish Sea, the latter separating England from Ireland.

Great Britain being an island, its climate is rather mild. The weather tends to be very changeable (неустойчивый) as a result of the constant influence of different air masses. The prevailing winds are south-westerly which bring warm air in across the Atlantic.

The scenery of the British Isles varies greatly from region to region. There are moors and mountains, lakes and rivers, forests and meadows, cliffs and beaches, woods and hills. The most mountainous regions are in Scotland and Wales. England tends to be rather undulating (холмистая) and not even the large agricultural plains of East Anglia are perfectly flat.

Britain is rich in waterways. Almost every town stands on the river. Rivers in Great Britain are quite short: the Severn (354 km.) and the Thames (338 km.) are the longest; their navigability has made them an important part of the inland (внутри страны) transport network for the transportation, of bulk products such as³ coal, iron ore and steel.

Industry. Great Britain is one of the most powerful highly-developed industrial countries in the world among the main trends in industrial activities in Britain are in heavy industry. Coal, steel, shipbuilding and textiles are the leading ones. Britain is a major producer of oil, natural gas and coal. Coal is still an important source of heat for both private houses and power stations, but in recent years the industry has greatly reduced the number of mines. Government believes that nuclear power has a vital role in helping to meet Britain’s long-term energy requirements⁴. In recent years there has been the rapid development of electronic, microelectronic technologies and their application to a wide range in various sectors. The biggest industrial centres are: Birmingham and Sheffield (iron and steel ind.); Liverpool and Manchester (textile and chemical ind.)

Agriculture is the branch of industry that produces nearly two-thirds of Britain’s food requirements. Full-time farms are involved in dairying, beef-cattle and sheep, pig production, poultry meat, eggs and arable crops.

The fishing industry provides about 66% of British fish supplies and it is an important source of employment.

Britain had the world’s first public passenger railway service (opened 1825). The passenger network now comprises a fast inter-city network up to 200 km per hour linking the main centres of Great Britain.

Political structure. Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. Parliament is the supreme legislative authority⁵ and consists of three separate elements: the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons. The Queen’s role is only formal, and the House of Commons has gained supremacy⁶ over the House of Lords and is elected by almost universal adult suffrage⁷. There are 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) – each member representing one the 650 geographical areas (constituencies – изб. округ) into which the country is divided for electoral purposes (523 for England), (38 for Wales), (72 for Scotland) and (7 for Ireland). The House is presided by the Speaker. The main function of the House of Commons is to legislate. The ruler of the country is Prime Minister, the leader of the party which obtains a majority of seats in a general elections.

The Queen still opens the new session of Parliament each autumn by reading “The Queen’s Speech” which describes the main policies of the Government. However this takes place in the House of Lords, because She is not allowed to enter the House of Commons. This tradition has been for 300 years and reminds (напоминает) everybody, that the monarch must not try to govern the country. The Queen signs (подписывает) all the important state documents and meets with Prime Minister once a week.

Parliament is in session every afternoon and evening except Friday and the weekend.

The House of Lords. Its 1.175 members are not elected. It is made up the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal⁸; the former consist of the representatives of the Church of England (Archbishops of York and Canterberry and 25 Bishops); the latter comprise all heredetary and life peers⁹. The House of Lords can revise (пересматривать) Bills sent to it by the House of Commons but it can only delay a Bill from becoming law for a maximum 12 months.

The Cabinet, a group of ministers, representing about 20 ministries, form the Government. Since the 18^th century the Cabinet has been responsible for deciding policies and controlling and coordinating government administration. It meets in private and its discussions are in secret. The main opposition party forms a Shadow Cabinet, its function is to criticize the Government in power.

Elections. The right to vote in elections have those who are over 18 and residents of Britain. General elections must be held at least every 5 years, but the Prime Minister has the right to call elections before the five-year term.

Political Parties. There are some strong political parties in Britain; the Conservative Party (Tory) was formed in 1880 as a party of church, aristocracy and landlords and it is supported by large business interests.

The Labour (socialist) Party was formed in 1832 to represent the workers and was more or less the parliamentary wing of the Trade Unions. At present in addition to the Conservative Party and Labour Party, the recently formed Green Party and the left-of-centre Liberal Democratic Party.