Великобритания

Министерство образования  и науки Российской Федерации

Федеральное государственное  бюджетное образовательное учреждение

высшего профессионального  образования

«ВОЛГОГРАДСКИЙ  ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»

(ВолгГТУ)

Кафедра иностранных  языков

 

Семестровая работа за II семестр

по английскому  языку

Тема:  «Великобритания»

 

 

Источники:   http://www.wikipedia.org

                         http://www.you2uk.com                              

                                                                                              Выполнила:

                                                                                             студентка группы Э-159

                                                               Любишина О.А.

                                                                                           Проверил:  ст. преподаватель

                                                                  Ребрикова О. М.

 

Краткая рецензия:

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Оценка работы _________________ баллов

                                                Волгоград,  2013г.

Contents

 

1. Text……………………………………………………………………….…3

    1.1. Geographical position………………………………………….....….–

    1.2. Relief of the UK……………………………………………………....–

    1.3. Climate……………………………………………………..………….–

    1.4. Population……………………………………………………………..4

    1.5. Industry………………………………………….……………...….….–

    1.6. Political system……………………………………………………….–

    1.7. UK Attraction………………………………………………………….5

2. Translation…………………………………………………………….…….8

3. Dictionary………………………………………………………………….14

 

Text

The official name of the country, we usually call England and occasionally Great Britain, is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The U. K. is situated on the group of islands, lying just off the mainland of northwestern Europe. The British Isles include Great Britain proper, Ireland and a number of smaller islands. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales. The southern part of Ireland is occupied by Great Britain and is called by native citizens the Republic of Eire.

Geographical position.

Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrower part of which is called the Strait of Dover. The British Isles are surrounded by the shallow waters of the Irish Sea, on the west, the North Sea on the north and northeast, the Norwegian Sea on the east. Britain is comparatively small, but there is hardly a country, in the world where such a variety of scenery can be found.

Relief of the UK.

There are wild desolate mountains in the northern Highlands of Scotland — the home of the deer and the eagles. Northern England Mountains and the Cambrian Mountains in Wales are much lower. In the extreme south of England are the famous chalk hills, some of which form the Dover Cliffs.

Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources; it has some deposits of coal and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea.

The southern and southeastern parts of the island form lowlands. The rivers of the region are short and of no great importance as waterways. The biggest of them is the Thames, which is a little over 200 miles long. Britain's principal ports are London, Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, and Glasgow. They have splendid harbors. Owing to the shape of the country, any point in Great Britain is no more than 70 miles from the sea.

Climate.

Britain has a variable climate. The weather changes so frequently that it is difficult to forecast. It is not unusual for people to complain that the weathermen were wrong. Fortunately, as Britain does not experience extreme weather conditions, it is never very cold or very hot. The temperature rarely rises above 32°C in summer, or falls below 10°C in winter.

Contrary to popular opinion, it does not rain all the time. There is certainly steady rainfall throughout most of the year, but the months from September to January are the wettest. Thanks to the rain, Britain's countryside is famous for its deep green color.

Population.

The population of the United Kingdom is over 58 million people. The main nationalities are: English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish. In Great Britain there are a lot of immigrants from former British Asian and African colonies.

Industry.

Great Britain is a highly industrialized country. New industries have been developed in the last three decades. Nearly a quarter of England's workers are employed in manufacturing. Major industries located in the northern counties include food processing, brewing, and the manufacture of chemicals, textiles, computers, automobiles, aircraft, clothing, glass, and paper products. Sand, gravel, widely available, provide raw materials for the construction industry. Clay and salt are found in the northwestern England, and china clay is available in Cornwall. Cornwall is the only county in England that provides the nation with tin ore.

Political system.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. It means that the sovereign reigns but does not rule. Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. Technically Parliament is made up of three parts: the Monarch, the House of Lords; and the House of Commons. In reality the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power.

The monarch serves formally as head of state. But the monarch is expected to be politically neutral and should not make political decisions. The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II. She was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953.

The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament. There are 650 of them in the House of Commons. They are elected by secret ballot. General elections are held every five years. The country is divided into 650 constituencies. All citizens aged 18 and registered in a constituency, have the right to vote. But voting is not compulsory in Britain. Only persons convicted of corrupt and certain mentally ill patients don't take part in voting.

There are few political parties in Britain thanks to the British electoral system. The main ones are: the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Party. Each political party puts up one candidate for each constituency. The one who wins the most votes is elected MP for that area. The party which wins the most seats in Parliament forms the Government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister. His first job is to choose his Cabinet. The Prime Minister usually takes policy decisions with the agreement of the Cabinet.

The functions of the House of Commons are legislation and scrutiny of government activities. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker. The Speaker is appointed by the Government.

The House of Lords comprises about 1,200 peers. It is presided by the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords has no real power. It acts rather as an advisory council.

It's in the House of Commons that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill, it goes to the House of Lords to be debated. The House of Lords has the right to reject a new bill twice. But after two rejections they are obliged to accept it. And finally a bill goes to the monarch to be signed. Only then it becomes law.

Parliament is responsible for British national policy. Local governments are responsible for organizing of education, police and many others.

UK Attraction.

Great Britain is rich in world-famous places. Certainly among them there are famous university cities Oxford and Cambridge, Shakespeare's birthplace — Stratford-upon-Avon, towns of Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Stratford-upon-Avon is a small town with the population about 20 thousand. It is 94 miles northwest of London. Its chief points of interest are associated with the name and life of Shakespeare. In Henley Street stands a one-storied wooden house, where the greatest English poet and playwright was born. Now, this house belongs to the British government.

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre was opened in Stratford in 1932. Only Shakespeare's plays are performed here. The plays staged in this theatre attract people from all over the world.

Those who come to Oxford certainly are interested in its university most of all. It was founded in the 12th century. But there is no "university" as such in Oxford. The component parts of the University of Oxford are the colleges. Each college is practically autonomous, with its own set of rules of government. But not only this differs Oxford from universities in other countries. Oxford has a "golden heart" — an area of less than half a square mile in which various historic buildings may be found. But they do not stand in isolation; they are mixed together with houses, shops and offices.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales and its chief port. Cardiff is also a tourist centre. There are some places of interest there: the Castle, National Museum of Wales, New Theatre, and Welsh Folk Museum. The Welsh people love singing. That's why Wales is sometimes called "the land of song". One of the Welsh traditions is festivals. Song festivals are very popular and usually gather a lot of people.

Edinburgh is a city where the historic past lives side by side with the present. The first thing one can see is a very large hill in the middle of Edinburgh — the Rock. Edinburgh Castle stands on the Rock. It is the most famous building in the city.

Edinburgh is famous for many things: its art galleries, museums, libraries. But it is especially famous for its festivals. In summer there is the Edinburgh 54 Festival. This is Britain's biggest arts festival. The city gets thousands of visitors during the festival period and every theatre, church and school hall is used for drama, music, film or opera. Besides the official festival there is also an unofficial festival. Here the artists are amateurs. Now, the unofficial festival is even bigger and more popular than the official one.

The best-known monument in Edinburgh is the Walter Scott Monument. The famous English writer of historic novels lived and worked here. The monument is in the form of a Gothic spire 200 feet high with a statue of Sir Walter Scott inside this beautiful structure. In the niches of the monument there are 64 statuettes of well-known characters from Scott's novels and poems.

Hide Park is the London's largest and most fashionable park. It was once a royal hunting forest. There are restaurants and bars at each end of the Serpentine Lake. You can hire a boat there.

The Tower of London is the London's oldest building. Since William the Conqueror built it in the 11th century, this castle has been a Royal palace, a prison, a place of execution, a zoo, the Royal Mint, and an observatory. Today it's a museum and houses the Crown Jewels. There is a gift shop.

The Natural Museum is situated in Kensington and is one of London's greatest museums. There is a huge collection of animals and plants, including a quarter of a million butterflies, a blue whale and the famous dinosaur skeletons. There is a cafeteria, a gift shop, and a book shop.

The famous Waxworks Madame Tussaunds Museum has the models of famous people from pop stars to prime ministers, displays of  battles and a Chamber of Horror.

The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is situated 10 miles outside London on a hill above the River Thames. The Observatory contains telescopes and displays about astronomy, including Halley's Comet and Black Holes. There is a video theatre and a souvenir shop. You can have a picnic in Greenwich Park. You can take a riverboat to Greenwich from Westminster Bridge.

There is a prehistoric monument in Great Britain which is as interesting to the tourists as the Egyptian pyramids. This is Stonehenge. Stones stand here in circles or are arranged into a horseshoe shape. A great many theories have been advanced but exactly why it was built remains a mystery. Though the scientists consider that Stonehenge was built in order to calculate the annual calendar and seasons.

 

 

 

 

 

Translation

Официальным названием страны, которую мы обычно называем Англией, иногда Великобританией, является Объединенное Королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии. Объединенное Королевство  расположено на группе островов, находящихся  недалеко от материка северо-западной Европы. Британские острова включают саму Великобританию, Ирландию и множество  маленьких островов. Великобритания состоит из Англии, Шотландии и  Уэльса. Южная часть Ирландии оккупирована Великобританией и называется самими гражданами Республикой Эйр.

Великобритания отделена от континента проливом Ла-Манш, самую  узкую часть которого называют Дуврским проливом (Па-де-Кале). Британские острова  на западе окружены мелкими водами Ирландского моря, на севере и северо-востоке  — Северным морем, на востоке —  Норвежским морем. Великобритания является сравнительно небольшой страной, но такое разнообразие пейзажа трудно найти в какой-либо другой стране мира.

Горы Шотландии — пустынные  и необжитые районы — это дом  оленей и орлов. Горы северной Англии и Кембрийские горы в Уэльсе намного  ниже.  В южной части Англии расположены хорошо известные меловые  холмы, некоторые из которых формируют  дуврские утесы. Великобритания не очень  богата полезными ископаемыми. Она  имеет небольшие залежи угля и  железной руды и богатые залежи нефти, газа, которые были открыты в Северном море.

Южную и юго-восточную  части острова формируют низменности. Реки в этом регионе короткие и  не являются важными водными путями. Самая длинная из них — Темза, длина которой немногим более 200 миль. Лондон, Ливерпуль, Манчестер, Гулль (Халл) и Глазго являются основными  британскими портами. Они имеют  великолепные гавани. Исходя из формы  страны, любой пункт в Великобритании находится не дальше 70 миль от моря.

Климат в Британии изменчивый. Погода меняется так быстро, что  трудно ее прогнозировать. Люди нередко  жалуются, что синоптики ошибаются. К счастью, в Британии не наблюдаются  крайние погодные условия, никогда  не бывает очень холодно и очень жарко. Температура редко поднимается выше 32 °С летом и не падает ниже 10 °С зимой.

В противовес бытующему мнению, дождь не идет постоянно. Конечно  же, идут ливни большую часть года, но месяцы с сентября по январь —  самые дождливые. Благодаря дождям сельская местность Британии славится своей яркой зеленью.

Население  Соединенного Королевства составляет более 58 млн. человек. Основные национальности: англичане, уэльсцы, шотландцы и ирландцы. В Великобритании много иммигрантов из бывших азиатских и африканских колоний Британии.

Великобритания - страна с  высокоразвитой промышленностью. За последние  три десятка лет развились  новые отрасли промышленности. Около  четверти английских рабочих заняты в обрабатывающей промышленности. Основные промышленные центры находятся в  северных графствах, включая пищевую, обрабатывающую промышленность, пивоварение, производство химикатов, текстиля, компьютеров, автомобилей, самолетов, одежды, стекла, бумаги и бумажной продукции. Широко распространенный песок и гравий дают сырье строительной промышленности. Глину и соль добывают в северо-западной Англии, фарфоровая глина распространена в Корнуолле. Корнуолл — единственное графство в Англии, которое обеспечивает нацию оловянной рудой.

Объединенное Королевство  Великобритании и Северной Ирландии является конституционной монархией. Это значит, что монарх является главой государства, но не управляет  им. В Британии нет написанной конституции, но есть свод законов. Парламент —  главный государственный орган  Британии. Он состоит из трех частей: Монарх, Палата Лордов и Палата Общин. Палата Общин — фактически единственный государственный орган, обладающий реальной властью.

Монарх формально является главой государства. Монарх должен быть политически нейтрален и не должен принимать политических решений. В  настоящее время королева Елизавета II. Она была коронована в Вестминстерском аббатстве в 1953 г.

Палата Общин состоит  из парламентариев. Их 650. Они избираются тайным голосованием. Всеобщие выборы проходят каждые пять лет. Страна делится  на 650 избирательных округов. Все  граждане, достигшие возраста 18 лет, регистрируются в избирательном  округе и имеют избирательные  права. Но голосование в Британии не обязательно. Преступники и душевно  больные не принимают участия  в голосовании.

Благодаря британской избирательной  системе в Британии существует мало политических партий. Основные партии —  консервативная партия, лейбористская партия и либеральная партия. Каждая политическая партия выдвигает одного кандидата от каждого избирательного округа. Тот, кто наберет большинство голосов, становится членом парламента от этого округа. Партия, которая получает большинство мест в парламенте, формирует правительство. Его лидер становится премьер-министром. Его главная задача — сформировать Кабинет министров. Премьер-министр обычно принимает политические решения с согласия Кабинета.