Содержание ( maintenance)
Введение ( introduction)
1. U.K. Political system
1.2 The British Parliament
2. The flag and the national emblems of Great Britain
3. Tows, industry and agriculture
6. Traditions and holidays of Great Britain
10. The British police
11. Transport in Britain
Заключение ( final )
Список литературы ( list literatures )
Introduction
Object mine work – study experience life and traditions of Great Britain.
I leave today for small journey.
And why do we learn the English language?
I learn English because I understand that I can use it. For example, if I go to England I’ll be able to speak English there. If I go to the USA and the Great Britain, I’ll speak English too. English is used not only in England but also in other parts of the world.
I learn English because I want to read foreign literature in the original.
I like to travel but it is difficult to visit countries, when you don’t know the language spoken there.
For example, if we have a journey in Great Britain.
THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE.
The UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupies the territory of the British Isles. It consists of 4 main countries which are England, Scotland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff and Belfast.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the state which is sometimes referred to as Great Britain or Britain (after it major island), England ( after its major historic part or the British Isles.
The UK is an Island state it is composed of some 5.500 islands, large and small. The two main islands are: Great Britain to the east and Ireland to the west. They are separated by the Irish Sea.
The area of the UK is 244,100 square kms. It is situated off to the northwest coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north and the North Sea on the east and is separated from the European continent by the English Channel (or La Manche) and the Straits of Dover (or Pas de Calais).
The population of the UK is over 57 mln. people. The UK is inhabited by the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish who constitute the British nation. English is not the only language. Scottish, Welsh and Irish are also used.
The flag of the UK is known as the Union Jack. It has its history. It all began in 1603 when Scotland was joined to England and Wales. The flag is made up of 3 crosses. The upright cross is the Cross of St. George the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St .Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. All of them are on the blue background.
The national anthem is “God Save the Queen”. The national currency is pound.
Geographically the island of Great Britain is subdivided into 2 main regions: Lowland Britain and Highland Britain. Lowland Britain comprises southern and eastern England. Highland Britain consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the Pennines (or the Pennine Chain) and the Lake District.
The highest mountain top is Ben Nevis in Scotland. The chief rivers of Great Britain are: the Severn, separating England and Wales, the Thames (the longest and the deepest one). The swiftest flowing river is the Spray. Also the Tweed is famous (the woolen fabric is made here).
There are many lakes in Great Britain. The Lake District is the most beautiful.
The largest are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds, Cardiff.
The capitals are: London in England, Edinburgh in Scotland, Cardiff in Wales and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
Every country has its own national emblem. The red rose is the national emblem of England the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland the daffodils and the leek are the emblems of Wales and the shamrock (a kind of clover) is the emblem of Ireland.
1. U.K. political system
The U.K of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. The organs of government are : Parliament, the executive and the judiciary. The legislature, Parliament, is the supreme authority. It comprises 2 chambers - the House of Lords and House of Commons - together with the Queen in her constitutional role.
The executive consists of the central Government - that is the Prime-Minister and Cabinet and other ministers who are responsible for iniating and directing the national policy, government departments, local authorities, and public corporations. The judiciary determines common I am and interpret status and is independent of both the legislature and executive.
The Government derive its authority from the elected House of Commons. A general election. For all seats in the House of Commons, must be help every 5 years. The Government is normally formed by the political party which is supported by the majority in the House of Commons. The Party’s leader is appointed Prime-Minister by the Queen. He chooses a team of ministers of whom 20 or so are in the Cabinet. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and Shadow Cabinet. The House of Commons comprises members from the constituencies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who represent people whose history and traditions differ.
The House of Lords is a hereditory Chamber.
1.2 The British Parliament
There are four countries in the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Laws in Great Britain are made by Parliament. It consists of two Chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The House of Commons is more important as it governs the country. The members of the House of Commons are elected by secret ballot. They belong to different political parties. The main parties are the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. The chief executive is the Prime minister. He heads the Government but is not the Head of State.
Great Britain is a monarchy and the Head of State is a monarch whose power is limited by Parliament. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the Party that has a majority in the House of Commons. Each new Prime Minister can make change in his cabinet, appoint new ministers and make other changes.
The Prime Minister takes policy decisions with the agreement of his ministers. He often holds Cabinet Meetings at his official residence at No10 Downing Street which is very near the Hoses of Parliament in Westminster.
The power of the Cabinet is controlled by Parliament.
There are two chambers in the British Parliament and they are called Houses – the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
In the House of Lords one can see the throne on which the Queen sits when she opens Parliament. One can also see the woolsack on which the Lord Chancellor sits. The fact is that for hundred of years wool had been known as one of the most important exports of Great Britain.
The House of Commons does not look as splendid as the House of Lords with its beautiful red benches.
Each Chamber has galleries. Seats in the galleries are reserved for the use of the public. In the language of the Parliament they are called “strangers”.
The Stranger’s gallery is in the House of Commons.
The Speaker sits on the green chair given to the Commons of Australia. On the Speaker’s chair there is a switch that puts on the light in the Clock Tower above “Big Ben” to tell Londoners that Parliament is in session.
The Prime Minister’s seat is on the Government front bench which is on the Speaker’s right. On the Speaker’s left one can see the Opposition front bench.
2. The flag and the national emblems of Great Britain
The flag of the United Kingdom is often called the Union Flag, or the Union Jack.
It consists of several flags.
In 1603 Scotland was joined to England and Wales.
The Scottish Flag, St.Andrew’s Cross (the patron saint of Scotland0, blue with a white cross from corner to corner, was joined to the English flag, St.George’s Cross (the patron saint of England), white with a red upright cross.
Later, in 1801, the Irish Flag of St.Patrick’s Cross (the patron of Ireland) was added, white with a red cross from corner to corner.
As for the national emblems of Great Britain they are very unusual and surprising.
Everybody knows about the War of the Roses (1455-1485), which was led between the two contending Houses for the English throne.
The emblem of one of them, the Lancastrians, was the red rose, and the emblem of the Yorkists was the white rose.
Since the end of this war the red rose has been the national emblem of England.
The people of Scotland chose the thistle as their national emblem.
They say that it saved their land from foreign invaders many years ago.
This happened so.
During a surprise night attack by the invaders the Scottish soldiers were awakened by the shouts of one of the invaders, whose bare feet stepped on the thorns of the thistle.
The alarm was given and soon the Scots won victory over the enemy, and the thistle became their national emblem.
The little shamrock is the national emblem of the Irish.
It is worn in memory of St. Patrick, Irelands patron saint.
A legend says that St. Patrick used a small green shamrock when he was preaching the doctrine of the Trinity to the pagan Irish.
There is a legend according to which St. David (the patron saint of Wales) lived for several years on bread and wild leeks.
So Welshmen all over the world celebrate St. David’s Day by putting leers onto their clothes.
They consider the leek their national emblem.
By the way the daffodil is also associated with St. David’s Day, it flowers on that day.
3. Tows, industry and agriculture
Great Britain is mainly an industrial country.
That’s why most of the people there live in large towns.
The largest cities of Great Britain are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh and others.
London is the capital of England and the capital of the United Kingdom, too.
It is a very big city.
Its population is more than 11 million people.
London stands on the river Thames.
The Thames is rather a deep river, so all kinds of ships can come into London port.
That makes London one of the biggest sea ports of world.
London is also one of the main ship-building centres.
Besides, lots of things such as clothes, food, airplanes and cars are made in London.
Birmingham is the biggest town in an important industrial region in the centre of England.
Machines, cars and lorries as well as TV- and radiosets are produced there.
Manchester in the north-west of England is the centre of the cotton textile industry.
Here computers, electronic equipment, various machines, foods and other things are made. Glasgow is the biggest city of Scotland. Shipbuilding is one of its most important industries.
Other industries are iron and steel manufacture, heavy and light engineering and coal mining.
It’s an industrial city and an important port. The largest city of Wales is Cardiff, its capital. It is an important industrial city and a port.
It is also an administrative and educational centre.
Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland is the leading industrial centre and a large port.
Its chief industries are the production of linen and other textiles, clothing, shipbuilding, engineering. Great Britain is also a highly developed agricultural country. Wheat is grown in the east of England.
Vegetables are grown in all parts of the country, especially in the south.
Potatoes are grown everywhere in the British Isles.
Some kinds of fruit can grow in the south where the temperature is higher and there is more sunshine.
There are a lot of cattle farms and farms which produce milk, butter and cheese.
Great Britain is also famous for its wool.
Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. Parliament first met in the 13th century. Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. In 1689 Mary II and William III became the first constitution monarchs. They could rule only with the support of the Parliament. Technically Parliament is made up of three parts: the Monarch, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The continuity of the English monarchy has been interrupted only once during the Cromwell republic. Succession to the throne is hereditary but only for Protestants in the direct line of descent. Formally the monarch has a number of roles. The monarch is expected to be politically neutral, and should not make political decisions. Nevertheless, the monarch still performs some important executive and legislative duties including opening and dissolving Parliament, singing bills passed by both Houses and fulfilling international duties as head of state. The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II who was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953.
The House of Lords comprises about 1,200 peers. The house is presided over by the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords has no real power but acts as an advisory council for the House of Commons. As well as having legislative functions, the Lords is the highest court of appeal.
The House of Commons consist of members of Parliament who are elected by the adult suffrage of the British people in general elections which are held at least every five years. The country is divided into 650 constituencies each of which elects one Member of Parliament. The Commons therefore, has 650 Members of Parliament. The party which wins the most seats forms the Government and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. The functions of Commons are registration and security of government activities. The house is presided over by the Speaker. The government party sits on the Speaker’s right while on his left sit the members of the Opposition.
In England and Wales compulsory school begins at the age of five, but before that age children can go to a nursery school, also called play school. School in compulsory till the children are 16 years old.
In Primary School and First School children learn to read and write and the basis of arithmetic. In the higher classes of Primary School (or in Middle School) children learn geography, history, religion and, in some schools, a foreign language. Than children go to Secondary School.
When students are 16 years old they may take an exam in various subjects on order to have a qualification. These qualifications can be either G.C.S.E. (General Certificate of Secondary education) or “O level” (ordinary level). After that students can either leave school and start working or continue their studies in the same school as before. If they continue, when they are 18, they have to take further examinations which are necessary for getting into university or college.
Some parents choose private schools for their children. They are very expensive but considered to provide a better education and good job opportunities.
In England there are 47 universities, including the Open University which teaches via TV and radio, about 400 colleges and institutes of higher education. The oldest universities in England are Oxford and Cambridge. Generally, universities award two kinds of degrees: the Bachelor’s degree and the Master’s degree.
6. Traditions and holidays of Great Britain
English traditions can classified into several groups: traditions concerning the
Englishmen’s private life (child’s birth, wedding, marriage, wedding anniversary); which are connected with families incomes; state traditions; national holidays, religious holidays, public festival, traditional ceremonies.
What about royal traditions? There are numerous royal traditions in Britain, some are ancient, others are modern.
The Queen is the only person in Britain with two birthdays. Her real birthday is on April 21st, but she has an “official” birthday, too. That is on the second Saturday in June. And on the Queen’s official birthday, there is a traditional ceremony called the Trooping of the Colour. It is a big parade with brass bands and hundreds of soldiers at Horse Guard’s Parade in London..
Traditionally the Queen opens Parliament every autumn. But Parliament, not the Royal Family, controls modern Britain. The Queen travels from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament in a gold carriage – the Irish State Coach. At the Houses of Parliament the Queen sits on a “throne” in the House of Lords. Then she reads the “Queen’s Speech”. At the State Opening of Parliament the Queen wears a crown. She wears other jewels from the Crown Jewels, too.