 |
I. Some Interesting Facts About the UK
|
|
|
|
Read the information.
Do you know that...
· … almost 75% of the land in the UK is taken for farming?
· …the highest point is Ben Nevis at 1,343 m and the lowest point is -4m at The Fens?
· …polo, soccer and rugby were introduced to the world by the UK?
· …the British invented the world’s earliest railways?
· … Big Ben refers to the bell and not the clock?
· …the tube route from Leicester Square to Covent Garden can be covered quicker on foot? However this seems to be the most popular route tourists take.
· …there is no portrait of William Shakespeare painted, when he was alive?
Work in pairs. Ask your partner what facts above are already known to him (her) and what are not.
II. Britain in Sights and Pictures
Check up yourself.
Match the sights of London with the appropriate pictures.
❒ Tower Bridge ❒ St Paul’s Cathedral
❒ The Houses of Parliament ❒ Buckingham Palace
❒ Westminster Abbey ❒ Big Ben
What pictures do you think refer to the UK countries? Give the suitable number to the pictures (A-D).
1. England. 2. Ireland.
3. Wales. 4. Scotland.
| B |
| A |
| C |
| D |
III. General Information about the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Flags of the UK Countries
Read the information about the UK.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The term Britain is often used as synonym for the United Kingdom. The term Great Britain, by contrast, refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England (the capital is London), Scotland (the capital is Edinburgh) and Wales (the capital is Cardiff) in combination.
The country includes the island of Great Britain (a term sometimes loosely applied to the whole state), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another state: the Republic of Ireland. (The capital is Belfast). The UK’s form of government is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system, and its capital city is London.
Flags of the UK
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland uses as its national flag the royal banner known as the Union Jack or Union. It consists of the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England), edged in white, laid on the Cross of St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which are laid on the cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland). Wales, however, is not represented in the Union Flag by Wales’s patron saint, Saint David, as at the time the flag was designed Wales was part of the Kingdom of England.
|
|
|
2. Discuss the information in the table with your desk partner.
|
The association of the red cross as an emblem of England can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and it was used as a component in the design of the Union Flag in 1606; however, the English flag has no official status within the United Kingdom. Since the 1990s it has been in increasingly wide use, particularly at national sporting events.
The Flag of Scotland, On a Bluefield a White (Argent) saltire. Also known as Saint Andrew’s Cross or the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. As the national flag, the Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both their loyalty and Scottish nationality. According to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross.
The flag of Wales, meaning “The Red Dragon” consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardized and many renderings exist.
St. Patrics Saltire is used by the government to represent Northern Ireland alongside the other countries of the United Kingdom. It is represented by two red diagonal crosses on the white field.
IV. History. England. The Great Mystery of Stonehenge
|
|
|
