The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (The U.K.)

1. The British Isles lie off the northwest coast of the continent of Europe. They are Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) Ireland (Northern Ireland and the independent Irish Republic) and some 5, 500 smaller islands. The bigger island is Great Britain. It is just under 600 miles in a straight line from the south coast to the extreme north, and rather over 300 miles across in the widest part. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the northwest, north and southwest. And it is separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. In the west the Irish Sea separates Great Britain from Ireland.

2. The island of Great Britain can be roughly divided into two main regions – Lowland. Britain and Highland Britain. England is separated from Scotland by the higher Cheviot Hills, running from east to west. Scotland has three natural topographic divisions: the Southern Uplands, the Central Lowlands and the Northern Highlands which contain Ben Nevis, the highest point on the British Isles. Wales is generally mountainous; Northern Ireland contains more plateaus and hills than Wales.

3. Britain has a temperate climate due to* the influence of the Gulf Stream. The prevailing winds are south-western, although during the winter months eastern winds may blow and bring a cold, dry continental type of weather. The British Isles as a whole are not the best place to sunbathe. The sun is visible only about one third of all daylight hours. The remainder of the time it is hidden by clouds and mists.

4. English is the official and predominate language; Gaelic is spoken in some parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, while Welsh is the first language in most of the western parts of Wales and at least formally enjoys equal status with English as the official language of the area. There is a growing movement in Wales and Scotland for a revival* of the culture and native languages, which are used by the majority of the local residents.

5. The population of the United Kingdom is 56.2 mln people. The British population is predominantly urban and suburban. About half the people live in a belt* across England with southern Lancashire and western Yorkshire at one end and London at the other, having the industrialized Midlands at its center. Other areas with large population are the Central Lowlands of Scotland, south-eastern Wales, the Bristol area and much of the English Cannel coast. Four out of every five people live in towns. The density* of the population is 591 inhabitants per square mile.

6. Britain is one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world: for every person employed in agriculture, twelve are employed in industry. Most of national product comes from manufacturing (iron and steel, engineer, textiles, chemicals, food products and consumer goods*). There are significant amounts of coal, small deposits of iron.

With the discovery and exploitation of oil and natural gas from under the North Sea, the country has become self-sufficient* in energy.

Word List:

* due to - благодаря

* revival - возрождение

* belt - полоса

* density - плотность

* consumer goods - потребительские товары

* self-sufficient - экономически самостоятельный