The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four main countries which are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are: London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. The UK is an island state, it is composed of some 5500 islands, large and small.

The UK is one of the world’s smaller countries. It is situated off the northwest coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the North Sea to the east, and is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover ¹.

One can see two animals on British royal coat of arms. One of them is the lion. The “King of beast” has been used as a symbol of national strength and of the British monarchy for many centuries. The other one is the unicorn ². It is a mythical animal that looks a horse with a long straight horn growing from its forehead, and is a symbol of purity.

The formal name of the British national flag is Union Jack. It combines the St. George’s cross of England, St. Andrew’s cross of Scotland and St. Patrick’s cross of Ireland. The United Kingdom or UK is a political term. All of four countries are represented in Parliament and the abbreviation UK is used on most official documents.

The class system is very impotant in Britain. It is created by complex system of accents ³, school and family. Social position is often based on the traditions or history of the family, not is money. Many people’s class can be identified immediately by the way they speak.

Britain is split up into counties. County councils are elected to runthings ⁴, such as education, housing, town planning, rubbish disposal ⁵.

Britain is a constitutional monarchy. But the monarch’s constitutional role is mainly symbolic.

Пояснения к тексту:

Дуврский пролив

единорог

говор

управлять делами

уборка мусора

7. Прочитайте 5-й абзац и вопрос к нему. Какой из вариантов ответа соответствует по содержанию одному из предложений текста?

What created class system in Britain?

The way people speak created the class system.

Class system was created by traditions and the way people speak.

Complex system of accents, school and family created class system.

Вариант 2

1. Перепишите следующие предложения. Определите по грамматическим признакам, какой частью речи являются слова, оформленные окончанием – s, и какую функцию это окончание выполняет, т.е. служит ли оно:

а) показателем 3-го лица единственного числа глагола в Present Simple;

б) признаком множественного числа имени существительного;

в) показателем притяжательного падежа имени существительного (см. образец выполнения 1). Переведите предложения на русский язык.

Very often parents treat their children more as equals than they used to.

The House of Commons consists of members of Parliament.

Numbers make the postman’s work much easier.

2. Перепишите следующие предложения и переведите их, обращая внимание на особенности перевода на русский язык определений, выраженных именем существительным (см. образец выполнения 2).

Most children at day schools have their midday meal at school and go home about 4 o’clock.

In 1958 Britain began the first transatlantic jet service.

There is a National Youth Theatre with a high standard of performance, most of its actors are teenagers.

3. Перепишите следующие предложения, содержащие разные формы сравнения, и переведите их на русский язык.

Today Britain is the world’s biggest exporter of cycles.

Although Britain is a highly industrialized country, agriculture is still one of her most important industries.

More than 55 million people live in Britain now.

4. Перепишите и письменно переведите предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на перевод неопределенных и отрицательных местоимений.

In some areas there are middle schools for children of about 9 to 13 who then move to senior (выпускной, старший, последний) comprehensive schools.

Do you know any names of Britain’s famous writers, poets, musicians, actors and singers?

“There is no place like home” – the English say.

5. Перепишите следующие предложения, определите в них видовременные формы глаголов и укажите их инфинитив; переведите предложения на русский язык (см. образец выполнения 3).

The English are a nation of stay-at-home.

The Greeks were pioneers in the theatre.

The government gives financial help in the form of a pension but in the future it will be more and more difficult for the nation economy to support the increasing number of elderly.

6. Прочитайте и устно переведите на русский язык 1-3 абзацы текста. Перепишите и письменно переведите 1 и 2 абзацы.