| GREAT BRITAIN
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland occupies territory of the British Isles which are situated to the north-west of Europe. They consist of two main islands: Great Britain and Ireland. England is in the south of the island of Great Britain, Scotland is in the north and Wales is in the west. Northen Ireland is situated in the noth-eastern part of Ireland. It’s western coast is washed by the Atlantic ocean. In the east the island of Great Britain is washed by the North Sea. The Irish Sea, the North Channel and the St. George’s Channel separate Ireland from Great Britain. Great Britain is separated from France by the English Channel, which is 32 km wide in it’s narrowest part. In everyday speech “Great Britain” is used to mean the UK.
The climat of Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid. As the weather changes with a wind, and Britain is visited by winds from different parts of the world, the most characteristic feature of Britain’s weather is it’s variability. Summers are not hot and winters are not cold in Britain. The snow never lies for long on the ground. As a rule there is no ice on the waters of rivers and lakes. So we may say that the British climat has 3 main features: it is mild, humid and changeble. That means that it’s never too hot or too warm.
English is the official, but not the only language used in the country.
Britain has been many centuries in the making. The Romans conqered most part
of Britain, but were unable to subdue the fiercely independent tribes in the West and in the North. Further waves of invaders followed: Angels, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings and Normans. All these contributed to the mixture we call English. For many centuries this country was known simply as England. It had a strong army and navy. It waged numerous colonial wars. England, once the “work shop of the world”, was the first to become a highly industrial country.
There are no big rivers in Great Britain. The biggest are Severn and Thames. There are a lot of mountain in Great Britain, but they are nit high. The highest mountain - Ben Nevis - is in Scotland. The flora of the British Isles is much varied and the fauna is similar to that of the north-west of Europe. The country is not very rich in natural resourses but there were suffice for the Industrial Revolution to start.
London is the capital of the UK. It was founded by the Romans. The population of London is over 8 million people.
The largest cities of Great Britain besides London are: Birmingham, Glasgo, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh. The most important seaports are: London, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff.
Science
The word “science” comes from the latin word “scientia”, which means “knowledge”. Scientists make observations and collect facts in field they work in. Then they arrange facts ordelly and try to express the connaction between the facts and try to work out theories. Then they have to prove the facts or theory correct and make sufficient and sound evidence. So sientific knowledge is always growing and improving.
Science has great influence on our life. It provides with base of modern technology, materials, sources of power and so on. Modern science and technology have changed our life in many different ways. During the present century our life changed greatly. Thanks to radio and television we can do a great number of jobs; it was radio and TV that made it possible to photograph the dark side of the moon and to talk with the first cosmonaut while he was orbiting the Earth. On of the wonders og our age is the “electronic brain”, or giant calculating mashine, which can to some extent duplicste human sences. The desk computer is expected to function as your personal librarian, to carry out simple optimization computations, to control your budget or diet, play several hundred games, etc. further development of the computer is bellieved to lead to a situation in which most of the knowledge accepted by mankind will be stored in the computers and made accessible to anyone with the home computers. It is natural that the advent of minicomputers with extensive memories and possibilities will lead to a new higher level in information culture. Among other things, we shall be able to organise educational process in the country’s colleges and universities and also in the system of school education on a new basic. Knowledge is the most valuable wealth, and minicomputers will help us to make it accessible for everyone. Agrycultiral sientists develop better varietives of plants. The development of antibiotics and other drugs has helped to control many diseases. Studies in anatomy and physiology have let to amazing surgical operations and the inventions of lifesaving mashines, that can do the work of such organs as heart, lungs and so on. Nuclear fission when a tremendous amount if energy is setting free is very important discovery.
Science improved the living standarts, communications, promoted contact between people and government, knowledge and culture, made it possible to discover and develop new sources of energy, made it possible to prolong man’s life.
But science also has some disadvantages. It produces mass culture: painting, music, literature. Some scientific inventions increase the ecological problems, provide with new diseases like AIDS, increased the danger of violent death.
The greatest scientists were very persistent and were sure in their success. Even without any serious education they made great inventions. Even during times of disappointing experiments and unacknowledgement by other scientists, they didn’t give up and went on working out theories. Also they were always ready to begin everything from the very beginning. They worked a lot, and this work wasn’t for money.
The aim, the main object of the greatest scientists of all times was always to find out the trith and no personal prejudices can be allowed. So the science grows and prospers and is the engine of progress.
The problem of learning languages very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet.
Today English is the language of the world. Over 300 million people speak it as mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, the South African Republic. As the second language it is used in the former British and US colonies.
It is not only the national or the official language of some thirty states which represents different cultures, but it is also the major international language for communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organisation and other political organisations. It is the language of literature, education, modern music, international tourism.
Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent today.
So far there is no universal or ideal method of learning languages. Everybody has his own way. Sometimes it is boring to study grammar or to learn new words. But it is well known that reading books in the original, listening to BBC news and English speaking singers, visiting an English speaking country, communicating with the English speaking people will help a lot.
When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers.
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