Basic vocabulary

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles — a large group of islands lying off the north-western coast of Europe. It is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover in the south and the North Sea in the east.

Historically the territory of the United Kingdom is divided into four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England is the richest, the most populated part in the country. There are mountains in the north and in the west of England, but all the rest of the territory of England is plain. Scotland is a land of mountains. Its highest peak is Ben Nevis. The British Isles have many rivers. The longest of them is the Severn. It flows into the Irish Sea. The Thames is over 200 miles long. London, the capital of Great Britain, is situated on it. The largest cities of the country are London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Politically the United Kingdom is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the state of the UK as well as the monarch of fifteen other independent Commonwealth countries. The Queen reigns over the state, the armed forces, and the Church of England. She reigns but, in fact, she does not rule, because her power is limited by the Parliament.

The Parliament consists of two Chambers (Houses): the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The latter is the lower Chamber but it is the Houses of Commons that the Government is formed. The House of Commons is elected every five years and it has 630 members. The House of Lords is partly hereditary and consists of 850 members.

The UK's three major political parties are the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. The political party which wins the elections (has the majority of votes) is called the Government Party. The Prime Minister makes the Cabinet of Ministers. The party which has the minority of votes at the elections is called the opposition.

“The Conservatives” is the largest political party in the United Kingdom at the present moment. It governs in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, with David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, as Prime Minister. The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in Great Britain. It was founded in 1900 by the trade unions and the Independent Labour party.

The geographical position of Great Britain from the economic standpoint is rather good as the country lies at the crossing of the sea routes from Europe to other parts of the world. Today the UK is the sixth-largest economy in the world and the third-largest in Europe after Germany and France. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank and is responsible for issuing notes and coins in the nation's currency, the pound sterling, which is also the world's third-largest reserve currency after the U.S. dollar and the euro.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. Automobile, aerospace and pharmaceutical industries play an important role in the economy of the country.

About 25% of Britain's land is arable, and almost half is suitable for meadows and pastures. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 1.6% of the labour force. Around two-thirds of production is devoted to livestock, one-third to arable crops. The widespread dairy industry produces milk, eggs, and cheese. Beef cattle and large numbers of sheep, as well as poultry and pigs, are raised throughout much of the country. There is also a sizable fishing industry, with cod, mackerel, trout, salmon, and shellfish making up the bulk of the catch.

Great Britain has abundant supplies of coal, oil, and natural gas. Other mineral resources include iron ore, tin, limestone, salt, gypsum, and lead.

Tasks and Exercises:

Ex.1. Complete the sentences with one of the following verbs in the correct form.

a) The British Isles ………… the north-western coast of Europe.

b) The members of the House of Commons ………… every five years.

c) Scotland ………… a lot of mountains.

d) Britain ………… such dairy products as milk, eggs, and cheese.

e) The farmers ………… cattle, sheep, poultry and pigs throughout the country.

f) The river Severn …………into the Irish Sea.

Ex.2. Insert the missing words according to the text.

1. The House of Lords is partly ………….

2. The United Kingdom ………… from the continent by the English Channel.

3. Shipbuilding is one of the chief ………… of Great Britain.

4. The political party which has the ………… of voices wins the elections.

5. The ………… Party of Great Britain was founded in 1900.

6. The highest ………… of Scotland is Ben Nevis.

7. Almost half of the Britain’s ………… is suitable for meadows and pastures.

8. Great Britain is known as one of the world's largest ………… and exporters of iron and steel products.

Ex.3. Choose a, b, or c, in each question below. Only one choice is correct.

1. The United Kingdom is situated...

a) on the islands.

b) on an island.

c) on the mainland.

2. London is situated on the …

a) Severn

b) Irish Sea

c) Thames

3. The present British Prime Minister is the leader of the...

a) Labour Party

b) Conservative Party

c) Liberal Democrats

4. The Labour Party is a... political party in Great Britain.

a) centre-right

b) centre-left

c) largest

5. The power of the Queen is limited by the...

a) King

b) Cabinet of Ministers

c) Parliament

6. The territory of England is mostly...

a) plain

b) plane

c) mountainous

7. The United Kingdom is a... monarchy.

a) republic

b) absolute

c) constitutional

8. The United Kingdom is a... country and has the world's sixth-largest economy.

a) developed

b) developing

c) poor

Ex.4. Match the words in bold type with their explanation.

1. derived from one's ancestors

2. a narrow channel of the sea linking two larger areas of sea

3. mainland as opposed to islands

4. a rule or set of rules made by the legislature

5. a country reigned over by monarch

6. an area of grassland

7. capable of being tilled for the production of crops

8. a group of people organized together to further a common political aim

Ex.5. Choose the right variant.

1. According to the text, the House of Lords is the............ chamber of British Parliament.

2. The English Channel is............ the British Isles and the continent.

3. England is famous for its dairy products,............ milk, eggs, and cheese.

4. The Labour Party............ by the trade unions and the Independent Labour party.

5. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that............a land border with another state — the Republic of Ireland.

a) has been shared b) shared c) sharing d) shares

6. British influence can............in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies.

a) be observed b) observed c) be observing d) observe

7. The Bank of England............ notes and coins in the nation's currency.

a) is issued b) issues c) is issuing d) issue

8. Great Britain is connected............ continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel.

a) in b) on c) to d) by

Ex.6. Make sentences from the following words.

1) one, Scotland, of, the United Kingdom, of the parts, is.

2) Great Britain, rivers, a lot of, are, in, There.

3) to, Fishing industry, offer, customers, cod, mackerel, trout, and salmon, can.

4) Upper, is composed, peers, of Parliament, of, chamber.

5) is, Queen Elizabeth II, lives, Buckingham Palace, where, the place.

6) sheep, One, see, many, of, can, in the pastures, the British Isles.

7) reserve, pound, is, currencies, one, sterling, the, The, world's, of.

8) Westminster, The, in, of, parliament, United Kingdom, of, meets, the Palace, the.

Ex.7. Match the opposites.

Ex.8. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Великобританія – це конституційна монархія.

2. Ріка Темза довжиною більш 200 миль.

3. Прем’єр-міністр є лідером правлячої партії.

4. Великобританія багата такими мінеральними ресурсами як залізна руда, олово, свинець.

5. Ліверпуль і Манчестер знаходяться в Англії, тоді як Глазго і Единбург – у Шотландії.

6. Більша частина земель країни придатна для пасовищ.

7. Велика Британія — одна з найбільш економічно високорозвинених індустріальних країн світу.

8. Британське сільське господарство інтенсивне та комерційне, з високим рівнем механізації.

9. У Великобританії розвинуті всі види сучасного транспорту.

10. Сполучене Королівство об'єднує чотири країни: Англію, Північну Ірландію, Шотландію та Уельс.

Ex.9. Complete the sentences using comparative/superlative forms.

1. Great Britain is far… from Slovakia than Ukraine.

2. The high... peak of Scotland is Ben Nevis.

3. The population of Dniepropetrovsk is small… than that of London.

4. Channel Tunnel is the long… underwater tunnel in the world.

5. Orkney Islands contain some of the old… and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe.

6. London is one of the … attractive tourist destinations in the world.

7. London fogs are thick… than those of Kiev.

8. The English weather is … changeable than the Ukrainian one.

9. Ukrainian food is … delicious than the English one.

10. At the present time production volume of the natural gas in the UK is low… than it used to be.

Ex.10. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?

1. The Irish Sea washes the British Isles.

2. Great Britain has rather good geographical position for maintaining economic relations with other countries.

3. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Church of England.

4. The British parliament consists of three Chambers.

5. Britain has 60% of arable land.

6. The fishing industry of UK is quite large.

7. Liverpool is a small city.

8. Great Britain is rich in mineral resources.

9. The Bank of England is responsible for issuing dollars.

10. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth.

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