THE CAPITAL OF THE UK

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 4070.

THE UK

UNIT 3

Theme:THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Texts: 1. The UK. 2. The Capital of the UK.

Dialogues: 1. The Climate of the UK. 2. Northern Ireland.

Grammar: The Gerund

Test 3

EXERCISE 1. Read, translate, and study the use of the new words to read and discuss the texts and dialogues:

1) united, United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) occupies a territory of the British Isles.

2) an island. The UK includes 5,500 islands.

3) a coast. The UK is situated off the north-western coast of Europe.

4) to separate, separated. The UK is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover.

5) to surround, surrounding. The British Isles are surrounded by the water.

6) to influence. The surrounding waters influence the climate of the country.

7) thistle, daffodil, leek, shamrock. The national emblems of differ­ent parts of the UK are the red rose, the thistle, the daffodil, the leek and the shamrock.

8) to describe. It is necessary to describe each part of the country.

9) to mention. Don't mention it!

10) a peninsula. The southern peninsula is washed by the English Channel.

11) to flow. Many rivers are flowing through Great Britain.

12) a tributary. Some rivers have tributaries.

13) swift. As a rule, the rivers in the mountains are swift.

14) busy. The Thames is a busy river.

15) to be worth. This country is worth seeing.

16) to continue. She continued to write a letter.

17) a cross. The flag of the UK is made up of three crosses.

18) a patron saint. St George is the patron saint of England.

19) upright. The red cross is upright.

20) a background. The upright red cross is against a white background.

21) a habit. He smokes, and has some more bad habits.

22) to succeed in. He has succeed in business.

EXERCISE 2. Read the international words and mind the stress:

'territory, 'Europe, 'ocean, 'continent, pro'tection, 'nation, 'emblem, 'region, 'million, 'centre, flag, 'centre, port, 'industry, bank, fi'nance, 'history, park, ho'tel, dis'cussion, 'conference, 'climate, 'variant, 'person, 'visit, information, 'poet, 'legend, illus'tration, club, 'meeting.

EXERCISE 3. a) Translate, analyze the following words with different suffixes, and divide them into two groups: nouns and adjectives:

separation, important, importance, protection, invader, influence, national, business, continuous, central, successful, changeable, changeless, assistance, worthless, worthy, total, diagonal, industrial, official, population, financial, historical;

b) Make up as many words as you can by combining different parts of the words:

c) The words in capitals at the end of each of the following sentences should be changed to form a word that fits suitably in the blank space:

1. A Scottish person has to listen... to understand Londoner CAREFUL.

2. Every part of the country has its ... emblem NATION.

3. Lowlands comprise ... and eastern England SOUTH.

4. The UK is one of the important ... centers of the world COM­MERCE.

5. The UK doesn't depend upon economies and ... manufacturing of other countries INDUSTRY.

EXERCISE 4. a) Try to match up the adjectives in column A with the nouns in column В to form meaningful phrases:

b) Decide which of the verbs on the left collocate with the nouns on the right:

1. to occupy ... a) the climate

2. to influence ... b) the country

3. to describe . .. c) a conversation

4. to continue ... d) a territory

EXERCISE 5. Translate the following word combinations; pay atten­tion to the prepositions:

the United Kingdom of Great Britain, a territory of the British Isles, with the total area, the coast of Europe, between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, is separated from the continent, is washed by the Sea, the protection against the invaders, are flowing through Great Britain, the river with tributaries, the population of the UK, for a long time, one of the centers, the centre of the world.

EXERCISER, a) Translate the following definitions of the words:

1. An island is a piece of land, which is surrounded by water.

2. A peninsula is a piece of land, which is almost completely surround­ed by water, but is joined to a larger mass of land.

3. An ocean is the great mass of salt water that covers most of the Earth's surface.

4. A strait is a narrow passage of water between two areas of land, which is connecting two seas.

5. A channel is a narrow sea passage, which is connecting two seas.

EXERCISE 7. Read and translate the sentences; memorize the use of the Gerund;

1. Spending your free time is better in one of the parks of the West End. 2. The UK continues succeeding in commerce. 3. All well-known streets in London, such as Whitehall, Downing Street, Fleet Street, are worth seeing. 4. We can't speak about Northern Ireland without mention­ing Southern Ireland, an independent republic. 5.1 liked the idea of vis­iting the capital of Wales, Cardiff. 6. Designing St Paul's Cathedral was done by the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren. 7. Christopher Wren started rebuilding the churches of London after the Great Fire of 1666. 8. Many rich people like spending their free time in the West End. 9. Af­ter reading the legend I can explain why the shamrock is the national emblem of Northern Ireland. 10. They have the wish of spending their time in highlands.

EXERCISE 8. Transform the sentences according to the models to practice the use of the Gerund:

a) Model: To spend your free time is better in one of the parks of the West End.

Spending your free time is better in one of the parks of the West End.

1. Christopher Wren finished to build St Paul's Cathedral in 1701.2. A Scottish person should listen carefully if he wants to understand a Lon­doner. 3. The UK continues to succeed in commerce. 4..The English people have the habit to name the East End — the hands of London. 5. The City succeeds to remain the financial centre of the UK.

b) Model: Мы не можем описывать страну, не упоминая о ее рельефе (без упоминания о

рельефе).

We can't describe the country without mentioning its surface.

1. Трудно понять традиции и обычаи народа, не изучая его ис­торию. 2. Трудно изучать английский язык, не посещая англоязыч­ную страну. 3. После церемонии закрытия ворот Тауэра на ночь никто не может подойти к Тауэру, не показав пропуск. 4. Невозможно рассказать о Лондоне, не упомянув о трех самых знамени­тых зданиях. 5. Невозможно представить Англию без дождя.

EXERCISE 9. Fill in the gaps with the proper forms of the Gerund (the verb is given in brackets at the end of each sentence) to practice the use of the Gerund:

1. Many houses in Glasgow need ..., because they are not suitable for .... (rebuild, live). 2. After ... Wars of the Roses between two houses: House of York and House of Lancaster in the 15th century, a red rose became the national emblem of England (wage). 3. On ... the daffodil and the leek as national emblems of Wales, many Welshmen began ... either a daffodil or a leek on their jackets (choose, wear). 4. Ch. Wren invented new ways of... traditional English materials of building (use). 5. Every night at 10 p.m. at the Tower of London the ceremony of... the Tower for the night takes place (close).

EXERCISE 10. a) Read the text and try to focus on its essential facts. Choose the most suitable heading below for each paragraph:

1) Four Parts of the UK 2) The Territory of the British Isles 3) The Flag of the UK 4) Economics of the UK 5) The Population of the UK 6) The Surface of Great Britain 7) The Head of the State

b) Make a précis of the text, using the following phrases:

1) The title of the text is... 2) The text is about... The text deals with... 3) The text covers such points as... 4) It should be underlined that... 5) In conclusion, I may say that... 6) To my mind... In my opinion...

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) occupies a territory of the British Isles (5,500 islands) with the total area of 244,100 sq. km. The UK is situated off the north-western coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. It is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The UK is also washed by the Irish Sea, the St George's Channel and the North Channel. Surrounding the British Isles by the water has been an important protection against the invaders throughout the English histo­ry. And certainly, it influences the climate of the country.

The UK consists of four parts and every part has its national emblem: England — the red rose, Scotland — the thistle, Wales — the daffodil and the leek, Northern Ireland — the shamrock. The capitals of the four parts are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast respectively.

One can't describe the country without mentioning its surface. The is­land of Great Britain can be divided into two main regions: Lowland Brit­ain and Highland Britain. Lowlands comprise southern and eastern England. Highlands include Scot­land, Wales, the Pennines, the Lake District, and the southern peninsula of Britain. Many rivers are flowing through Great Brit­ain, such as the longest Severn with its tributaries, the swiftest Spey, the busiest Thames, etc. All parts of Great Britain are worth seeing.

EXERCISE 11. Read and give a summary of the text.

One can't describe the country without mentioning its capital. London, the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, occupies a great area with the population over seven million people. It is situated upon both banks of the Thames. It is the main port and the most important city.

London can be divided into three parts: the City of London, the West End, and the East End.

The City, the heart of London, comprises the area of 2.6 sq. km. Less than 6,000 people live there. After finishing their working day more than 500,000 people leave the City. This part of London with numerous banks and offices has succeeded in remaining the financial centre of the UK for a long time.

The West End, the centre of London, is worth seeing. It includes his­torical palaces, famous parks, large hotels and shops. Rich people enjoy spending their free time and money there.

The East End, the workers' region, is made up of great industrial ar­eas that depend on shipping.

So, the English people have a habit of naming the City — the money of London, the West End — the goods of London, and the East End — the hands of London.

EXERCISE 12. Find in the texts English equivalents for these words and word combinations:

общая площадь, расположено в стороне от, отделяется от кон­тинента, важная защита против, на протяжении всей истории, со­ответственно, нельзя описать, южный полуостров, протекают че­рез (по), самая оживленная, родной язык, белый фон, на обоих берегах, исторические дворцы, проводить время, тратить деньги.

EXERCISE 13. a) Find in the texts the words, which have the similar meanings as the following words:

whole, defense, of course, unit, narcissus, chief, quick, lively, to vis­it, several, to go on, vertical, to call, during, to produce, a lot of, large, wealthy;

b) Find in the texts the words, which have the opposite meanings to the following words:

north, southern, east, western, international, with, to unite, short, slow, to stop, diagonal, to fail, small, poor, here, agricultural, some, manufacturing.

EXERCISE 14. Fill in the gaps with the missing words in the following sentences; the first letter of each word has been given to help you:

1. One can't describe the country without m... its surface. 2. All parts of Great Britain are w... seeing. 3. The island can be d... into two regions. 4. Surrounding the British Isles by the water i... the climate of the country. 5. The Severn with its t... is the longest river in Great Brit­ain. 6. Highlands include Scotland, Wales, the Pennines, the Lake D..., and the southern p... of Britain. 7. Warm south-western w... influence the climate of Great Britain greatly. 8. Less than 6,000 people 1... in the City. 9. The City of London has succeeded in remaining the f... centre of the UK for a long time. 10. The English people have a habit of naming the City — the m... of London.

EXERCISE 15. Find in the texts, translate, and analyze:

a) grammar forms with the ending -ing:

EXERCISE 18. Agree or disagree with the following statements; add some more information:

1. The UK occupies the territory of the British Isles. 2. The UK is washed by many seas and the ocean. 3. Many rivers are flowing through Great Britain. 4. There are many beautiful parks in the West End. 5. The UK has succeeded in remaining one of the important commercial centers of the world.

EXERCISE 19. a) Read and translate the following dialogue;

b) memorize and dramatize the dialogue;