Великобритания

                    Ю.Б. Голицынский





                GREAT
                BRITAIN





ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИЯ

КАРО

УДК 373.167.1:802.0
ББК   81.2 Англ-922
Г60













      Голицынский, Юрий Борисович.
Г60 Великобритания : Пособие по страноведению / Ю. Б. Голицынский: [2-е изд., испр.] —Санкт-Петербург: КАРО, 2019. — 480 с., ил.

      ISBN 978-5-9925-1350-9.

         Данная книга представляет собой пособие по страноведению, которое знакомит учащихся с основными достопримечательностями, историей и биографиями знаменитых граждан Великобритании.
         Книга предназначена для учащихся старших классов гимназий и школ с углубленным изучением английского языка, для студентов высших и средних специальных учебных заведений.



УДК 373.167.1:802.0
ББК 81.2 Англ-922

ISBN 978-5-9925-1350-9

© КАРО, 1999

SECTION ONE

        GENERAL INFORMATION




CHAPTER 1

        GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY



Part 1. Geographical Position

  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland¹ is situated on the British Isles¹ ² — a large group of islands lying off the north-western coast of Europe³ and separated from the continent by the English Channel⁴ and the Strait of Dover⁵ in the south and the North Sea⁶ in the east.


¹ The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [dsju'naitid'kirjdsmav'rei^ntnand'norSan'aialand] — Объединенное королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии

² the British Isles [Ъпй/'ailz] — Британские острова

³ Europe ['juorap] — Европа

⁴ the English Channel ['rjglij'tjaml] — пролив Ла-Манш

⁵ the Strait of Dover [streit ov'douva] — пролив Па-Де-Кале

⁶ the North Sea ['no:0'si:] — Северное море

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The Isle of Wight

   The British Isles consist of two large islands — Great Britain and Ireland—separated by the Irish Sea¹, and a lot of small islands, the main of which are the Isle of Wight¹ ² in the English Channel, Anglesea³ and the Isle of Man⁴ in the Irish Sea, the Hebrides⁵ — a group of islands off the north-western coast of Scotland⁶, and two groups of islands lying to the north of Scotland: the Orkney Islands⁷ and the Shetland Islands⁸.
   Historically the territory of the United Kingdom is divided into four parts: England⁹, Scotland, Wales¹⁰ and Northern Ireland.

¹ the Irish Sea [’aionj'si:] — Ирландское море

² the Isle of Wight [’ail av’wait] — остров Уайт

³ Anglesea [’aerjglsi:] — Энглси

⁴ the Isle of Man [’ail ov’mzen] — остров Мэн

⁵ the Hebrides [’hebndi:z] — Гебриды

⁶ Scotland [’skotbnd] — Шотландия

⁷ the Orkney Islands [’o:kni’ailandz] — Оркнейские острова

⁸ the Shetland Islands [’jetlond’ailondz] — Шетландские острова

⁹ England [’njghnd] — Англия

¹⁰ Wales [weilz] — Уэльс

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   The total area of the United Kingdom is 242,495 square kilometres.

    QUESTIONS

    1. Where is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland situated?
    2. Which waters separate the British Isles from the continent of Europe?
    3. What islands do the British Isles consist of?
    4. Which four parts is the territory of the United Kingdom historically divided into?
    5. What is the total area of the United Kingdom?

Part 2.  Nature

   Great Britain is situated in the temperate zone of Europe. The nature of Great Britain is greatly affected by the sea: there is no place situated more than 100-120 km from the seashore, in the northern parts only 40-60 km.
   The territory of Great Britain can be divided into three natural regions:
   1)    Scotland with highland and upland relief and coniferous and mixed forests;
   2)    Wales and mountainous England with upland considerably cut by ravines and valleys and covered with meadows, moorland¹ and cultivated farmland, with patches of broadleaf forest;
   3)    South-east England with plain landscape, fertile soils, the predominance of cultivated farmland, with patches of broadleaf forest.

¹ moorland ['muolond] — пустошь, поросшая вереском

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     QUESTIONS

     1.   What natural zone is the United Kingdom situated in?
     2.   What factor is the nature of Great Britain affected by? Why?
     3.   What natural regions can the territory of Great Britain be divided into?


Part 3. Coasts

  The coastline of Great Britain is greatly indented, especially in the west and north-west where the mountains come close to the coast. The coasts of Scotland, as well as the coasts of the Hebrides, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands, are cut by numerous fiords. In the south and east the land gradually slopes down towards the sea,


The coast of Britain 6

and the coasts are sandy and gentle, here and there interrupted by the ends of hill-ranges, which form low cliffs.

    QUESTIONS

     1. Why is the coastline of Great Britain especially greatly indented in the west and north-west?
     2. Where are fiords especially numerous?
     3. How do the southern and eastern coasts of Great Britain differ from the western and north-western coasts?



Part 4.    Relief

   The general slope of the land is from north-west to south-east.
   The mountains cover the greater part of northern, western and middle Great Britain. They can be divided into the following groups:
   1)      The Highlands of Scotland¹ occupy most of the land to the north-west of a line drawn from Glasgow¹ ² to Aberdeen³. Two parts of the Highlands — the North-western Highlands⁴ and the Grampians⁵ — are separated by a narrow valley, through which runs the Caledonian Canal⁶. At the south-western end of the Highlands rises Ben Nevis⁷, 1344 m, the highest mountain of the British Isles.


¹ The Highlands of Scotland ['haibndz av'skotland] — северная высокогорная часть Шотландия

² Glasgow ['gla:sgou] — Глазго

³ Aberdeen [,aeba'di:n] — Абердин

⁴ the North-western Highlands ['no:0'westan'hailandz] — Северо-западная часть высокогорной Шотландии

⁵ the Grampians ['grasmpianz] — Грампианские горы

⁶ the Caledonian Canal [ ,kasli'donjan ka'nael] — Каледонский канал

⁷ Ben Nevis ['ben'nevis] — Бен-Невис

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   2)    The Central Plain of Scotland¹ separates the Highlands from the Southern Uplands of Scotland¹ ². The Southern Uplands and the Pennines³, which stretch in the northsouth direction across the northern and middle parts of England, form a practically continuous group.
   3)    Nearly the whole of Wales is occupied by the Cumbrians⁴ . The highest peak of the Cumbrians is Snowdon⁵,1085 m.
   The south-eastern part of England is lowland, interrupted in places by low chalk ridges.

    QUESTIONS


    1.   What is the general slope of the land in Great Britain?
    2.   Which three groups can the mountains be divided into?
    3.   Where are the Highlands of Scotland situated?
    4.   Which are the two parts of the Highlands? What are they separated by?
    5.   Which is the highest mountain of the British Isles? How high is it? Can you show it on the map?
    6.   Where are the Southern Uplands of Scotland? How are they separated from the Highlands?
    7.   Where are the Pennines situated? In what direction do they stretch?
    8.   Where are the Cumbrians?

¹ The Central Plain of Scotland ['sentralplem av'skothnd] — Центральная Шотландская равнина

² the Southern Uplands of Scodand ['sAdan'Aplandz av'skotland] — Южная Шотландская возвышенность

³ the Pennines ['penamz] — Пеннинские горы

⁴ the Cumbrians [’kAmbrionz] — Кембрийские горы

⁵ Snowdon ['snoudan] — Сноудон

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    9.   Which is the highest peak of the Cumbrians? How high is it? Find it on the map.
   10.  What is the relief of the south-eastern part of England?

Part 5. Climate

   Great Britain enjoys the humid and mild marine West-Coast climate¹ with warm winters and cool summers and a lot of rainfall throughout the year.
   The prevailing winds blow from the south-west. As these winds blow from the ocean, they are mild in winter and cool in summer, and are heavily charged with moisture at all times. As they approach the mountainous areas near the west coasts, they rise up the mountain slopes. Their temperature drops, which causes condensation of moisture in the form of rain. Therefore the wettest parts of Britain are those areas where high mountains lie near the west coast: the western Highlands of Scotland, the Lake District¹ ² and North Wales. The eastern part of Britain is said to be in the rain-shadow, as the winds lose most of their moisture in their passage over the highlands of the west.
   All parts of the British Isles receive rain at any time of the year. Still autumn and winter are the wettest seasons, except in the Thames³district, where most rain falls in the summer half of the year. Oxford⁴, for example, has 29 per cent of its rain in summer and only 22 per cent in winter.


¹ the humid and mild marine West-Coast climate ['hjumid and'maild ma'riin'westkoust'klaimit] — влажный и мягкий морской климат Западного побережья

² the Lake District ['leik'distnkt] — Озёрный край

³ the Thames [temz] — Темза

⁴ Oxford ['oksfad] — Оксфорд

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   As to temperature, Great Britain has warmer winters than any other district in the same latitude. It is due in large measure to the prevalence of mild south-west winds. Another factor is the Gulf Stream¹, which flows from the Gulf of Mexico¹ ² and brings much warmth from the equatorial regions to north-western Europe.

    QUESTIONS


     1. What climate does Great Britain enjoy? What are the characteristic features of this climate?
     2. Which are the prevailing winds in Great Britain? What do they bring to the country?
     3. Which are the wettest parts of Great Britain? Why?
     4. The eastern side of Great Britain is said to be in the rain-shadow. What does it mean?
     5. Which are the wettest seasons in Great Britain?
     6. Why does Great Britain have warmer winters than any other district in the same latitude?


Part 6.  Inland Waters

   The rivers of Britain are short; their direction and character are determined by the position of the mountains.
   Most of the rivers flow in the eastward direction since the west coast is mountainous.
   Due to the humid climate and abundant rainfall, the water level in the rivers is always high. The rivers seldom freeze in winter, most of them remain ice-free. Many of the rivers are joined together by canals. This system of rivers and canals provides a good means of cheap inland water transport.

¹ the Gulf Stream ['gAlf,stri:m] — Гольфстрим

² the Gulf of Mexico ['meksikou] — Мексиканский залив

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