Britain Explored = Изучение Великобритании. Часть 1

BRITAIN EXPLORED  
ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИИ 
Часть 1 
Учебное пособие 
2-е издание, стереотипное
Шадринск
ШГПУ
2024
Москва
Издательство «ФЛИНТА»
2024

УДК 811.111(075.8) 
ББК 81.432.1я73 
Б87
Рецензенты: 
Елизова Е.И. - канд. пед. наук,
доцент кафедры филологии и социогуманитарных дисциплин 
ФГБОУ ВО  «Шадринский государственный педагогический университет»;
Дубаков А.В. - канд. пед. наук,
доцент кафедры теории и практики германских языков 
ФГБОУ ВО «Шадринский государственный педагогический университет» 
Б87 
Britain Explored = Изучение Великобритании. В 2 ч. Ч. 1 : 
учеб. пособие. / сост. Ю.В. Оларь. — 2-е изд., стер. — Москва : 
ФЛИНТА, 2024. — 77 с. — ISBN 978-5-9765-5580-8 (ФЛИНТА) ; 
ISBN 978-5-87818-647-6 (ШГПУ). — Текст : электронный.
   Целью пособия является формирование и совершенствование 
коммуникативной компетенции будущих учителей иностранных 
языков на материале курса «Лингвострановедение и страноведение». 
     Для студентов, изучающих  английский язык как второй. 
УДК 811.111(075.8) 
ББК 81.432.1я73 
ISBN 978-5-9765-5580-8 (ФЛИНТА)
ISBN 978-5-87818-647-6 (ШГПУ)
© Оларь Ю.В.,
    составление, 2024 
© ШГПУ, 2024
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CONTENTS 
ВВЕДЕНИЕ ............................................................................................... 4 
TOPIC I. INTRODUCTION to BRITAIN 
................................................. 5 
TOPIC II. BRITISH GEOGRAPHY 
........................................................ 15 
TOPIC III. A BIT OF BRITISH HISTORY ............................................ 22 
TOPIC IV. BRITAIN AND THE BRITISH. ONE COUNTRY ............. 43 
TOPIC V. SOCIAL AND ETHNIC STRUCTURE OF THE BRITISH 
POPULATION ................................................................................................... 66 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
..................................................................................... 75 
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ВВЕДЕНИЕ 
Данное учебное пособие предназначено для аудиторной и 
самостоятельной работы студентов 4 курса гуманитарного факультета по 
дисциплине «Лингвострановедение и страноведение англоязычных 
стран» 
обучающихся 
по 
направлению 
подготовки 
44.03.05. 
Педагогическое образование (с двумя профилями подготовки) профиль 
«Русский язык как иностранный», «Иностранный язык (английский)» и 
студентов 
5 
курса 
гуманитарного 
факультета 
по 
дисциплине 
«Лингвострановедение и страноведение стран второго иностранного 
языка» 
по 
направлению 
подготовки 
44.03.05. 
Педагогическое 
образование (с двумя профилями подготовки) профиль «Иностранный 
язык», «Иностранный язык». 
Цель учебного пособия – совершенствование коммуникативной 
компетенции будущих учителей иностранных языков с акцентом на 
использование 
реалий 
британского 
варианта 
английского 
языка, 
составляющих фоновые знания жителей Соединенного Королевства 
Великобритании и Северной Ирландии.  
Первая часть учебного пособия состоит из 5 тем, включающих 
следующие блоки: введение, информационный блок, тренировочные 
упражнения, упражнения на повторение.  
Вторая часть учебного пособия состоит из 5 тем, включающих 
следующие блоки: введение, информационный блок, тренировочные 
упражнения, упражнения на повторение.  
Предлагаемые упражнения направлены в первую очередь не на 
запоминание событий, фактов и исторических дат, а на осмысленный 
анализ и систематизацию страноведческой информации с целью 
сравнения 
с 
родной 
культурой 
в 
процессе 
целенаправленного 
формирования творческих навыков обучающихся. 
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TOPIC I. INTRODUCTION to BRITAIN 
LEAD-IN 
I. In small groups or pairs discuss five things you know about the
United Kingdom. 
II. Look at the following stereotypes this country has in the world
and try to refute them: 
- The British drink tea all day.
- It rains a lot there.
- Everyone loves the royal family.
- All the people speak like the queen.
- There’s nothing to do outside of London.
III. Discuss some of the stereotypes your country has in the world.
FACTFILE 
Britain? In fact we should say, “Welcome to the United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Northern Ireland!” - but this is a very long name. So many 
people say “the United Kingdom”, “Great Britain” or just “Britain” to describe 
the whole country. 
You probably know that the United Kingdom is made up of England, 
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. These four nations have a common 
history, political system and culture, but there are also many important 
differences. England is the biggest country with a much larger population, and 
London, the capital, is much larger than any other city in the UK. As a result, 
many things that you think are typically British are really icons of the capital: 
Big Ben, red buses, black taxi cabs and so on. 
The British Isles 
This is the geographical name that refers to all the islands off the north 
west coast of the European continent: Great Britain, the whole of Ireland 
(Northern and Southern), the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. 
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But it is important to remember that Southern Ireland – that is the 
Republic of Ireland (also called “Eire”) – is completely independent. 
Great Britain 
This is the name of the largest island in Europe which is made up of 
England, Scotland and Wales. 
The United Kingdom 
The UK is an abbreviation for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
Northern Ireland, a political name of the country which is made up of England, 
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (also known as Ulster). Several islands 
off the British coast are also part of the United Kingdom (for example, the Isle 
of Wight, the Orkneys, the Shetlands, the Hebrides, and the Isles of Scilly), 
although the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not. However, all these 
islands do recognize the Queen.  
The Name and its History 
The United Kingdom is a highly centralized and unitary state, it acquired 
its official name in 1922. The United Kingdom is an entity of less than 300 
years old, however, its formation took centuries and involved a lot of armed 
struggle and blood shedding. The union of England and Wales dates from 1301 
when Edward I's son was announced Prince of Wales. But only in 1485, a 
Welsh Prince, Henry Tudor became King of England (Henry VII). And it was 
his son Henry VIII who formally incorporated Wales in 1535 (the first Act of 
Union).  
The union of England and Scotland dates from 1603 when King of 
Scotland James VI inherited the crown of England after the death of childless 
Elizabeth I. He became King James I of England. Thought England and 
Scotland were rules by the same monarch they remained separate kingdoms 
with their own parliaments. Scotland and England joined in the Act of Union 
in 1707, their parliaments also being united. Since the country has been known 
the United Kingdom of Great Britain (or Great Britain). 
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Ireland used to be Britain’s oldest colony, and its conquering started as 
early as the 12th century. In 1155 King Henry II of England was made King of 
all Ireland by the Pope of Rome. Though hard resistance never ceased and 
numerous rebellions were up and down from time to time, Ireland was 
officially joined to Great Britain in 1801 by the Act of Union. In the same year 
a new national flag “Union Jack” was established and the country’s official 
name became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. A new wave 
of national-liberation movement was a successful one and inn 1921 twenty-six 
Irish counties withdrew from the United Kingdom. Only six northern counties 
remained under British control thus giving addition to the official name of the 
country and making it THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN 
AND NORTHERN IRELAND.  Though that is the official name of the 
country, it is often unofficially called the UK, Great Britain, Britain or 
England, as the largest part of Great Britain. 
Tom O'Meara A Miscellany of Britain: People, Places, History, Culture, 
Customs, Sport  [Text]/ Tom O'Meara - Arcturus foulsham , 2007. – 192 p. 
 
TASKS 
I. Fill in the blanks with suitable terms. After discussion and 
correction copy the text and reproduce it using the physical map. 
One country 
(1) ____ is the name for a collection of about 5000 islands, including (2) 
____ and (3) ____. The name, (4) ____, is usually only seen on maps. 
(5) ____, known as Britain or GB, is the name of the largest of the 
islands in (6) ____. It includes (7) ____, (8) ____ and (9) ____. It does not 
include (10) ____ or (11) ____. You see the abbreviation (12) ____ on driving 
licenses of people who live in England, Scotland and Wales.  
The United Kingdom or (13) ____ is a political term which includes (14) 
____, (15) ____, (16) ____ and (17) ____. All of these countries are 
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represented in Parliament in London and the abbreviation (18) ____ is used on 
most official documents produced by Parliament. 
Everybody from the United Kingdom is (19) ____. But be careful: only 
people from England are English. People from Wales think of themselves as 
Welsh; people from Scotland as Scottish; people from the Republic of Ireland 
as Irish; and people from Northern Ireland as either (20) ____ or (21) ____.  
II. Fill in the gaps with the words from the box:
Wilts.; to abbreviate; libraries; local; are elected 
What’s a County? 
Britain is split up into counties. The word “county” describes an area 
with its own (1) _____ government. County councils (2) ______ to run things, 
such as education, housing, town planning, rubbish disposal. They look after 
things like roads, (3) _____ and swimming pools.  
Many counties, like Yorkshire, Berkshire and Lancashire, contain the 
word “shire”, which is an old word for “county”. In writing it is usual (4) 
_____ the names of counties containing the word “shire”: Lancashire becomes 
Lancs.; Wiltshire becomes (5) _____; South Yorkshire becomes South Yorks.; 
but Essex stays Essex and Durham stays Durham. 
Vaughan-Rees, Michael. In Britain / Michael Vaughan-Rees, Peter 
Byström, Steve Bateman. - New ed. - Обнинск : Titul ; London : Chancerel, 
1999. - 119 с. : ил., цв. ил., карт., портр.; 24 см.; ISBN 1-899888-00-4 
(England) 
III. Watch the video and do the following tasks:
INTRODUCTION 
1) Watch the INTRODUCTION without sound. Which of the things did
you see? 
2) Complete the sentences with these words:
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