Объединенное Королевство (english)

The United KingdomTheUK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. TheBritish Isles consist of two large islands Great Britain and Ireland and about5000 small islands. The total area is over 244 thousand square km. It spopulation is over 57 million. The UK is made up of four countries England,Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff,Edinburgh and Belfast.Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales.The capital of the UK is London.TheBritish Isles are separated from the continent by the North sea, the EnglishChannel and the Strait of Dover. The western coast of Great Britain is washedby the Atlantic ocean and the Irish sea. The surface of the British Islesvaries very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called Highlands.The south which has beautiful valleys and plains is called Lowlands.

The northand west of England are a vast plain. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis inScotland is the highest one about 1343 m . There are a lot of rivers in GreatBritain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river while theThames is the deepest and the most important one. The mountains, the Atlanticocean and the warm water of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the BritishIsles. It is mild the whole year round.TheUK is a highly developed industrial country.

It produces and exports machinery,electronics, textile. One of the chief industries of the country is ashipbuilding.TheNational Flag of the UK is known as the Union Jack. Union standsfor union of England and Scotland in 1606, Jack because the flag isflown on the jackstaff flagstaff флагшток of ships to show their nationality.

Itis made up of three crosses. The upright red cross is the cross of St. George,the patron Saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St.Andrew, the patron Saint of Scotland.The red diagonal cross is the cross ofSt. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland.TheUK is a constitutional monarchy. It means that the head of the state is a queenor a king who reigns but doesn t rule. The legal authority is given toParliament and executive authority to the government.

The Parliament consistsof the Sovereign and two houses which are the House of Lords and the House ofCommons.The present Sovereign of the UK is Queen Elisabeth II. As Head ofState the Queen is informed and consulted on every aspect of National life. Butin practice she is more a beautiful tradition than real Sovereign.

The UK is governedby the Government a body of ministers who are responsible for theadministration of national affairs. The ministers are the leading members ofthe political party which wins a majority seats in Parliament. The most SeniorMinisters compose the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is the leader of the partywith a majority.The Opposition party which is not currently in power forms the Shadow Cabinet . Thecapital of the UK is London, its political, economic and cultural centre.London with its suburbs has a population of about 11 million people.

OnceLondon was a small roman town on the north bank of the Thames. Slowly it grewinto one of the world s major cities. London survived the Plague which killednearly 100 hundred people and the Great Fire. Little damage occurred during theFirst World War but the Second World War brought tremendous destruction.Manybuildings of great historic value were laid into ruins and today the face ofLondon is changed. Different areas of London seem like different cities.

Thedistricts of London are the City, the East End, the West End and Westminster.The City is the country s financial and business centre with the StockExchange, the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England. The finest part is theWest End with many big houses, theatres, cinemas, museums, picture galleries, long streets, fine shops. The West End is called the goods of thecity.Working class of London is the East End. It is a district of docks,factories, poor little houses and narrow streets.

The East End is theindustrial center of London.Theheart of London is Westminster. There are a lot of beautiful sights of interesthere, and I d like to tell about some of them, otherwise it will take a lot oftime to speak on all of them. Westminster is known as the district ofgovernmental offices. Here in Westminster are the Houses of Parliament theHouse of Lords and the House of Commons.Both are situated in one and the samebuilding but at the opposite ends of it. On the highest tower of the buildingthere is the clock and bell Big Ben .Oppositethe Houses of Parliament stands Westminster Abbey which was built by thearchitect sir Christopher Wren. Westminster Abbey is famous for the Poet sCorner because many of great writers are buried here Dickens, R. Kipling,Tennyson and etc.BuckinghamPalace is the official London residence of the Sovereign.

Picadilly Circus hasbecome an important meeting point.The majority of London s places ofentertainment are concentrated around Picadilly Circus.

The geographical centerof London is Trafalgar Square with Nelson s Column in the middle of it. At eachcorner of the monument there is a bronze lion.Likeall big cities London has many big parks, full of trees, flowers and grass.Londoners are proud of their parks in which they forget that there is a largecity around them, so beautiful and restful they are. Sit on the grass in themiddle of Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens, and you will think that you re inthe country, miles away.Manypeople think that London is all grey but in fact London s favourite colour isred.

The buses are red, the letterboxes are red and the mail vans are allbright, bright red. If you are in London during any celebration - then theflags, the soldiers uniforms, the cheering crowd, the carriages and horses allsparkle in the sunshine if it s not raining, of course!Sotime to time again we have a chance to convince ourselves that London is abeautiful city.