Alleviating Racial Disadvantage

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Акулич Л.Д.
Курс лекций по страноведению Великобритании для студентов 2-го курса факультета иностранных языков - Гомель; Министерство образования Республики Беларусь; УО "ГГУ им. Ф. Скорины"; авт.-со

Position, Territory and Structure
The British Isles are situated on the continental shelf off the north-west coast of Europe and comprise a group of islands lying between latitudes 50o and 60°N and longitudes 1o

Surrounding Seas and Coastline
The British Isles are of the continental origin. Situated off the north-west coast of Europe, they once formed part of that continent. The only became islands when they were separat­ed from it. The

England.
Though England cannotbe consideredas a very hillycountry still it is far from being flat everywhere. The most important range of mountains is the Pennine range, regarded as "the backbone of En

Ireland.
Ireland is predominantly a rural island, with a generally low density of population and indeed few large towns other than those situated on the coast. The regional geography of the island is simple

Lowland Britain
Lowland Britain offers a striking contrast in many ways. Though so much less rugged, there are few parts where level land is uninterrupted by hills. One of the most extensive plains in the British

Rivers and Lakes.
There is a fairly wide network of rivers in the British Isles, though generally short in length and navigable but in their lower reaches, especially during high tides. Mild maritime climate keeps t

Climate and Weather
Weather is not the same as climate. The weather at a place is the state of the atmosphere there at a given time or over a short period. The weather of the British Isles is notoriously variable. The

Temperature
Because of the North Atlantic Drift and the predominantly maritime air masses that effect the British Isles, the range in temperature throughout the year is never very great. The annual mean temper

Weather
In direct contrast with climate, in which short-term variations disappear with the calculation of averages, the weather of the British Isles is notoriously variable. Not only is it liable to day-to

Vegetation
The present vegetation of great Britain owes much of its character to the influence of man. Only in the more remote parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands do remnants of the natural vegetation

Vegetation
The present vegetation of great Britain owes much of its character to the influence of man. Only in the more remote parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands do remnants of the natural vegetation

The Celts
Around 700 bc, another group of people began to arrive. Many of them were tall, and had fair or red hair and blue eyes. These were the Celts, who probably came from central Europe or further east,

The Romans
The name "Britain" comes from the word "Pretani", the Greco-Roman word for the inhabitants of Britain. The Romans mispronounced the word and called the island "Britannia&qu

Roman life
The most obvious characteristic of Roman Britain was its towns, which were the basis of Roman administration and civilisation. Many grew out of Celtic settlements, military camps or mark

Who should be king?
By 950 England seemed rich and peaceful again after the troubles of the Viking invasion. But soon afterwards the Danish Vikings started raiding westwards. The Saxon king, Ethelred, decided to pay t

Scotland
As a result of its geography, Scotland has two different societies. In the centre of Scotland mountains stretch to the far north and across to the west, beyond which lie many islands. To the east a

The Norman Conquest
William the Conqueror's coronation did not go as planned. When the people shouted "God Save the King" the nervous Norman guard at Westminster Abbey thought they were going to attack Willi

Feudalism
William was careful in the way he gave land to his nobles. The king of France was less powerful than many of the great landlords, or whom William was the outstanding example. In England, as each ne

Geographical context
People in the four lands of Britain derive from a host of ancestral sources, notably: • the prehistoric cultures which produced such impressive monuments as the stone circles of Avebury an

Reign of Alfred the Great
From the fifth century onwards of small kingdoms emerged in England. These gradually evolved into fewer, larger groupings - particularly Northumbria in the north, Mercia in the midlands and Wessex

Norman Conquest of England
The last successfu1 foreign invasion of England took place in 1066, when Duke William of Normandy defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings. The Norman Conquest led to closer links with the ma

The English Reformation
Between 1534 and 1540 King Henry VIII of the Tudor dynasty broke with the Papacy in Rome, heralding the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England. Despite the suppression o

Union of England and Wales
The subjugation of Wales by the English had been completed in the late 13th century by Edward I, who gave his infant son, later Edward II, the title of Prince of Wales - still carried today by the

The Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights
In 1685 James II, a Roman Catholic, became king (succeeding his brother, Charles II). However, as he lost popularity for his autocratic rule and pro-Catholic policies, his Protestant Dutch son-in-l

The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, which was a key development in shaping the face of modern Britain, took place between about 1760 and 1830. Britain was the first country in the world to industrialise, pi

Partition of Ireland
The formal connection between Great Britain and Ireland dates from the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. In the late 1550s and early 1600s English and Scottish Protestants migrated to

The end of Empire
At the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 the British Empire had expanded to almost one-fifth of the world land mass and one-quarter of the world population. However, from that time it decentralised.

Britain in Europe
At the end of the Second World War in 1945 the economies of most European countries were in ruins. In addition, the then Soviet Union's Communist influence was expanding. In the face of these chall

Language variation
English is the main language spoken in Britain, although with many regional variations in terms of accept and phraseology. It is also one of the most widely used in the world; recent estimates sugg

Demographic trends
Britain has a population of about 59 million people, the 17th largest in the world. The great majority, 49.3 million, live in England; Scotland has just over 5 million people, Wales 2.9

Elderly people
One of the most significant changes in the age structure of Britain's population over the last 30 years has been the increasing proportion of people over retirement age (65 for men and 60 for women

Young people
The home is the central focus of most young people's lives in Britain, particularly for those who are still attending school. The majority rely upon their home environment as a place of security an

Age and Sex Structure
The total population has remained relatively stable over the last decade. The proportion of young people aged under 16 fell steadily in the early 1980s, but numbers in this age group have increased

Distribution of Population
The density of population in Britain is well above the European Community average of about 145 per sq km. Since the nineteenth century there has been a trend, especially in London, for people to mo

Equal Opportunities
The Sex Discriminations Acts 1975 and 1986 make discrimination, in certain circumstances, between men and women unlawful in employment, education, training and the provision of housing, goods, faci

Ethnic and National Minorities
For centuries people from overseas have settled in Britain, to escape political or religious persecution or in search of better economic opportunities. The Irish have long formed a large s

Ethnic Minorities and the Police
In recognition of the tensions that can arise between the police and ethnic minorities, there is statutory consultation between the police and the community. In addition, liaison work is undertaken

Race Relations Act 1976
Equal opportunities policies are backed up by legislation against racial discrimination. The Race Relations Act 1976, which strengthened previous legislation passed in the 1960s, makes discriminati

Commission for Racial Equality
The Commission for Racial Equality was established by the 1976 Act. It has power to investigate unlawful discriminatory practices and to issue non-discrimination notices, requiring such practices t

Living standards
Marked improvements in the standard of living for people in Britain have taken place during the 20th century. According to the United Nations, in 1997 Britain ranked fifteenth out of 175

Housing
Largely depending on their means, people in Britain live in a diverse range of accommodation ranging from country mansions to single rooms or hostels in the inner cities. The majority, however, liv

Leisure trends
The most common leisure activities among people in Britain are home-based, or social, such as visiting relatives or friends. Watching television is by far the most popular leisure pastime.

Holidays
In 1997,57 million holidays of four or more nights away from home were taken by British residents, 30 million of them within Britain. The most popular destinations for summer holidays in Britain ar

Eating and drinking habits
Although some traditional meals in Britain, like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or fish and chips, remain popular, there has been a significant shift in eating habits among the population over th

Political Institution
The history of British politics over the past 800 years has been largely one of breaking down the monarch's former power, and vesting that authority in Parliament as the sovereign legal voice of th

Political history
Between 1066 and 1199 English monarchs had great power, but generally accepted advice and some limitations on their authority. However later kings, such as King John, often ignored these restrictio

The constitutional framework
There have been no revolutionary upheavals in the British system of government over the centuries, despite the Civil War and the 1688 changes. Rather, existing institutions have been pragmatic­ally

The monarchy
The continuity of the English monarchy has been interrupted only by the Cromwell republic of 1649-59 although there have been different lines of descent, such as the Stuarts, the Tudors and the Han

The Privy Council
The Privy Council developed from a small group of royal advisers at court into the chief source of executive authority. But its powerful position was weakened in the eighteenth and nineteenth centu

Parliament
Parliament is the supreme legislative authority in Britain and, since it is not controlled by a written constitution, it has legal sovereignty in virtually all matters, subject only to some Europea

The government
The British government normally consists of over a hundred ministers and other officials chosen from both Houses of Parliament, who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Local government
Some countries, such as the USA and Canada, are federal. They are made up of a number of states, each of which has its own government with its own powers to make laws and collect taxes. In these co

Local government services
Most of the numerous services that a modern government provides are run at local level in Britain. These include public hygiene and environment health inspection, the collecting of rubbish from out

The Structure of Trade and Industry
Britain became the world's first industrialised country in the mid 19th century. Wealth was based on manufacturing iron and steel, heavy machinery and cotton textiles, and on coal mining

The Structure of trade and industry
The 'modernization' of business and industry happened later in Britain than it did in most other European countries. It was not until the 1960s that large corporations started to dominate and that

The decline of the unions
In the 1980s the British government passed several laws to restrict the power of the unions. One of these abolished the 'closed shop' (arrangement which employers made with unions to hire only peop

How Industry is Organised
In some sectors a small number of large companies and their subsidiaries are responsible for a substantial proportion of total production, notably in the vehicle, aerospace and transport equipment

Chemicals
Britain's chemical industry is the third largest in Europe. The nation's fourth biggest manufacturing industry, it provides direct employment for 303,000 people. Around a half of its output is expo

Pharmaceuticals
The British pharmaceuticals industry is one of the biggest in the world. It is the fifth largest manufacturer and fourth largest exporter of medicines. Scientific excellence underpins the success o

Mechanical Engineering
Exports of mechanical machinery represented 13 per cent of total visible exports in 1993. Output includes pressure vessels, heat exchangers and storage tanks for chemical and oil-refining plant, st

Electronics
Britain has the fourth largest electronics industry in the world. The computer sector produced an extensive range of systems, central processors and peripheral equipment, from large computers for l

Offshore Industry
Britain has substantial oil and gas reserves offshore on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS). Before the 1970s it was almost wholly dependent on imports for oil supplies. Around 34

Food and Drink
Britain has large food and drink manufacturing industry, which has accounted for a growing proportion of total domestic food supply in recent decades. Approximately 500,000 people are employed in t

Aerospace
Britain's aerospace industry is the third largest in the Western world, after the United States and France. With around 200 companies employing 134,500 people, it had a turnover in 1993 of ₤1

Financial Services
Britain is a major financial centre, home to some of the world's most prestigious banking, insurance, securities, shipping, commodities, futures, and other financial services and markets. Banking,

Tourism
Britain pioneered the development of a professional tourism industry. Around 1.5 million people are employed in the industry in Britain, which contributes ₤30,000 million annually to the econ

Overseas Trade
Britain is fully committed to an open multilateral trading system. It exports more per head than the United States and Japan; overseas sales of goods and services are equivalent to about a quarter

Agriculture
Agriculture, one of Britain's most important industries, supplies nearly 60 per cent of the country's food, directly employs over 650,000 people, and uses almost 80 per cent of the land area. Howev

Education
The basic features of the British educational system are the same as they are anywhere else in Europe: full-time education is compulsory up to the middle teenage years; the academic year begins at

Historical background
The British government attached little importance to education until the end of the nineteenth century. It was one of the last governments in Europe to organize education for everybody. Britain was

The public schools system
Stereotypical public schools: · are for boys only from the age of thirteen onwards, most of whom attended a private 'prep' (= preparatory) school beforehand; · take fee-paying pup

Organization
Despite recent changes, it is a characteristic of the British system that there is comparatively little central control or uniformity. For example, education is manager not by one, but by three, se

Recent developments
Some of the many changes that have taken place in British education in the second half of the twentieth century simply reflect the wider social process of increased egalitarianism. The elitist inst

Which subjects do pupils have to study?
Pupils aged 5 to 16 in state schools must be taught the National Curriculum, which made up of the following subjects: English, mathematics, science, design and technology; information technology, h

How does the National Curriculum work?
Every school has National Curriculum documents for each subject. These documents describe what teachers must teach at each key stage. Most National Curriculum subject are divided into diff

How does the National Curriculum work?
Every school has National Curriculum documents for each subject. These documents describe what teachers must teach at each key stage. Most National Curriculum subject are divided into diff

Do pupils have to sit national tests and examinations?
There are national tests for 7-, 11- and 14-year-olds in English and mathematics. Pupils aged 11 and 14 are also tested in science. The tests give an independent measure of how pupils and schools a

School life
There is no countrywide system of nursery (i.e. pre-primary) schools. In some areas primary schools have nursery schools attached to them, but in others there is no provision of this kind. The aver

The school year
Schools usually divide their year into three 'terms', starting at the beginning of September.   Autumn term Christmas holiday (about 2 weeks)

Public exams
The organization of the exams which schoolchildren take from the age of about fifteen onwards exemplifies both the lack of uniformity in British education and also the traditional 'hands-off' appro

Education beyond sixteen
At the age of sixteen people are free to leave school if they want to. With Britain's newfound enthusiasm for continuing education (and because the general level of unemployment is now high), far f

Exams and qualifications
GCSE= General Certificate of Secondary Education. The exams taken by most fifteen-to sixteen-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Marks are given for each subjects separ

The sixth form
The word 'from' was the usual word to describe a class of pupils in public schools. It was taken over by some state schools. With the introduction of the national curriculum it has become common to

Types of university
There are no important official or legal distinctions between the various types of university in the country. But is possible to discern a few board categories. · Oxbridge

The Open Universities
This is one development in education in which Britain can to have led the world. It was started in 1969. It allows people who do not have the opportunity to be ordinary 'students' to study for a de

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