BRITISH STUDIES

continued from No. 17

Дополнительные задания к книге “Britain in Brief” В.В. Ощепковой и И.И. Шустиловой

Text 8

POPULATION

Early Inhabitants • The British Nation • Distribution of the Population • National Minorities • Languages

The population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is over 57 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns.

The distribution of the population is rather uneven. Over 46 million people live in England, over 3 million in Wales, a little over 5 million in Scotland and about 1.5 million in Northern Ireland.

Greater London, the south and the southeast are the most densely populated areas. London’s population is nearly 7 million. Most of the mountainous parts of the UK including much of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Pennine Chain in northern England are very sparsely populated.

The UK is inhabited by the English, the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish who constitute the British nation. The British are the descendants of different peoples who settled in the British Isles at different times.

The earliest known people of Britain were of Iberian origin. Then followed a long succession of invaders including the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes and at last in 1066 the Normans. It was the last time Britain was invaded.

Now there are also many people of all colours and races in the UK. These are mostly former inhabitants of the former British colonies. These people came to the UK in search of better living standards.

English is the official language of the UK. Besides standard literary English there are many regional and social dialects. A well-known example is the cockney of East Londoners. The Scottish and Irish forms of Gaelic survive in some parts of Scotland and Ireland.

Wales is officially bilingual, Welsh is spoken by about a fifth of its population. Welsh is the first language in most of the western counties of Wales and at least formally has the same status as English. Nowadays there is a growing movement in Wales and Scotland for a revival of national culture and languages.

REFERENCES

the English англичане

the Scots шотландцы

the Welsh валлийцы, уэльсцы (уроженцы Уэльса)

the Irish ирландцы

the British англичане, британцы

Iberian иберийский (иберийцы – древнейшее население Британских островов)

the Celts кельты (потомки древних кельтов; большая часть ныне живет в Уэльсе, Шотландии, Северной Ирландии, Корнуолле и на о-ве Мэн)

the Romans римляне (завоевавшие Британию в I–IV вв. н. э.)

the Anglo-Saxons англосаксы (общее название древнегерманских племен – англов, саксов, ютов и фризов, завоевавших в V–VI вв. Британию и образовавших в VII–X вв. одну народность)

the Danes ист. датчане

the Normans норманны (“северные люди”, викинги, вторгшиеся в Англию во главе с герцогом Нормандии Вильгельмом, который после победы при Гастингсе стал королем Англии. Нормандское завоевание Англии в 1066 году способствовало завершению процесса ее феодализации. Сложилась английская народность)

cockney кокни, лондонское просторечие

Gaelic гаэльский язык (относится к кельтской группе индоевропейских языков; к V–VI вв. вытеснен латинским языком)

I. Comprehension

A. Find a topical sentence of each paragraph of the text.

B. By recalling the text try to prove that the statements below are correct:

• the distribution of the population is rather uneven;

• Greater London, the south and the south-east are the most densely populated areas;

• most of the people in the United Kingdom live in urban areas;

• among the citizens of Great Britain there are people of other nationalities;

• though the official language of the UK is English, there is a growing movement for a revival of national languages.

II. Grammar Practice.

Article With Nationality Words

A. Look at the following nationality words:

Find and translate sentences with them in the text.

В. Fill in the blanks with the article if necessary.

• ___ English is the official language of the UK.

• The earliest known people of ___ Britain were of Iberian origin.

• Nowadays there is a growing movement both in ___ Wales and ___ Scotland for a revival of national culture and languages.

• Robert Bums, the well-known poet, was Scottish and ___ Scots are very proud of him.

• ___ Welsh are fond of folk music, singing, poetry and drama.

III. Communication Practice

Answer these questions:

• What major nations constitute the British nation?

• What tribes and peoples settled in the British Isles at different times?

• Compare the population of England with that of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Why is the difference so great?

• What is the population of the UK and its component parts? Which are the most densely populated areas and why?

• What languages are spoken in the UK?

• What makes people of other colours and races from former British colonies come to the UK?

Text 9

CLIMATE

Temperate Climate • Dry or Wet? • Winds • Changeable Weather • Rainfall

The climate in the UK is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The southwestern winds carry the warmth and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid.

The weather is so changeable that the English often say that they have no climate but only weather. Therefore it is natural for them to use the comparison “as changeable as the weather” of a person who often changes his mood or opinion about something. The weather is the favourite topic of conversation in the UK. As the weather changes with the wind, and Britain is visited by winds from different parts of the world, the most characteristic feature of Britain’s weather is its variability.

The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when it rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say “It’s raining cats and dogs”.

Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year. In the mountains there is heavier rainfall than in the plains of the south and east. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest months are from October to January. The average range of temperature (from winter to summer) is from 5 to 23 degrees above zero. During a normal summer the temperature sometimes rises above 30 degrees in the south. Winter temperatures below 10 degrees are rare. It seldom snows heavily in winter, frost is rare. January and February are usually the coldest months, July and August the warmest. Still the wind may bring winter cold hi spring or summer days. Sometimes it brings whirlwinds or hurricanes. Droughts are rare.

So, we may say that the British climate has three main features: it is mild, humid and changeable. That means that it is never too hot or too cold. Winters are extremely mild. Snow may come but it melts quickly. In winter the cold is a humid cold, not dry.

This humid and mild climate is good for plants. Trees and flowers begin to blossom early in spring.

REFERENCES

It’s raining cats and dogs. Дождь льет как из ведра.

I. Comprehension

A. What part of the text gives the information about:

• the influence of the Gulf Stream on the climate of Britain;

• rainfall;

• the main features of Britain’s weather;

• the attitude of the British to the weather;

• the average temperatures.

B. Fill in the blanks with the correct word:

• the weather is so ______ that the English often say that they have no climate but only weather;

• the ______ months are from October to January;

• it seldom snows ______ in winter, the frost is rare;

• many schools and universities have no ______ either, and the floors there are made of stone.

• (heavily, wettest, central heating, changeable)

II. Word Study

A. Read these words on the left and find their antonyms on the right. Translate them.

III. Grammar practice. Adverbs

A. There are many adverbs in the text. Most of them are formed from adjectives and have -ly at the end.

quick + ly = quickly
usual + ly = usually
heavy + ly = heavily

Note: у —> i

Note the word “lonely”. It is an adjective.
Fill in the blanks with the words:

heavy – heavily, usual – usually, quick – quickly

• It seldom snows _______ in winter. _______ rainfall is not usual.

• Snow may come in winter but it melts _______ the change of temperature resulted in a thick fog.

• January and February are _______ the coldest months. Changeability is the _______ feature of the Climate in the British Isles.

B. Change the following adjectives into adverbs:

natural, severe, dry, rare, normal

C. Find sentences with the adverbs:

sometimes, often, seldom, never, early, now.

Use them in sentences about the weather in Britain.

• It _______ snows in summer.

• It _______ rains in autumn.

• _______ it rains all day long.

• The English _______ say that they have no climate but only weather.

• The trees and flowers begin to blossom _______ in spring.

IV. Communication Practice

A. Answer these questions:

• What are the main features of the climate in the UK?

• Why is the weather the favourite topic of conversation in Britain?

• What do the British usually say about their climate and weather?

• What is the effect of Britain’s climate on the way of life of its people?

B. Using the information of the text speak about the climate in the North, on the Black Sea coast of Russia, about the general features of the climate in the region you live in.

By Viktoria Oschepkova, Irina Shustilova

to be continued