THE OFFICIAL NAME
The United Kingdom
of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
(the UK)
is the official name of
the British Kingdom.
ISLANDS
The UK includes
 the island of
Great Britain,
 the northeast
part of the
island of Ireland
 and many
small islands
THE POLITICAL UNION
The
UK
Also it is a political
union of four
countries
 England
 Scotland
 Wales
 Northern Ireland
Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
THE NATIONAL EMBLEMS
the daffodil, the leek
the shamrock
the rose
the thistle
The different parts of
Britain have their own
emblems.




The red rose is the
national emblem of
England.
The thistle is the
national emblem of
Scotland.
The daffodil and the
leek are the emblems of
Wales.
And the shamrock is the
national emblem of
Ireland.
THE OCEANS AND SEAS


The UK is
surrounded by
the Atlantic
Ocean, the North
Sea, the English
Channel and the
Irish Sea.
The largest island
Great Britain is
linked to France
by the Channel
Tunnel.
TWO MAIN REGIONS


Geographically, the
island of Great Britain
is subdivided into
two main regions –
Lowland Britain and
Highland Britain.
The mountains are
not very high. The
highest mountain is
Ben Nevis (1343 m).
It is situated in
Scotland.
THE RIVERS AND LAKES

the longest

354 km
The River Severn viewed from
Shrewsbury Castle in Shropshire
the deepest


346 km
The River Thames in London
There are a lot of rivers in
Great Britain, but they are
not very long.
The Severn is the longest
river, while the Thames is
the deepest and the most
important one.
Great Britain has many
beautiful lakes.
The best known of them is
Loch Ness, legendary
home of famous monster.
THE FLAG

The flag of the United
Kingdom is known as
the Union Jack.
It is made up of three
crosses:
 St. George’s cross of
England,
 St. Andrew’s cross
of Scotland
 St. Patrick’s cross of
Ireland.
the Union Jack
St. George’s cross
of England
St. Andrew’s cross
of Scotland
St. Andrew’s cross
of Scotland
POLITICAL SYSTEM


Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
is the monarch of Great Britain.

The current Prime Minister of
the UK is James Gordon Brown.
Great Britain is a
constitutional monarchy.
The head of the state is a
king or a queen.
But as the saying goes,
“the sovereign reigns but
does not rule”, because
executive power is
exercised by the Prime
Minister and the Cabinet,
which is a body of ministers.
THE CLIMATE
Does it often rain in the UK?




The climate of Great
Britain is more or less
the same as that of the
north-western part of
European mainland.
The popular belief that it
rains all the time in
Britain is simply not
true.
In fact, London gets no
more rain in a year than
most other European
cities.
The amount of rain that
falls on a town in
Britain depends on
where it is.
west
Generally speaking, the further west you go, the more rain you
get.
THE CLIMATE




The climate of Great Britain is mild due to the
influence of the Gulf Stream.
That means that it is never too hot or too cold.
Snow is a regular feature of the higher areas only.
Occasionally, in lower-lying parts winter can be
without snow at all.
THE TEMPERATURE
between



- 5C
below zero and
+ 23C
above zero
the driest period
from March to June
the wettest period
from October to January
Usually the temperature is between 5C below zero
and 23C above zero.
The direst period is from March to June and the
wettest months are from October to January.
It seldom snows heavily in winter, frost is rare.
January and February are usually the coldest months,
July and August are the warmest ones.
THE THREE MAIN FEATURES
OF THE BRITISH CLIMATE


The bad reputation of Britain’s climate is due to
its changeability.
There is a saying that
Britain doesn’t have a climate, it only has weather



But English weather is never the same two days
running.
One day it rains, the next day it may be sunny
and then it may be cold again.
So, we may say that the British climate has three
main features: it is mild, humid and changeable.
1. mild
2. humid
3. changeable
TALKING ABOUT THE
WEATHER



The British are always talking
about the weather.
The weather is a convenient
topic with which to “fill the
gap”.
On the one hand, it would be
rude to ask strangers personal
questions. On the other hand,
silence would also be rude.
Dreadful
weather,
isn’t it?
A “BRITISH NATION”




A nation is born from its land, its history, its art, its
traditions and its institutions.
We can say there is a “British nation”.
One of the most characteristic features of
Englishmen is their traditions, which they respect, and
which they have kept for centuries.
The traditions don’t only accumulate the experience and
wisdom of many generations, but they bring some
stability into the rapidly changing world.