The United Kingdom, London

 

Téma: The United Kingdom, London

Predmet: Angličtina

Zaslal(a): Jana Ronkova

 

 

Area and borders

• The United Kingdom is situated to the northwest of the European continent, between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. It has a total land area of 243,000 km2. The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom (UK) was formed on January 1, 1801.
• British Isles: 2 big islands – Great Britain and Ireland + smaller islands: the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides, the Orkneys

 

Geography

• Mountains: The Highlands, the Grampian Mountains, the Cheviot Hills, the Cambrian M., the Pennines
• The highest mountain: Ben Nevis, 1344m
• Longest rivers: the Severn, the Thames, the Clyde
• Lakes: Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, the Lake District
• Concerning the use of land, there are pastures, arable land, forests etc. Natural resources include coal, natural gas, oil, limestone, and others.

 

Climate:

• The climate is temperate, with a lot of rainy and overcast days.

 

National symbols

The official name for the British flag is Union Flag, commonly known as Union Jack. The Union Flag embodies the emblems of three countries under one sovereign. The emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of three patron saints:

• the red cross of St. George, for England, on a white ground
• the white diagonal cross, of St. Andrew, for Scotland, on a blue ground
• the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, for Ireland, on a white ground

The final version of the Union Flag, including the cross of St. Patrick, appeared in 1801, following the union of Great Britain with Ireland. The cross remains in the flag although now only Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.

 

National flowers 

• England
• • The national flower of England is the rose. The flower was adopted as England’s emblem in the time of the Wars of the Roses -civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).
    The Yorkist regime ended with the defeat of King Richard III and the two roses were united into the Tudor rose (a red rose with a white centre) by Henry VII when he married Elizabeth of York.
• Northern Ireland
• • The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover which is said to have been used by St. Patrick to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
• Scotland
• • The Scottish national flower is the thistle, a prickly purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence.
• Wales
• • The national flower of Wales is usually considered to be the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. However, the leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.

 

 National anthem:

• God Save the Queen or God Save the King

 

Population, language

• The UK has about 64 million inhabitants.
• The official language is English, recognized regional languages include Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, or Irish Gaelic.

 

Government, political system

• The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy with a monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, and a parliament with two houses: The House of Lords and the House of Commons.
• The main function of the House of Lords is to make and revise laws and to check the work of the government.
• Members of Parliament (MPs) represent their interests in the House of Commons. They work in Parliament and for their political party. Some MPs from the ruling party become ministers. Parliament sits for five years unless it is dissolved sooner.
• There are two main political parties in the United Kingdom: The Conservative Party, which is traditionally centre-right, and the Labour Party, traditionally more left-wing. The executive power is exercised by the cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister, currently ……

 

Capital and other famous cities and sites

(London, York, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge, Lake District, Nottingham, Canterbury, Liverpool, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Stratford-upon-Avon, Loch Ness)

 

LONDON

• London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It lies on the river Thames and has about 7 million inhabitants. The main economic importance of modern London is as a financial and commercial centre. Tourism is also very important. London Heathrow is the world´s busiest airport by number of international passengers.
• The capital´s top tourist attraction is the Tower of London. It was built by William the Conqueror in 1066. The Tower served as a royal home, a prison, an execution site etc. Now it is a museum where you can for example see the Crown Jewels. Six ravens are kept in the Tower at all times. The legend says that the Kingdom will fall if the ravens leave.
• Next to the Tower there is Tower Bridge. It is raised in the middle to allow ships to pass up the river.
• The best-known church is perhaps St. Paul´s Cathedral. It stands on the site of the previous cathedral which was damaged by the Great Fire of London in 1666. It is built in Baroque style. The wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was held here.
• The Houses of Parliament are the political centre of the United Kingdom, the home of the British Parliament. They became the seat of Parliament in 1547. Great Britain is the oldest democracy in the world going back to the Magna Carta in 1215. The clock tower next to the Houses is called Big Ben. It is not really the name of the clock, it is the name of the bell.
• The history of Westminster Abbey goes back to the 11th century. Almost all coronations since William the Conqueror (1066) have been held there, and many British kings and queens are buried there.

 

Buckingham Palace is the home of British kings and queens. The first monarch to live here was Queen Victoria. A lot of tourist come here to see the Changing of the Guard.

Trafalgar Square is said to be the largest in London. Its name commemorates the victory of Admiral Lord Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In the middle of the square there is Nelson´s Column (about 50m) with statue of Nelson at the top.

The National Gallery houses one of the greatest collections of paintings from the 13th to the 20th centuries. It exhibits paintings by Italian (da Vinci, Titian), Dutch (Rubens, Rembrandt) or French (Monet, Cézanne, Renoir) masters.

Others: The London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, Whitehall, Downing Street 10, The British Museum, Covent Garden, Hyde Park etc.