Great Britain

     The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands: Great Britain and Ireland - and a great number of small islands. The UK occupies the total area of  244, 000 square kilometres.

     The country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea and the North Sea. The North Sea and the English Channel separate the British Isles from the European continent. The narrowest part of the Channel is called the Strait of Dover. The geographical position of Great Britain is rather favourable as the country lies on the crossways of the sea routes from Europe to other parts of the world.

     The UK consists of four main parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. London is the capital of England, Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, Cardiff— of Wales, and Belfast — of Northern Ireland. The capital of the UK is London.

     There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. Most of the rivers in the UK flow into the North Sea. The longest river is the Severn; the deepest is the Thames on which the capital of the UK stands. Some of the British greatest ports are situated on the Thames, the Clyde and the Avon. Britain's main ports are London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow. They have splendid harbours.

     The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands. The south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1,343 m). There are also other mountain chains in Great Britain - the Cheviots, the Pennies and the Cambrian mountains.

     The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean, and the warm currents of the Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It is temperate and mild the whole year round. Winters are not severely cold and summers are rarely hot. The grass remains green all the year round. The weather is very changeable in Great Britain. It is often rainy, cloudy and foggy.

     The UK is one of the world's smallest countries. Its population is over 58 million inhabitants. The main nationalities

are English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish. The official language of the United Kingdom is English.

Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources. It has some deposits of coal and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea.

     The UK is a highly developed industrial country. The largest industries produce machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, chemicals, metals, coal, petroleum, aircraft, navigation and railroad equipment, textiles, clothing and food One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding.

     The UK is a constitutional monarchy. In law, Queen Elizabeth П is the Head of the State. In practice, the Queen reigns, but does not rule. The country is ruled by the elected government (the Parliament) with the Prime Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Prime Minister David Cameron is the leader of the Conservative Party. It is the ruling party nowadays. The other main political parties in Great Britain are the Labour and the Liberal parties.

London

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic, industrial and commercial center. It is one of the biggest and busiest ports of the country. It’s also the seat of the government and the center of the nation’s legal system and press. London is an important university city and offers the greatest possibilities for entertainment and sports in Great Britain. It is the cradle of British traditions and culture.

London is situated on both banks of the river Thames. It is one of the largest and the most ancient cities in the world. London was founded 20 centuries ago. At first it was a small settlement of the British Celts. Later on, in the times of the Roman Empire, the Roman invaders turned it into the largest of the towns and called Londinium. By 300 A.D. it developed into a separate port and an important trade center. In the 11-th century William the Conqueror made London a capital city. The Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed many of its wooden houses and dirty streets. A new city rose from the ashes. Gradually it began to grow again and absorbed the villages around it, forming new town areas of houses, shops and factories. The capital has been expanding rapidly with the population, and nowadays Greater London (including its suburbs) has over 8 million inhabitants.

All kinds of vehicles ride up and down the London streets: red double-decker buses, lorries, vans, taxis, private cars. Besides, the oldest underground system called “tube” is still one of the largest in the world.

London consists of many parts but the most significant of them are: the City, the West End, the East End and Westminster.

The City, colloquially called “The Square Mile”, is the oldest part of London. The City is the heart of the financial and business life of the capital. The Bank of England, the Royal Exchange, numerous banks, offices and trusts of many companies are concentrated in this part of London. The center of the country’s judicial system – the Central Criminal Court – is to be found here, too. Few people live there, but over a million people – secretaries and clerks, junior executives in conservatively modish clothes, stockbrokers and bankers dressed in pin-stripe suits - enter the City in the daytime to work and make money. They represent a financial power of the state and determine the life of millions. At night this part of London is practically deserted.

The City is a marvelous mixture of modern efficiency and ancient elegance. It’s the most historic part of London and rich in places of interest. The Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Mansion House (the Lord Mayor’s official residence), Fleet Street (which stands for “the British press”), 2 theatres of the Royal Shakespeare Company and many other sights are located in the City.

 Westminster is the government center of the country. It is connected with royalty. Westminster contains several very important buildings, including the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, New Scotland Yard and Whitehall, the street where nearly all the principal government offices are to be found. Near Whitehall there is a narrow street called Downing Street. The Prime Minister has his official residence at #10 Downing Street. The Queen lives in Buckingham Palace when she is in London, but there are other royal places in the capital, too.

            The present Houses of Parliament were built in the 19-th century and are the seat of the British Parliament. Big Ben is the name given to the clock of the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, which has become the symbol of Great Britain. Opposite the Houses of Parliament Westminster Abbey stands. It’s a fine chapel famous for its architecture and historic associations. Almost all the English kings and queens have been crowned and buried here. Westminster Abbey has the world famous Poet’s Corner where are tombs of the most prominent English writers, poets and scientists are buried: Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Tennyson, Thomas Hardy, Newton, Darwin. Here also are memorials to Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, Walter Scott and others.

The West End is the symbol of prosperity and luxury of London. There are splendid mansions and lovely gardens of the rich in the West End.  The best and the most expensive hotels, restaurants, clubs, theatres and cinemas, the richest shops of Oxford, Regent and Bond Streets, wonderful parks, such as St. James Park, the Green Park and Hyde Park with Kensington Gardens are situated there. The part of the West End known as Soho, is popular with the tourists and residents of the city due to its international (Greek, Italian, Indian) restaurants and the abundance of “adult” entertainment. The Trafalgar Square found in this part of London is the geographical center of the capital and the best starting place for tour in London. And Piccadilly Circus, a meeting point of a number of well-known streets, is famous for its brightly lit neon advertisements at night and a little winged statue in the center known as “Eros”.

The East End is as different from the West End as can be. It is the poorest district of the city and considered the “hands” of London. It is largely a working-class area, inhabited mainly by people whose lives and work concentrate around the river and the Port of London. It is chiefly here, in the East End – people live who speak that special London dialect called cockney, which is so difficult for foreigners and other Englishmen. It is the Cockneys who consider themselves to be the real Londoners. It’s the district of street markets, boxing and old-style gangsters. The streets are narrow and dirty; the houses are poor, grey and black with smoke. All the factories, mills, industrial enterprises, workshops, docks and warehouses are situated in the East End and on the outskirts of London. Thus, London is a city of striking contrasts: wealth and poverty, the past and the present, the old and the modern.