A Few Words about Britain

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ADDITIONAL TEXTS

The official name for the country whose language we study is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In every day use, however, the word “Britain” is quite possible.

The United Kingdom, populated by 56 Million men and women, consists of the followings parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The first 3 parts make Great Britain. There are also several small islands which are subject to the Crown, such as the Isle of Man (in the Irish Sea), Guernsey (in the English Channel) and others.

The state system of the country may be defined as a constitutional monarchy, though Britain has not any written constitution as one act and the monarchy is a mere formality English kings reign but do not rule. The supreme legislative authority in Britain is Parliament consisting of two chambers the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The normal life of parliament is fixed at five years. It sits for 160 days a year. About 900 peers sit in the House of Lords. Voters do not elect them. Their seats in the chamber are, as a rule, hereditary. The House of Commons is an elected assembly, and is considered more important. There are four main political parties in Britain: the Labour, Conservative, Liberal and Communist parties. The party, which wins the majority of seats at a General Election, forms the cabinet.

The leader of the majority party is appointed by Prime Minister.

Britain is a highly developed industrial country. Its main industries are coal mining, machinery, textiles and clothing, shipbuilding, vehicles, metal manufacture, electronics, chemicals.

Commerce and transport are as follows: London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and others. English agriculture is also a highly developed industry, but because of lack of cultivated lands, it cannot supply the country with sufficient food products. Britain has to import grain, meat, wine, fruit and other foodstuffs.

Britain heads the so-called British Commonwealth of Nations, whose members, among others, are Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Ответьте на вопросы

1 What’s the official name for the main country of the English language?

2 What parts does the United Kingdom consist of?

3 What other countries – members of the British Commonwealth of Nations – do you know where English is spoken?

4 What’s the population of the United Kingdom?

5 What can you say about the institute of monarchy in England?

6 What is the supreme legislative authority in Britain?

7 What chambers does the British Parliament consist of?

8 Are seats in Parliament hereditary or elected?

9 What are the main political parties in Britain and how are they represented in Parliament?

10 What party has the majority of seats in the House of Commons today?

11 What can you say about London, the capital of Britain?

12 What would you advise me to see in London in the first place?

13 What’s the Tower (Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, etc) famous for?

Прочтите и переведите текст 2 “Stratford – Upon – Avon” с помощью словаря

Stratford – Upon – Avon lies at the very heart of England. This part of the country is notable for its quiet, rich scenery: beautiful woods, green fields, the winding Avon, riverside parks and orchards. There are some scenes of great beauty here.

Stratford – Upon – Avon is an old town. Its streets, its lovely half – timbered Houses, black and white with thatched roofs, breathe the spirit of the past.

But Stratford – Upon – Avon is known to thousands of people not for its beauty, but for the fact that it is believed that William Shakespeare, the great dramatic genius, was born and died here.

There is a lovely garden behind the house where all the flowers, trees and plants that are mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays, can be seen growing.

The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre stands majestically on the banks of the Avon. Shakespeare’s plays are performed for eight months each year and thousands of people from all parts of the word come to see them. In 1964 the people all over the world celebrate Shakespeare’s 400^th birthday.

Прочтите текст 3 “Shakespeare”, найдите ответы на следующие вопросы

1 At what theatre were many of Shakespeare’s plays stages?

2 What are his well-known comedies and tragedies?

3 Where was Shakespeare buried?

4 Have you read Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies? What tragedies (comedies) have you read?

The 23^rd of April is William Shakespeare’s birthday. He was born in the heart of England in the country town of Stratford – Upon – Avon. (Stratford is the town and Avon is the river, which runs through the town).

In Stratford there is a big modern theatre, called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. There you can see the plays of Shakespeare every year from April to November. Lots of people from all over the world go to this theatre to see the plays.

William Shakespeare was born in 1564. We don’t know about his education, but his works show that he was familiar with Latin books taught at grammar school. At twenty-eight we find Shakespeare well known in London as an actor. A few years later he became well known as a dramatist. Many of his plays were staged at a London theatre called “The Globe”.

Shakespeare is known as a writer of comedies, historical dramas and tragedies. Among his comedies are: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Comedy of Errors”. His tragedies are: “Otello”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, etc.

Shakespeare died in 1616. He was buried in Stratford Church.

Word list

he was familiar - он был знаком,

were staged - ставились на сцене,

was buried - был похоронен,

church - церковь.

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A Red, Red Rose

By Robert Burns

O my Luve’s¹ like a red, red rose,

That ‘s newly sprung in June,

O my Luve’s like the melodie²,

That’s sweetly play’d³ in tune.

As fair art thou⁴, my bonnie lass⁵,

So deep in luve am I:

And I rill luve thee still⁶, my dear,

Till a’ the seas gang dry⁷;

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi⁸ the sun;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands O’ life shall run⁹.

And fare thee weel¹⁰, my only Luve

And fare thee weel a while¹¹

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho’¹² it were ten thousand mile

¹O my Luve’s – O my Love is

² the melodie – the melody

³play’d – played

⁴As fair art thou - As fair thou art (art [ ] – уст. 2^е л. ед. ч. настоящего времени;

to be; thou [ ] – уст. поэт, ты

⁵Bonnie – (bonny) lass – красивая девушка

⁶The still (thee – уст. поэт, тебя; still – до сих пор

⁷Till a (= all) the seas gang dry – пока не высохнут все моря

⁸Wi – with

⁹While the sands o’life (= of life) shall run – пока будет протекать жизнь

¹⁰Fare the weel (well) – до свидания

¹¹A while – пока /на время/

¹²Tho’ – though

Дата добавления: 2014-12-27