Britain in Brief The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with an area of 244 000 square miles is situated on the British Isles, which are separated from the European continent by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover and the English Channel. Britain's population is over 56 million. Four out of every five people live in towns. The largest cities of the country are London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The UK is a monarchy: the head of the state is a king or a queen. In practice, the Sovereign reigns, but does not rule: the UK is governed by the Government. The present Sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II. The territory of Great Britain is small. Yet the country has a wide variety of scenery. The heart of Britain is England. It is the richest, the most fertile and most populated in the country. The north and the west of England are mountainous, but all the rest of territory is a vast plain. In Northwest England, there are many beautiful lakes with green, wooded or grassy shores and grey mountains all around. The smallest of Britain's countries is Wales. The largest part of Wales is covered with rocky mountains, which are difficult to climb. Most people in Wales live in the coastal plains. Scotland is a land of mountains, wild moorlands, narrow valleys and plains, famous lakes and no end of large and small islands. The Highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains in the world. One-third of the people in Scotland live in or near its capital, Edinburgh, and its great industrial center, Glasgow. The capital of Great Britain, London, stands on the Thames. The Thames is the busiest and the most important river in Great Britain, but it is not very long. The climate of Great Britain is mild. American Holidays There are a number of holidays in the USA which are celebrated every year. Here are some of them. The 1st of January is New Year's Day. People do not go to bed until after midnight on December 31. They like to see "the old year out and the new year in”. Many people give parties on New Year's Eve. Memorial Day, or Decoration Day, is dedicated to those who fought in the War of Independence, in World War I or in World War II. The 4th of July is Independence Day. It is the biggest national holiday in the USA. The Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, when the American colonies were fighting for independence against England. On the 11th of November there is Veteran's Day. It is I dedicated to those who fell in the two World Wars. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November. In the autumn of 1621, the Pilgrim Fathers celebrated their first harvest festival in America and called it Thanksgiving Day. Since that time it has been celebrated every year. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December. People usually stay at home at Christmas time, and spend the day with their families. American Schools The American system of school education differs from the system in some countries. There are state-supported public schools, private elementary schools, and private secondary schools. Public schools are free and private schools are fee-paying. Each individual state has its own sys-tem of public schools. Elementary education begins at the age of six with the first grade and continues up to the eighth grade. The elementary school is followed by four years of the secondary school or high as it is called. In some states the last two years of the elementary and the first years of the secondary school are combined into a junior high school. Besides giving general education, some high schools teach subjects useful to those who hope to find jobs in industry and agriculture. Some give preparatory education to those planning to enter colleges and universities. Назад American Sports and Games Baseball is the most popular game in the US. It is played throughout the spring and summer by schools, colleges and professional teams. Football is the most popular game in the autumn. There are professional football teams in all the main cities of the United States. In American football there are eleven players in each team, as in original football, but the rules are different. Players are often hurt in American football. So the teams wear special clothing and helmets as in hockey. Basketball is a very popular game in the United States too. It is especially popular in high schools, both among boys and girls. The game of golf is very popular with businessmen and professional people. It is played by both men and women. There are now more golfers than tennis players. Swimming, water siding and skin diving are popular summer sports. In winter many people go in for ice-skating, skiing and hockey if they live in the Northern and Central states. Other sports include wrestling, boxing and horse-racing. Art galleries of London Speaking about art galleries of London we should first of all mention The national gallery, The national portret gallery and The tate gallery. I would like to tell you about National portret gallery and about Tate gallery. The national gallery houses one of the richest and most extensive collections of painting in the world. It stands to the north of the Trafalgar Square. the galerey was desighned by William Wilkins and build in 1834-37. The collection covers all schools and periods of painting, but is a specially famous for it's examples of Rembrant and Rubents. The british schools is only moderately represented as the national collections are shared with the Tate gallery. The National gallery was founded in 1824 when the government bought the collection of John Angerstein which included 38 paintings. The Tate gallery houses the national collection of british painting from the 16-th century to the present day. It is also the national gallery for modern art, including painting and sculpture made in Britain, Europe, America and other countries. It was opened in 1897 as the national gallery of british art. It owes it's establishment to Suie Henritate who built the gallery and gave his own collection of 65 painting. Australia Australia is a large country lying between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Australia is an island, like Britain, but unlike Britain it is vast. It is, in fact, nearly twenty-five times as large as the British Isles. Its area is about 8,000,000 square km. The population of Australia is about 18 mln. Most of Australia is semi-desert. People cannot live where is no water, and so most of people in Australia live in the richer south-east. The first Australian people were dark-skinned Aborigines, and though the coming of the white settlers destroyed their tribal lives, some sixty thousand still survive in Australia today. Their account for about 1 percent of the population. They may be found in the island areas of the country. Some live in modern cities but it is not really easy for them. They have to fight for their rights. The first Europeans to land in this country were Dutch sailors. The national holiday, Australia Day, is now celebrated on or near January 26th in memory of landing of the British in 1788. The young country grew very fast. Today Australia is an independent federative state consisting of 6 states and 2 territories. It is a member of the Commonwealth headed by the British Queen. The national language is English. The capital of Australia is Canberra; the largest cities are Sidney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Australia The Commonwealth of Australia is a self-government federal state. It has six states: new south Wales, Victoria, Queens land, south Australia, western Australia and two internal territories. It is situated in the southwestern of the Pacific Ocean. The area of this country has 7000000 square kilometers. Australia is the largest island in the world and the smallest continent. The Dutch were the first Europeans to visit Australia. In the 1770 the English captain James Cook discovered the East Coast of Australia. Nearly 20 millions people live in Australia. The capital of the country is Canberra, this city become a capital in 1927. Federal government works in Canberra in the government buildings. There are no industrial plants in the town. The population of Canberra is about 300 000 people. There are many sits in the city. They are the buildings of Australian academy of sings, the Australian national university and others. There are two big industrial cities in Australia: Sydney and Melbourne. Australian climate is dry and warm. Australia is situated in the Southern Hemisphere and that is why it has summer when we have winter. January is the hottest month in Australia. Australia is separated from many countries. The animals in Australia have developed differently. They are interesting. You can see the dingo, wild dog which killed others animals in night, the kangaroo and many parrots there. There are many and lakes in the country. Australia is an industrial country. It has coal, nickel, zinc and gold. Australia is one of the most important produces of metals and minerals. It exports wool production, meat, fruit and sugar. The Australia is situated near the ocean. Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are the ports of the country. There are many universities, theaters and museums in Australia. There are some political parties in Australia: the liberal party, the labor party and two socialist parties of Australia. Australia The Commonweaith of Austrelia is a self govering federal state. It is situated in the south-west of the Pasific ocean, ocuping the continent of Australia and a great number of islands of which Tasmania is the most important. Australia is a continent-island washed by the Indian and the Pasific Oceans. The country consists of 6 (six) states and 2 (two) territories. 16 million people live in Australia. The capital is Canberra. The offical language is English. Australia has a Parlament has two chambers, the house of Representatives and the Senate. the governmant of the country is headed by the Prime Minister. Australia is not only far from the rest of the world, it has a bad climet, too. The climet is better in the east and south-east, where most big cities have grown-up. But the northen coast has too much rain, and the westen coast is too dry. The highest part of Australia, and almost all the mountains are near the coast. The whole central part of the country is dry; it never rains, there are no large rivers and no water there. So there is no very rich plant life in Australia, except in the east and south-east. Australia is an important producer and exporter of primary products: wool, meat, sugar, fruit, black, coal, iron, copper, lead, gold and so on. Most of the factories are situated near big cities. There are 5 (five) big cities in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and bris bane. These cities are also the country's main ports. Canberra was specially planned as a capital. It is a quriet city. All the gover- ment buildings are situated there. There no industrial plants in the city. About 300000 people live in Canberra. Sydney is the oldest and largest city in Australia. It was founded in 1788. Sydney is a big industrial centre. About 3 million people now live in the city. Australia If I had a chance to go to some English - speaking country I would like to go to Australia. Australia seems to me and other people to be the upside-down world. The New Year is at midsummer, midwinter is in June. Hot winds blow from the north: cold winds blow from the south. The farther north you go, the hotter it gets. The trees look strange; it will seem odd to you that they never lose their leaves, and you will miss the bare branches in winter. Australia is a land of strange birds and beasts such as kangaroo, koala, echidna and dingo. Australia is the world's largest island and the smallest continent. Its area is about the United States (without Alaska) -7,7 square km. Today there live about 17 million of people. Australia is a country of almost 3 million square miles far from other countries that's why it wasn't discovered for a long time. And only in 1606 Dutch sailors reached the shores of the unknown continent, but it was not settled till the English Captain Cook discovered the East Coast in 1770. When settlement began in 1788 the continent was inhabited by about 300 000 people, who are now called aborigines. Diseases brought by settlers caused many deaths among the aborigines and now there are only about 60 000 of them. At the beginning of the 19-th century the English colonists gave the fifth continent the name Australia or "the unknown southern land ". At first, nobody wanted to live there because it was used as a prison where the British government would send British prisoners. The most of Australia is a semi-desert so most people in Australia live in South - East. The climate is hot and Australian boast that they can sleep out -of- doors all the year round. The sun shines in winter and in summer. Snow and ice are rare, except the high mountains. There is not much rain, and drought is a constant anxiety. In bad times, and in the driest parts, many animals may die for want of water. Today Australia is an independent federative state consisting of 6 states and 2 territories. It is a member of the Commonwealth headed by the British Queen. The capital is Canberra. Australia - the land of blue mountains The Great Barrier Reef on the coast of Queensland is a garden under the sea. There are 1,400 different kinds of fish, and more than 300 kinds of coral. Tropical fruit and flowers grow on the beautiful islands. It’s not surprising that more holiday-makers come to Queensland every year. Tasmania, the island south of Australia, is small. It’s the same size as England. It is also very different from the other states. There are no deserts in Tasmania. It often rains, both in winter and summer. Only a half of million people live in Tasmania, and a large part of the island is still covered with wild, beautiful wild forests. These forests are full of wonderful flowers and interesting animals. In the Northern Territory you will find the red heart of Australia. And it really is red, with red rocks, red sand, and red skies in the evening. Every year, thousands of tourists visit Ayers Rock and a strange group of huge red stones called "the Olgas”. But these places are also holy to the Aboriginals. They believe that the land itself has life. Sydney is the best known place in New South Wales. In fact, it’s the best known place in Australia. But New South Wales has more than cities. There are, for example, the Blue Mountains. They are covered with forests of blue colored eucalyptus trees. The air above the forest contains millions of microscopic drops of eucalyptus oil. When the sun shines, the air of the Blue Mountains is a real, beautiful blue. Less than a hundred years ago, there was nothing except sheep in Canberra. But then Australians decided to build a capital city.. The work began in 1913. Now, Canberra is an international city, full of diplomats and government offices. It’s beautiful place, with parks, lakes, big open streets and fine buildings. Australia is sometimes called "the lucky country”. One reason is the wonderful riches under the earth: gold, silver, iron, coal and many precious metals. The Bass Strait, of the coast of Victoria, has been one of the country’s biggest oil fields for many years. South Australia is the driest of all the states, but it does have Murrey River. The river brings greenness and life to the south-east corner. In the early of the Australian history, the Murrey River was South Australia’s main road. Before real roads and railways came, the river carried people and goods from the east up into the country. Some towns on the Murrey still keep the old river boats, and visitors can ride on them. There are two kinds of gold in Western Australia. First, there’s real kind – the kind that comes out of the ground. Gold was found in Kalgoorlie in1893, and the "Golden Mile” was for a time the most expensive piece of land in the world. Kalgorlie still exports some gold, but new gold of Western Australia is wheat. Big farms grow millions of tones of wheat every year, and wheat has become Australia’s second biggest export. British and American Families British and American families are small. In fact the populations of both Britain and the USA have stopped growing. The typical family has a father, mother and two children. Grandparents come to visit, but do not usually live with their children. Most people get married between the ages of 20 and 23 but many marriages end in divorce. This means that both countries have a large number of "single parent families", one father or mother looking after their children alone. The typical British family has a car, a colour TV set, a washing machine, and a cat or dog as well. They start the day at about 7 o'clock, have breakfast at 8. and are off to work by 8.30 . More and more women now go out to work as well as men. The children have lunch at school at about 12.30, and come home at 4 in the afternoon. Their parents are usually home by 6 o'clock, and the family eats together at 6.30 or 7. In the evenings, father may go to the pub for a drink, or stay at home and watch TV with the others. Children go to bed early, at about 8 o'clock, two or three hours before their parents. The typical American family has more money than a British family. Many have two or three cars, large modern kitchens and more electrical goods. They eat more meat and spend more on clothes. But their daily programme is nearly the same. Like British children, American children eat lunch at school, come home mid-afternoon, and go to bed earlier than their parents. British education British education helps us to develop fully the abilities of individuals, for their own benefit and of society as a whole. Compulsory schooling takes place between the agers of 5 and 16, but some pupils remain at shool for 2 years more, to prepare for further higher education. Post shool education is organized flaxebly, to provide a wide range of opportunities for academic and vacational education and to continue studying through out life. Administration of state schools is decentralised. The department of education and science is responsible for national education policy, but it doesn't run any schools, if doesn't employ teachers, or prescribe corricular or textbooks. All shools are given a considerable amount of freedom. According to the law only one subject is compulsary. That is religious instruction. Children recieve preschool education under the age of 5 in nursery schools or in infant's classes in primary schools. Most pupils receive free education finenst from public fonds and the small proportions attend schools wholy independent. Most independent schools are single-sex, but the number of mixing schools is growing. Education within the mantained schools system usually comprises two stages: primary and secondary education. Primary schools are subdevided into infant schools (ages 5 - 7), and junior schools (ages 7 - 11). Infant schools are informal and children are encouraged to read, write and make use of numbers and develop the creative abilities. Primary children do all their work with the same class teacher exept for PT and music. The work is beist upon the pupils interests as far as possible. The junior stage extence over four years. Children have set pirits of arithmetic, reading, composition, history, geography nature study and others. At this stage of schooling pupils were often placed in A, B, C and D streams according their abilities. The most able children were put in the A stream, the list able in the D stream. Till reccantly most junior shool children had to seat for the eleven-plus examination. It usually consisted of an arithmetic paper and an entelligent test. According to the results of the exam children are sent to Grammar, Technical or Secondary modern schools. So called comprehansive schools began to appear after World War 2. They are muchly mixed schools which can provide education for over 1000 pupils. Ideally they provide all the courses given in Grammar, Technical and Secondary modern schools. By the law all children must receive full-time education between the ages of 5 and 16. Formally each child can remain a school for a further 2 or 3 years and continue his studies in the sixth form up to the age of 18 or 19. The course is usually subdevided into the lower 6 and the upper 6. The corricular is narrowed to 5 subjects of which a pupil can choose 2 or 3. The main examinations for secondary school pupils are general certeficate of education (the GCE) exam and certificate of secondary education (the CSE) exam. The GSE exam is held at two levels: ordinary level (0 level) and advanced level (A level). Candidats set for 0 level papers at 15 - 16 years away. GCE level is usually taken at the end on the sixth form. The CSE level exam is taken after 5 years of secondary education by the pupils who are of everage abilities of their age.
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