the geography of the uk

8/9/2019 The Geography of the Uk

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TLANTIb

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oiirkwatt

I,

l.

What do

you

know

about the

United

Kingdom?

Choose

the

correct answer (a,

b, c

or

d).

Which

part

of

Britain

is not in the flag

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No

3.

of

the

UK?

a.

England

b.

Wales

c.

Scotland

d. Northern

lreland

2.

What

is

the flag of the

UK called?

a. Tricolore

b.

Union Jack

c. Stars

and

Stripes

d.

United

Kingdom

a.

b.

C.

d.

Which of the

following

islands

does

not belong to

the Hebrides?

The Shetland

lslands

Mull

Skye

Lewis

Which island lies between England

and

lreland?

a. The

lsle

of

Man

b.

The

lsle

of

Skye

c.

The

Shetland

lslands

d.

Jersey

5. Which

is the

highest mountain

in

Britain?

a.

Snowdon

b. Ben

Nevis

c.

Ben Macdui

d.

Scafell Pike

4.

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unit

I

o

Ben

Nevis covered

with snow

r-).;

L

Auif:'ffi

--aq.jJ::r:

The

t"lnited

Kingdom

or the

British lsles?

"f-hu

Britrish

lsles is

the geographical name that

refers

I

to ail the islands

off

the north west coast

of'the

European conrinent. The

United Kingdom

of

Great

Britain and

Northern

Ireland,

often abbreviated to the

UK, is

thc poiitical

name

of the

country which

is made

up of England.

Scotland, \\'ales and

Northern

lreland.

ln evervday

speech

"Britain"

is

used

to mean

the

United Kingdorn.

"British"

re{i:rs

to people

from

the

UK,

Great

Britain

or the British Isles

in

general.

The Isle

of

\\right,

the

Orkneys,

the

Shetlands and the

Hebrides,

u.,hich

lie

off

the

coast

of

Great

Britain,

belong

to

the

UK. Other

islands,

such

as

the Channei

Islands

ofJerser. and Guernsey

and the

Isle

of

Man, have

their

own

legislatures

and administration. They have

close

politicai,

economic and

cultural

relations

with Britain,

and

recognise

the

queen

as the Head

o1-

State.

.

-_ri

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o

The coasl

near

Portsmouth.

The land

rlrhe

main

mountainous areas are in Scotland and

I

\Vul.r"

The

Pennines,

a

range of

hills

also

known

as

the

"backbone

of

England",

are

situated

in

the centre

of

England. The highest mountains

are

in

Scotland

and \\'ales:

Ben

Nevis

is

1,343 m and Snowdon is

1,085

m. The

longest

rivers are

the

Severn

(354

km)

and the

Thames (346 km).

The largest lake

in

the

UK is Lough

Neagh

in

Northern

Ireland

(396

sq km).

\tlost

of

Britain

r,r,as covered

by thick

forest

in

ancient times.

When

the

population

began

to

groq

forests

were cut down: the land

was used

for farming,

the wood

for fuel,

and to build

houses

and

ships.

In

recent

decades

the

British

government

has

been

carrying out

a

programme

of

reforestation

on

a

large

scale.

Modern

agricultural methods

have

also changed

the environment

in

Britain,

where

moorland

and

heaths have

been ploughed up and

traditional small

fields

have been

joined

together.

n

o"urrron,

I. SLDIANS

2. TOTICNNENI

3. SCTAO

4, ILSHL

5. ERRVI

6.

KLAE

7,

ROFSTE

B. NENERONTMVI

9. ORLANDOM

IO.

TAHEHS

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l\larston

Moor, near

York.

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3/4

Where

does

the

word

A

trip to

England

England come

from?

tflh.

name

England comes

from

the

Anglo-Saxon

L

Engla

Land,

that

is

the

land

of the

Angles ,

one

of

the Germanic

tribes that

settled

in

England

in

the

5m

and

6s

centuries.

E

o orrron,

5. Match each ltalian

word with its

English

equivalenf,

E

ngland

is

bordered

by Scotland

to

the

north

and

by

I

'

'Wales

to

the west.

It

is

about

130,422

sq

km

in

size,

and it

is

the

largest

country

of

the UK covering about

two-thirds

of

the

island.

Most

of England is flat

with two

important

mountainous regions:

the

first

dividing the

Northeast

from Northwest

(the

Cumbrian Mountains

ol the

Lake Disrict;

the highest mountain

of

the

region

is

Scafell Pike,

978

m) and the

second

forming a kind of

backbone

down the

centre

(the Pennines).

The rest

of

the

country

is

known as

the

English Lowlands

with

its

national and country

parks

and 600 miles

of

coastline.

The main rivers

are the

Thames,

the

Severn and

the

Humber. The

most important

cities

include

London

(the

capital),

Birmingham,

Sheffield,

keds,

Newcasde

and

Manchester.

London is

one

of

the

best-known

cities

in

the world and for many

is

representative

of

the

whole

of

England. Near

Dover,

the Channel Tunnel links the

United Kingdom with

France.

above. Answer

the

following

l. Which

countries

have borders

with

England?

How

big

is it?

ls

England

mountainous

or

flat?

Which

are the

main

rivers?

Which

are

the major

cities?

What

links

the

United Kingdom

with

France?

I

re you

planningyour

first

trip

to

England?

What

Afollows

is

a

region by region tour of

England,

showing the

highlights of

each

area.

Day

I

The South East Canterburyand Brighton

Moving

south

from

London

brings

you

to Southeast England, an

area

of beautiful

gardens

and castles. the city of Gnterbury

first

attracted

travellers in

tl, e Middle Ages, when

pilgrims

came to

visit

the tomb of

Thomas Becket the

Archbishop

of

Canterbury

who was murdered in

the beauhful Norman Gthedral by Henry

ll's

knights

in

I170.

You

can

drive

as

far as Brighton

on

the

English Channel

and visrt

the

Brighton Pavilion, buih

in

the

lndian

style for

the

Prince Regent

(later

Ceorge

lV). Brighton

is also

famous for

ib

Victorian

amusement

piers

and

its lively nightlife.

Day 2 South Central England: Salisbury and Stonehenge

The

southern

coast

of

England

is characterised by

beautiful

harbours

in

the

county

of

Hampshire and the lsle

of

Wight You can drive westwards

and

reach Salisbury. lts cathedral

has the

tallest

spire

in England and

in

the

nave

you

can see

the

oldest

working

mechanical

clock in

the

world, built in

,l386.

North of

Salisbury lies Stonehenge, the mysterious

standing stone circle

dating

back

to

nearly 5000

years

ago. Salisbury

Plain is also

home to

hundreds of other

prehistoric

tombs and circles.

Day 5 The South

West

West

Country and Comwall

The South West

is the

largest region of England,

and

extends

from

Cloucestershire to Cornwall.

The

region is largely

rural, with

many

small

towns

and

villages. The

largest

cities are Bristol, Bournemouth, F:xeter

and

Bath.

You

can drive westwards

and

reach

Land's End,

the most

westerly

tip

of

the

English

mainland.

Day 4 The Heart

of

England:

Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon

Drive

through some of the

prettiest

countryside in

England

and

reach

the unversity town of

Oxford.

The

history of Oxford is linked to the

growth

of

its

University,

which was

begun

in

the l2s

century. Oxford

University is

a

collection

of

independent

colleges, each with its

own

history

and

its

own

administration;

Christ Church

is the

largest

of the

Oxford

University colleges.

Northwest from Oxford

lies Stratford-on-

Avon, birthplace

of

\Mlliam

Shakespeare.

ln

Stratford

you

can

visitthe

school

Shakespeare

attended

and the

lovely

cottage where his wife,

Anne

Hathaway, lived before

their

marriage.

Day 5 East Anglia:

Nonruich

and Cambridge

Drive

through flat

East Anglia

towards

Norwich.

lts

famous

cathedral

is a magnificent example

of

Norman

architecture;

the bishop's

throne

behind the

high altar

is the

oldest

in

England.

Move

from Norwich to

Gmbridge

on

the river Cam. This town is

famous

for

its

universrty,

begun

in the l3n

century.

University buildings

include the impresslve

King's

College

Chapel,

Trinity

College

and

Queen's

College.

1.

2.

3.

+.

5.

6.

confina con

r

piatta

t-,

montuose

bassopiani

linea

costiera

estuario

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

mountainous

lowlands

is

bordered

by

estuary

flat

coastline

The

geography

of

England

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Read the

text

questions.

4.

I 6

sixteen


4/4

Day 6 The East Midlands: Nottingham and

Shenruood Forest

The East Midlands includes the counties

of

Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. Nottingham

is known for its

association

with

the

legend

of

Robin Hood. At

the

Shenrvood Forest Visitor

Centre

you

can see

the

Major

Oa(

the

place

where

Robin

Hood and

his Merry

Men

used

to

gather

and hide.

Day 7 The West Midlands: Birmingham and

Manchester

Several large

cities,

like Birmingham, Liverpool,

and

Manchester, lie in

this area. Birmlngham,

an important commercial and

industrial centre,

is

the

second-biggest city

in

England. Liverpool,

on the

River Mersey, has

become famous

through The

Beatles,

while

Manchester is

a

modern aft and

cultural centre.

Day

8

The Lake District

The Lake District is one of England s most

visited

regions

because

of

the Lake District

National Parh which

is

the largest of England s

National Parls. The spectacular scenery of

this

county

has attracted important men of

letters

like

the romantic

poet

VMlliam

Wordsworth.

The highest mountain of the

region is

Scafell

Pike

(s78m).

Day 9

The North East: York and

Durham

This area of England

includes the counties

of

Yorlshire and Northumbria.

The former

was ruled by the Vikings, and that

heritage

is

celebrated

in numerous festivals and

museums. Durham Cathedral is one of

the

earliest examples

of the Cothic style

in English

architecture. Hadrian s

Wall,

which

runs

from

the

West

Coast

to the East was erected

in the

2nd

century

by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to

divide

England

from

Scotland.

Day I0

London

We

finish

our tour

in London, which is the

capital of the UK.

You can

use the

information

in unit

1

(pages

-5)

to

plan

a

visit

of

the

town.

Day

8:

The

Lake District

seventeen 17

the geography of the uk

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