The land geographical position and territory

The UK is an island country. It occupied the territory of the British isles and it composed of some 5500 isles. The total area of the country is 94,217 miles2 or 244,02 kl2. The UK is a small country. It’s twice smaller than France or Spain. The two main islands are: Great Britain in which are England, Scotland and Wales to the East and Ireland in which are Northern Ireland and Independent Republic of Ireland in the West. They are separated by the Irish Sea. The UK is situated in the North West Coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north and The North Sea in the East. It separated from the European continent by the the English Channel (La Manche) and the Strait of Dover (Pas de Calais) (Дуверский пролив). Geographically the islands of GB is subdivided into two main regions: Lowland and Highland compares Eastern and Southern England. Highland consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the Pennines and the Lake District (Озёрский край). The highest mountains are Ben Nevis (1,343 m) in Scotland and Snowdon (1,085 m) in Wales. The longest rivers in the UK are the Severn (3,54 km) flowing along the border between England and Wales, tributaries (притоки) of which include the Avon famed by Shakespeare, and the Thames which flows East-West to the port of London.

РЕКИ НА КАРТЕ ПОКАЗЫВАТЬ, НАЧИНАЯ ОТ ИСТОКА (НАЧАЛО) И ВЕСТИ ДО УСТЬЯУСТЬЕ – МЕСТО ВПАДЕНИЯ РЕКИ В ДРУГУЮ РЕКУ ИЛИ КОНЕЦ РЕКИ

There are many lakes in GB. In the North West side of the Pennines lies the Lake District – the beautiful lakes which gave its name association with the history of English literature and especially with the name William Wordsworth, the founder of the Lake School of Poets.

The largest cities are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds and Edinburgh.

Climate

Britain is as far North as Siberia. For example, Edinburgh is 56o North of the equator. The same latitude (широта) as Moscow. Yet, its climate is generally mild and tempered because of the Gulf Stream (a warm ocean wind) which brings warm from the Gulf of Mexico (Мексиканский залив).The climate in the UK is usually described as cool, tempered and humid (влажный). To say the truth, London is drier then continent cities such as Hamburg. Its weather may be unpredictable, but it’s not particularly wet. The Northern Mountains have much more rain and snow. The Southern part of England and Wales is a little warmer, sunnier and less misty.During a normal summer the temperature sometimes rises above 25 degrees in the South. Winter temperature below 5 degrees are rearly. It seldom snows heavily in winters. January and February are usually the coldest months; July and August are warmest.3 main features of GB climate: mild, humid and changeable. That means that it’s never too hot or cold, too wet or too dry. This humid and mild climate is good for plants.In the British homes there has been no central heating. The fireplaces are often used. Many schools and universities have no central heating eighter and the floors are made from stone.

England

England consists of 4 parts which make up the UK. England is a large occupied of the territory (131,000 km2) is the most industrial and most densely populated (густо населенная) part of the UK. Its population is over 47 mln people. The capital of England is London.England is a hightly developed industrial part of the country. Historically England is divided into several economic regions: the South is industrial and agricultural region, central England or Midlands, Yorkshire and Northern England. Heavy machinery, electronics and shipbuilding are developed in London. Nottingham, Bristol, Manchester, New Castle and others.The wool industry is centered in Leeds and Bradford. Food processing is developed in Liverpool. Midlands make farming lands.Nottingham is connected with the name of legendary hero Robin Hood. Stradford is upon Avon is Shakespeare birthplace. Canterbury is situated in Kent is a cathedral city, the cradle of Christian people gloried by Geoffrey Chaucer.Another historic place in the South is Hastings. It’s a popular resound (отголосок) it’s famous by the battle of Hastings in 1066 (начало нормандского правления).One of the monuments situated in the South West is Stone Henge.

Wales lies West of the English Lowland. This part of the UK is rather small, its territory is 26,760 km2. The capital of Wales is Cardiff. The population of Wales is over 3 mln people.

Scotland

Scotland is the most Northern part of the GB. Its total area is 78,800 km2. The Cheviot Hills marks the border (границу) between England and Scotland. Scotland takes up 1/3rd of the territory of the British isles. Its population is not very big – a little over 6 mln people. The capital is Edinburgh.Scotland is a country of hills, lakes and rivers. The highest mountain pic is Ben Nevis. There are many rivers but they are not long. The longest and the most important river is the Clyde. Scottish lakes are called “lochs” (озёра) because of they are long and the most narrow. The longest and the most beautiful river is Lomond. The famous Scottish loch is Loch Ness because of the monster.Shipbuilding is one of the most important industries. Other are iron steel, heavy and light engineering and coal-mining. The main urban (городские) centers are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee.

Northern Ireland

It’s the smallest component of the UK – 14,121 km2. It occupied North East of Ireland. The population is 1,5 mln people. The capital is Belfast. The largest river is Shannon. The climate is oceanic. Economy has three main industries: agriculture, textiles, shipbuilding.

The land territorial position and the name of the country, its history

The UK has a quite this official name since 1922. The formation of the UK took centuries and involved a lot of arm struggle. The union if England and Wales dates 1301 when Edward’s the 1 st son was announced prince of Wales, but only in 1485 a welsh prince Henry Tudor (Henry the 7 th) became king of England. And it was his son Henry the 7th who formally united Wales in 1535. The day of the 1st Act of Union. The Union of England and

Scotland dates on 1603 when king of Scotland James the 6th inherited the prawn of kingdom after the death of childless Elizabeth the 1st of England. Thou, England and Scotland were ruled by the same monarch but they remained separate the same kingdom with their own Parliament. Scotl and Eng joined in the Act of Union in 1707. Island used to be oldest colony and its conquer started as early as 12th century. In 1125 king Henry the 6th of Eng was made king of all isles by the Pope of Rome.Thou, numerous rebellious were up and down from time to time. Irish Legislature and Parliament were abolished (отменены) by the Act of Union in 1801. In the same year a new national flag Union Jack (1801) was established. And the country’s official name became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but in 1821 26 Irish countries went through of the UK and Ireland forming the Irish 4 State remained to republic of Island in 1949. Only 6 northern countries remained under making it the United Kingdom if GB and Northern Ireland, but it’s on officially called the UK of GB or Britain or England, it’s also referred to an old and romantic name Albion(related to Latin «albus» - «white» (in allusion (указание на) to the white cliffs (утёсы) of Dover).

Ancient Britain

The very first stage of the existence of people on the GB are described as prehistoric. The 1st inhabitants (were Iberians) are believed to be hunters of the old Stone Age who came from the continent. The beginning of the Iron Age coincided with the arrival of invaders mainly from France they were Celts. The culture of Celts wasn’t barbaric. Their priests the Druids were skilful in teaching and administration. The Celts mixed up with the people who were already there in Britain and were called Britons. Divided into groups tribes, which tribe had its king. The Romans attacked Britain in 55 BC. Julius Caesar had broad the army of ten thousand men. The Britain fourth desperately (отчаянно) but were much weaker. After the victory Romans soon left Britain. The real invasion placed only in 43 AD, when the Emperor Claudius decided to make Britain of a huge Roman Empire, but the fighting continued for almost 20 years after the Roman invasion. In 6 AD the Iceni tribe laid by the queen Boadicea and her two daughters’ revolted (восстали) but the Roman soldiers were much better trained then Boadicea’s men. But she led her soldiers into the battle and had a lot of success at first. Other tribes joined Boadicea and soon she had a huge army of one hundred thousand men. In the end, the Roman army was too strong for her soldiers – they were surrounded and had to give in (сдаться). Boadicea had to face the prospect of becoming prisoner of the Romans. She decided that the death would be better for her and her daughters. The history books tell us that she firstly gave her daughters poison and then took it herself. In London there is a monument of the queen Boadicea. The Roman occupation was spread mainly over England while Wales, Scotland and Island remained unconquered areas, reserved (хранили) Celtic culture and traditions.The Romans were in Britain for over 340 years. They imposed Pax Romana (meaning Roman piece (мир) which stopped tribes wars and protected Britain from the attacks of outsiders: Picts in the North, Saxons from overseas. London is a Celtic name, but many towns that Romans built along the country, for example, Lancaster, Winchester and “castra” meaning a camp. Hadrian (Adrian ) in 120 AD a great wall was built across Britain to protect the Romans again the attacks of Picts and Scots. The Roman broad Christianity so Britain became a strong institution. The native language absorbed (перенимал) words at that time by the 6th century the Roman Empire was beginning to ruin and the roman soldiers had to return back to own to defend it from attacks the new barbaric invaders and Britain was left and ruled itself. According to the righting Venerable Bede and English monarch Weber, Teutonic tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes were making rates against the Britain through out (в течении) of the 6th century. The British Celts tried to check the Jumanic tribes and that was the period of half legendary key knights around the table (Teutonic Knights), who defended Christianity against Angle-Saxons. The Jumanic invaders first arrived in small group

trough out (в течении) the 15th century, but managed to settle and the British population increased to the mountain parts of GB. The Anglo-Saxons controlled the central part of Britain which was described as England, while the Celts went west taking with them their culture, language and Christianity.

Angle, Saxon, England

Angle, Saxon, England consisted of 7 kingdoms: Essex (London), Sussex (Chichester), Wessex, East Anglia, Kent (Canterbury), Mercia, Northumbria.Northimbria and Wessex dominated the country at different times. The Anglo-Saxons king were elected by the members of Council of Chieftains (совет вождей племен ) or Witan consisting of a king and wise men. By the end of the 9th century the Britain isles were subjected (подвержены) to one more invasion by non-Christian people from Scandinavia. They were called Norsemen or Dains or Vikings. They were brilliant sailors; they crossed the Atlantic Ocean and founded the colony in the North of America 500 years before Columbus (America was discovered in 1492). They had rapidly raided the East Coast of England and by the middle 9 th century almost all kingdoms were defied by them.In 870 only Wessex resisted the barbaric Dain tribes. That time West Saxons got a new young king named Alfred later he was named Alfred the Great and no other king had earned this title. Alfred forced the Dains percept (приняли) Christian and left an East England while he was master of the South and West of England. The Alfred created an official army and built a fleet of worship (военно-морской флот) which was known to have defeated from the Vikings at sea more than once. They were forced to go to South and settled in Northern France, when their settlement became known as Normandy meaning the province of Northman. Alfred gave England a new Code of Law which raised the standards of English society. New churches were built, new schools were opened. Alfred translated a number of books from Latin, including Historia Ecclesiastica and began Angle-Saxon Promical (вождём). Alfred saved England from Danish conquest (завоевание) but in the 10-11th centuries theDains managed to extend their position in Britain and from 1013(?)-1042 they were Danish Royal Power of England. In 1042 Edward a Confessor was elected by Witan. He was half Norman and William the Duke (герцог) of Normandy was his cousin and a close friend. Edward the Confessor was a religion king and devoted (посвящал) his attention to the construction of churches and most of all to building of Westminster Abbey. Edward died in 1066 without and obvious heir (наследника). And the Witan elected Harold - a Saxon Noblemen (пэр – титулованный дворянин) the king of England. His right to England throne was challenged (оспаривалось) by William the Duke as the throne was promised to him by Edward. 1066 was a bad year for the Saxon king Harold. He had to fight against two enemies at the same time: in the south William the Duke of Normandy was preparing to land (присвоить) England; in the north in Yorkshire the Dains attacked England. Harold succeeded (преуспел) in defeating the Dains and rushed their army back to the south to meet William who had landed near Hastings. William’s army was better equipped, better organized and he had cavalry (кавалерия). After a strong battle Harold and his brothers were killed in the battle of Hastings. William captured London and was crowned as a king of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas day 1066 and the Norman heritage had begun.The new aristocracy captured power and lands. There was a language gap between the local populations. Those were Anglo-Saxons and landowners of both church and the Norman aristocracy. Latin was a language of monasteries (монастырей?); Norman French was the language of low and authority. English spoken differently in various regions remained the language of the people. All lands in the country belong to the Crown. The king the Greatest Landowner gave away the land to his barons to increase and protect king’s revenue (доход). The Doomsday Book was designed in 1086. It was detailed inventory (детальная инвентаризация (учёт)) of English lands and people.

William the 1st Conquer died as a result of fallen from his horse in a battle of France. And was succeeded (сменён) by his two sons. One after the other William the 6th and Henry the 1st (established the first zoo). Later his grandson (внук) Henry the 6th became the first Plantagenet. Henry’s father decorated his hat with broom.

The Royal House of Normandy:William the 1st (1066-1087)William the 2nd Henry the 1st

StephenHenry the 2nd Plantagenet (1154-1189)

Plantagenet kings (ОТКУДА ИМЯ???):Henry the 2nd

Richard the 1st the Lion HeartJohn Lackland (Иоанн Безземельный)Henry the 3rd

Edward the 1st

Edward the 2nd

Edward the 3rd

Richard the 2nd

Richard the 1st the Lion Heart spent most of his life in Crusades (крестовых походах) in the Holy Land (a region on the eastern shore (побережье) of the Mediterranean (Средиземноморье), in what is now Israel and Palestine, revered (почитаемое) by Christians as the place in which Christ lived and taught).After his death John Lackland the youngest son of Henry the 2nd continued the Dynasties rule. He was the most unpopular king among the English. First of all he lost of his French positions then he rebelled against his brother Richard the Lion Heart, then he quarreled with Pope, but he did one good thing or forced to do it – in 1215 the barons made him seal the Magna Carta in letting or the Great Charter (Великая хартия )which the limited of the prerogative of the Crown and extended the power of barons. It had seen the becoming of the foundation of Englishmen liberty.Magna Carta was to become part of the English Constitutional inheritance. The 13th century was described as Plantagenet spring after a Norman winter. It was the century of the new gothic style in architecture, foundation of university, the development of the Common Law (Общее Право) and the Parliament and emergence (появление) of English as the language of the nation.

The 14th century broad the disaster of Hundred Years War (1337-1453), the Peasants' Revolt (an uprising (восстание) in 1381 among the peasant (крестьяне) and artisan (мастеровыми) classes in England, particularly in Kent and Essex) in 1381, the Black Death (оспа) in 1448-1449, but positive achievements in literature, architecture and further strengthening (укрепление) of the English lands.

The 15th century saw the continuation of the struggle of the Crown and establishment of the Lancaster Dynasty.

The Stuarts

Charles the 1st

Charles the 2nd

James the 2nd

William the 3rd of Orange (Оранский) with Mary the 2nd (spouses)Ann (daughter of James the 2nd; Mary’s sister)George the 1st (Hannover Dynasty) The Stuarts were successful than The Tudors. They quarreled with Parliament (?). One of the Stuarts was executed (Charles the1st), another was driven from the throne (Charles the 2nd), then last Stuart, queen Ann died in 1714. The Monarchy was no longer powerful as it had been in the Tudors time.The first Stuart had faced the alternative to give up absolute power and cooperate with new gentlemen in bourgeoisie (буржуазия) or to support reactionary noblemen (пэры или аристократы). He preferred to struggle against the Puritans that are represented the new ideology. James the 1st (he established the first colonies on the territory of America – the James Town) and later his son Charles the 1st were in constant conflict with the Parliament. More than once Charles the 1st dissolved (распускал) the Parliament, but had to recall it again because he needed money. In 1628 in return for money the Parliament wanted Charles the 1st to sign the document known as the Petition of Right which would give the Parliament the right to control State Money, The National Budget and The Law. Charles realized that the Petition was putting an end to the king’s divine right (исключительное право). He dissolved the Parliament again and between 1629-1640 Charles ruled without the Parliament. In 1642 Charles tried to arrest 5 members of the Parliament (MP). Although he was unsuccessful it convenience the Parliament that it had good reason to fear where the Parliament’s influence was stronger, locked its gates against the king and moved to Nottingham where the Civil War had started.Several MPs had commanded the Parliament’s army during the Civil War. The strongest of them was a Gentlemen Former, named Oliver Cromwell. He had created a new army the First Regular Force from which the British army of today developed. Instead of country people and gentry (the class of people next below the nobility in position and birth - нетитулованное мелкопоместное дворянство), Cromwell’s captured the king in 1645 but they didn’t know what to do with him. They could bring either Charles back to the throne and allow him to rule or remove him and create a new political system. On the 31(?) of January of 1645 the king was beheaded (обезглавлен).From 1649 till 1660 Britain was Republic. Cromwell and his supports created a government which was far more civil than Charles had been. They had got read of the Monarchy and House of Lords. In 1663 Britain was government by Cromwell alone. He became Lord Protector and had much more power than king Charles had had. But his efforts to rule thought the armies were very unpopular, and his idea of using the army as a Main Law and Order in the kingdom has remained unpopular ever since. His other innovations were unpopular too. People were forbidden to celebrate Christmas and Easter.Cromwell died in 1658. He was succeeded by his son Richard, but Richard was a poor leader and could control neither the army nor Parliament. Nobody governed the country. In 1660 Charles the 2nd was invited to return to his kingdom. The Republic was over with the Restoration of the Monarchy. Parliament became as weak as it had been at the time of Charles the 1st.The opposition to the Charles the 2nd was nicknamed Whigs. By the opposition in Parliament the supporters of the king were nicknamed the Tories. The two parties: Whigs and the Tories became of the basis of the two-party Parliament system of government.

The 18th century

The Whigs in the Parliament supported the foreign police of William the 3 rd Orange and his favorite General John Churchill. The Whigs were actively prospering and in 1707 Scottish Parliament with British Parliament adopted (приняли) the Set of Union with Scotland. Now the new British flag united the flags of England and Scotland, combining the crosses of St. John and St. George. England, Scotland and Wales were united and became GB.In 1701 Parliament past the Act of Settlement (акт о престолонаследии). That secured Protestant followers to the throne of England and Scotland. Out-Lawing any Catholic pretenders. If William and Mary had no children, the crown should pass to Mary’s sister Ann and if Ann died without children the crown should pass to Hannover Dynasty.Queen Ann was the last Stuart monarch. She died in 1714 and according to the Act of Settlement she was succeed by George the 1st Hannover Dynasty. He was German and he couldn’t speak English. That’s why the Whigs were handed over (передать полномочия) many Royal prerogatives and their leader became Chairman of the king’s Cabinet. That was the beginning of the Cabinet System with Prime-Minister preceding (предшествовать) of the the Cabinet.

The Hannovers:George the 1st

George the 2nd

George the 3rd

George the 4th

William the 4th

Victoria

Queen Victoria (1897-1901)

She was the longest of any monarch in came to be known as Victorian Era.Victoria was the official head of the country and also of the growing British Empire: Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand and large part of Africa.Britain in the 19th century was a Constitutional Monarchy and the monarch ruled through Ministers who were members of Parliament.Victoria had a lot of Prime-Ministers following one another; some of them were Sir Robert Peel. He created an official Police House and the Policemen were called after him “bobby”; John Russell, Benjamin Disraeli.In 1840 Victoria married her cousin Prince Albert. The marriage was happy and Royal Family became a model for moral standards in high society as well as for middle classes. CRYSTAL PALACE, MOTORCAR - ???She had been known as the queen of Whigs. In the course of the later 1860s she came to prefer Benjamin Disraeli as the leader of the conservative party.During queen Victoria Era Britain became powerful industries nation.

The Windsors:George the 5th

Edward the 8th

George the 6th

Elizabeth the 2nd

The Windsors (Elizabeth the 2nd)

The Windsors is the family name of the Royal family. Queen Elizabeth the 2 rd (virgin) is only the 4th monarch with this name. King George the 5th changed the family name, it was Saxe-Coburg and Gotha but during the First World War it sounded better for the king not to have a German sounded name.At the age of 25 Elizabeth Alexandra Mary became the 42 sovereign (монарх) since William the 1st.Now Elizabeth the 2nd is the longest reign (правитель) since Queen Victoria who occupied the throne for over 36 years. The full title of Elizabeth the 2nd – Elizabeth the 2nd by grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms (гос-во, владения) and territories Queen heads on the Common Law (Содружество) defender (защитник) of the faith.Her coronation was held at Westminster Abby on June 1 of 1953. The public duties (обязательства) of the British monarch were then in daily ceremonial but Elizabeth took it seriously expecting state papers (государственные бумаги ) daily and consulting with Prime-Minister and Harold McMillan (Prime-Minister from 1957-1963) rowed(???) of her following. She loves her duties and means to be queen and not a puppet (марионетка). On this occasion Prince Charles became her successor to the throne (наследник престола). He was named Prince of Wales on July 26 of 1958.

POULATIONLanguages and nationalities

The total population of the UK is over 157 mln people.The UK is inhabited by the English – 47,112 mln (80% or about 83%); the Scots – 5,137 mln (9,5%); Welsh – 2,812 mln (~5%); Irish – 1,558 mln (2,7%).Among other nationalities there are Gaels (шотландские кельты), Jews, Poles, Germans, Frenchmen, Italians, Indians, Pakistanis and from African countries.English is the official language of the country; besides standard English there are many social and region dialects. A well known example is cockney of East London (низший слой). English is spoken in all the 4th parts of the UK. Wales however is bilingual (двуязычный) – Welsh is the first language of the majority of the population in most western countries. A Welsh language is survival of ancient Gaelic – one of the Europe oldest languages. It was banned (запрещен) from use by Henry the 8th after the Act of Union in 1545 by which it united England and Wales under one Parliament, but the language lived in the homes and in arts. And it continued to be the language of worship (богослужение). In 1967 the Welsh language Act was past to affirm (утвердить) the equal legality (законность) of Welsh and English at the Administration of Justice (Управление юстиции) and conduct (управление) of government business through Wales for about 1500 people (??).The Gaelic language still exists as Gaelic in Scotland and Ireland. In Scotland some 1 hundred thousand people mainly in the Highland and Western regions are able to speak the Scottish form of Gaelic. A few families in Northern Ireland speak the Irish form of Gaelic. French is the official language of Jersey (Channel Islands) and of Isle of Man. It’s used for ceremonial and official procedures. Both English and French are used on courts (судах).

DENOMINATION (вероисповедание)

Religion and church

According to the denomination the majority of the residents of Britain belong to the Protestants. The rest form of Catholic and Presbyterian majorities. In England only 30% of the adult people are members of church, in Wales – 23%, in Scotland – 37% and in Northern Ireland – 80%. In England the established church place has a powerful role in nation life. There are three state churches in Britain – The Church of England and Anglican Church and the Church of Scotland. England was converted into Christianity in 597 AD when Roman Pope sent Saint Augustan with about 40 monks to Britain to baptize (крестить) king Ethelbert of Kent.St. Augustan and the monks landed in Kent in the Saxon town (Canterbury), which became the cradle of Christianity. Today Canterbury Cathedral is the Mother Church of Anglicans through the world.In 1543 king Henry the 8th had broken away from throne and declared himself as the Head of the Church of England (The Protestant State Church). Ever since 1544 the monk has been the head of Church of England. Archbishop (архиепископ) of Canterbury is the most spiritual leader of the Church of England. The Church of Scotland unlike the Church of England is subject neither to the throne no to the Parliament and takes pride in its independence from state authority. Its churches are plain (простые) there is no altar only a table. The Church of Scotland is more democratic. The Roman Catholic returned church in Britain in 1850 since that this church has grown rapidly with about 5,7 million members. English clerk(???) is Archbishop of Westminster Abbey. There are also recently established groups: Judaism – 3,000,000; Hinduism – 1,000,000,000; Buddhism and Muslims – 1,5 mln and Sikhs. The most working classes in England and Wales belong to nonconformists of “three churches” (сектанты).

Migration waves

From the beginning of the 15th century until the 20th century the balance of migration was outward (внешний) due to colonial expansions (распространение). During the 19th century over 20 mln left Britain for destinations outside Europe. Mainly in the common but since 1930 the balance of migration was inward (внутренний). Many immigrants began to return. The greatest wave of immigration was in 1950-60s because many companies needed people from unskilled or semiskilled (полуквалифицированный) jobs. There were a lot of people from Caribbean Islands, Pakistan, Angladesh, India and Hong Kong. Then the government introduced the Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962 which gave it power to restrict (ограничивать) the number of people from Commonwealth especially from Irish Republic. Another Act was past in 1968 and then in 1971. The last reduced the number of people allowed to stay in Britain. Before coming to power Margaret Thatcher promised that a conservative government would finally see amend (внесет поправки) to immigration. During the 1980s her government restricted it further and ended the right of anyone born in Britain to British citizenship.More than 36000 Londoners described himself as Black British instead of Africans or Afrocaribbean. But Britain hasn’t solved this problem – the number of people asking to settle in Britain – is rising the minorities are concentrated in the cities. There are already several thousand non white British mainly in ports like Liverpool, Bristol and Cardiff. Some families dated back to the 8th century and slave trade. In the mid 1960s the government introduced the first of three Race Relationship Act in order to illuminate (разъяснить) racial discrimination. Other government promised absolute equality for non white British citizens but the promise has remained unfulfilled (невыполненный).

British State System

The party which wins the most seats in the General Election forms the government in Britain. The leader of the winning party becomes Prime Minister. As leaders of their political parties and leaders of the country. Prime Ministers are powerful because they have the majority support in Parliament and they can choose their own ministers and government. The PM, chooses a committee of ministers called the Cabinet. This is made up of a selection of senior MPs from the House of Commons and some members of the House of Lords. Each member of the Cabinet is a minister responsible for a government department: for example, the Secretary of State for Education and Science is responsible for all the schools, universities and teachers in Britain. The Cabinet of ministers runs the country. The Cabinet meets at the Prime Minister's house 10 Downing Street. The cabinet works as a team and all ministers must accept the decisions of the "group". The team of ministers must always agree in public because they are collectively responsible for the decisions they make. If a minister cannot agree with all the others, he usually resigns from the cabinet. Cabinet meetings are held in private and the details must remain secret for at least 30 years. Margaret Thatcher tried to change this style of the Cabinet and was forced to resign when the other ministers could not agree with her. Cabinet ministers cannot, however, do as they please! They are responsible to Parliament and must answer questions from backbenchers from the House of Commons. Even the Prime Minister must answer questions every Tuesday and Thursday in the Commons — this is called Prime Minister's Question Time Everyone wants to know what has been decided behind the closed doors of the Cabinet Room.

Britain is administered from the Palace of Westminster in London. This is also known as the Houses of Parliament. Parliament is made up of two chambers — the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The members of the House of Lords are not elected: they qualify to sit in the House because they are bishops of the Church of England, aristocrats who have inherited their seats from their fathers, people with titles. There has been talk of reform in this century because many Britons think that this system is undemocratic. The House of Commons, by contrast, has 651 seats which are occupied by Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the British public. The United Kingdom is divided into constituencies, each of which has an elected MP in the House of Commons. Each of the major political parties appoints a representative (candidate) to compete for each seat. Smaller parties may have a candidate in only a few constituencies. There may be five or more parties, fighting for one seat, but only one person — the candidate who gets the greatest number of votes — can win. Some parties win a lot of seats and some win very few, or none at all. The Queen, who is the Head of State, opens and closes Parliament. All new laws are debated (discussed) by MPs in the, Commons, then debated in the Lords, and finally signed by the Queen. All three are part of Parliament in Britain.

Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. Parliament first met in the 13th century. Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. In 1689 Mary 11 and William III became the first constitutional monarchs. They could rule only with the support of the Parliament. Technically Parliament is made up of three parts: the Monarch, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The continuity of the English monarchy has been interrupted only once during the Cromwell republic. Succession to the throne is hereditary but only for Protestants in the direct line of descent. Formally the monarch has a number of roles. The monarch is expected to be politically neutral, and should not make political decisions. Nevertheless, the monarch still performs some important executive and legislative duties including opening and dissolving Parliament, signing bills passed by both Houses and fulfilling international duties as head of state. The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II who was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953.

The House of Lords comprises about 1 200 peers. The house is presided over by the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords has no real power but acts as an advisory council for the House of Commons. As well as having legislative functions, the Lords is the highest court of appeal. The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament who are elected by the adult suffrage of the British people in general elections which are held at least every five years. The country is divided into 650 constituencies each of which elects one Member of Parliament. The Commons, therefore, has 650 Members of Parliament. The party which wins the most seats forms the Government and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. The functions of Commons are legislation and security of government activities. The house is presided over by the Speaker The government party sits on the Speaker's right while on his left sit the members of the Opposition.

Officially GB is a state of the constitutional monarchy that means that at the head of the state is a monarch, but the power of the monarch is not absolute, but limited by Parliament. British State System comprises (заключается в) three main rule bodies: Monarchy (or the Crown), Parliament and Government. The oldest of the three institutions is Monarchy.

Monarchy in GB goes back to the 9th century. The continuity of Monarchy has been broken only once but by Republic and lasted only 11 years (1649-1660). Monarchy is founded on inherited principal. The succession passes to the oldest male child or in absence of male to the oldest female. Now the succession passes to the oldest child irrespective (невзирая) of its sex.

The coronation of the sovereign follows some moths or a year after accession to the throne (вступления на престол).

By the Act of Parliament the monarch must be a Protestant.

Now in new headline the queen in Parliament as the head of the state the queen formally opens Parliament at the beginning of each session with a speech from the throne. For Assent (санкция) is required for bills (законопроект) before they can be Law and she summons (созывает), prorogues (прерывает) and dissolves (распускает) Parliament.

The monarch is also the head of the Church of England and the Prime-Minister advises him on the appointment (назначение) of bishops (епископы).

The Crown as the head of the government

Today the ministers under the leadership of the Prime-Minister frame policy which they offer in the form of advice to the monarch. The queen now always accepts this advice although she is not legally bound to do so, because the crowns guiding to the principals of the act upon the wishes of the majority of her subject as represented in Parliament but it would be a mistake to think that the crown takes no interest in government offers. The monarch reads the Cabinet documents (white papers – тексты междунар. договоров и т.д.). Now as well as telegrams concerning (относительно) government policy from where it parts of the world. She also meets the Prime-Minister when she here is meditates (размышляет) about government policy. On this occasion the queen may if she wishes offer advice and make suggestions in the light of her own experience and in the event of any disagreement the queen will always give away.

Honors (награды)

The queen is said to be founded of Honors. This means that the queen on the advice of the government honors deserved citizens who have distinguished (отличились) themselves in some brunch of public life. Twice a year on New Year Party and on queen’s official birthday the honors list is published. The names include many people from other countries of the Commonwealth and the honors are most varied.Knighthood (рыцарство) is probably the best known. It grants the title Sir (adds to the name).On particular time of Honor must be singed out for special mention because the crown’s right to give it has played a big part in shaping the present form of the British constitution. This is elevation (повышение) to the peerage (пэрство) which gives a seat in the House of Lords.

Government – исполнит. орган, налагает королевскую санкцию

The second part of British State System is Government – the most important feature is discussion. The views of the majority prevail but the minority is never suppressed (подавляется) even though the minority maybe only a small group. The queen’s ministers form Executive Power (исполнительная власть). They decide what shall be done and their policy is carried out by the Civil Service (гос-во служба). All their actions are done in the queen’s name and most of their great power is executed by the crown alone. The power includes the making the treats (договоры) with foreign countries – declare war and making peace. All the ministers are also in Parliament. They have to be ready to face criticism and explain their actions. This link between Parliament and Government is very important. It means that the government is responsible to elected representatives (представителей) of the ordinary people. The majority of the members of the House of Common (Палата Общин) has to support the ministries if the government stays in power.

Prime-Minister and the Cabinet

ОТКУДА ВЗЯЛОСЬ НАЗВАНИЕ CABINET???

The most important of the queen’s ministers is the Prime-Minister. He is the queen’s chief adviser (главный советник) and his opinions shape the whole of government policy. At the same time he is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Common. There is no written law which states the Prime-Minister must be in the Commons. This is the only right.The House of Common as the elected body should have every opportunity of being in contact with the chief man in the government. The official name of the Prime-Minister is Prime-Minister and first Lord of the Treasure (Ministry of Finance). The head of the Treasury is the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Канслер Казначейства). After the General Elections the queen sends to the leader of the largest political parties and asks him to form a government – this is the first task of Prime-Minister. In addition of this he has to form the Cabinet consisting of the men occupied the most important posts in the government. The sizes of the Cabinet have varied of different times but usually it’s under 12. In normal times the Cabinet meets for about 2 hours once or twice a week in the Prime-Minister house at number 10, Downing Street. If a new Prime-Minister is wise he will include in his Cabinet the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary (министр иностранных дел) or Secretary of State for Foreign but some other ministries are not always included in the Cabinet and the Prime-Minister make up his own mind on this point. All the ministers are in pointed by the Prime-Minister. On making his appointments the PM takes a list to the queen and asks her to approve (одобрить). The Cabinet decides the great questions of government policy and it doesn’t deal with questions which can be solved at a lawyer level. Questions of less importance are discussed at Committees of the Cabinet. The number of Committees are various with the government and Parliament.

The Ministries

The Department ministries are important ministiers who at the head of Great Departments of State.The head of some departments are known as Secretaries of State (гос секретари). They deal with Home Affairs (Министерство внутренних дел), Foreign Affairs (Министерство иностранных дел), Scotland Affairs, Commonwealth Relations and so on. The other heads of departments are called Ministers.

Non-Department Ministries - these ministries had old traditional titles which do not really tell the nature of work they do. The PM chooses them from special responsibilities. These special duties vary from time to time.

Ministers of State (Гос министры) – they are Deputy (заместители) in departments where the work is particular heavy. A present there are 5 ministers of state in four departments.

Junior Ministers are younger men, they relieve (помогают) the ministers of some of their ??? taking part in Parliamentary debates. The official title of a Junior Minister is Parliamentary Secretary.

The Secretary of State for the whole Department (The Home Secretary) – he is in charge for maintaining Law and Order and therefore he takes a king interests in official see of the police poses through all the country. He is also in charge of the prisons, the organization of Magistrates Courts (Мировые суды) and ect.

The Lord Chancellor is the Speaker of the House of Lords and he is at the head of Judges (???). In addition he is in charge of more then 22 different offices which are mainly contend with legal practice.

The Minister of Defense (Министр Обороны) - he has very wide powers indeed because all the traditional ??? are being changed to suit a new automatic age in which we’re living now. He coordinates the work of three departments which are subordinated (зависят) to him – they are the NEVY (морской флот), The Army and The Air Force.

The President of Board and Trade (Министр торговли) - responsible for Britain commercial industry and over sea trade.

The Minister of Labor and National Service (Министерство труда и занятости населения) – he is in charge of provision and employment (занятость) and helping employers (работодателям) to find suitable implorers.

The Minister of Power (Министр энергетики) – this post has been created quite recently. It deals with receive the provision of coal, gas, electricity and automatic power for generating electricity. He also deals with patrol industry.

The Law Officers (Министры законодательства) are government legal advisers and appear in Court in important cases.

All the ministers act as members of a team rather then as individuals. Each minister must share full respond for the work of his colleagues and other departments and he must be prepared to support the government on all issues even though they do not directly concern (требующие участия) this work. All ministers are responsible to the Parliament – this is the most important feature.

The British Parliament

Parliament in Britain is an ancient institution dating the beginning of the 13 th century though it was established in 1265 by Simon de Montfort. Now the home of the British Parliament is the Palace of Westminster. It’s called a palace because until the reign of Henry the 8th it was one of the Homes of the kings of England. The name Westminster means Minister or Monastery ( монастырь ) to the West of London . There used to be a small church and monastery in the 11th century on the side of which Westminster Abbey now stands. In the 11th century king Edward the Confessor built a palace. Later his successor extended it and made it the Home. Government and the Court (двор) moved into the neighborhood and central seat of power was established. For nearly 500 years Westminster served as a royal residence, seat of power and monastery.

Parliament of legislature and the Supreme ( высший ) Assort ( класс ) – it consists of 3 elements: The Monarch, The House of Lords and The House of Commons.They meet together only on occasions of ceremonial significance (for example, the opening of Parliament).

Parliament has the following functions: - Passing or abolishing Laws- Voting on taxation in order to provide money for carrying government , debating government policy and administration and any other major issues

The House of Commons consists of 650 elected members – Members of Parliament (MPs), age of whom represents an area or constitutions of the UK and is elected.

The government which is the part of Parliament is formed by the political party which has the majority in the House of Commons. It’s leader the Prime-Minister (PM).

The second largest party becomes the official position with its leader and ‘Shadow Cabinet”.

The House of Commons is presided (контролировать) over by the Speaker. MPs are paid for their work and have to attend to seats which usually begin at 10 a.m.

New Laws may be proposed in Parliament either by the Government or by Private Impeach (???) or by members of the House of Lords. The proposed Law is known as a bill (законопроект). When it has been finally past, bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

The House of Lords has more then 1,200 members now who have the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords. Most of them are hereditary besides the queen grants Peerages to certain outstanding individuals. Amount members of Lords are Archbishop of Canterbury and York and 24 Anglican Senior Bishops, hereditary Peers, 11 Judges and 1085 live Peers .And unlike impeers (члены парламента) they dо not receive a salary (за даром).The powers of the Lords are limited by Law and Convention. The debating persuade of two Houses are very similar (3 readings) and bills approved at all stages and then to the royal Assent (санкция) and become the Acts of Parliament.The Lords have the power to right public laws but rarely do it. It’s most important role is to review laws proposed by the House of Commons.The House of Lords is the only non-elected second chair member (2 палата) among all the democrats in the world and some people in Britain would like to abolish it.

British System of Education

School Education

School Education in Britain is rather complicated. It’s so because has grown out of many different organized courses, trying to satisfy men requirements. Though Cathedral schools appeared as early as the 7 th century , the real point of British system education is not the establishment of schools but the rise of the universities like Oxford and Cambridge.Oxford is mentioned as long ago as 1168 as a place to teach students gathered to teach.The first mention of Cambridge was when a number of Oxford students removed there in 1209. There founded of a large number of colleges at Ox and Cam. The next step was taken in 1382 when a first grammar school was founded at Westminster to act as a port (канал) to college the Ox. In 1440 Henry the 6th founded Eton College at Windsor.In 16th and 17th centuries the foundation if numerous grammar schools in three ports of England but it wasn’t the beginning of national education. They were intended to supply the university with good Latinists and the state of church with learned people.At the beginning of 19th the national interest in education took the form of voluntary (бесплатный, произвольный) effort. There were a number of institutions which established Day Schools, Sunday Schools, Ragged Schools (для бедных) and Orphan Schools. By the Education Act of 1870 a state system was established to fill in the gaps by the voluntary system.In districts schools boards were set up, so as to provide schools at the local expense (расход). They were known as Board Schools (ведение школьного комитета). They existed up to 1902. It may be said that after 18th England had a national system of elementary education.Attendant was made compulsory (обязательное) education in 1880. The Education Act of 1902 is the cornerstone ( основа ) of the state education in England and Wales. It abolished the Board Schools and set the Local Education Authority (LEAs) (Местные органы народного образования). This Act encouraged the LEAs to supply education other than elementary, secondary, modern and technical schools and freed (освободить) the voluntary schools from their financial troubles, requiring to finance them partly. As a result elementary education became a single system. Compulsory and free or charge then followed the Act of 1944 about compulsory and free education for children aged 5 to 15. It provided free stages of education: Primary or elementary (основное или простое), Secondary and further (средние и высшие).The Act of 1972 provided a ten years education program setting the schools leaving age 16. Before 1936 it was 14 and after 1936 – 15 up to 1972.

British schools today

Today British education is aimed to realize the potential of all for the good of individuals and society as a whole. The general policy of education through the UK is much the same with some national variations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All schools of GB are known as state schools meaning state supported and Independent Schools – are paid (платные), ranged from Public Schools to Private Experimental Schools.

Schools supported by the state from public fund are of three kinds:

1. Country Schools – largest group and maintained by leaders whole out public funds. They ere Primary (начальные) (or Infant (для несовершенно летних) and Junior) Comprehensive (общеобразовательные), some Grammar (средняя) and Secondary Modern Schools (средние современные школы).

2. Voluntary Schools which are financed by voluntary body, mostly they are Church of England and Roman Catholic Schools.

3. Direct-Grants Schools (школы прямого субсидирования) – they are completely independent of leaders, receiving grants from Department of Education. There are mainly Grammar Schools which receive the grant for taking pupils form the state system (from a quarter to half pupils) and the rest are paid pupils. But in 1976 such schools were abolished.

Full-time education is compulsory for 10 years between 5-16 ages. LEAs finance most schools and further education at the local level. They employ teachers and allocate (распределяют) budget to schools including books, teacher’s salary and cleaning. Schools can apply for grants maintain states and receive founder (???) from the central government becoming direct Grammar Schools.Every school have a govern body responsible for the school’s main policy. It includes teachers, parents, members appointed in LEAs.

The British schools syllabus (программа) is divided into: arts and humanities and science which determed the division (разделение) of the Secondary School pupils into studying groups.A science pupil will study chemistry, physics, mathematics, economy, technical drawing, biology, geography and art pupil will do English, literature, history, forelanguages, music, art, drama, besides these subjects they must do some general education subjects like physical training, home economics for girls and technical subject for boys, informational technology (IT), religion education and general science. Most pupils wear uniform which differ from school to school. The colors are blue, grey, black and maroon (бордовый).Each school has its system of reward medals and prides for the best pupils.Schools have 3 terms a year. Each with a short midterm break for 1 weak. The announce as half term and long holidays at Christmas, Easter and summer.All schools assess (оценивают) children’s progress by their own tests at the age of 7, 11, 14 and 17 year old – take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) (экзамен для получения аттестата об общем среднем образовании). At 16 they can leave school or continue education. The system of marking may be out of 10 in grads A,B,C,D and in percent – the highest 10%, the lowest 0%, 15% or high – the pass.To stay in full-time education some attend co-called 6-form in secondary or in college which require the two more years of study after GCSE and which prepare them for taken A-level examination.

Compulsory education in GB begins at the age 5 but in some areas there are Nursery Schools (детский сад) for children under 5. Some children between 2 and 5 receive education in nursery classes or in infant classes in Primary Schools. Nursery Schools are stuff with teachers and students in training. There are all kinds of toys to keep the children busy from 9 a.m. till 4 o’clock afternoon while parents at work.Most children start school at the age 5 in a Primary School – it divided into Infants and Juniors. At Infant Schools reading, writing and math are taught. There is three Rs are taught for about 20 min a day during the first year. Gradually increased to about 2 hours in their last year. There is usually no written timetable. Much time is spent drawing, reading or singing. At the age 7 children go on from Infant School to a Junior School. There the children have set periods of the subjects (reading, math, composition) and they are called “11+” subjects – history, geography, nature study, music, swimming, physical training. Pupils are streamed according to their ability to learn into A, B, C, D streams. The list of gifted are in the D stream (слабые ученики). Towards the end of the 4 th year the pupils wrote “11+” examination . About requests of people to Secondary Modern Schools which prepared pupils for manual skilled or clerical ( духовное ) employment.

The remaining quarter went to Grammar Schools to which are expected to go to the university: this system gives the chance of a better education to a very small number of children. The abolish of selection at “11+” examination brings to life Comprehensive Schools (общеобразовательные школы) where pupils of all abilities can get secondary education (среднее образование). Now in secondary education the Comprehensive Schools are dominated among all types of schools.In secondary education 90% of state financed Secondary Schools are of this type. Most other children get secondary education in Grammar Schools, Secondary Modern Schools. Those who can pay go to Public Schools (частные школы).Comprehensive Schools were introduced in 1965, they are non-selective schools which provide a wide range of secondary education for all the children in districts. They are the most important types of Secondary Schools because they are attended by 84% of Secondary School pupils.Grammar Schools mainly provide and exam academic course from 11 to 18. It’s the main root to the universities. Secondary Modern Schools give a general education with a practical bias (уклоном). They taught handy craft (домоводство), domestic science and other practical activities.Secondary Technical Schools are a small group less than 2% of a general education related to industry and agriculture. These schools are not popular; they provide teaching to the age of 18.

Independent Schools

First of all they are private schools charging fees (плата). This is why they are independent of public funds and of State Education System, but they are open to government control and inspection. There is a wide range of Independent Schools covering every age group and grate of education. They include Nursery Schools and Kindergartens, Primary and Secondary Schools.The most important and expensive of this Independent Schools are known as Public Schools. Some of the Public Schools date from 16 th century and early. In the several Public Schools the most famous are the “Clarendon Nine” it was named after Great Claredon who was Chancellor (директор) of Oxford.

Claredon Nine:Winchester (1382)Eton (1440)St. Paul’s (1509)Shrewsbury (1552)Westminster (1560)The Merchant Taylor’s (1561)Rugby (1567)Harrow (1571)Charterhouse (1611)

Demands for Public Schools are so great now that many register their children at birth. Public Schools admit pupils from Private Preps Schools which prepared for the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) (общий вступительный экзамен для поступления в привилегированную частную школу).

After 16

Pupils going onto high education or professional training usually take “A” (advanced) level examination (2 or 3 subjects). This replies two more years of study after GCSE either in the sixth-form of a secondary or in a separate sixth-form college. The “A” level exam is taken at the age of 18 and is the main standard for entry to university and two more forms of professional training. But some pupils want to stay at school after taking their GCSE to prepare for a vocation course (профессия) for work rather then for “A” level examination. Then they take Certificate of Prevocational Education ( CPVE ) (предварительный экзамен по проф-обучению, предназначенный для работы в промышленности или в администрации).About 45% of schools leavers continue full-time education after 16. Students of two more years usually take “A” level (advanced – повышенного уровня) exam.

“AS” (Advanced Supplementary) level exam (дополнительный экзамен к “A” level)

The O-level (Ordinary Level) was predominantly exam-based. This was advantageous for students in part-time or evening education.

The GCE ( General Certificate of Education ) traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary Level (O Level) and the Advanced Level (A Level). More recently examination boards also offer an intermediate (средний) third GCE level, the Advanced Subsidiary Level (AS Level) replacing the earlier Advanced Supplementary level. To earn the General Certificate of Education students need to pass one of the Ordinary Level tests, and only those who score higher than the sixtieth percentile for a given test pass it, so that only 30% of test takers in a given year earn the Certificate.

GNVQs – Greater National Vocational Qualifications (it takes to get a recognised qualification related to a particular industry or sector. It can be taken during studying NVQs at work or college)

It’s quite common to combine two “A” level with “AS” level or one “A” level with GNVQs.

Pupils who taken “A” level study traditional subjects such as French, physics or history to go to university pupil need 2 or 3 “A” levels. “AS” levels are the same standards as “A” levels but only half the content. For example, “AS” level German pupils take “A” level German literature exam, but now German language.

Pupils usually take one GNVQs in subjects as business, legislation, tourism, manufactory, art and design. One GNVQs at advanced level ( повышенный уровень ) is equal two “A” levels .

Sixth form education takes place from the age of 16 after a child has finished their GCSEs.

British Universities

Ox-ford (бычий брод) HAHAHAHA! LOL

More than 40 universities of which 36 are in England, 8 in Scotland, 2 in Northern Ireland and 1 in Wales. The 2 oldest are Oxford and Cambridge. They are dated from the middle ages. The first written report in Oxford dated 912 and was founded in the middle 12 th century . At that time Oxford was neatly town. By the middle of 14th century it was poorer because of decline in trade (спад торговли) and because of the Great Plague (великая чума) which killed many people in England. The relations between the students and the town people were unfriendly. Oxford has a reputation of privilege school. Many prominent political figures of past and present were educated in Oxford. Unlike Oxford which is both university town and industrial city, Cambridge is the university town only – second oldest university in Britain which was founded in 14 th century . Today there are more than 20 colleges at Cambridge. The oldest are Bitter house which was founded in 1284, Robinson College (1947) and the most famous college is Magnificent Choir (???). The university was only for male until 1971, but in 1971 the women college was opened. Another college was opened two years later and third in 1954. In 19th century most colleges opened their doors to both men and women. Nowadays almost of colleges are mixed.

Oxbridge is used to refer to the British universities of Oxford and Cambridge together.

England had no other universities until the 19th century. The universities which were founded between 1850-1830 (???) including are known as Redbrick Universities because of material they were built. These are in London, Manchester, Bristol and Bridgehampton (largest).The division (разделение) between Oxford and Redbrick is a class one. Redbrick universities were built to provide a liberal (широкое) education for the poorer boys and girls and to give technological training.

The universities which were founded after the Second World War are called The New Universities or Whitebrick or later named Plate-glass (стекло и бетон). They are in different parts of the UK – in Kent, Essex, Lancaster, Sussex and York. Some of them became popular because of their modern approach (оценка) to universities courses.

All brick universities are private institutions and responsible to own governing Councilor (советник). Those they all receive financial support from the department of education and Science has no control over their relations, Curriculum (учебный план), examinations, appointment of stuff or the way they spend money.

Each university decides every year how many students it supposes to admit (предполагает зачислить). The admition to university is by examination or selections.

In Britain, the Open University is a university that runs degree courses using the radio and television, for students who want to study part-time or mainly at home.

British people. National Character

Almost every nation has a reputation of some kind. An unusual geographical position of the UK has produced a certain insular (замкнутый) spirit among its inhabitants who tend (склонны), a little more than other people, to regard (почитать) their own community as the centre of the world. The British look on foreigners in general with a slight contempt (презрение) and think that nothing is as well done elsewhere (где-то в другом месте) as in their own country.The British people are known to be profoundly (глубоко) conservative. They always prefer their glorious (знаменитое) past to the uncertainty (неуверенность) of the future. Their conservatism on a national scale (масштаб) may be illustrated by reference (упоминание) to the public attitude (отношение) to the monarchy, to the old traditions and ceremonies which are so carefully cherished (заботливо относиться).The British are community-minded people. They have had a long tradition of democracy in the active sense of popular cooperation to uphold (поддерживать) the will of the people. The British have a strong civic sense and participate (принимать участие) in public affairs (делах) as their birthright.The British are not only community-minded but individualist-minded people as well. British individualism is built into custom and practice, into local work and community organization. “The Englishman’s home is his castle” is the saying known all over the world. The British people more strongly than other nations are attached to their country and to their homes. British patriotism is based on insular pride (скрытая гордость). Everyone in Britain dreams of living in a detached (отдельный) house with a beautiful garden and smooth lawn (ровным газоном) in front of it. A fire-place is a traditional symbol of warmth. A detached house is not only a status symbol for Englishman. Together with a garden and a lawn it separates the owners from the world and ensures (обеспечивает) their privacy.The best known and universally marked qualities of the British people, especially English, are coldness and reserve (запасливость). They do not talk very much to strangers; do not show their emotions openly. But when you get to know the English better they will turn out to be very friendly and warm-hearted people.Closely related to British reserve is British modesty (сдержанность). English people hate boastfulness (хвастливость).The British people are great lovers of gardens, dogs and horses. Their devotion (привязанность) to animals and gardening is a tradition that is rooted not only in their own souls but in the minds of the rests of the world too. Animals are not only loved but protected by law. Nowhere in the world cats and dogs are so deeply cared for as in Britain.One of the most striking (необыкновенный) aspects of the national character is the love of the countryside. Many people would say their dream home was a country cottage with roses growing over the door. Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the country. Many social activities are connected with gardening. There are flower-shows and vegetable-shows, with prizes for the best exhibits.The British people are the world’s greatest tea drinkers. They drink a quarter of all the tea grown in the world each year. Many of the British drink tea on at least eight different occasions during the day.One of the points, which is difficult for foreigners to understand, is the English sense of humour. This is perhaps the most fundamental trait the British have in common. “He is a man of humour” or “He has no sense of humour” is often heard in Britain, where humour is so highly prized.British people are polite in public much more than any other nation.

Holidays and special occasions

Britain is a country governed by routine. It has fewer (несколько) public holidays than any other country in Europe and fewer than North America. Even New Year’s day was not an official public holiday in England and Wales until quite recently. There are almost no semi-official (полуофициальные) holidays either. Most official holidays occur either just before or just after a weekend. Moreover, there are no traditional extra local holidays in particular places. Although the origin of the word “holiday” is “holy day”, not all public holidays (usually known as “bank holidays”) are connected with religious celebrations.There are only six public holidays a year in Great Britain, that is days on which people need not go in to work. They are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday ( весенний день отдыха) and Late Summer Bank Holiday (последний летний день отдыха). In Scotland, the New Year’s Day is also a public holiday. All the public holidays, except Christmas Day and Boxing Day observed on December 25 th

and 26th respectively (в указанном порядке), are movable, that is they do not fall on the same day each year. Good Friday and Easter Monday depend on Easter Sunday which falls on the first Sunday after a full moon on or after March 21st. The Spring Bank Holiday falls on the last Monday of May or on the first Monday of June, while the Late Summer Bank Holiday comes on the last Monday in August or on the first Monday in September, depending on which of the Mondays is nearer to June 1st and September 1st respectively.

Christmas and New Year

Christmas is the one occasion in modern Britain when a large number of customs are observed (соблюдаются) by most ordinary people within the family. Even people who consider themselves to be anti-religious quite happily wish each other a “Happy Christmas” or a “Merry Christmas”. Every November in Oxford Street (one of the main shopping streets in the centre of London), a famous personality switches on the “Christmas lights” thus “officially” marking the start of the period of Christmas shopping. Most people buy presents for the other members of their household and also for other relatives, especially children. Some people also buy presents for their close friends. And to a wider circle of friends and relatives, and sometimes also to neighbours, they send Christmas cards. Some people even send such greetings to people whom they have not seen for many years. People also buy Christmas trees (a tradition imported from Germany in the 19 th century). Almost every household has a tree decorated in a different way (in many cases, with coloured lights). Most people also put up other decorations around the house.The role of Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) and the customs associated with the giving of gifts vary from family to family. Most households with children tell them that Father Christmas comes down the chimney (дымоход) on the night of Christmas Eve (even though most houses no longer have a working chimney!). Many children lay out a Christmas stocking (чулок) at the foot of their beds, which they expect to see filled when they wake up on Christmas morning. Most families put wrapped presents around or on the Christmas tree and these are opened at some time on Christmas Day.Other activities on Christmas Day may include the eating of Christmas dinner and listening to the Queen’s Christmas message. This ten-minute television broadcast is normally the only time in the year when the monarch speaks directly to “her” people on television.The general feeling is that Christmas is a time for families. Many of the gatherings in houses on Christmas Day and Boxing Day consist of extended families (more than just parents and children). For many families, Christmas is the only time that they are all together.Parties on New Year’s Eve, on the other hand, are usually for friends. Most people attend a gathering at this time and “see in” the new year with a group of other people. In London, many go to the traditional celebration in Trafalgar Square (where there is an enormous Christmas tree which is an annual (ежегодный) gift from the people of Norway).In Scotland, New Year, called Hogmanay, is given particular importance – so much importance that, in Scotland only, 2 January as well as New Year’s Day is also a public holiday (so that people have two days to recover from

their New Year’s Eve parties instead of just one!). Some British New Year customs, such as the singing of the song Auld Lang Syne, originated in Scotland. Another, less common, one is the custom of “first footing”, in which the first person to visit a house in the new year is supposed to arrive with tokens (признаки) of certain important items for survival (such as a lump (кусок) of coal for the fire).

Other notable annual occasions (другие примечательные ежегодные события)

Easter is far less important than Christmas to most people in Britain. Although it involves a four-day “weekend”, there are very few customs and habits associated generally with it. Some people preserve (сохраняют) the tradition of eating hot cross buns on Good Friday. Quite a lot of people go away on holiday at this time.None of the other days of the year to which traditional customs are attached is a holiday, and not everybody takes part in these customs. In fact, many people in Britain live through occasions such as Pancake Day, April Fool’s Day or Haloween without even knowing that they have happened.There is one other day which, although many people do not mark in any special way, is very difficult to ignore. This is 5 November, the day which celebrates a famous event in British History – the gunpowder plot ("Пороховой заговор"). It is called Guy Fawkes’ Day – or, more commonly, Bonfire Night. At the beginning of the 17th century, a group of Catholics planned to blow up (взорвать) the Houses of Parliament while King James I was in there. Before they could achieve (выполнили) this, one of them, Guy Fawkes, was caught in the cellars (подвале) under Parliament with the gunpowder (порохом). He and his fellow-conspirators were all killed. At the time, the failure of the gunpowder plot was celebrated as a victory for British Protestantism over rebel Catholicism. However, it has now lost its religious and patriotic connotations (подтекст). In most parts of Britain, Catholic children celebrate it just as enthusiastically (восторженно) as Protestant children. Some children make a “guy” (пугало) out of old clothes stuffed with newspaper several weeks beforehand (заранее). They then place this somewhere on the street and ask passers-by for “a penny for the guy”. What they are actually asking for is money to buy fireworks with. On Guy Fawkes’ Night itself there are “bonfire parties” throughout (на всем протяжении )the country, at which the “guy” is burnt.

Calendar of Special Occasions

New Year’s Day (1 January)2 January is also a public holiday in ScotlandSt. Valentine’s Day (14 February)Pancake Day (Forty-seven days before Easter) (вторник на Масленой неделе)St. Patrick’s Day (17 March)This is a public holiday in Northern IrelandMother’s Day (The fourth Sunday in Lent (Великий Пост)50 million pounds worth of flowers are bought for this day. Cards are also sent.April Fools’ Day (1 April)It is traditional day for people to play tricks or practical jokes on each other on this day. Children are the most enthusiastic about this custom, but even BBC and serious newspapers sometimes have “joke” features on this day.Good Friday (Страстная, Великая пятница)The strange name in English for the day commemorating (поминания) Christ’s crucifixion (распятие).Easter Monday (The day after Easter Sunday)May Day (The first Monday in May)In Britain this day is associated more with ancient folklore than with the workers. In some villages the custom of dancing round the maypole (майское дерево) is acted out.Spring Bank Holiday (the last Monday in May)Father’s Day (The third Sunday in June)This is probably just a commercial invention (изобретение) – and not a very successful one either. Millions of British fathers don’t even know they have a special day.Queen’s Official Birthday (The second or third Saturday in June)It is “official” because it is not her real one. Certain public ceremonies are performed on this day.Summer Bank Holiday (The last Monday in August)Halloween (31 October)This is the day before All Saints’ Day in the Christian calendar, and is associated with the supernatural. Some people hold Halloween parties, which are fancy-dress parties (people dress up as witches, ghosts, etc.). However, this day is observed (соблюдается) much more energetically in the USA than it is in Britain.Guy Fawkes’ Day (5 November)Remembrance Sunday (Second Sunday in November) (поминальное воскресенье)This day commemorates (поминания) the dead of both World Wars and of more recent (недавних)conflicts.Christmas Eve (24 December)Christmas Day (25 December)Boxing Day (26 December)Explanations (основание) for the origin of this name vary. One is that it was the day on which landowners and householders would present their tenants (съемщикам, жильцам) and servants with gifts (in boxes), another is that it was the day on which the collecting boxes in churches were opened and the contents distributed (распределены) to the poor.New Year’s Eve (31 December)