Currency.

Yeoman of the Guard Changing of the Guard ceremony

Unit 2 British Panorama

1. What is the name of the biggest island of Great Britain?

2. Is Great Britain bigger than Spain?

3. Is the population of Ukraine smaller than the population of the UK?

4. How many islands does the UK consist of?

5. What is the capital of Northern Ireland?

6. How many seas wash the coasts of Great Britain?

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the country which is sometimes referred to as Great Britain or Britain after its biggest island, England after its major historic part.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated off the west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean in the north-west and the NorthSea in the east and is separated from the European continent by the EnglishChannel (known also as La Manche), in its narrowest part, the Strait of Dover, is only 32 kilometres wide.

The UK is an island state; it is composed of some 5.500 islands, large and small.

The two main islands are Great Britain where England, Wales and Scotland are located and Ireland where Northern Ireland and the independent Irish Republic are situated. The islands are separated by the Irish Sea.

The biggest of the smaller islands are the Orkney and the Shetland Isles in the north. The north-west is fringed by the large island chain known as the Hebrides (the Outer Hebrides and the Inner Hebrides). The Isle of Wight is in the south. All these islands have administrative ties with the mainland, but the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea, and the Channel Isles, between Great Britain and France, are largely self-governing and not part of the United Kingdom but the Crown dependences.

The UK is one of the world’s smallest countries; it is twice smaller than France, Spain or Ukraine with its total area of about 244.000 square kilometres. The distance from the southern coast to the extreme north of Scotland is less than 1000 km, and the widest part of Great Britain is less than 500 km. No place in Britain is more than 120 km from tidal water.

The prime meridian of 0 passes through the Old Observatory at Greenwich, near London.

The population of the UK is over 57 million people.

Great Britain consists of four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

England is the southern and central part of Great Britain with the capital city London.

Scotland is in the north of the island Great Britain with the capital city Edinburgh.

Wales is in the west. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.

Northern Ireland occupies the east-northern part of the island Ireland. The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

London is also the capital of the whole country.

Great Britain has a very good geographical position as it lies on the crossways of the sea routes from Europe to other parts of the world.

Geographical position of the country creates favourable conditions for the development of shipping, trade and economy as a whole.