Ex.15 Translate the words and word combinations into Russian. Fill in the gaps in the text with these words.

Thames Lake District Ireland

European Union Atlantic Ocean London

square kilometers Channel Tunnel Europe

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a state located off the northwestern coast of continental ___________. It is an island nation, which includes Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of ____________, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border with another state - the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the _______________, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 243, 610 ______________. It is connected to continental Europe by the ________________, which at 50 kilometers (31 mi) (38 kilometers (24 mi) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.

The population of the UK is a pproximately 60.8 million: England 50, 714, 000; Wales 2, 977, 000; Scotland 5, 108, 000; Northern Ireland 1, 733, 000). Life expectancy is 78.2 years.

The weather in summer (June-August) is a warm 14-25 °C, and winter (Dec -Feb) is a cool 1-4 °C. The main rivers and estuaries are the _____________, Severn and the Humber. England's highest mountain is Scafell Pike (978 meters (3, 209 ft)), which is in the _______________.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in the capital city of _____________ in the Palace of Westminster. Queen Elizabeth II is head of state of the UK.

The UK is a developed country, with the world's sixth largest economy by nominal GDP. The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, represented by the symbol £. The UK nevertheless remains a great power with leading economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. It is a Member State of the _______________, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The UK has currently one of Europe’s booming economies. In the seventies there were chronic strikes and unemployment. But the government’s policy of freeing industry from oppressive regulations and encouraging competition has yielded great dividends. Today the unemployment rate is very low compared to France or Germany. The service sector employs roughly 75 percent of the work force, manufacturing about 20 percent, agriculture 2 percent and fishing and mining a mere 1 percent each. The City of London is one of the world’s leading financial centres. Britain is also a favourite place for tourists, with around 25 million foreign visitors a year. Tourism has become an important industry in Britain employing 1.8 million people.

In manufacturing sector Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources. They mine raw materials – coal, ore and limestone. In Britain there are only a few successful large companies, but many successful small companies. Successful small manufacturing companies in Britain often make expensive products. These companies are successful because they have used first-class materials and have had excellent quality control since the starting up. The workers are proud of what they have made. BP Amoco is now the second-largest oil company in the world. It has been involved in oil and gas exploration, oil refining and the manufacture of petrochemical products. It is investing money in making cleaner petrol. Barbour jackets, originally designed for fishermen and farmers, are now fashionable in cities throughout Europe. Glaxo Wellcome is Britain’s leading pharmaceutical company and is one of the largest in the world. It tries to find and make new medicines which can cure or reduce the effects of disease. Half of the goods exported and imported by Great Britain goes through the two ports: London and Liverpool.

Britain used to have many manufacturing industries, but since the Second World War it is service industries, especially banking and retailing, which have expanded. About 70 per cent of people now work in service industries, including tourism, insurance, computer technology and retailing. Less than 30 per cent of people have jobs in industry.

Heavy industries like steel manufacture and shipbuilding have been replaced by high-technology manufacturing industries such as aero plane engines and pharmaceuticals.

Two and a half million people work in retailing (shops, supermarkets, chain-stores) in Britain. It is one of Britain’s biggest service industries.