Ex. II Listen to the text. The official name of our country is Ukraine

The official name of our country is Ukraine. It is a sovereign state. It has its own territory, division, higher and local bodies of power, government, national emblem, state flag and anthem.

Ukraine is located in the south-eastern part of Central Europe. The geographical centre of Europe is located near the town of Rakhiv in Zakarpatska Region. Ukraine is one of the largest coun­tries of Europe. Its area is about 603.7 thousand square kilometers. Ukraine borders on the Russian Federation in the east and north-east, on Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Rumania in the west, on Moldova the south-west and on Belarus in the north. The geographical position of Ukraine is favourable for its relations with countries of Europe and with countries all over the world.

The population of Ukraine is about 52 million people. The representatives of more than 110 nationalities and ethnic groups live in our country. Ukrainians make up 75 per cent of the population. The national (official) language of our country is Ukrainian. The nationalmonetary unit is hrivnya.

The Ukrainian Flag consists of two horizontal fields: blue and yellow. They seem to remind that there are two very important things for people: the peaceful blue sky and stands of yellow ripened wheat, as the symbol of wel­fare of our nation. The combination of the blue and yellow colours dates back to pre-Christian times.

They predominated on the flags of the Kyivan Rus and were prominent during the Cossack age.

The national emblem of Ukraine is a gold trident on an azure background. In ancient times it was the dynastic coat of arms of the Kyivan princes. It is derived from three spears of the sea god, Poseidon, put since Christianity it has symbolized the Holy Trinity.

With the blue-and-yellow flag for many years the trident sym­bolized the aspirations of the Ukrainian people for freedom and independence.

In 1992 after the restoration of Ukrainian independence, the Supreme Council of Ukraine accepted the trident as the main ele­ment of the official emblem of our state. It was proved once more by the Constitution of Ukraine, adopted in 1996. So nowadays the trident is the essential part of the Little State Emblem (the Sign of Volodymyr State), which is the main element of the Big State Emblem.

The plant-symbol. The symbol of “Kalyna” is associated with re­birth, the Universe, the fiery trinity of the Sun, Moon and stars. It takes its name from the old name for the Sun-Kolo. The berries of the kalyna are red and they symbolize blood and immortality.