2. Answer the questions.

1. Why is the climate of Great Britain mild?

2. How often does it rain in Britain?

3. What is the favourite topic of conversation in England?

4. What is the best time of the year in Britain?

5. What kind of weather do you like best of all?

1. Read the text and choose the right word. London.

Today London is (1)(an, a , the) huge metropolis, an ancient and ever (2)(change, changing, changes) city. Most Londoners as well as (3)(tourist`s, tourist, tourists) agree (4)(with, to, by) Samuel Jonson, who (5)(one, once, one`s) said “When a (6)(man, men, man`s) is tired of London, he is tired (7)(off, of, from) life”.

Of the many beautiful churches and cathedrals (8)(into, in, about) London, Westminster Abbey is perhaps (9)(an, a, the)most important.

The Tower of London has a (10)(to fascinate, fascinate, fascinating)past (11)(as, like, so) a royal residence, prison, armory and treasury.

Nearby is Tower Bridge, the only bridge in London whose roadway rises to allow ships (12)(passed, to pass, pass) through. Inside is an (13)(entertainer, entertaining ,to entertain) exhibition bringing the history of its construction and engineering (14)(to, from ,on) life.

Museums and art galleries (15)(to abound, abounds, abound) in London, but two of the (16)(good, better, best) are the British Museum and the National Gallery. The British Museum, (17)(which, who, those) is free to enter, is the oldest museum in the world and (18)(contain, contains, containing) treasures from the Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Oriental and Asiatic cultures. (19)(its, his, their) important artifacts include Egyptian mummies and their sarcophagi.

The National Gallery houses a marvelous collection of over 2200 European paintings from the 13th (20)(in, to ,from) the 20th centuries.

2. Answer the questions.

1. What is the capital of England?

2. What kind of interesting places are there in London?

3. What do you know about the British Museum?

4. What is the official London residence of the Queen?

Exercise 1. Complete the sentences with the best answer (a, b or c).

1. From the European continent the British Isles are separated by

1. the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean

2. the Irish Sea and English Channel

3. the English Channel and the North Sea

2. The most important sea routes pass through the English Channel and the North Sea linking Europe with

1. America

2. Africa

3. Asia

3. Many British people who were against the tunnel project

1. were motivated by psychological arguments

2. considered that it could be danger to Britain`s security

3. believed that it was too expensive

4. The tunnel has become a reality and now most people see

1. that it`s quite easy to reach Africa

2. that the ferry links has no future

3. the advantages of a direct transport link with the Continent

5. The trains used in the tunnel

1. are known as speed trains

2. move very slowly because of security reason

3. are ordinary electric trains

6. Snow is rare in Ireland owing to the warming effects of

1. the easterlies

2. the westerlies

3. the Gulf Stream

7. The British are very fortunate in their

1. weather

2. climate

3. geographical position

8. A special place in the life of the British is occupied by

1. beer

2. coffee

3. tea

9. Traditional Britain game Darts is a game

1. which is played on the fields in summer

2. in which feathered arrows called darts are thrown at a board

3. in which lots of money is lost

10. The game that is especially connected with England is

1. football

2. basketball

3. ice-hockey

11. According to legend King Arthur ruled

1. from the castle in Camelot

2. England in the 16^th century

3. together with Queen Elizabeth

12. When Arthur and his knights met together, they sat at a round table

1. because it was easier for them to address each other when they discussed their problems

2. to have the meal together

3. so that no man should feel that he was more important then the others

13. In the little village of Stratford-on-Avon in 1564

1. a great battle took place between two opposing feudal lords

2. a boy was born in the home of John and Mary Shakespeare

3. a great fair took place which was visited by the Queen of England

14. The greatest sea battle between the English and combined French and Spanish fleets

1. took place at the mouth of the Nile in Egypt

2. made Napoleon change his plans to conquer India

3. took place near Cadiz in Spain at Cape Trafalgar on the 21^st October

15. The British Museum includes also the British Library, which is the national library of the UK and ranks among the greatest libraries in

1. Britain

2. Europe

3. the world

Exercise 2. Are the statements true or false?

1. Politically the British Isles are divided into two countries – the United Kingdom of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic or Eire.

2. The tunnel has great advantages because it does not depend on weather conditions.

3. The new transport link between Britain and Europe means an end to the ferry service.

4. It is frequently said that Great Britain does not experience weather but only climate.

5. Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year; although March to June are the wettest months and October to January are the driest.

6. Living in such unreliable climate, the Englishmen avoid talking about the weather.

7. Stonehenge is the most famous prehistoric monument in Britain.

8. Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy, and the Crown is a permanent and continuous institution.

9. As the head of State the Queen, in international affairs, has no power to declare war and make peace, to recognize foreign states and governments, to conclude treaties.

10. The Parliament, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, is the centre of British politics.

11. The BBC broadcasts in English and in over 100 other languages to every part of the world.

12. The British people are the world`s greatest coffee drinkers

13. Breakfast is generally a bigger meal then they have on the continent.

14. The English have long been famous for their appetites and they are great meat and meat pie eaters

15. Madame Tussaud first became associated with life-sized wax portraits in 1770 when, at the age of 9, she helped her uncle open an exhibition in Paris.

Exercise 3. Complete the following table.

Country	Capital	Nationality	Language
	London
Scotland
		Welsh
			Irish Gaelic

Exercise 4. Fill the gaps with the following word and expressions: constituencies, opposition, private sector, inflation, manifesto, general election, unemployment.

1. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary … .

2. A … takes place every four or five years.

3. Before an election, each party prepares a … which outlines their politics.

4. An important Conservative policy was the return of stat industries to the … .

5. During the period of conservative government, … fell to under 4 per cent for the first time in early thirty years.

6. However, … continued to be unacceptably high.

7. While the Conservatives were in power, Labor formed the official … .