Государственное
бюджетное образовательное учреждение
среднего
профессионального образования
Нижегородской
области
«Краснобаковский
лесной колледж»
Страноведческий
журнал
по
английскому языку
«Great Britain»
Составитель:
преподаватель
английского
языка
Воронина
М.В.
2014
Содержание
1. История 3
2. География 5
3. Достопримечательности 7
4. Традиции и праздники 11
5. Спорт 15
History
The
island was first inhabited by people who crossed over the land bridge from the
European mainland. Traces of early humans have been found (at Boxgrove Quarry, Sussex) from some 500,000 years ago and modern humans from about 30,000 years ago. Until
about 10,000 years ago, Great Britain was joined to Ireland, and as recently as
8,000 years ago it was joined to the continent by a strip of low marsh to what are now Denmark and the Netherlands. In Cheddar Gorge, near Bristol,
the remains of animal species native to mainland Europe such as antelopes, brown bears, and wild horses have been found alongside a human
skeleton, 'Cheddar Man', dated to about 7150 BC. Thus, animals
and humans must have moved between mainland Europe and Great Britain via a crossing. Great Britain became an island at the end of the Pleistocene ice age
when sea levels rose due to isostatic depression of the crust and
the melting of glaciers.
According
to John T. Koch and others,
Britain in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture
called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also
included Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal where Celtic languages developed, but this
stands in contrast to the more generally accepted view that Celtic origins lie
with the Hallstatt culture.
Its Iron Age inhabitants are known as the Britons, a group speaking a Celtic language. The Romans conquered most of the
island (up to Hadrian's Wall, in northern England)
and this became the Ancient Roman province of Britannia. For 500 years
after the Roman Empire fell, the Britons of the south and east of the island
were assimilated or displaced by invading Germanic tribes (Angles,
Saxons, and Jutes, often referred to collectively as Anglo-Saxons). At about the same time, Gaelic tribes from Ireland
invaded the north-west, absorbing both the Picts
and Britons of northern Britain,
eventually forming the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. The south-east
of Scotland was colonized by the Angles
and formed, until 1018, a part of the Kingdom of Northumbria. Ultimately, the
population of south-east Britain came to be referred to, after the Angles, as
the English people.
Germanic speakers
referred to Britons as Welsh. This term eventually came to be applied
exclusively to the inhabitants of what is now Wales, but it also survives in
names such as Wallace, and in the second syllable of Cornwall. Cymry, a name the Britons used to
describe themselves, is similarly restricted in modern Welsh to people from Wales,
but also survives in English in the place name of Cumbria.
The Britons living in the areas now known as Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall were not assimilated by the Germanic tribes, a fact reflected in the survival of
Celtic languages in these areas into more recent times. At the time
of the Germanic invasion of Southern Britain, many Britons emigrated to the
area now known as Brittany,
where Breton, a Celtic language closely related to
Welsh and Cornish and descended from the language of the
emigrants, is still spoken. In the 9th century, a series of Danish assaults on
northern English kingdoms led to them coming under Danish control (an area
known as the Danelaw). In the 10th
century, however, all the English kingdoms were unified under one ruler as the kingdom
of England when the last constituent kingdom, Northumbria, submitted to Edgar in 959.
In 1066, England was conquered by the Normans, who introduced a
French ruling élite that was eventually assimilated. Wales came under
Anglo-Norman control in 1282, and was officially annexed to England
in the 16th century.
On 20 October
1604 King James, who had succeeded separately to the two thrones of England
and Scotland, proclaimed himself as "King of Great Britanie, France
and Ireland". While that title was also used by many of his successors, England
and Scotland each remained legally in existence as separate countries with
their own parliaments until 1707, when each parliament passed an Act of Union to ratify the Treaty of Union that had been
agreed the previous year. This had the effect of creating a united kingdom, with a single, united parliament, from 1 May 1707. Though the Treaty of
Union referred to the new all-island state as the "United Kingdom of Great
Britain", many regard the term 'United Kingdom' as being descriptive of
the union rather than part of its formal name (which the Treaty stated was to
be 'Great Britain' without further qualification.) Most reference books,
therefore, describe the all-island kingdom that existed between 1707 and 1800
as the "Kingdom of Great Britain".
Geography
The UK of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland occupies the territory of the British Isles. It
consists of 4 main countries which are England, Scotland, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff and Belfast.
The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of
the state which is sometimes referred to as Great Britain or Britain (after it
major island), England ( after its major historic part or the British Isles.
The
UK is an Island state it is composed of some 5.500 islands, large and small.
The two main islands are: Great Britain to the east and Ireland to the west.
They are separated by the Irish Sea.
The
area of the UK is 244,100 square kilometers. It is situated off to the
northwest coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north and the North
Sea on the east and is separated from the European continent by the English
Channel (or La Manche) and the Straits of Dover (or Pas de Calais).
The
population of the UK is over 57 mln people. The UK is inhabited by the English,
the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish who constitute the British nation. English
is not the only language. Scottish, Welsh and Irish are also used.
The flag of the UK
is known as the Union Jack. It has its history. It all began in 1603 when
Scotland was joined to England and Wales. The flag is made up of 3 crosses. The
upright cross is the Cross of St.Jeorge the patron saint of England. The white
diagonal cross is the cross of St.Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red
diagonal cross is the cross is the cross of St.Patrick, the patron saint of
Ireland. All of them are on the blue background.
The
national anthem is «God Save the Queen». The national currency is pound.
Geographically the
island of Great Britain is subdivided into 2 main regions: Lowland Britain and
Highland Britain. Lowland Britain comprises southern and eastern England.
Highland Britain consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the Pennines (or the
Pennine Chain) and the Lake District.
The
highest mountain top is Ben Nevis in Scotland. The chief rivers of Great
Britain are: the Severn, separating England and Wales, the Thames (the longest
and the deepest one). The swiftest flowing river is the Spray. Also the Tweed
is famous (the woolen fabric is made here).
There are many
lakes in Great Britain. The Lake District is the most beautiful.
The
largest are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds, and
Cardiff.
The
capitals are: London in England, Edinburgh in Scotland, Cardiff in Wales and
Belfast in Northern Ireland.
Every
country has its own national emblem. The red rose is the national emblem of
England the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland the daffodils and the
leek are the emblems of Wales and the shamrock (a kind of clover) is the emblem
of Ireland.
Sightseeings
Britain
is rich in its historic places which link the present with the past. The oldest
part of London is Lundinuim Hill, where the city is originated.
About
a mile west of it there is Westminster Palace, where the king lived and the
Parliament met, and there is also Westminster Abbey, the coronation church.
Liverpool,
the "city of ships", is England's second greatest port, ranking after
London. The most interesting sight in the Liverpool is the docks. They occupy a
river frontage of seven miles. The University of Liverpool, established in
1903, is noted for its School of Tropical Medicine. And in the music world
Liverpool is a well-known name, for it's the home town of "The Beatles".
Stratford-on-Avon
lies 93 miles north-west of London. Shakespeare was born here in 1564 and here
he died in 1616.
Cambridge
and Oxford Universities are famous centers of learning.
Stonehenge
is a prehistoric monument, presumably built by Druids, members of an order of
priests in ancient Britain.
Tintagel
Castle is King Arthur's reputed birthplace.
Canterbury
Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of
England.
The
British Museum is the largest and richest museum in the world. It was founded
in 1753 and contains one of the world's richest collections of antiquities. The
Egyptian Galleries contain human and animal mummies. Some parts of Athens'
Parthenon are in the Greek section.
Madam
Tussaud's Museum is an exhibition of hundreds of life-size wax models of famous
people of yesterday and today. The collection was started by Madam Tussaud, a
French modeller in wax, in the 18th century. Here you can meet Marilyn Monroe,
Elton John, Picasso, the Royal Family, the Beatles and many others: writers,
movie stars, singers, politicians, sportsmen, etc.
Tower
Bridge was opened in 1894. It takes its name from the Tower of London. The
hydraulic mechanism can raise and lower the bridge in about one and a half
minutes. The covered walkway between the two towers is opened to the public and
offers a spectacular view of London.
The Tower of London is the most
famous of all the historical buildings in London. It stands today almost
unchanged since first it was built in the 11th century. In the past
the Tower of London served both as a palace and as a state prison, but it is
only a museum today.
St Paul's Cathedral is the greatest
work of England's greatest architect or Christopher Wren. The cathedral was begun
in 1675. It was opened in 1697 but was finished only in 1710, when Wren was
almost eighty years old. There are memorials to many famous men of England in
the Cathedral.
Trafalgar Square is in the centre
of the West End of London. On the north side is the National Gallery; in the
north-east corner is the National Portrait Gallery, and in the centre is
Nelson's Column with the figure of the great seamen. Trafalgar Square is the
place where mass meetings and demonstrations for peace and for working people's
rights take place.
"Big Ben" is the name of
the great bell which strikes the hour. It is in the clock Tower of the Houses
of Parliament.
Traditions
and Holidays
CHRISTMAS
The word
"Christmas" is derived from the words "Christ's Mass" - the
celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. But although Christmas is undoubtedly
a Christian celebration, it is also true to say that it is an unusual
combination of pagan and Christian festivities.
A
Christmas tree stands in everybody's living room at Christmas, shining its good
cheer around the room. Sitting on the very top of the tree is a silver star
surrounded by tiny lights. All the branches are hung with silver bells, tinsel
and sparkling lights. Around the base of the tree lie the gifts and toys
wrapped up in bright colourful paper.
The
Christmas tree has spread its influence around the world. In fact America
adopted it before it found its way to England early in Queen Victoria's reign.
Now every Christmas British people are sent a huge fir tree from Norway which
stands in Trafalgar Square, in the centre of London, shining down on all the
people who gather on Christmas Eve.
In
pre-Christian times evergreens, trees that remain green throughout the year.
were worshiped in Northern Europe as symbols of eternal life. Mistletoe, hung
up as a Christmas decoration is a symbol of love and reconciliation.
Holly, a
well-known Christmas decoration today, has Christian associations. In
Norwegian, Swedish and Danish, holly is known as "Christ's thorns",
the legend being that Christ wore a crown of holly thorns before his death.
Some people have seen associations between the word "holly" and
"holy".
Giving
presents goes back to Roman Saturnalia when good luck gifts of fruit, pastry or
gold were given to friends on New Year's Day. In Britain the traditional day to
give presents until relatively recently was December 26th and not as it is
today, Christmas Day. December 26th is now known as Boxing Day, for it was then
that the priests of the Middle Ages opened alms boxes to give to the poor.
Not
all Christian customs and traditions are of ancient origin. Although various
people have claimed to have designed the first Christmas card. William Egley,
an English artist, seems to have the best claim. In 1842 he designed his own card
and sent it to one hundred of his friends. Today three billion are sent
annually in the United States alone.
Halloween
Halloween,
the last day of October, has a special significance for children, who dress in
funny or ghostly costumes and knock on neighborhood doors shouting "Trick
or Treat!" Pirates and princesses, ghosts and witches all hold bags open
to catch the candy or other goodies that the neighbors drop in.
Since
the 800's November 1st is a religious holiday known as All Saints' Day. The Mass
that was said on this day was called Allhallowmas. The evening before became
known as All Hallow e'en, or Halloween.
Today
school dances and neighborhood parties called "block parties" are
popular among young and old alike. More and more adults celebrate Halloween.
They dress up as historical or political figures and go to masquerade parties.
In larger cities, costumed children and their parents gather at shopping malls
early in the evening. Stores and businesses give parties with games and treats
for the children. Teenagers enjoy costume dances at their schools and the more
outrageous the costume the better!
Certain
pranks such as soaping car windows and tipping over garbage cans are expected.
But partying and pranks are not the only things that Halloweeners enjoy doing.
Some collect money to buy food and medicine for needy children around the
world.
Saint
Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March
17th. In Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is both a holy day and a national
holiday. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland as he was the one who
brought Christianity to the Irish.
According to legend, Saint Patrick used a shamrock to
explain about God. The shamrock, which looks like clover, has three leaves on
each stem. Saint Patrick told the people that the shamrock was like the idea
of the Trinity – that in the one God there are three divine beings: the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The shamrock was sacred to the Druids, so
Saint Patrick’s use of it in explaining the trinity was very wise.
Although it began in Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is
celebrated in countries around the world. People with Irish heritage remind
themselves of the beautiful green countryside of Ireland by wearing green and
taking part in the festivities.
Saint Patrick’s Day is usually celebrated with a
parade. The one in Dublin, Ireland is known to some as the Irish Mardi Gras.
But the one in New York City is actually one of the biggest. It lasts for
hours. Two Irish wolfhounds, the mascots of the New York National Guard
infantry regiment the “Fighting 69th”, always lead the parade. More
than one hundred bands and a hundred thousand marchers follow the wolfhounds in
the parade.
Royal traditions
The trooping of the colour
The Queen is the only person in Britain with two
birthdays. Her real birthday is on April 21st, but she has an
"official" birthday, too. That's on the second Saturday in June. And
on the Queen's official birthday, there is a traditional ceremony called the Trooping
of the Colour. It's a big parade with brass bands and hundreds of soldiers at
Horse Guards' Parade in London. A "regiment" of the Queen's soldiers,
the Guards, march in front of her. At the front of the parade is the regiment's
flag or "colour".
The Guards are trooping the colour. Thousands of
Londoners and visitors watch in Horse Guards' Parade. And millions of people at
home watch it on television.
The changing of the guard
This happens every day at Buckingham Palace, the
Queen's home in London. Soldiers stand in front of the palace. Each morning
these soldiers (the "guard") change. One group leaves and another
arrives. In summer and winter tourists stand outside the palace at 11.30 every
morning and watch the Changing of the Guard.
Swan Upping
Here's a very different royal tradition. On the River
Thames there are hundreds of swans. A lot of these beautiful white birds
belong, traditionally, to the king or queen. In July the young swans on the
Thames are about two months old. Then the Queen's swan keeper goes, in a boat,
from London Bridge to Henley. He looks at all the young swans and marks the
royal ones. The name of this strange but interesting custom is Swan
Upping.
The Queen’s telegram
This custom is not very old, but it's for very old
people. On his or her one hundredth birthday, a British person gets a telegram
from the Queen.
Sports
Many
kinds of sport originated from England. The English have a proverb, "All
work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". They do not think that play is
more important than work; they think that Jack will do his work better if he
plays as well. So he is encouraged to do both.
Association
football or soccer is one of the most popular games in the British Isles played
from late August until the beginning of May. In summer the English national
sport is cricket. When the English say: "that's not cricket" it means
"that's not fair", "to play the game" means "to be
fair".
Golf
is Scotland's chief contribution to British sport. It is worth noting here an
interesting feature of sporting life in Britain, namely, its frequently close
connections with social class of the players or spectators except where a game
may be said to be a "national" sport. This is the case with cricket
in England which is played and watched by all classes. This is true of golf,
which is everywhere in the British Isles a middle-class activity.
Rugby
Union, the amateur variety of Rugby football, is the Welsh national sport
played by all sections of society whereas, elsewhere, it too is a game for the
middle classes. Association football is a working-class sport as are boxing,
wrestling, snooker, darts, and dog-racing. As far as fishing is concerned it is
a sport where what is caught determines the class of a fisherman.
Walking
and swimming are the two most popular sporting activities, being almost equally
undertaken by men and women. Snooker (billiards), pool and darts are the next
most popular sports among men. Aerobics (keep-fit exercises) and yoga. squash
and cycling are among the sports where participation has been increasing in
recent years.
There
are several places in Britain associated with a particular kind of sport. One
of them is Wimbledon where the All-England Lawn Tennis Championship are held in
July (since 1877). The other one is Wembly - a stadium in north London where
international football matches, the Cup Finals and other events have taken
place since 1923.
Table
Tennis
Table
tennis was first Invented in England in about 1880. At first the game had
several strange names: Gossima. Whiff Whaff and Ping Pong. It wasn't until 1926
that the International Table Tennis Association was formed with international
championships and rules.
Although
the game was invented in England British players don't have much chance in
international championships. It's the Chinese with their fantastic speed and
power who win almost every title. Table tennis looks more like gymnastics when
the Chinese start playing, with the ball flying over the net at speeds of over
150 kilometers per hour.
Racing
There
are all kinds of racing in England - horse-racing, motor-car racing,
boat-racing, dog-racing, and even races for donkeys. On sports days at school
boys and girls run races, and even train for them. There is usually a mile race
for older boys, and one who wins it is certainly a good runner.
Usually
those who run a race go as fast as possible, but there are some races in which
everybody has to go very carefully in order to avoid falling.
The
most famous boat-race in England is between Oxford and Cambridge. It is rowed
over a course on the River Thames, and thousands of people go to watch it. The
eight rowers in each boat have great struggle, and at the end there is usually
only a short distance between the winners and the losers.
The
University boat-race started in 1820 and has been rowed on the Thames almost
every spring since 1836.
Squash
Squash
began at Harrow School in the mid-nineteenth century, but has since worked its
way Into almost every city and district in Britain and throughout Europe.
Squash
is one of the fastest games in the world. Two people play in a small confined
space surrounded by high walls with no net to keep them apart. The aim is to
get to the point at the centre of the court and to stay there.
Squash
players hope that the game will make them stronger and fitter, but. like many
sports, squash can be very dangerous. The most obvious danger is the small ball
that shoots through the air extremely fast.
Windsurfing
Windsurfing
was invented in the mid-sixties by two southern Californian surfers, Hoyle
Schweitzer and Jim Drake. Surfers need strong rolling waves, and hate days of
calm sea. Schweitzer noticed that on days when waves were not high enough to
surf, there was often a strong wind and he set about finding a way to use
it.
His
first experiments Involved standing on his surfboard holding out a piece of
sail cloth in his hands. Gradually he and Drake refined this idea into a basic
design for a sailboard, similar to a surfboard, but holding a mast and a
triangular sail which could be tilted and turned in any direction. The
windsurfer operates a boom which controls the amount of wind in the sail, for
speed and change of direction. Schweitzer immediately went into business
designing and making the new sailboards and taking the idea abroad. By
mid-seventies, the sport had spread to Holland, Germany and France.
Olympic
Games in London
London
was host for the first time in 1908. With 1,500 competitors from 19 nations,
the Games were by now an institution of world-wide significance. The programme,
moreover, was augmented by the inclusion of Association football (which
appeared in 1900 but only in a demonstration match), diving, field hockey, and
ice hockey, as well as other sports since discontinued.
The
most dramatic episode of these Games was in the marathon, run from Windsor to
Shepherd's Bush in London, the site of a new stadium. Pietri (Italy) led into
the arena but collapsed and was disqualified for accepting assistance from
officials. The gold medal went to the second man home, Hayes (USA), but Queen
Alexandra, who was present opposite the finishing line, was so moved by the
Italian's plight that she awarded him special gold cup. The 400 meters provided
an opportunity for Halswelle (GB) to become the only man in Olympic history to
win by a walk-over. The final was declared void after an American had been
disqualified for boring. Two other Americans withdrew from re-run final in
protest, leaving Halswelle an unopposed passage. Britain won the polo, and all
the boxing, lawn tennis, rackets, rowing, and yachting titles as well as five
out of six cycle races.
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