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8/7/2019 Aj - United kingdom
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/aj-united-kingdom 1/4
I.) The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• 1) basics
◦ it consists of England (the capital city is London), Wales (Cardiff), Scotland
(Edinburgh), Northern Ireland (Belfast)
◦ total area is almost 250 thousand square kilometres
◦ has a population of about 60 million inhabitants
◦ constitutional monarchy
◦ religion = mostly Church of England = Anglicans
◦ currency = British pounds
◦ flag = Union Jack consists of three crosses (English, Scottish, Irish)
◦ patrons = Saint George (England), St Andrew (Scotland), St Patrick (Ireland)
◦ national anthem = God save the Queen
• 2) geography
◦ lies on islands
◦ surrounded by Atlantic ocean, North See, English Channel
◦ the climate is mild, humid and unpredictable
▪ influenced by Atlantic Ocean and warmed by Gulf Stream
• 3) surface
◦ Scotland = the most hilly country, Ben Nevis = highest mountain
▪ the Loch Ness lake, Loch Ness monster
◦ England = Pennines, lowlands, flatlands, swamps
◦ rivers = Severn (the longest), the river Thames, Avon
◦ England = divided into shires
◦ cities = London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Oxford,
Cambridge, Canterbury, Dover, Plymouth, Brighton
• 4) royal family
◦ Queen Elizabeth II is 85 years old, she has ruled for almost 60 years
▪ she is Windsor by birth
▪ her official residence is the Buckingham Palace
▪ English queen is a head of Commonwealth (= economic and political organisation,
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Malta, India, Jamaica, Cyprus, Pakistan)
◦ husband prince Philip
◦ sister princess Margaret
◦ four children
◦ the oldest son is prince Charles
◦ most famous grandchildren = William and Harry
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II.) Government
• a constitutional monarchy (with unwritten constitution)
• her Majesty Elizabeth II is a head not only of The UK but also Australia, Canada and some
other countries of Commonwealth
• although she is for example a command-in-chief of the armed forces., she has only
representative function and must follow the advice of the government
• the seat of government is in Palace of Westminster also called The houses of Parliament• the parliament consists of the Queen and two chambers:
◦ the House of Lords
◦ the House of Commons
• the queen formally summons and dissolves Parliament and every year she opens it with a
speech from the throne
◦ but the speech is made by the parliament
• the House of Lords is consisted of hereditary and life peers and peeresses, arcibishops and
bishops of the Church of England
• there are 650 members in The House of Commons
• they are elected• general elections must be held at least every five years
• the leader of the major political party becomes a Prime Minister
• then other ministers are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister
• current Prime Minister is David Cameron
• the second largest party forms the official Opposition – shadow cabinet
• there are three main political parties in the UK:
◦ the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal-Democratic Party
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III.) London
• 1) location
◦ is situated in the south-east of England, along the River Thames
◦ 8 million inhabitants
• 2) the City of London
◦ centre of Roman colony in the past (50 AD)
◦ historical and financial centre
▪ a) the Tower of London
• fort made of wood to protect Londinium
• complex of towers
• William the Conqueror had the White Tower built
• lots of functions: a fort, observatory, zoo, treasury, prison, place of executions
• today there is a Jewel House with coronation jewels
• Beefeaters symbolically guard Tower, every night they lock the gate = the
Ceremony of Keys
• superstition = as long as there are 8 ravens in the Tower, England is safe
▪ b) the Tower Bridge
• a lifting bridge over the River Thames
• close to the Tower
• it was finished in the 19th century
• it opens every time a big ship flows under it, the traffic over bridge must be
stopped at that time
▪ c) St. Paul's Cathedral
• seat of archbishop of London
• the royal family uses it for weddings and funerals
• some members of of army and some artists are buried there
• 3) The City of Westminster
◦ a) Westminster Abbey
▪ English rulers are coronated and buried here
▪ also about 400 important people (Charles Dickens, Isaac Newton) are buried here
◦ b) the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben
▪ along the River Thames
▪ Big Ben is a big bell inside the tower, it strikes every hour
◦ c) the Buckingham palace
▪ official residence of English Queen, she accepts all state visits there
▪ tourists watch there the changing of guards
◦ d) Downing Street No. 10
▪ a residence of Prime Minister
◦ e) Trafalgar Square
▪ a square with Nelson's Column (English admiral who defeated Napoleon in battle at
Trafalgar in 1805)
▪ it is said that statues of lions are made from cannons used in the battle
▪ above the square is a National Gallery
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• 4) the West End
◦ heart of London's shopping
◦ a) Oxford Street
▪ shops and luxury department stores
▪ theatres, cinemas, opera houses, restaurants, café’s
◦ b) Piccadilly Circus
▪ round square, full of tourists
◦ c) Soho
▪ bohemian part, multicultural part, famous for clubs, bars, pubs
▪ in the past there was a hunting park, Soho was a greeting of hunters
◦ d) Chinatown
▪ full of Chinese restaurants and shops
◦ e) Hyde Park
▪ one of the largest parks
▪ famous for Speaker's corner, where everybody can say anything without punishment
• 5) others
◦ Tate Modern = a gallery of 21st century
◦ London Eye = the biggest wheel in the whole world, built to welcome 3 rd millennium
◦ Madame Tussaud's Museum = wax figurines of famous people
◦ Greenwich = parks with royal observatory, the zero meridian goes through it
◦ Globe theatre = W. Shakespeare acted here
◦ Stonehenge = a mystery circle of large stones