CIVILIZATIA

In acest capital sunt redate 40 de teme privind civilizatiaspatiului cultural al limbii engleze.

1. United Kingdom
The official name of the country we usually callEngland
and occasionally Great Britain is the UnitedKingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The U. K.is situated on
the group of islands lying just off themainland of
northwestern Europe. The British Isles includeGreat
Britain proper, Ireland and a number of smallerislands.
Great Britain consists of England, Scotland andWales. The
southern part of Ireland is the Republic of Eire.Great
Britain is separated from the continent by theEnglish
Channel, the narrower part of which is called theStrait of
Dover. The British Isles are surrounded by theshallow
waters of the Irish Sea and the North Sea, theNorwegian
Sea, the North Channel and the AtlanticOcean.Britain is
comparatively small, but there is hardly acountry, in the
world where such a variety of scenery canbe found. There
are wild desolate mountains in thenorthern Highlands of
Scotland - the home of the deerand the eagle. The
Pennine Range in northern Englandand the Cambrian
Mountains in Wales are much lower. Inthe extreme south
of England are the famous chalk hills,some of which form
the Dover Cliffs. The southern andsouth-eastern parts of
the island lie in varied lowlands. The rivers of the region
are short and of no greatimportance as waterways. The
longest of them is the"Father of London", the Thames,
which is a little over 200miles. Britain's principal ports
are London, Liverpool,Manchester, Hull, and
Glasgow. Thanks to climatic conditions, Britain in truth
lookslike one great well-ordered park with its old trees,
greenmeadows and hedges.

2. London-capital of Great Britain

The capital of Great Britain is London. It's
political,economic and commercial center of the country
. Its population is about 8
million.L o n d o n i s d i v i d e d i n t o s e v e r a l p a r t s : t h e C i t y
, Westminster, the West End and the East
End. Th e heart of London is the City, its financial
andbusiness center. Numerous banks, offices and firms
aresituated there, including the Bank of England, the
StockExchange and the Old Bailey. Few people live here,
butover a million people come to the city to work. There are some
famous ancient buildings within
theCity. Perhaps the most striking of them in St.
Paul' sCathedral, the greatest of British church es. Anot
herimportant monument of London is The Tower of Londonwhich
was used for many purposes: as a royal palace, anobservatory,
an arsenal, a state prison and it is now amuseum. For many
visitors the principal attraction is theCrown Jewels, the
finest precious stones of the nation.Westminster is the
historic, the governmental part of London. Westminster Abbey
is a national shrine where thekings and queens are crowned
and famous people areburied. Across the road from
Westminster Abbey is theseat of the British Parliament.
The Clock Tower, whichcontains the hour-bell called Big Ben, is
known the worldover. Buckingham Palace is the official
residence of
theQueen. Trafa lgar Square is the geographical center
of London. On the north side of Tra falgar
Square is theNational Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.
Not farawa y is the British Museum - the bigg est
museum inLondon. The West End is the richest and the
most beautifulpart of London. Only reach people live there.
But in thesame time The East End is the poorest district of
London. There are a lot of factories, workshops and docks
here. The streets are narrow, the buildings are
unimpressive. This is the place of living of the working
class..51So after all we can say that the UK is one of the
mostpowerful countries with great culture and it would be
veryexiting to visit it.

3. Climate and Nature of Great Britain

The climate in Great Britain is generally mild andtemperate
due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. Thesouth-western
winds carry the warmth and moisture intoBritain. The climate in
Britain is usually described as cool,temperate and humid.British
people say: "Other countries have a climate, inEngland we have
weather." The weather in Britain changes very quickly. One
daymay be fine and the next day may be wet. The morningmay
be warm and the evening may be cool. Therefore
itis natural for the people to use
the comparison "aschangeable as the
weather " of a person
who often changes his mood or opinion about someth in
g. The weather is the favorite topic of conversation in
Britain.Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year. Inthe
mountains there is heavier rainfall then in the plainsof the south
and east. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest
months are from October to
January. Th e average range of tem peratu re (fr om wi nter
tosummer) is from 15 to 23 degrees above zero. During
anormal summer the temperature sometimes rises above30
degrees in the south. Winter temperatures below 10degrees
are rare. It seldom snows heavily in winter, thefrost is rare.
January and February are usually the coldestmonths, July and
August the warmest. Still the wind maybring winter cold in spring
or summer days. Sometimes itbrings the whirlwinds or hurricanes.
Droughts are rare.So, we may say that the British climate
has threemain features: it is mild, humid and changeable.
Thatmeans that it is never too hot or too cold. Winters
areextremely mild. Snow may come but it melts quickly.
Inwinter the cold is humid cold, not the dry one. This humid and
mild climate is good for plants. Thetrees and flowers begin to
blossom early in spring.

4.Customs and traditions in UK

Almost every nation has a reputation of some

kind. The English are reputed to be cold, reserve
d, ratherhaughty people. They are steady, easy-going
and fond of sports. There are certain kinds of behavior,
manners andcustoms which are peculiar
to England.Britain is a nation of animal lovers. In Britain
pets cansend Christmas cards to their friends, birthday
cards.Every Englishmen spends his weekend different
:those who live in cities and towns like to go out of
town. They may go to stay in the country to admire the
brightsun and fresh air where no crowds of people, just
silenceand leisure are. There are some traditions
concerning food. Englishcooking is heavy, substantial and
plain. The Englishmanlikes a good breakfast. To him
a good breakfast
meansp o r r i d g e w i t h , f i s h , b a c o n a n d e g g s , t
o a s t a n d marmalade, tea or coffee. Tea is part of the
prose of British life, as necessary aspotatoes and bread.
Seven cups of it wake you up in themorning; 9 cups will
put you to sleep at night. The English have a popular
specialty known as fishand chips. They are
bought at special fish and chipsshops.

5.New Year's Day in UK

The celebration of New Year's Day varies accordingto the
district. In the south of England, the festival
of Christmas, lasting 12 days from December 25th, runs
onwell into the New Year. The

decorations of coloredstreamers and holly, put

up round the walls, and of course the fir-tree, with
its candles or lights,
are notp a c k e d a w a y u n t i l J a n u a r y 5 t h . O n t h e
e v e n i n g o f December 31st, people gather in one
another's homes, inclubs, in pubs, in restaurants, and
hotels, in dance hallsand institutes, to "see the New Year
in".On New Year's Day all English schoolchildren
makeNew Year resolutions. They make up lists of
shortcomingswhich they intend to correct. The children,
their mothersand fathers, and their friends laugh
and have a goodtime when they read them. The children
promise to keepthem.In the north, and in Scotland,
particularly, the
Yeark n o w n a s H o g m a n a y i s v e r y w e l l k e p t u
p . T h e ceremonies are similar, but they have an
added called"first foot". This means opening your door to
anyone whoknocks it after midnight, and who will then
enter thehouse, carrying a piece of coal-or wood, or
bread. Thevisitor is entertained with cakes and
ale.Considerable quantities of good Scotch whiskey
areconsumed during these celebrations

6. Places of interest
There are a lot of places of interest in London. Theyare
all worth seeing. On the north
side of TrafalgarSquare stands one of the world's
greatest art galleries. The National Gallery represents
all schools of Westernpainting from the Italian
Primitives to the early 20thcentury. Portraits by
Reynolds and Gainsborough can beseen here.Since the

time of William the Conqueror the Tower

of London has served as a fortress, a royal reside
nce,treasury, mint and prison. Here many people
wereimprisoned and beheaded. Now it's
a museum.St. Paul's Cathedral is the largest and
the mostmagnificent church of the city. The High
Altar forms amemorial to those who died in the two World
Wars. The Victoria and Albert Museum represents
the finestexamples of the applied and decorative arts of all
kinds.It has collections of furniture, jewellery, cost
umes,musical instruments and metalwork. The
Barbican centre was opened by the Queen in1982. It
includes a concert hall, the home of the
LondonSymphony Orchestra,
two theatres, three cinemas andan art
gallery.Piccadilly Circus is one of London's
busiest road- junctions. It's always full of cars, people
as there aremany theatres, shops and restaurants there.
The statueof Eros is in the middle of Piccadilly.One of the
beautiful things in London
is Madame Tussaud's museum. It represents wax f
igures of thefamous and infamous people of the past
and present. The Chamber of Horrors is of particular
interest and alsoCompany and the Royal Ballet.

7.Press in Britain
Probably in no other country are there such
greatdifferences the various national daily newspapers- in
thetype of news they report and the way they report it
On the one hand, there are the "quality" newspapers: The
Times, The Independent, The Guardian, the
Financialt i m e s a n d t h e D a i l y T e l e g r a p h . T h e s
e c o n c e r n themselves, as far as possible, with

factual reports of major national and international events,

with the world of political and business and with the arts
and sport.On the one hand, there are
the "populars" and"tabloids", socalled because of their smaller size. Thetabloids- the
most widely read of which are The DailyMail, The Daily
Express, the Daily Mirror, The Sun and theDaily Starconcentrate on more emotive reporting
of stories often featuring sex, violence, the Royal
Family,film and pop stars, and sport. It is often said
that thepopular press aims to entertain it's rather than
informthem.In addition to the 12 national daily
newspapers thereare nine national papers which
are published on Sundays.Most of the "Sundays" contain
more reading matter thandaily papers, and several
of them also include
"colorsupplements"- separate color magazines which
containphotographically-illustrated feature articles. The
British are one of the biggest newspapers-readingnations
in the world.

8.Museums and Art Galleries of

London
London is very rich in museums and art galleries.
If you are fond of painting you'll go to the Tate
Gallery. There are about 300 oils and 19000 water
colors anddrawings. There are many works by the
English painterWilliam Turner there. There are a lot of
paintings by the16-th century English artists and
paintings by foreignartists of the 19-20-th centuries, such
as Pablo Picasso'spaintings. There are many interesting
sculptures there of Henry Moor's The British Museum is

the largest and richest of itskind in the world. It

comprises the national museum
of archaeology and ethnography and the national libr
ary. The present building was built in 1852. It contains
booksand
manuscripts: Greek, Roman, British and Orientalantiq
ues. It has a department of Ethnography. Thiscoll
ection is so vast that only a very small percentage of it is
on show to the public. There's also a department
of prints and drawings. There're departments devoted
tomaps, coins, medals and philately. Those who
come tothe British museum can see a fascinating array of
clocksand watches.Cultural life of London would
be impossible withoutthe Royal Albert hall, the Royal
Festival hall, the Nationaltheatre and a great number of
museums: the
Victoriaa n d A l b e r t m u s e u m , t h e G e o l o g i c a l M u s
e u m , t h e Museum of Mankind, Natural history museum
and others.

9. The houses of Parliament

The house of Parliament in London, known also
asthe Palace of Westminster is the place where members
of Parliament (M.P.) gather to make laws. The members of
each House meet in sessions whichbegin at the end
of October and last for about one hundred and sixty
days. The sittings usually begin at 10o'clock in the
morning and end in the late afternoon; butif Parliament is
discussing an important question sittingsmay go on till late
at night. All the time Parliament is insession, a flag can be
seen over the building, and whenthe House of Commons
is still sitting after dark, there is alight over the face of
Big Ben. The members of the House of Commons sit

on twosides of the hall. The Speaker is the chairperson at

all thedebates in the House of Commons, and it is duty to
keeporder. The Speaker is elected by all the members of
theHouse of Commons. He belongs to one of the
politicalparties in Parliament, but he never votes are
equal hevotes with the
government. T h e c h a i r p e r s o n o f t h e H o u s e o f L o
r d s i s L o r d Chancellor. He sits on the Woolsack, a large
bag of woolcovered with red cloth. If shows that wool
made Englandrich

10.Political system of United Kingdom

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. It meansthat
there is a Queen (or King) and the Parliament. TheQueen
has almost no power in the country. Her powersare
limited by the Parliament. Laws are made
by theParliament. The Queen is only a formal ruler: she
reigns but doesnot rule. In fact everything that she does is
done on theactive of her ministers, who are responsible for
the royalacts. Thus, most of her functions are
symbolic. TheQueen's residence in London
is Buckingham Palace. The British Parliament consists of
two cambers: theHouse if Lords and the House of
Commons. There aremore than 1000 members in the
House of Lords. Manyseats are hereditary. The House of
Commons has 635 members. They areelected by a
general election (secret ballot). The government
is headed by the Prime Minister,who is the leader of the

party that has won the election.In Great Britain there

are three main political parties:the Conservatives, the
Labour Party and the Liberals.

11.Sightseeing London
The Tower of London is the most famous of all
thehistorical buildings in London. In the past the
Tower of London served both as a palace and as a
state prison,but it is only a museum today. Trafalgar
Square is in the centre of the West End of London. On
the north side is the National Gallery; in thenorth-east
corner is the National Portrait Gallery, and inthe centre is
Nelson's Column with the figure of
the greatseamen. Trafalgar Square is the place where
mass meetingsand demonstrations for peace and for
working people'srights take place."Big Ben" is the name of
the great bell which strikest h e h o u r. I t i s i n
t h e c l o c k Tow e r o f
t h e H o u s e s o f Parliament.Westminster Abbey is the
historic building in Londonto which every visitor sooner or
later goes. Many of GreatBritain's famous men are
buried in Westminster Abbey.Piccadilly Circus is
a square in the central part of London. London's bestknown theatres and cinemas andmost famous restaurants
are on Piccadilly Circus. HydePark is the largest park in
the West End of London. In

the1 9 t h c e n t u r y i t b e c a m e a p o p u l a r p l a c e f o r
p u b l i c meetings. The British Museum is one of the largest
museums inthe world. It consists of the National Library
and Museumof History, Archaeology, Art and Ethnography.

12. Some facts about London

London has been home of many famous
Englishmen.Some were born there. Some lived there
all their lives.Others lived in London only for a short time
but all gavesomething to this great cityOne of the
first names of importance is that of Geoffrey
Chaucer, the poet. He lived most of his life inLondon.
He knew the courts of King Richard II d KingHenry IV.
His most famous work, 'The Canterbury Tales",opens at
the Tabard Inn, in Southward.William Shakespeare also
lived in London. He livedthere for more than twenty
years. He acted at the Globe Theatre and wrote his
plays in London. But London'sfamous men are not only
writers. Sir Christopher Wren,the
architect, spent most of his life
in London. Hedesigned many beautiful churches,
including St. Paul'sCathedral. He also designed palaces
and fine houses.Music is represented by a very
interesting figure. This is George Frederick
Handel. He came to
Londonfrom Hanover in 1710After some success
and somefailure he at last became famous. This
happened whenhe composed "The Messiah". "Judas
Maccabeus" and'The Music for the
Royal Fireworks" Like Chaucer andmany other great
artists. Handel is buried in

WestminsterAbbey.Another famous London figure is on

e of England'sgreatest seamen. Admiral Lord Nelson.
He has a veryspecial memorial in Trafalgar Square.
Equally famous isthe general who led the army at the
battle of Waterloo in1815. This was the Duke of
Wellington. His house standsat Hyde Park Comer. It is
sometimes known as NumberOne, London. Like Admiral
Nelson, the Duke of Wellington is buried in St.Paul's
Cathedral.
13.Str atford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon lies at the very heart of England.It attracts
people not only by its history
and connectionwit h William Shakespeare, but also by it
s wo nderfulnature and typical English character.Stratford
stands on the river Avon and is one of
theoldest market towns. It has still preserved its
own character and atmosphere, as you will not see
modernbuildings there. The houses are small and lots of them
arevery old. Some of them date back to Shakespeare's time.Here
you can visit Shakespeare's birthplace (it is amuseum now),
Anna Hathaway's cottage the foundationsof the
New Place, whe re Shakespeare lived whe n heretired
and died in 1616. Just round the corner there isGrammar
school that Shakespeare used to attend.Here in Stratford there
is Holy Trinity Church
whereWilliam Shakespeare was buried. Thousands of peopl
efrom all parts of England and foreign visitors come hereon
Shakespeare's birthday (23rd April) to pay tribute to the great
poet.Among other sights connected wi th the name of Sh
akespeare there is an interesting monument with thestatue of the
great poet on top and with characters fromhis plays round it.
And, of course, you should visit theRoyal Shakespeare
Theatre, a red-brick building
standingo n t h e b a n k s o f t h e A v o n . T h e R o y a l S h a k e
s p e a r e Company, which is one of the best known and
largesttheatre companies in the world, regularly performs
hereand in the Barbican Centre in London.

14.Youth organizations in Great Britain

Youth and youth movement have become importantfactors in the
life of the country. There are about 60 youthorganizations in Great
Britain. All youth organizations canbe divided into three large
groups:
1.
non-political organizations;
2.
youth organizations associated with politicalparties;3. youth
organizations controlled by religious bodies. The two largest nonpolitical youth organizations arethe associations of the Boy
Scouts and the Girl Guides. The Scout movement was intended
for boys from 11to 14, but in 1916 Baden Powell introduced a
program foryounger people. He called them Wolf Cubs. They
hadspecial uniforms, badges, a special training system andthe
motto "Do your best!" There are some other non-political
organizations: theCombined Cadet Force, Sea Cadet Corps, the
WoodcraftF o l k , t h e You t h H o s t e l s A s s o c i a t i o n , t h e N
a t i o n a l Federation of Young Farmers Clubs,
Greenpeace. Youth Organi zation Greenp eace deals wit h
mosturgent ecological problems. It protests against
nuclearweapon tests, sea and soil pollution, etc.Sport clubs are
characteristic youth organizations inthe
UK. They unite people who are interested
inbasebaii,
football, golf, etc.Religious young organizations and
groups aim athelping to elderly people or working in
hospitals.Many of these organizations have done and still
aredoing useful work in providing leisure facilities for
youngEnglish people.

15. Vegetation and wildlife

Britain was originally a land of vast forests. Mainly oak and
beech in the Lowlands and pine and birch In theHighlands, with
great stretches of marshland and smallerareas of moors.
Extensive forests remain in eastern andnorthern Scotland
and in south-eastern and westernEngland. Oak, elm, ash,
and beech are the
commonesttrees in England, whi le Scotland has
much pine andbirch. The fauna or animal life of Britain is much
like that of north-western Europe, to which it was once joined.
Manylarger mammals such as bear, wolf have been hunted
toextinction, others are now protected by law. There
arem a n y f o x e s . O t t e r s a r e c o m m o n a l o n g r i v e r s a n
dstreams, and seals live along much of the coast.
Hedgehogs, hares,rabbits, rats and mice are numerous. Deer
live in some of the forests in the Highlands of Scotland and
England.Some 230 kinds of birds live in Britain, and another200
are regular visitors, many are songbirds. The
mostnumerous
are blackbirds, sparrow and starling. RobinRedbreast is the
national bird of Britain. The number of ducks, geese and other
water fowl has diminished duringrecent years.

16.Hol idays in Great Britain

English are proud of their traditions and carefullykeep them.
English people celebrate Christmas on the25th of

December. It's the season of good will. It's themost beautiful

time of the year - the time of love, joy andhopes. There are some
traditions on New Year's Day. One of them is the old First Footing.
The first man to come intothe house is very important. The
Englishmen believe thathe brings luck.Another bestloved holiday is St.Valentine's Day onthe 14th of February the holiday of love and affection,the day of sending and giving
presents to those you love.In England, Easter is a church
holiday. A custom isdecorating eggs for children. Halloween
is the
day orevening before all Saint's Day. Children dress up
inHalloween costumes and masks over their faces.According to
the Act of Parliament of 1871 there are4 bank holidays Easter
Monday, whit-Monday, Des 26th-Boxing Day. Other public holiday
are Good Friday,
MayDay, Also there is a Pancake Day, April' s Fool Day
,Mother's Day.

17.Educational system in Great Britain

The educational system of Great Britain is extremelycomplex and
bewildering. It is very difficult to generalizeabout particular types

of schools as schools differ fromone to the other.Primary

education takes place in infant schools forpupil 's ages from
5 to 7 years old and junior schools
5
(from 8 to 11 years). Some areas have different systemsin which
middle schools replace junior schools and takepupils ages from 9
to 11 years. Secondary education hasbeen available in Britain
since 1944. It is compulsory upto the age of 16, and pupils can
stay at school voluntarilyup to three years longer.At the age of 16
pupils take school-leaving
examinationsi n s e v e r a l s u b j e c t s a t t h e O r d i n a r y l e
v e l . T h i s exa mination could also be taken by candi dat
es at afurther education establishment. This
exam was calledthe Gen eral Certif icate of Education (G
CE). Pupils of comprehensive school had taken the
examination calledthe Certificate of Secondary
Education either with orinstead of the GCE. A GCE of
Advanced ("A") level wastaken two years after the Ordinary
level exam. The private sector is running parallel to
the statesystem of education. There are over 2500 feechargingindependent schools in GB. Most private schools
aresingle-sex until the age of 16. There are over 90
universities in GB. They are dividedinto three types: the old
universities (Oxford,
Cambridgea n d E d i n b u r g h U n i v e r s i t i e s ) , i n t h e 1 9 t h c
e n t u r y universities, such as London and Manchester
universities,and the new universities.Full courses of study offer
the degree of Bachelor of Art or Science.
Most degree courses at universities lastthree years,
language courses 4 years. Medicine anddentistry courses are
longer (5-7 years).Most students live away from home, in
flats of halls of residence. There are not only universities in
Britain but alsocolleges. Colleges offer courses in teacher
training,courses in technology and some professions
connectedwith medicine.
18. Buckingham Palace
Buckingham palace is the official London residenceof Her
Majesty The Queen and as such is one of the bestknown and

most potent symbols of the British monarchy. Yet it has been a

royal residence for only just over twohundred and thirty years
and a palace for much less;
andi t s n a m e , k n o w n t h e w o r l d o v e r , i s o w e d
n o t t o a monarch but to an English Duke.
JM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Buckingham House was built for John, first Duke
of Buckingham, between 1702 and 1705. It was sold to theCrown
in 1762. Although King George III modernized andenlarged the
house considerable, the transformations
thatgive the building its pre sent palati al character were
carried out for King George IY by Nash, by Edward Blore for
King William IY and Queen Victoria in the end, and
by James Pennethoooorne.In the reign of King Edward Yll,
much of the presentwhite and gold decoration was
substituted for the richlycolored 19th century schemes of
Nash and Blare; and inthe 1920s, Queen Mary used the
firm of White Alum toredecorate a number of rooms. The
rooms open to visitors are used principally forofficial
entertainment .These include Receptions and StateBanquets, and
it is on such occasions, when the rooms arefilled with flowers
and thronged with formally dressedguests and liveried
servants, that the Palace is seen at itsmost splendid and
imposing. But of course the Palace isalso far more than just
the London home of the RoyalFamily and a place of lavish
entertainment. It has becomethe administrative centre of the
monarchy where, amonga multitude of engagements, Her
Majesty receives
foreignH e a d s o f S t a t e , C o m m o n w e a l t h l e a d e r s
a n d representatives of the Diplomatic Corps
and conductsI n v e s t i t u r e s , a n d w h e r e t h e m a j o r i t y o f
t h e R o y a l Household, consisting of six main Departments and a
staff of about three hundred people, has their offices.
19. Media in Great Britain
The media play a central role in
Britain's daily life,informing and educating, questioning and challen
ging -a n d o f c o u r s e - e n t e r t a i n i n g . I n r e c e n t y e a r s

t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f m o r e r a d i o f r e q u e n c i e s, t o g e t h e r wi t h satellit
e, cable and microwave transmissions, has alreadymade a greater number
of local, national and internationalservices possible. The transition from
analogue to
digitaltransmission technology is now expanding this capacityenormo
usly. Broadcasting in Britain has traditionally beenbased on the
.principle that it is a public service accountable to people.While retaining
the essential public service element, itnow also embraces the
principles of competition andchoice:
t h e B B C ( Br i t i s h B r o a d c a s t i n g C or p o r a t i o n ) , wh i c h broadcasts
television and radio programs;
the ITC (Independent Television Commission), whichlicenses and r
egulates commercial television services,including cable and satellite
services;
t h e R a d i o A u t h o r i t y, wh i c h l i c e n s e s an d r e gu l a t e s commercial
radio services, including cable and satellite; The three bodies
work to broad requirements andobjectives defined and endorsed by
Parliament, but areotherwise independent in their daily conduct of
business.Cable
services are delivered through undergroundcables and are paid
for subscription. Cable franchiseshave been granted covering areas
comprising 83 per centof all homes and nearly all urban areas in Britain. In
mid -1999 there were about 12.1 million homes able to receivesuch
services, and 3 million subscribing homes. Digitaltechnology is
being introduced which will support up to500 television channels.
Cable also has the capacity
forc o m p u t e r - b a s e d i n t e r a c t i v e s er v i c e s , s u c h a s ho m e shoppi
ng and email. Satellite television and cable servicesare funded mainly
by subscription income. Television viewing is by far Britain's most
popularleisure pastime: over 97 per cent of households have
atleast one TV set. British television productions are soldworld wide

20. European Union

The establishment of the EU intended to work towardcommon
goals of European countries. The EU was established after 2nd
World War. Franceofficially undertook the establishment of the
EU proposingto create "the first concrete foundation of

a European federati on". On May 9, 1950 the

EU wa s created andinitially six European countries joint
to the EU: Belgium,Germany, France, Italy, Luxemburg, and the
Netherlands. Then other countries joint to the EU and today
the number of the remem ber
countries is 27. The req uirements for the countries wil li
ng to become member of EU are
thefollowing:Mem ber countries must be a stable democra
cy,r e s p e c t i n g h u m a n r i g h t s , t h e r u l e o f l a w, a n d t h
e protection of minorities;Member countries must have
a functioning marketeconomy; T h e E U h a s s u c h a s t r u c t
ure that there are 5institutions and each of them i
s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a respective objective:European
Parliament - The main functions of
thisinstitution is to exe rcise the issues related to thele
gislation, implementing foreign and security policy,monitor
the budget.Council of the European Union - Thi s is the
most influential institution in decision making process. The
main function of this institution is to exercise the issuesrelated
to the legislation, to suggest and monitor
theinternational agreements, implementing foreign andsecur
ity policy.European Commission - It is
mainly responsible forcreating the initial outline of legislatio
n, implementingthe legislation to assure that law is property
applied, andrepresenting the EU in international scope and
signingtrade and cooperation agreements.Court of Justice checks whe ther laws are in theaccordance with the justice
or notCourt of Auditors - Its major function is
to checkwhether all the Union's revenues
and expenditures aregoing in a regular manner, according to
the EU budget. Today EU became driving force into the
internationalmarket for member countries. Such kind
of economiccommunities are needed to increase today's ec
onomicgrowth and make countries better off.
21. Role of the USA in the world politics
It is impossible to discuss a future role of the UnitedStates of America in the
world without understanding theglobal processes that have been taken
place in the worldover the last several years. September 11, without
doubt,wa s a b r e a k p o i n t ev e n t i n t h e s e pr o c e s s e s . F i r s t ,
i t showed people a danger of an international

terrorism.S e c o n d , t h e e v e n t b r o u g h t a b o u t a c o n f r o n t a t i o
n between two different viewpoints on the development of world politics.
On the one hand, politicians from manycoun tries believe that any
active actions to preserveworld order must be organized only by
United Nations.On the other hand, the United States is pushing
forwardits aggressive unilateral policy that is based only
onWashington's understanding of the current
internationalsituation. This US strategy was clearly demonstrated
in Iraq.Now, after two and a half years of the war, the questionmust
be asked if this policy achieved its goals. Did itbr i n g a pe a c e a n d
s t a b i l i z a t i o n i n t h e p o s t S a d a m country? Yes, the military operation
itself was a
success.D e s p i t e t h e m i l i t a r y s u c ce s s e s , t h i s s t r a t e g y d i d n o t pr
oduce desirable results. The USA cannot stabilize thesituation, and
the Iraqis continue to organize attacksagainst the US and coalition
forces.It is possible that the USA will not be able to continueits
unilateral policy anymore because it goes
againsto b j e c t i v e p r o c e s s e s i n t h e w o r l d e c o n o m y a n d
international relations. The political regimes in Europeancountries are
very close to American, so any militaryconfrontations are
very unlikely at this point. But
aneconomical competition would be intense. It could besaid that the
other war, between the euro and the dollar,is already on, and the dollar is
loosing so far. There is another potential threat to the USA. Only afew
years ago, a dollar was almost equivalent to gold.People and
businesses all over the world tried to keeptheir savings in dollars.
Now, when a dollar is gettingcheaper, many try to get rid of it and
buy euros. Whatwould happen if all this dollar cash came back
to theUSA? India, Japan, and Russia will probably also try tomake
their influence on the world politics comparablewith their economical
potential.One thing is clear, however, the future of the countrydirectly
depends on today's policy.

22. Geographical position of USA

The United States of America is the fourth largestcountry in the
world (after Russia, Canada and China). It
m
o c c u p i e s t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t o f N o r t h A m e r i c a a n d stretche
s from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It alsoinclu des Alaska
in the north and Hawaii in the PacificOcean. The total area of the
country is about nine and

ah a l f m i l l i o n s q u a r e k i l o m e t e r s . T h e U S A bo r d er s o n Canada
in the north and on Mexico in the south. It alsohas a sea boarder with
Russia. The USA is made up of 50 states and the District
of Columbia, a special federal area where the capital of thecountry,
Washington, is situated. The population of thecountry is about 250
million. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, theCordillera
and the Sierra Nevada. The highest peak isMount McKinley, which is
located in
Alaska.A m e r i c a ' s l a r g e s t r i v e r s ar e t h e Mi s s i s s i p p i , t he Missour
i, the Rio Grande and the Columbia. The GreatLakes on
the border with Canada are the largest anddeepest in the USA. The
climate of the country varies greatly. The coldestregions are in the north.
The climate of Alaska is arctic. The climate of the central part is continental.
The southhas subtropical climate. Hot winds blowing from the
Gulf o f Me x i c o o f t e n b r i n g t yp ho o n s . Th e U S A
i s a h i g h l y developed industrial country. It is the world's
leadingp r o d u c e r o f c o p pe r a n d o i l an d t h e wo r l d ' s s e c on d
roducer of iron ore and coal. Among the most importantmanufacturing
industries are aircraft, cars, textiles, radioand television sets, armaments,
furniture and paper. The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles,
Chicago,Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco and others. The United
States is a federal union of 50 states,each of which has its own
government. The seat of
thec e n t r a l ( f e d e r a l ) g o v e r n m e n t i s W a s h i n g t o n , D C . A c c o
r d i n g t o t h e U S C o n s t i t u t i o n t he p o w er s o f t he government are
divided into 3 branches: the executive,headed by the President,
the legislative, exercised by theCongress, and the juridical. The Congress
consists of theSenate and the House of Representatives. There are
twomain political parties in the USA: the Republican and theDemocratic

23. Scotland
Scotland is administrative division of the kingdom of Great Britain,
occupying the northern third of the islandof Great Britain. As a
geopolitical entity Scotland includes186 nearby islands, a majority
of which are contained inthree groupsnamely, the Hebrides,
also known as
theWes ter n Islands, situated off the wes tern coast ; the

Orkney Islands, situated off the northeastern coast; andthe

Shetland Islands, situated northeast of the OrkneyIslands.
The largest of the other islands is the Island of Arran.
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland as well as amajor
industrial area and
seaportNotable among th e lakes, whi ch are especi allyn
umerous in the central and northern regions, are LochLomond
(the largest), Loch Ness, Loch Tay, and LochKatrina.
The longest river of Scotland is the Tay; theClyde, however,
is the principal navigational stream, siteof the port of
Glasgow.Like the climate of the rest of Great Britain, that
of Scotland is subject to the moderating influences of
thesurrounding seas The most common species
of treesindigenous to Scotland are oak and coniferschiefly
fir,pine, and larch. The only large indigenous mammal
in Scotland is thedeer. Both the red deer and the roe deer are
found, butthe red deer, whose habitat is the Highlands, is by far
themore abundant of the two species.
Other indigenousmam mals are the hare, rabbit, otter, er
mine, pinem a r t e n , a n d w i l d c a t . G a m e b i r d s i n c l u d e
g r o u s e , blackcock, ptarmigan, and waterfowl.Both agriculture
and industry are important in theeconomy of Scotland.
The chief exports are
petroleumand natural gas and manufactured goods, especi
allyburlap, clothing, machinery, textiles, and whiskey. The chief
imports are food and iron The most populous city in Scotland is
Glasgow. Otherimportant industrial cities are Dundee and
Aberdeen.Scotland is governed as an integral part of
GreatBritain. It is represented by 72 members in the House
of Commons and by 16 Scottish peers in the House of Lords.
24. Olympic Games
The Olympic Games have a very long history. Theybega n
in 777 BC in Greece and took place every
fouryears fo r nearly twelve centuries at Olympi a. They i
ncluded many different kinds of sports: running, boxing,wrestling,
etc. All the cities in Greece sent their bestathletes to
Olympia to compete in the Games. For theperiod of the
Games all the wars stopped. So the OlympicGames became the

symbol of peace and friendship.In 394 AD the Games were

abolished and were notrenewed until many centuries later.In
1894, a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin,addressed
all the sports governing bodies and pointedout the
significance of sports and its educational value. Two years later
the first modern Olympic Games tookplace. Of course, the
competitions were held in Greece tosymbolize the continuation of
the centuries-old tradition.In 1896 the International Olympic
Committee was set up.It is the
central policymaking body of the Olympic movement.
It is formed by the representatives of allcountries which take
part in the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee
decides
upont h e p r o g r a m m e d o f t h e g a m e s , t h e n u m b e r o f t
h e participants and the city host for the Games.Over one hundred
and fifty countries are
representedin the International Olympic Committee now.
Besides,each country has its National Olympic
Committee.Summer and Winter Games are held separat
ely. Th ere are
al ways several cities wi shing to host theGames. The
most suitable is selected by the
InternationalCommittee. After that the city of the
Games sta rtspreparations for the competitions, constructs new
sportsfacilities, stadiums, hotels, press centers. Thousands
of athletes, journalists and guests come to the Games, andit
takes great efforts to arrange everything. There is always an
interesting cultural programmer of concerts, exhibitions, festivals,
etc., for each Games.
Th e next summer games wil l be held in Beijing,Republ
ic of China.
25. Holidays in USA
The U.S. has no national holidays. Legal holidays -days on
which banks, schools, or other public institutionsand most places
of business are closed.
Memorial Day
is a legal holiday, observed annually onthe last Monday in May in
most of the United
Independence Day

i s a n a n n u a l h o l i d a y commemorating the formal adoption

by the ContinentalCongress of the Declaration of
Independence on July
4,1776, in Philadelphia. Although the signing of the Dec
laration was not completed until August, the Fourth of July
holiday has been accepted as the official anniversaryof United
States independence and is celebrated in allstates and
territories of the U.S. The Fourth of July is traditionally celebrated
publiclywith parades and pageants and public speeches.
Thanksgiving Day,
a legal holiday in the U.S.,was
first celebrated in early colonial times in NewEngland.
President Abraham Lincoln appointed a day of thanksgiving, and
since then each president has issued
a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, generally designatingthe
fourth Thursday of November as a holiday.
New Year's Day
is the first day of th e year, January 1 in the Gregorian
calendar.
Christmas
is an annual festival, held on December
25,
to celebr ate the
Nativity, or birth of Christ. The Christmas tree,
an evergreen trimmed with lights andother decorations, is
derived from the so-called paradisetree, symbolizing Eden.
Saint Valentine's Day,
a holiday honoringlovers, is celebrated on February 14. There
is a custom of sending greeting cards or gifts to express affection.
St.Valentine has traditionally been regarded as the patronsaint of
lovers.
26. Washington
Washington is the capital city of the United States. Itis located on
the north bank of the Potomac River. It wascalled after George
Washington, the first President of
theUSA, Washington is one of the
most beautiful andunusual cities in the United States. It has
little industry,and only one million people.
One reason Washingtonlooks different from other cities is that

no building in thecity may be more than 40 mete rs tall.

Ther e are noskyscrapers, because they would hide
the city's manymonuments from view. One can
easily find a park, asquare or an open area there. The most
impressive andthe best-known ones are the Lincoln Memorial
and theWashington
Monument. Th e heart of Washington is the Capitol, whi c
h isc o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e W h i t e H o u s e b y P e n n s y l v a n
i a Avenue. It dominates the city of Washington. All
thetourists begin sightseeing from the Capitol and see
theSenate Chamber, the Hall of Represent atives, the St
atuary Hall and
some others. T h e W a s h i n g t o n M o n u m e n t , t h e t a l l e s t
s t o n e structure in the USA, is in the Potomac River.
It wa sopened to the public in 1888. It is 555 feet tall, is calledthe
"Pencil" because of its shape. It is three blocks southof the White
House. There is an elevator, which will carryyou to 500-foot level
observation windows. The LincolnMemorial is in the west of the
Washington Monument. Itis designed like a Greek temple. The
dominant figure isthe realistic figure of Abraham Lincoln
seated in thecentre of the open temple. The Jefferson
Memorial isworth seen, too. It is situated south of the
Washingtonmonument near the Potomac River. The Libr
ary of Congress contains millions
of books and manuscripts. The Washington Cathedral is on
Massachusetts Avenue,and the Arlington National Cemetery
is outside the citylimits just across the Potomac River near the
Pentagon inVirginia. The famous Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier isvisited by millions of people every year.Washington is
the place where mass
demonstrationstake place against unemploym ent and rac
ism, fordemocracy and civil rights.
27. Theatres in Great Britain
One peculiarity of the theatres in Great Britain is
afollows: there are two kinds of seats , wh ich can
bebooked an advanced (book able), and unbootable oncehave
no numbers and the spectators occupy them on
theprincipal: first come - first served. And ancient
time'splays were acted inside churches and later on the

marketplaces. The first theatre in England "The Backfires" buildin

1576, and "The Globe" build in 1599, which is closelyconnected
with William Shakespeare. Speaking about ourtimes we should
first of all mention "The English
Nationalt h e a t r e " , " T h e R o y a l S h a k e s p e a r e C o m p a n y
" a n d "Covent Garden". The first "Covent Garden theatre"
wasbuilt in 1732. It was burnt down in 1808 and
rebuildsexactly a year after. It opened in September 1809,
withShakespeare's "Macbeth". Since the middle of the
lastcentury "Covent Garden" became exclusively devoted
toopera.Now "Covent Garden" in busier than ever, it is one of the
few well-known opera houses open for 11 months of the year
and it employs over 600 people both of theOpera company
and the Royal Ballet. Th eatres are very much the same
in London
asanywhe re else; the chief the atres, music halls andci
nemas are in the West End. If you are stayi ng inLondon
for a few days, you'll have no difficulty
whateverin finding somewhere to spend an enjoyable evenin
g. You'll find opera, ballet, comedy, drama, revue, musicalcomedy
and variety. The best seats at theatres are thosein the stalls, the
circle and the upper circle. Then comesthe pit, and the last of all
the gallery where the seats arecheapest. Boxes, of course, are
the most expensive.At the West End theatres you can see
most of thefamous English actors and actresses. As a rule, the
playsare magnificently staged - costumes, dresses,
scenery,everything being done of the most lavish scale.
28.Famous people of Ame rica
There are many outstanding people in United
States.America produced statesmen, thinkers, explorers
,musicians, writers, scientists and other people who arewell
known around the world.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens,
is known to mostpeople as Mark Twain.While he worked as a
reporter he began to sign hisarticles "Mark Twain". From then on
Clemens used Mark Twain as his pen-name.While he spent his
summers on his farm, he wrote"The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer", published in 1876."The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn", "Tom Sawyer"and "Huckleberry Finn" are among the

most popularbooks ever published in the United States. Among

Mark Twain's other books are "Joan
of Arc", "Life on theMississippi"
Abraham Lincoln
was the sixteenth president of theUnited
States.Lincoln became president in 1860. In 1861, therewas
a war between the North and the South of the
UnitedStates . The peopl e in the South wanted
a separa tegovernment from the United States. The North
wantedthe Unite d States to stay togeth er as one
country.Lincoln was the leader of the North. The North won the
Civil War. The war ended on April9, 1865. Six days later,
President Lincoln and his wifewen t to the theat re.
Inside the thea tre, a man went behind the president
and shot him in the head. The man's name was John Wilkes
Booth. He was a supporterof the South. Lincoln died the next
morning.
Ernest Hemingway
i s o n e o f t h e g r e a t e s t 2 0 t h - century American
writers. He was a brilliant writer of stories and novels. His
most successful novels are thefollowing: For Whom The Bells
Tolls, The Old Man and theSea and oth ers He was awar ded
the Nobel Prize forliterature in 1954.

29.Education in
USA
The general pattern of
education in the USA is
aneight-year
elementary school, follow

ed by a four-yearhigh
school. There are
eight years
of elementary schooling.
Theelementary school is
followed by four years of
secondaryschool, or high
school. Often the
last two years of elemen
tary and the first years of
secondary school
arecombined into a junior
high school.Admission to
the American high school
is automaticon completion

of the elementary school.

During the four-year high
school program the
student studies four or
fivemajor subjects per
year, and classes in each
of thesesubjects meet for
an hour a day, five days
a week.
Inaddition, the student us
ually has classes in phys
icaleducation, music, and
art several times a week.
If he failsa course, he
repeats only that course

and not the

work of the entire year.
Students must complete
a certainnumber of
courses in order to
receive a diploma, or
acertificate of
graduation.Usually there
is no admission
examination requiredby a
state university for those
who have finished
highschool within the
state. Sometimes a
certain pattern of high

school studies
is necessary, however,
and somestate
universities require a
certain scholastic
average, oraverage of
high school grades.It
usually takes four years to
meet the requirementsfor
a Bachelor of Arts or
Bachelor of Science
degree. AMaster
of Arts or Master
of Science degree
may beobtained in one

or two additional years.

The highestacademic
degree is the ! Doctor of
Philosophy. It
maytake any number of
years to complete the or
iginalresearch work
necessary to obtain
this degree.In general, hi
gher education in the
USA may
bedivided into two bro
ad fields: liberal arts a
ndprofessional. Each o
f these fields may be fu

rthersubdivided into
undergraduate and
graduate levels.
Theliberal arts program,
on the undergraduate
level, may bea two-year
junior college course, or
a four-year
courseleading to a
degree of Bachelor of
Arts or Bachelor
of Science. The four-year
course is usually
subdivided into alower
division (which may be

called the junior

college),consisting of the
two first years, and the
upper division,which is the
last two years. The first
two yearscontinue the
general education and
specialization beginsin the
third year.

30. Fast Food of

America
Have you ever enjoyed
a hamburger, sitting
on alawn? May
be you're against all

these hot dogs

andcheeseburgers, beca
use it's a
junk food. Anyway, it
isalways interesting to
find out something about
the originand history of
such trifles, which make
our
life morecomfortable. Th
ey really make life more
pleasant,especially
outdoors, don't they?
Pop Corn-

It's impossible to imagine

American take-away food
or snacks without
popcorn. Clear as a day,
it ismade from corn. But
what about the first part
of theword "pop". Actually,
when you put a kernel of
corn on
afire, the water inside m
akes the corn explode.
Thismakes a "pop" noise.
That is why we call it
popcorn. Butin 1945 a
new machine was

invented that changed

thehistory of the product.
The electric machine
enabled topop corn
outside the home. And
soon movies
startedselling popcorn to
make more money. The
famousAmerican habit of
eating popcorn at the
movies is well-known.
Many people like to put
salt or melted butter
intheir popcorn,
some peeper to have

it without. Eitherway
Americans love their
popcorn
Coca ColaCoca-Cola The world
famous fresh drinkCocaCola first was an allpurpose medicine,
made in1886 by
a druggist from Atlanta,
who made a brownsyrup
by mixing coca leaves
and cola nuts. The syrup
wasn't a success and
then another druggist,

Jacobs, hadan idea of

selling Coca-Cola as a
soda fountain drink.
Hemixed the syrup with
soda water.
Soon everyone
wasgoing to
soda fountains and
asking for CocaCola. Andthe World War
II helped to make CocaCola
popularoutside America,
when the Coca-Cola
Company sentbottles of

the drink to US soldiers

fighting in Europe.
Itbecame so popular with
the soldiers that the US
Armyasked the company
to start ten factories in
Europe. It's acurious
thing but of 1903 coca
leaves were no
longerused in the drink.
The exact ingredients a
nd thequantities are not
known - the Coca-Cola
Company keepsits recipe
a secret

31. Political
system of USA
The nation's capital,
Washington, D.C., is the
capitalof a federal union
of 50 states. Therefore, in
1789, theyadopted a new
Constitution establishing a
federal unionunder a
strong
central government.Under
the Constitution,
the federal government i
sdivided into three
branches, each chosen in

a differentmanner, each
able to check and balance
the others. The
Executive Branch is
headed by the
President,who, together
with the Vice President,
is chosen innationwide
elections every four yea
rs. The electiveprocess
for a U.S. President is
unique. The
presidentialcandidate
needs 270 electoral votes
to be elected; if

nocandidate has a
majority, the House of
Representativesmake the
decision. Any natural-born
American who is 35years
old or older may be
elected to this office. Th
ePresident proposes
bills to Congress, enforc
es federallaws, serves as
Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forcesand,
with the approval of the
Senate makes treaties
andappoints federal jud

ges, ambassadors and

othermembers of the
Executive Departments T
he Vice President,
elected from the same
politicalparty as the
President, acts as
chairman of the
Senate,and in the event
of the death or disabilit
y of thePresident,
assumes the Presidency
for the balance of
histerm. The Legislative
Branch is made up of two

houses: theSenate and

the House of Representa
tives. Each
stateelects two
members of the 100member Senate; aSenat
or's term of office is six
years The Judicial
Branch is made up of
Federal DistrictCourts (at
least one in every state),
11 Federal Courts
of Appeals and, at
the top, the Supreme
Court. Federal judges are

appointed by the
President with the
approvalof the Senate;
to minimize
political influences, theira
ppointments are for
life. Federal courts decid
e casesinvolving federal
law, conflicts between st
ates orbetween citizens
of different states.Every
American citizen
is allowed to vote from
theage of 18.

32. Science in 20

th

century
The 20th century began
slowly, to the
ticking of grandfather
clocks and the stately
rhythms of
progress. Thanks to scie
nce, industry and moral
philosophy,mankind's
steps had at last been
guided up the rightpath.
The century of steam was
about to give way to
thecentury of oil and

electricity.Charles Darwin'
s theory of evolution,
only 41 yearsold in 1900,
proposed
a scientific basis for
the notionthat progress
was gradual but
inevitable, determined
bynatural law.And
everybody thought that
the development
wouldcontinue in the
small steps that had
marked the progressof
the 19th century.

Inventions like the

railroad or thetelegraph
or the typewriter had
enabled people to get
onwith their ordinary lives
a little more
conveniently.No one could
have guessed then that,
in the century just
beginning, new ideas
would burst upon the
worldwith a force and
frequency that would turn
this statelymarch of
progress into a long

distance, free-for-all
sprint. Thrust into this
race, the children of the
20th centurywould
witness more change in
their daily existence
andenvironment than
anyone else who had ever
walked
theplanet.Assassinations
in Sarajevo in 1914 lit a
spark that
setoff an unprecedented
explosion of destruction
anddeath. The Great W

ar did more than devas

tate ageneration of
Europeans. It set the
tone - the political,moral
and intellectual temper
- for much
that followed.Before long
the Great War received a
new name -World War I.
The roaring 1920s
and the Depression
yearsof the 1930s proved
to be merely a prelude to
World WarII. Largely
hidden during that war

was an awful truth

thatcalled into question
progress and the notion
of humannature itself.But
civilization was
not crushed by the two
greatwars, and the ruins
provided the stimulus to
build a wayof life again.
To a degree
previously unheard
of andperhaps
unimaginable, the citizens
of the 20th centuryfelt free

to reinvent themselves. In
that task they were
assisted by two profound
developments psychoanalysisand the
Bomb.

33. Sports in USA

Americans pay much
attention to physical fitne
ss.Many sports
and sporting activities
are popular in theUSA.
People participate in swi
mming, skating, squasha
nd badminton, tennis, m

arathons, track-andfield,bowing, archery,

skiing, skating etc. But
the five majorAmerican
sports are hockey,
volleyball, baseball,
footballand basketball. B
asketball and volleyball
have beeninvented in
America. There is a large
choice of sports in
America. This
canbe explained by the
size and variety of
the country.Another

reason of the popularity of

sports is the people'slove
of competition of any kind.
One more reason is
thatAmericans use sport
s activities for teaching
socialsvalues, such
as teamwork
and sportsmanship.
All thisexplains why
Americans have
traditionally done well
inmany kinds
of sports.Some
Americans like active

games and others

likequite games. I think t
hat quite games,
as golf andcrocket,
intend for rich elite
people. Most popular
gamesin the USA are ho
ckey, American football,
baseball,basketball.Oppo
rtunities for keeping fit
and playing sports
arenumerous. Jogging is
extremely popular, perh
apsbecause it is
the cheapest and most

accessible
sport.Aerobic exercise
and training with weigh
t-liftingmachines are two
activities which more and
more menand
women are
pursuing. Books, videos,
and fitness-conscious
movie stars that play up
the glamour
of fitnesshave
heightened enthusiasm f
or these exercises
andhave promoted the

muscular, healthy body

as theAmerican beauty
idealAmerican sports are
becoming more
competitive
andmore profit-oriented.
As a result, playing to w
in isemphasized more
than playing for fun. The
obsessionwith
winning causes some
people
to wonder whethersports
in America should be such
serious business

34.The USA
court system
The courts are the ove
rseers of the law. They
administer it,
they resolve disputes
under it, and
theyensure that it is and
remains equal to and
impartial
foreveryone.In the
United States each
state is served
by theseparate court
systems, state and

federal. Both
systemsare organized in
to three basic levels of c
ourts-trialcourts, courts
of appeal and High Cour
t or SupremeCourt. Trial
courts bear the main
burden in theadministr
ation of justice.
Cases begin there and
mostinstances are finally
resolved there. The trial
courts in each state
include: common
pleascourts, which have

general civil and criminal

jurisdictionand smaller in
importance municipal
courts, countrycourts and
mayor's courts The main
job of courts of appeal is
to review casesappealed
from trial courts to
determine if the law
wascorrectly interpreted
or applied. The Supreme
Court of each state is
primarily a_ courtof
appeal and the court of
last resort. The federal

court structure is similar to

the structureof the state
court system. The trial
courts in the
federalsystem are the
United States District
Courts. The UnitedStates
courts of appeal
are intermediate courts of
appealbetween the distri
ct courts and the United
StatesSupreme
Court. The USA Supreme
Court is the highest court
in thenation and the court

of last resort. It consists of

a chief justice
and eight associate
justices, all of whom
areappointed for life by
the President with the
Advice andConsent of the
Senate. The duty of the
Supreme Court isto
decide whether laws
passed by Congress
agree
withthe Constitution. Th
e great legal issues faci
ng theSupreme Court at

present are Government

involvementwith religion,
abortion and privacy
rights, and race
andsex discrimination.

35.Sports in
Great Britain
National sports in Grea
t Britain... It is a veryint
eresting question,
because many kinds of
sport havetaken the origin
in England. The
Englishmen love
sports,they are called

sports-lovers in spite
of the fact thatsome of
them neither play games
nor even watch
them. They only like
to speak about sports.
Some kinds of
sportare professional in
England. Many traditiona
l sportingcontests take
place in England, for
example, cricket. It
isplayed from May till
September.Football, it ha
s got

a long history. Football

wasplayed by the whole
village teams in the
middle ages
inEngland. Now
football is the
most popular game inBri
tain. It is a team game.
There are
some amateurteams but
most of the teams are
professional ones
inEngland. Professional
football is a big business.

Footballis played at
schools too.
Rugby is a popular game
in England. There are
manyamateur rugby
teams in this country. It is
a game that isplayed
between two teams of
players using an oval
ballthat can be handled or
kicked. The captain of the
teammust be the oldest or
best player. There are
some tennis clubs in
England, but if youplay

there it is necessary to
pay money for it.
Englishmenlike playing
tennis but many of them
prefer to watch thisgame.
Wimbledon it is the centre
of lawn tennis.Englishmen
pay much attention to
swimming, rowingand
walking. Usually the
OxfordCambridge Boat
Racetakes place at the
end of March or at the
beginning of April. It is
an interesting contest

between the universitiesof

Oxford and
Cambridge. It is usually
held on
the Thames River.
The first such race was
held in 1820. There were
a lot of people watching
this race. There aresome
racing competitions in
England. They are motorcarracing, dog-racing,
donkey-racing, boatracing, horse-racing. All
kinds of racings are

popular in England. It
isinteresting to see the
egg-and-spoon race. The
runner,who takes part in
this competition, must
carry an egg ina spoon. It
is not allowed to drop the
egg. There are
suchcompetitions as putti
ng the weight, tossing
the caberand others. The
English are great lovers of
sports.

36. History of
Great Britain

The United Kingdom of

Great Britain and
NorthernIreland is a
country of great history
rich in
importantevents and ent
ertaining legends connec
ted with them.It's not
enough to write several
volumes to tell the
fullhistory of the
country. That's why we'll
try to answer the question
where theBritish come
from and who they are.

After 800 BC theCelts

arrived from Central
Europe and opened up a
newimportant page of the
British history. The name
Britaincomes from
the name of
a Celtic tribe known
as theBritons. Their
influence was greatest in
Wales, Scotlandand
Ireland, as they were
driven to these parts by
theinvaders who followed
them. That's why these

parts of Britain are

very different from
England
in language,customs an
d traditions. However qu
ite soon it wasattacked
by Germanic tribes:
People began to call
thenew land of the
Angles and
Saxons England. Wales,
Cornwall, the northern p
art of Britain and Ireland
remained unconquered
and preserved Celtic

culture. Animportant event

which contributed to the
unification of the country
was the adoption of
Christianity in England
in664. In the 9th century
the Danes attacked
England. Itwas Alfred
who defeated the Danes
making them sign apeace
agreement. The last of the
invaders to come to
Britain were theNormans
from France. The French
language became

theofficial language of
the ruling class for the
next
threecenturies. This exp
lains the great number o
f Frenchwords in
English.However the fin
al unification of Scotlan
d andEngland took place
in 1707 when both sides
agreed toform
a single parliament in
London for Great
Britain,although Scotland
continued to keep its own

system of law, education

and have an independent
church.Ireland
was England's first colon
y, but even
nowthere are problems t
here connected with reli
gion.Recently, there have
been many waves of
immigrationinto Britain.
NowBritain is a
multinational society,
which benefits from
theinfluence of different
people and cultures. 37.

WilliamShakespe
are
The last half of the 16th
and the beginning of
the17th centuries are
known as the golden age
of
Englishliterature. It was
the time of the English
Renaissance,and some
times it is even called
"the age of Shakespea
re". William Shakespeare
, the greatest andmost fa
mous of English writers,

and probably thegreatest

playwright who has ever
lived, was born on the23d
of April, 1564, in Stratfordon-Avon. In sprite of
hisfame we know very
little about his life. At the
age of sixhe was sent to
school, but had to leave it
at the age of 13.
His father, John
Shakespeare, was
a glove-maker,and when
he fell into debt, William
had to help him.When

Shakespeare was twentyone, he went to

London.We don't know
why he left Stratford-onAvon. There is astory that
Shakespeare's first job in
London was holdingrich
men's horses at the
theatre door. But nobody
can besure that this story
is true. Later,
Shakespeare becamean
actor and a member
of a very successful acti
ngcompany. It's highly

probable that The

Comedy of Errors,Romeo
and Juliet and some other
plays by
Shakespearewere perfor
med for the first time o
n this stage.Shakespear
e's experience as an actor
helped him greatlyin the
writing of his plays. His
knowledge of stage
and hispoetical genius
made his plays the most
wonderful onesever
written. Shakespeare

wrote 37 plays: 10
tragedies(such as Hamle
t, King Lear, Othello, Ma
cbeth), 17comedies
(such as As You Like It,
Twelfth Night, Much
Ado About Nothing), 10
historical plays (such as
Henry 4,Richard 3). He
also left 7 books of
poems and sonnets.Most
of Shakespeare's plays
were not published in
hislifetime. So some of
them may have been lost

in the firewhen
the "Globe" burned down
in 1613.
Shakespearespent the
last years of his life at
Stratford, where he diedin
1616. He was buried
in the
church of Stratford. Am
onument was
erected to the
memory of the
greatplaywright in the
Poet's Corner in
Westminster Abbey.

38. New York

New York City is the
capital of USA It is the

mostpopulous
city
in the

United States.
For morethan a century,
it has been one of the
world's leadingbusiness,
financial and cultural
centers and its influencein

politics,
education,

entertainment,
sports,media,
fashion
and the arts all
contribute to itsstatus as
one of the major global
cities. As the home of the

United Nations,
the city is a hub for
internationaldiplomacy. R
esidents of the
city are known as New Y
orkers.New York has
five boroughs:

Manhattan, Brooklyn,Qu
eens, Staten Island and
the Bronx. The Bronx isf
amous for a zoo, which is
situated there.Manhattan
is the center of New York
City. Near 1million
people live here, but
over than 5 million
comehere to work from
all parts of the city every
day. Themain street,
Broadway, is also here.
And there are a lotof
other famous streets

which known nationwide.

WallStreet is famous for
finance. Madison
Avenue meansadvertisin
g, and Fifth Avenue is
famous for worldclassshopping. There is
a famous crossing Times
Square. Itfamous for
Theatre district, there are
more than thirtytheaters
there, and every evening
they play their plays.Most
of New York's
skyscrapers are located

on theisland of
Manhattan. There are
such buildings
as ArtDeco Chrysler
Building and there
were twin towers of
theWorld Trade Center.
One of the famous
building in theworld is the
Statue of Liberty. It was
built in 1886. It
wasa present from the
people of France. It repr
esentsAmerica's symbol
of freedom!In 2005,

nearly 170 languages

were spoken in thecity
and 36 percent of its
population was born
outsidethe United States.
New York is also known
as "The Citythat Never
Sleeps," not least
because its subway
systemoperates around
the clock and because
manyneighborhoods in
Manhattan, such as Times
Square, arebusy at all
hours.

39.Australian
culture.
Since 1788, the primary
basis of Australian
culturehas been

Anglo-Celtic,
although distinctive
Australianfeatures had
been evolving from the
environment and

indigenous
culture. Over the past
50 years,
Australianculture has be

en strongly influenced b
y Americanpopular cultur
e (particularly television
and cinema),large-scale
immigration from nonEnglishspeakingcountries, and
Australia's Asian
neighbors. The vigor
andoriginality of the arts
in Australia literature,
cinema,opera, music, pai
nting,
theatre, dance, and
crafts have

achieved international
recognition.In 1973,

Patrick White
was awarded the

NobelPrize in Lite
rature,
the only Australian to ha
veachieved this; he is re
cognized as one
of the greatEnglishlanguage writers of th
e 20th century.

Australian Englis
h

is a major variety of t
helanguage; its grammar
and spelling are largely
based onthose of British
English, overlaid with a
rich vernacular of unique
lexical items and
phrases, some of which
havefound their way
into standard
English. Sport plays
animportant part in Aust
ralian culture, assisted
by aclimate that favors
outdoor activities; 23.5%

Australiansover the
age of 15 regularly
participate
in organizedsporting
activities. At an
international level,
Australia
hasparticularly strong t
eams in

cricket, hockey,n
etball, rugby lea
gue, rugby union
,

andperforms well in cyc

ling, rowing and swimm
ing.Nationally, other pop
ular sports include

Australianrules
football,
horse racing,

football (soccer)
and motor .acing.
Australia has
participated
in everysummer Olympic
Games of the modern
era, and every

Commonwealth G
ames.
Australia hosted the

1956 Summer
Olympics
in

Melbourne
and the

2000 Summer Ol
ympics
in

Sydney,
and
hasranked among the t

op five medal-takers
since2000Televised spo
rt is popular; some of the
highestrating television
programs include the
summer OlympicGames
and the

grand finals
of local and
internationalfootball
(various codes)
competitions

40.Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital
of Scotland and one of

themost beautiful cities in

Europe. It has been the
capital of Scotland
since 1437 and is the seat
of the Scottish Parliament.
Itlies on seven hills and
goes down on those hills
to thesea. The highest hill
is three hundred meters
above thesea. From the
street in the centre of the
city you can seeships
coming to Edinburgh from
different countries
of theworld.Many great m

en have lived and

worked in thisbeautiful
city. Robert Burns, the
great Scottish poetpublis
hed his first book of
poems in Edinburgh.
There is amonument to
him in the city.Walter
Scott, the father of the
historical novel in
theworld literature, was
borne in Edinburgh. The
monumentto Walter Scott
is in the main street of the
city.Robert Louis

Stevenson, a famous
English writer, wasborn
and lived in Edinburgh.
He loved the city and
wroteabout it his best
novels.Edinburgh is wellknown for the annual

EdinburghFestival
,
a collection of official an
d independentfestivals
held annually over about
four weeks from
earlyAugust. The number
of visitors attracted to

Edinburgh forthe Festival,

is roughly equal to the
settled population of the
city. The most famous
of these events are the

Edinburgh Fringe
(the largest performing
artsfestival in the world),
the

Edinburgh
InternationalFesti
val,
the

Edinburgh
Military Tattoo,
andthe Edinburgh
International Film Festival.
In fact the cityis one of the
most vibrant,
cosmopolitan cities in
Europeand
is regularly voted as on
e of the
most desirableplaces to
live in the world.This is a
city that knows how tobe
both ancient
and modern.

And a fantastic place

tolive.
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