The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in Western Europe, usually known as the United Kingdom, the UK, Britain, or less accurately as Great Britain. The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly distinct nations of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland under a single government in London. The greater part of Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922, and is today the Republic of Ireland. The north-eastern portion of the Island of Ireland — the Northern Ireland — remains part of the United Kingdom. 
     The UK is situated in the north-western part of Europe, surrounded by the North Sea, the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. Great Britain, now sometimes called simply Britain, is the geographical name for the largest island in the British Isles, and includes the mainland nations of England, Wales and Scotland. In total, it is estimated that the UK is made up of around 1098 small islands. 
    The United Kingdom is made up of four "parts"; the nations of England, Scotland, and Wales, and the province of Northern Ireland. All four "home nations" have historically been divided into counties. 
    The primary language spoken is in the UK is English. Other languages include the Celtic languages: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish and Irish Gaelic. Recent immigrants from elsewhere in the Commonwealth speak other languages, including Hindi and Urdu. 
     The United Kingdom contains two of the world's most famous universities, the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, and has produced many great scientists and engineers, including Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. 
     Many believe that a great number of important sports originated in the United Kingdom, including: football (soccer), golf, boxing, rugby, billiards. Playwright William Shakespeare is the most famous writer in the world; other well-known writers include the Bronte sisters /Charlotte, Emily and Anne), Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens. Important poets include Lord Byron, Robert Burns, and Thomas Hardy. The UK and the USA were two countries in which I rock and roll developed. The UK was the home country for some of the most famous bands, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and many others.

Words and expressions:

 1.to be known as 
 2.accurately 
 3.distinct 
 4.single 
 5.to remain 
 6.to be surrounded 
 7.simply 
 8.to include 
 9.mainland 
 10.in total 
 11.to estimate 
 12.county 
 13.primary 
 14.rugby 
 15.playwright 
 16.band 

 1.Быть известным в качестве 
 2.Точно 
 3.Отличительный 
 4.Единый 
 5.Оставаться 
 6.Быть окружённым 
 7.Просто, попросту 
 8.Включать в себя 
 9.С большой земли 
 10.Всего, итого 
 11.Оценить 
 12.Графство, округ 
 13.Основной 
 14.Рэгби 
 15.Драматург 
 16.Группа, ансамбль 



I. Which of the following is not true about the UK? 

1. The United Kingdom is a part of Ireland.
2. The UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the North Sea.
3. The Mainland nations of the UK arc England, Wales and Scotland.
4. The only language spoken in the UK is English.
5. Recent immigrants to the UK speak Hindu and Urdu.
6. Playwright William Shakespeare is the most famous writer in the world.
7. The UK was one of the main contributors to the development of classical music.
8. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles are British bands.
9. Agatha Christie, Lord Byron and Adam Mickiewicz were British writers.

 II. Translate the following sentences into Russian. 

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is also known as the UK.
2. The UK was formed by several Acts of Union.
3. Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom.
4. Britain is the name of the largest island in the British Isles.
5. There are four nations in the United Kingdom.
6. The primary language of the UK is English.
7. Other languages spoken in the UK are Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish and Irish Gaelic.
8. The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge are two world's famous British universities.
9. William Shakespeare is the most famous writer in the world.

 III.Translate the following sentences into English. 
1. Большая часть Ирландии отделилась от Соединенного Королевства в 1922 году и сейчас называется Республикой Ирландия.
2. Великобритания, или просто Британия, — это географическое название самого крупного острова среди Британских островов.
3. Всего в Соединенном Королевстве 1098 островов.
4. Кроме английского в Соединенном Королевстве говорят на валлийском, хинду и урду, а также других языках.
5. Драматург Вильям Шекспир является самым знаменитым писателем в мире и самым знаменитым английским писателем.
6. Великобритания «породила» такие знаменитые рок-группы, «Роллинг Стоунз» и «Лед Зеппелин».

 

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THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

The United States of America, also called the United States, U.S.A., America, or the States, is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It has land borders with Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. The United States shares a marine border with Russia in the west. The country has fifty states. Washington is the national capital of the USA. It is situated in the District of Columbia. The largest cities are New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, and some others. Each state has a local autonomy according to the system of fed­eralism.

American colonies of Great Britain separated from their mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 states. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861—65) and the Great Depression of the 1930's.

There are five ethnic groups in the US: whites, sometimes called Eu­ropean-Americans or Caucasians; African Americans, also called blacks;  Hispanics, also called Latinos; Asian-Americans, frequently specified as Korean-Americans, Chinese-Americans, etc.; and Native Americans,  also called American Indians. 

The majority of people currently living in the United States descend from Europe immigrants who have arrived since the establishment of the first colonies. Major components of the European segment of the United States population have descended from immigrants from Ger­many (23 percent), Ireland (16 percent), England (13 percent), Scot­land, the Netherlands and Italy (6 percent), with many immigrants also coming from Scandinavia or Slavic countries. Other significant immigrant populations came from Eastern and Southern Europe and French Canada. Few immigrants came directly from France.

As of 2001, the distribution for major religions in the United States _was as follows: Protestant (52 percent), Roman Catholics (24.5 per­cent), "none" (13.2 percent) and between 0.3 and 0.5 percent each for Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu. An additional 0.3 to 0.5 percent are agnostic and atheist. The largest single religious denominations in the United States are Roman Catholic Church and Baptists.

American popular culture has a large influence on the Western world. This influence is sometimes criticized as cultural imperialism. New York is famous for international opera and instrumental music as well as the world-famed Broadway plays and musicals. Cinema of the USA (primarily situated in Hollywood, California) and television of the United States can be seen almost anywhere.

The United States is also a center of higher education with more than 4,000 colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learn­ing.

 

Questions to the text.

1. What are the other names for the United States?

2. Which countries does America have borders with?

3. What year did American colonies separate from Great Britain?

4. How many states were originially in the United States of America?

5. When was tfre Civil War in America?

6. What are the major ethnic groups in the USA?

7. What is the major component of the European segment of the immigration to the US?

8. What are the most important religious denominations in the US?

9.  How many colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning are there in the US?

 

Which of the following is true about the US?

1.  The United States of America is a constitutional monarchy.

2.  The USA has borders with Mexico in the north and with Russia in the south.

3.  Each state in the US has a local autonomy.

4.  The two most traumatic experiences in the US are the Civil War and the Great Depression.

5.  The majority of people in the USA descend from European immigrants.

6.  Twenty-three percent of the European segment of the American population descended from immigrants from Germany.

7.  Fifty-two percent of Americans are Protestants.

8.  Atheists are the most popular denomination in the US.

9.  Cinema of the USA is primarily situated in Hollywood, California.

10. There are more than 4,000 institutions of higher learning in the US.

 

 

Translate the following sentenses into English.

4.  Позже к тринадцати штатам добавились еще тридцать семь.

5.  В настоящее время в США пятьдесят штатов.

6.  Столица США — город Вашингтон. Вашингтон находится в федеральном округе Колумбия. Это специально созданная автономия для столицы США.

7.  США имеют водную границу с Российской Федерацией. США также граничат с Мексикой и Канадой по суше.

8.  Самые крупные города США — Нью-Йорк, Чикаго, Лос-Анджелес и Филадельфия.

9.  Большинство жителей США имеют европейские корни. Первые иммигранты прибыли из Германии, Ирландии, Англии, а также из скандинавских и славянских стран.

10. В настоящее время самыми распространенными конфессиями в США являются католицизм и баптизм.

11. В США также есть атеисты и агностики.

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THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

 

The Russian Federation or Russia is a country that stretches over a vast area of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, covering almost twice the territory of the United States. It ranks seventh in the world in population, following China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan.

The Russian Federation is a federative democratic republic with a President, directly elected for a six-year term, who holds considerable executive power. The President nominates the highest state officials, including the Prime Minister, who must be approved by the Parlia­ment. The President can pass decrees without consent from the Parlia­ment and is also head of the armed forces and of the National Security Council.

Russia's bicameral Parliament, the Federal Assembly of Russia consists of the upper house known as the Federal Council of Russia composed of 166 delegates serving a five-year term (two are appointed from each of the 83 federal subjects), and the  lower house (known as the State Duma), comprising 450 deputies also serving a five-year term, of which 225 are elected by direct vote from single member constituen­cies and 225 are elected by proportional representation from na­tion-wide party lists.

The Russian Federation consists of a great number of different Fed­eral subjects of Russia, making a total of 83 components. There are 21 republics within the federation that have a high degree of autonomy on most issues and these correspond to some of Russia's ethnic minori­ties. The remaining territory consists of 46 oblasts (provinces) and 9 krai's (territories), in which are found 4 autonomous okrugs (autono­mous districts) and one autonomous oblast. Beyond these there are two federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg ). 

Russia is sparsely populated and has extremely low average popula­tion density due to its enormous size; population is the densest in the European part of Russia, in the Ural mountains area, and in the South-Eastern part of Siberia. The Russian Federation is home to as many as 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples. As of the 2002 census, 79,8% of the population are ethnically Russian, 3.8% Ta­tar, 2% Ukrainian, 1.2% Bashkir, 1.1% Chuvash, 0.8% Armenian.

The Russian language is the only official state language, but some Republics of Russia have often made their native language co-official next to Russian.

Religions on the territory of Russian Federation include Russian Or­thodox church, Islam, various Protestant faiths, Roman Catholic church, Buddism and Judaism.

Adopted from www.wikipedia.com

 

 

VOCABULARY

 

to stretch vast to cover twice following directly considerable executive power to nominate state official to be approved by consent armed forces National Security Council bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia to consist of upper house serving the term lower house proportional representation party list Federal subjects of Russia on most issues correspond ethnic minorities recently extensive layer sparsely average population density enormous indigenous census faith

простираться обширный покрывать дважды (зд.) следуя за непосредственно значительный исполнительная власть назначать чиновник быть утвержденным согласие вооруженные силы Государственный Совет Безопасности двухпалатный Федеральное Собрание Российской Федерации состоять из верхняя палата парламента исполнение полномочий нижняя палата пропорциональное представительство партийный список субъекты Российской Федерации по большинству вопросов соответствовать этнические меньшинства недавно, в последнее время обширный уровень, слой  редко (не густо) средняя плотность населения огромный коренной перепись вера

 

 Questions to the text.

1.  What parts of the world does Russia stretch into?

2.  Where does it rank in the world in population?

3.  Who is the Head of State in Russia?

4.  What term is the Russian President elected for?

5.  Does the Parliament have to approve the nominations by the Presi­dent?

6.  What are the two chambers of the Russian Parliament?

7.  How many delegates and deputies are there in the Russian Parliament?

8.  How many federal districts are there in Russia?

9.  How densely is Russia populated?

10. How many different ethnic groups live in Russia?

 

 

Translate the sentences into Russian.

1.  The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world, but ranks seventh in the world population.

2.  China and India have the largest population in the world.

3.  The President of Russia is directly elected for a six-year term.

4.  The President can pass decree without consent from the Parliament.

5.  The President of Russia is the Head of State, Head of the armed forces and of the National Security Council.

6.  The Russian Federation has a bicameral parliament, like the United Kingdom and the United States.

7.  The upper house is called the Federal Council of Russia and the lower house is called the State Duma.

8.  The State Duma comprises 450 deputies who serve a five-year term.

9.  Twenty-one republics within the Russian Federation correspond to some of Russia's ethnic minorities.