THE FLAG OF THE UK

           The flag of the United Kingdom is officially called the Union flag, because it embodies the emblems of three countries united under one monarch. The Union Flag is commonly known as the Union Jack, although the extract origin of the name is unclear.

           One explanation is that it gets its name from the «jack staff» of naval vessels (a small flagpole at the front of Royal Navy vessels) from which the original Union Flag was flown.

           The emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of the three patron Saints: Wales is not represented on the Union Flag because by the time the first version of the flag appeared, Wales was already the part of England.

           The Welsh Flag, a red dragon on a field of white and green, dates from the fifteenth century.

           The Union Flag underwent a gradual development. The first one was created in 1606, when England and Scotland were united under one King James I, by combining the flags of St. George and St. Andrew.

            In the seventeenth century, the flag underwent several changes. After the execution of Charles I in 1649, Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector, introduced a special Commonwealth flag consisting of St. George’s cross and the gold harp of Ireland. When Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 he reintroduced the Union Flag of James I.

            The final version of the Union Flag appeared in 1801, following the union of Great Britain with Ireland, with inclusion of the cross of St. Patrick. The cross remains on the flag although only the northern part of Ireland now remains part of the United Kingdom.

QUESTIONS:

1.      What is the official name for the flag of the United Kingdom?

2.      What emblems appear on the Union Flag?

3.      How does the Welsh flag look like?

4.      When was the first Union Flag created?

5.      When did the final version of the Union Flag appear?

VOCABULARY:

United Kingdom – Объединенное Королевство

to embody – воплощать (в чем-л. – in); изображать; объединять, соединять; включать

Union Jack – см. Union Flag

jack staff – ванта, оттяжка

Royal Navy vessels – военно-морские силы Великобритании

patron Saints – святые-покровители

to date from – датироваться

a gradual development – постепенное развитие

to undergo (underwent, undergone) – испытывать; переносить; подвергаться (чему-л.)

execution – казнь

the Lord Protector – лорд-защитник, протектор (титул, введенный Оливером Кромвелем)

St. George’s cross – крест Святого Георгия

the gold harp of Ireland – золотая арфа Ирландии

inclusion – включение, добавление, прибавление, присоединение

the cross of St. Patrick – крест Святого Патрика

to remain – оставаться, пребывать; жить, обитать; находиться