THE GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF GREAT BRITAIN

         There are two large islands and several smaller ones, which lie in the north-west coast of Europe. Collectively they are known as the British Isles. The largest island is called Great Britain. The smaller one is called Ireland. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel. The country is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Great Britain is separated from Belgium and Holland by the North Sea, and from Ireland – by the Irish Sea.

          There are two states in the British Isles. One of them governs of the most of the island of Ireland. This state is usually called the Republic of Ireland. The other state has authority over the rest of the territory.

           The official name of this country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But it is usually known by a shorter name – «The United Kingdom». The total area of Great Britain is 244,000 square km.

            They say that the British love of the compromise is the result of the country’s physical geography. This may or may not be true, but it certainly true that the land and climate in Great Britain have a notable lack of extremes. The mountains in the country are not very high. It doesn’t usually get very cold in the winter or very hot in the summer. It has no active volcanoes, and an earth tremos which does no more than rattle teacups in a few houses which is reported in the national news media. The insular geographical position of Great Britain promoted the development of shipbuilding, different training contacts with other countries.

QUESTIONS:

1.     Where is Great Britain situated?

2.     What is total area of Great Britain?

3.     What is the official name of this country?

4.     Is Great Britain a mountainous country?

5.     What’s the result of the country’s physical geography?

VOCABULARY:

British Isles – Британские острова

the govern –  управлять

to rattle – болтать

volcano – вулкан

earth tremos – землетресение

to be separated – быть отделенным

insular – островной