Otázka: Great Britain
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Rolka
General info:
Great Britain is the union of England, Scotland and Wales. Great Britain and Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The area of England and Wales are dividend into counties whereas the area of Scotland is divided into regions and disctricts.
Language:
Although everybody speaks English in the United Kingdom, it is not the same language. English has its own special accents and dialects. A Southern English accent is generally accepted to be the most easily understood and thanks to this is usually taught to foreigners.
Landscape:
Great Britain can be divided roughly (zhruba) into the lowland and the highland area. The Scottish Highlands are the highest mountains in the British Isles. The highest peak Ben Newis is located there. Other large and well worth visiting mountains are The Pennines, Cambrian mountain and Southern uplands.
Talking about the British rivers, which aren’t very long, but really deep I couldn’t forget not to mention the Thames and the Severn river. Some very important ports are situated on them: London of the Thames, Liverpool on the Mersey and Glasgow on the Clyde. Britain is famous for large network of canals. These canals were absolutely important for inland freight traffie in the 19th century.
Lakes are to be found in the Lake district which is very important and favourite tourist destination. Apart from it they are also found in north-east England in the Scottish Highlands. Without any doubt the most well-known lake in Britain is Loch Ness.
Great Britain is washed and bordered by the Atlantic ocean in the west, by the North sea in the east and by the English channel in the south. As it is said: Nowhere in Britain is far from the sea. Coasts have sandy beaches, wild rocky shores and steep cliffs.
Weather:
The country has moderate climate. Winters are mild and summers are not very hot, it rains a lot and it is truly said that the grass is greener than in Central Europe. The weather is influenced by the Gulf Stream a lot. However on the Scottish mountains snow might be sometimes found in the spring as well.
Economy and Industry:
Britain was the first industrialized country in the world and nowadays it is one of the most developed countries. Country has an open market economy. Britain is very rich in coal, oil and natural gas (in sea shelfs in the North Sea). Major areas of development are the small towns west of London and around Cambridge. These locations are highly attractive to new hi-tech industries. The most important Britain’s exports are oil, vehicles, engines, automatic navigation systems, aviation electronics, the English language, tourism and consumer goods ( such as Scotch whisky, cheese, biscuits or jam).
Agriculture is highly developed and productive. It is based on cattle, sheep, poultry and potatoes.
Important cities industrial and financial centres:
London, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Dover
The system of government:
The system of government is divided into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Legislative (law-making) is represented by the British monarch and the Parliament. Now the monarch is Queen Elizabeth II. (the second) who has been on the throne since 1952 (officially crowned in 1953).The heir to the throne is Prince Charles followed in succession by Prince William (his eldest son). The queen is ceremonial head of the state with no real powers.
The Parliament is consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The country is governed by the Cabinet and Prime Minister (nowadays David Cameron).
FOUR FACTS ABOUT BRITAIN
CARDIFF – is the youngest capital city in Europe. It became the capital of Wales in 1955. Before that, Wales didn’t have a capital as it was a part of England. Cardiff is also important industrial centre with large and important seaport for container ships.
EDINBURGH – is the capital of Scotland where one of the most well-known Britain’s writers JK Rowling wrote her first novel Harry Potter and the “Philosopher’s stone” in a café in Edinburgh.
WINDSOR CASTLE – is the official home of the Queen Elizabeth II. It is west of London on the River Thames. William the Conqueror began to built the castle in 11th century and it is of the most famous royal palaces in Europe. Not far from the castle is the Eton public school. It is a prestigious private boy’s school where both princes were studied. As a tourist I can visit and see 2/3 of the castle
STONEHENGE – is a circle of grey huge stones on Salisbury plain in the West of England. It is one of the oldest prehistoric monuments in Europe. It was built between 2000 BC (before Christ) and 4000 BC. Many historicans think that it was built as a temple to the sun.
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