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 In England, the
Department of Education and Science is responsible for all
levels of education. Universities, however, are self-governing
and depend on the government only for financial grants.
Education is compulsory between the ages of five and sixteen.
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Great
importance
is attached in Britain to human rights. Respect for individual
freedoms forms a cornerstone of Britain's democratic system.
British public opinion is concerned about violations of human
rights throughout the world. The British Government regards the
observation of human rights and their protection as an important
element of its foreign policy. |
Great Britain is
one of the biggest and highly developed countries in the world.
Britain's democratic system of government is long established
and well tried, and has provided a remarkable political
stability. Britain's overseas relations including its membership
in the European Economic Community and its links with
Commonwealth countries, enable it to realize international
cooperation. |
The British Isles
which are surrounded by the ocean have an insular climate.
There
are 3
things that chiefly determine the climate of the United Kingdom:
the position of the islands in the temperate belt; the fact that
the prevailing winds blow from the west and south-west and the
warm current — the Gulf Stream that flows from the Gulf of
Mexico along the western shores of England.
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For
most British
families, this is the most important festival of the year. This
is the day when many people are travelling home to be with their
families on Christmas Day. If you try to catch a train on 24th
December you may have difficulty in finding a seat.
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Christmas Day,
December 25, is probably the most popular holiday in Great
Britain. It is a family holiday. Traditionally all relatives and
friends give each other presents. So, before Christmas all the
department stores and shops are crowded, everybody is choosing a
present.
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Cambridge
is one
of the best known towns in the world and it can be found on most
tourists' lists of places to visit. Cambridge is famous for its
university, which started during the 13th century and grew
steadily, until today there are more than twenty colleges.
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Most 18 and 19
year-olds in Britain are quite independent people. Relationships
within the British family are different now. Children have more
freedom to make their own decisions.
For example,
children aged 13 may be employed part time in Great Britain.
Aged 16 they can leave home, marry with "parents' consent". Age
18 can vote, get married, drink in pubs.
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Most 18 and 19
year-olds in Britain are quite independent people. English
people say that children grow up more quickly now. Relationships
within the British family are different now. Children have more
freedom to make their own decisions.
For example,
children aged 13 may be employed part time in Great Britain. Age
15 is legally a "young person" not a "child". Age 16 is a school
leaving age. They can leave home, drive a moped, marry with
"parents' consent" buy beer. Age 17 can drive a car. Age 18 can
vote, get married, drink in pubs.
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Young people from
all walks of life are united according to their interests by the
established youth organizations in Britain. These organizations
develop because of the contribution of both full-time and
part-time youth workers and a great number of volunteers.
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British
nation is
considered to be the most conservative in Europe. It is not a
secret that every nation and every country has its own customs
and traditions. In Great Britain people attach greater
importance to traditions and customs than in other European
countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and
carefully keep them up. The best examples are their queen, money
system, their weights and measures.
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There
are many
museums in London. One of them is the Tate Gallery in Millmank,
which presents modern masters of England and France. There are
some fine examples of modern sculpture. Its collection of French
Impressionists is marvellous. There is the Victoria and Albert
Museum in Brompton Road. It has an
outstanding collection of the applied arts of all countries and
periods.
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Great Britain
gave the world a lot of talented people. Many famous writers and
poets were born and lived in Great Britain.
One of the
best
known English playwrights was William Shakespeare. He draw ideas
for his tragedies and comedies from the history of England and
ancient Rome. Many experts consider Shakespeare the greatest
writer and the greatest playwright in English language. William
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays which may be divided into: comedies
(such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream"), tragedies (such as
"Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear", "Macbeth") and historical
plays (such as "Richard II", "Henry V", "Julius Caesar", "Antony
and Cleopatra").
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There are 22
million homes in Britain — big homes and small homes, old
cottages and new buildings, houses and flats. (Americans say
"apartment" but British people say "flat"). Many British people
love old houses and these are often more expensive than modern
ones. They also love gardening and you will see gardens
everywhere you go: in towns, villages and out in the country.
Some are very
small with just one tree and a few flowers. Others are enormous
with plenty of flowers and enough vegetables and fruit trees.
Two third of the families in Britain own their houses.
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Some people
criticize English food. They say it's unimaginable, boring,
tasteless, it's chips with everything and totally overcooked
vegetables. The basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of
flavour that British haven't had to invent sauces to disguise
their natural taste. What can compare with fresh pees or new
potatoes just boiled and served with butter? Why drown spring
lamb in wine or cream and spices, when with just one or two
herbs it is absolutely delicious? |
There was little
pictorial art in England until the great miniaturists of the
Tudor epoch. There were portraits on a large scale, but they
were in the main, of foreign origin, notably Dutch like Holbein.
Then came Hogarth, the first great native painter born at the
end of the 17th century, famous for both engravings and oil
paintings, he was followed by Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) famous
for his portraits. |
It is a dangerous thing to order the
lives of others and I have
often wondered at the self-confidence of the politicians, reformers and
suchlike who are prepared to force upon their fellows measures that must
alter their manners, habits, and points of view. I have always
hesitated to give advice, for how can one advise another how to act
unless one knows that other as well as one knows himself? Heaven knows. |
Once a rich
Englishwoman called Mrs Johnson decided to have a birthday
party. She invited a lot of guests and a singer. The singer was poor,
but he had a very good voice.
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Theodore Dreiser, the great
American progressive writer, was born in a
poor family in 1871. He began to work for his living when he was
sixteen. He had a number of jobs, and at one time was a newspaper
reporter. As a reporter he gained a wide experience of life, which was a
great help to him when he took up novel-writing.
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I am a painter. I like painting more
than anything else, except obvious
things like food and drink, that all sensible people like. As a painter,
I have quite a lot of talent — I'm not sure yet how much — and a fairly
complete mastery of most of the technical requirements; that is, I am
an instinctive colourist, and my composition is interesting.
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Nigel Balchin, a modern English
writer, was born in 1908. He is the
author of several novels, stories and screen-scripts.
Among the passengers travelling home by train from Florence there
was a certain Miss Bradley.
I only noticed her when passing down the corridor, because of her
really remarkable plainness.
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Katherine Mansfield, an outstanding English short-story
writer of the
20th century, was born in New Zealand in 1888 and died in 1923. She is
the author of a number of excellent short stories which deal with human
nature and psychology.
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About 5,000 years ago, a remarkable
way of life, or civilization, grew
up along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. It flourished for over
3,000 years, longer than most other civilizations in the world's
history. Egypt is among the most influential of Arab states. It lies
between Africa and the Middle East. |
Babylon is just one among many small
Mesopotamian kingdoms when
Hammurabi becomes its ruler in about 1790. He defeats his rivals in the
region, and establishes a society based on the rule of law (and famous
also for the skill of its astronomers and mathematicians). By the end of
his reign the whole of Mesopotamia is under central control for the
first time since the empire of Sargon, 500 years earlier.
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The Olympic
Games have a very long history. They began in 777 BC in
Greece and took place every four years for nearly twelve centuries at
Olympia. They included many different kinds of sports: running, boxing,
wrestling, long jumping, throwing of disks, chariot races, etc. |
The first
European explorer who saw Manhattan Island was Giovanni da
Verrazano, an Italian merchant who was in the service of the French
king, Francis I. The date was April, 1524. Today a bridge which carries
his name, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, is one of the city’s most
impressive sights. It is the longest suspension bridge in the world.
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In Washington, DC, 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue is a very special address.
It’s the address of the White House, the home of the President of the
United States.
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If you go to
Australia it will seem to you rather an upside-down world.
The seasons are the other way round. Summer is from December to
February, autumn from March to May, winter from June to August, and
spring from September to November. New Year is at midsummer, midwinter
is in June. |
Сanada is he
second largest country in the world. It covers the northern
part of North America and its total area is 9,975,000 square
kilometers. Canada’s only neighbour is the USA. The boarder between the
two countries is the longest unguarded border in the world.
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland is situated on
the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great
Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total
area is over 244, 000 square kilometers.
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Denmark officially Kingdom of
Denmark, kingdom (2005 est. pop.
5,432,000), 16,629 sq mi (43,069 sq km), N Europe. It borders on Germany
in the south, the North Sea in the west, the Skagerrak in the north,
and the Kattegat and the Oresund in the east. Copenhagen is Denmark's
capital, largest city, and chief industrial center. |
Moscow is the capital of Russia, its
political, economic, commercial and
cultural centre. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri
Dolgoruky. Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of
Moscow’s history. Gradually the city became more and more powerful.
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PARIS city (1999 pop. 2,115,757; metropolitan area est.
pop.
11,000,000), N central France, capital of the country, on the Seine
River. It is the commercial and industrial focus of France and a
cultural and intellectual center of international renown. The city
possesses an indefinable unity of atmosphere that has fascinated
writers, poets, and painters for centuries. |
Without doubt one of the principal
reasons for coming to London is to
take advantage of the excellent shopping facilities for which this great
city is famed.
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The Russian
Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies
about one-seventh of the earth surface. It covers the eastern part of
Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area about 17 million
square kilometers. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the
Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. |
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