Great Britain is situated on islands. It is washed by seas from all sides. That's why the climate and the nature of Great Britain is very specific. The popular belief that it rains all the time in Britain is simply not true.

The British Isles are the home of four nations - English, Scottish,Welshand Irish. Even though foreigners often call all British people "English", and sometimes have difficulty in appreciating the distinctions, the component nations of the United Kingdom are well aware of their own individual characteristics.

England is the largest and the richest country of Great Britain. The capital of England is London but there are other large industrial cities, such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and other famous and interesting cities such as York, Chester, Oxfordand Cambridge.

Scotland is a country in the north of Great Britain. It is a part of the United Kingdom. Scotland is divided into three natural regions: the Southern Uplands, the Central Lowlands and the Highlands and islands.

Wales is the country in the west of Great Britain. It is mainly a mountainous land with a hiefly agricultural economy and an industrial and coal-mining area in the south. The landscape is beautiful.

Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster, is still a part of the United Kingdom. It is made up of six countries: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Tyrone.

Ireland is an island on the west side of Europe. The capital of Ireland is Dublin. There are about 5 million people in the Republic of Ireland. It is a small country but a lot of people know about it.

Dublin is a fine city, with beautiful grey stone houses. It is situated on the east coast of Ireland. If you go to Dublin you must visit its parks. They have beautiful gardens with deer, and there are markets there on Sundays.

I'd like to tell you about another countries, where English is the official language. At first, the USA. After 350 years of development the United States of America still holds the leading position in the western world.

The Queen is officially head of all the branches of government, but she has little direct power in the country. The constitution has three branches: Parliament, which makes lows, the government, which "executes" laws (puts them into effect) and the courts, which interpret laws. Parliament has two parts: the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The party which wins the most seats in the General Election forms the government in Britain. The leader of the winning party becomes Prime Minister.

Britain is administered from the Palace of Westminster in London. This is also known as the Houses of Parliament. Parliament is made up of two chambers - the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. Parliament first met in the 13th century. Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. In 1689 Mary II and William III became the first constitutional monarchs.

Margaret Thatcher (Margaret Robins) was born in 1925. Her fat had a grocer's shop but he was also very interested in local politics. Margaret was a good student and won a schoolarship to Oxford to study chemistry.

All state schools in Britain are free, and schools provide their pupils with books and equipment for their studies. Nine million children attend 35.000 schools in Britain. Education is compulsory from 5 till 16 years.

The United Kingdom (abbreviated from "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland") is the political name of the country which consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (sometimes known as Ulster).

At present the British royal family is headed by Queen Elizabeth. When the Queen was born on the 21st of April 1926, her grandfather, King George V, was on the throne and her uncle was his heir.

Diana Spencer was born on the first of July 1961 in Sandringham in England. She had two older sisters and a younger brother. In childhood she liked games, swimming, running and dancing.

The heartfelt goodbye to the people's princess sums up how everyone felt about her tragic death. Astonished tourists fighting back their tears watched Englishmen weep unashamedly on the streets of London.

British religion used to be closely connected with kings, queens and politics. England was a Roman Catholic country until 1534. In 1525 King Henry VIII decided to divorce his queen, Catherine of Aragon, because he fell in love with Anne Boleyn.

The centre of everything in Great Britain is the city of London. It's situated at the centre of a vast national and international network of communication. London consists of four main districts, which differ from each other.

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and cultural centre. It's one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is more than million people. London is situated on the river Thames. The city is very old and beautiful. It was founded more than two thousand years ago.

The Tower of London is one of the most imposing and popular of London's historical sites. It comprises not one, but .20 towers. The oldest of which, the White Tower, dates back to the 11th century and the time of William the Conqueror.

The British have taken good ideas from all over the world. You can eat Chinese, Indian, Italian and Greek food in any big city. There is a fantastic variety of restaurants. The restaurants best customers are business people, who meet in them to talk business in a relaxed atmosphere away from the telephone.

London is so large that visitors must learn to use buses and the underground to get about. London taxis are too expensive for any but the rich. You can get a map of the underground and the bus routes at any ticket office.

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.

This university town is very beautiful. The oldest university there is Oxford. The first of its colleges was founded in 1249. The university now has thirty-five colleges and about thirteen thousand students, many of them from other countries.

There were many outstanding events in the history of Great Britain. Many different tribes tried to control the territory of Britain.

Britain is rich in its historic places which link the present with the past. The oldest part of London is Lud Hill, where the city is originated. About a mile west of it there is Westminster Palace, where the king lived and the Parliament met, and there is also Westminster Abbey, the coronation church.

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.

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.

Britain's Ecological Activity Mankind long believed that, whatever we did, the Earth would remain much the same. We know now that is untrue. Nature is under threat. One country's pollution can be every country's problem. So we all need to work together to safeguard our environment.

Since the 1970's eating habits in Britain have undergone a change. People have been encouraged by doctors, health experts and government advertisements to eat less fat and more fibre.

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.

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.