Objectives:
• to revise and
enrich students' vocabulary on the topic
• to practise
reading for gist and then foe more detailed information
• to develop
students' listening skills
Warm up
What do you know about UK?
Official name: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Abbreviation: UK Capital: London
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952) Head of Government: Prime
Minister
National Flag: Union Jack, a combination of the banners of England / St.
George's flag, a red cross with extended horizontals on a white field /, Scotland
/ St. Andrew's flag, a white cross on a blue field / and Ireland / St.
Patrick's flag, a red cross on a white field /.
National Anthem: "God Save the Queen"
God save our gracious queen! Long Live our noble queen! God save the Queen!
Send her victorious, Happy and glorious, Long reign over us, God save the
Queen!
Population: Over 58.000,000 Area: 244,037 sq. km.
Main language: English (official); also Welsh, Scottish, GaeUc. Unit of
currency: pound sterling.
Introducing the Topic
Reading
THE SEA TRIP ТО GREAT BRITAIN
If we want to visit Great Britain we must either go by plane or go to
Calais by train and then on board the channel-boat we cross the Strait of
Dover. Though the English Channel is rather narrow here — only thirty-two miles
wide it has the reputation of being very rough. As soon as the ship is out of
the French harbour it begins to roll from side to side. Luckily this is soon
over as the crossing takes only an hour and a quarter. Then we see the white
cliffs of Dover. Dover is one of the most ancient ports. Right above the harbor
on a cliff stands Dover Castle called The Key of England.
Calais — the name of the city
channel-boat — a ship which sails from Calais to Dover and back rough —
stormy
harbour — place of shelter for ships
cliff — a kind of high rock
castle — a kind of palace or old fort
A) Make up 6 sentences to the text using new words.
B) Answer the questions.
1. How can you go to Great Britain?
2. What reputation has the English Channel?
3. How much time does it take to cross the English Channel?
C) Make up short dialogues about going to Great Britain by bout using
the new words.
Listening
THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH ISLES
The British Isles can be divided into two, not only because of its
geography but also because of its climate and agriculture. If you draw a line
from the English Channel to the Wash, then to the south of this line there are
mainly low lands and hills, and to the north there are higher lands and
mountains. This includes the Welsh Mountains, the Highlands of north-west
Scotland, and the Pennines, which is a range of the mountains that runs north
to south, and is known as the backbone of England. It is wetter in the north
because of the higher land, and drier and sunnier in the south. This has an
effect on the agriculture, of course. On the north there are sheep and cows
because the grass grow so well, and to the south there are arable farms growing
crops and cereal.
The South West of England is famous for its beautiful countryside and
dramatic coastline. One particular area of natural beauty is Dartmoor, which
is inhabited by wild ponies. The countryside in the South East is gentler, and
there is a lot of fruit- growing. It is also the most heavily populated part of
Britain. East Anglia is very flat, and is famous for its vast fields of wheat
and potatoes. The Midlands used to have a lot of heavy industry, but much of
this had disappeared over recent years. Wales is characterized by its mountains
in the north and its valleys in the south. In the North West of England there
is the beautiful Lake District, and the cities of Liverpool and Manchester. The
North East used to have a lot of mining and ship building, but not any more,
unfortunately Scotland is famous for its lakes, of course, known as lochs. The
moors and mountains are beautiful and empty. Ireland is famed for its rains and
its green grass, its romance and its mists.
A) The students work with maps of the British Isles and draw a he
between the Bristol Channel and the Wash.
B) They listen to the description of the main geographical features of
the British Isle and answer the questions.
• What can be found to the north of the line?
• What can be found to the south of the line?
• Match the numbers on the map to these places: the Pennines
the Welsh Mountains the Scottish Highlands
C) The students take notes about the following areas and places: The
South West the South East East Anglia
The Midlands the North West Wales The North East Scotland Ireland
D) The students have a talk about these areas and places. Reading
While-reading activity A) Read the text using the following interactive
reading strategy: put some marks on the margins: S — information you know;
--information that
contradicts your ideas;
+ — new information;
? — information you are interested.
THE UNITED KINGDOM
Geographical Location
The official name of the country we usually call "England" and
occasionally "Great Britain" is "The United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland". The United Kingdom is situated on the group
of islands lying just off the mainland of north-western Europe. The British
Isles include Great Britain, Ireland and a number of smaller islands.
Many years ago the British Isles formed a part of the continent. The
rocky highlands of Scotland, for example, resemble the Norwegian coast. Another
evidence that the islands were the part of the continent is the shallowness of
the water between them and the mainland.
Now Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel,
the narrowest part of which is called the Strait of Dover. The British Isles
are surrounded by the shallow water of the Irish Sea and the North Sea, the
Norwegian Sea, the North Channel and the Atlantic Ocean.
There are wild desolate mountains in the northern Highlands of Scotland.
The Pennine Range in the northern England and the Cambrian Mountains in the
Wales are much lower.
Most of England consists of low plains and rolling downs where the land
doesn't rise higher than 305 metres.
Scotland has three distinct topographical regions: the Northern Highlands,
containing the highest point in the British Isles, Ben Nevis, 1,343 m.
Wales is a country of hills and mountains. The Cambrian Mountains occupy
almost the entire area and include wale's highest point, Mount Snowdon, 1,085
m. Northern Ireland consistrs mostky of low — lying plateaus and hills from 152
to 183 metres high. The Mourne Mountains include the highest point in Northern
Ireland, Slieve Donard, 853 m.
The rivers of the region are short and of no great importance as waterways.
The longest of them are the Severn, 338 km and the Thames, 332 km, the "Father
of London". Britain's principal ports are London, Liverpool, Manchester
and Glasgow. They have splendid harbours, for the coast line is very indented.
Owing to the shape of the country, any point in Great Britain is no more than
70 miles from the sea.
B) Answer the questions.
1. What is the official name of the country we call Great Britain?
2. Is United Kingdom situated on the mainland?
3. What are the evidences that the islands were the part of the
continent?
4. What is Strait of Dover?
5. What are the British Isles surrounded by?
6. Are there any rivers in that region? What are they? What are the
longest rivers?
7. What can you tell about England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland?
8. What are the main ports of Britain?
Vocabulary
A) Choose the following words: Britain, the North Sea, Orkney,
constituent, units, Greenwich, part, Channel, extreme, island to complete the
sentences.
1. The United Kingdom is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the_.
2. It is separated from the continent by the English_, 34 km wide.
3. Its total area of 244,035 km is shared by four_units.
4. The four constituent_are England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
5. There are also several_groups.
6. The best know islands are the_Islands, the Shetland Islands, the
Outer
Hebrides.
7. The distance from the southern coast to the_North of Scotland is under
1000 km.
8. The widest_of Great Britain is under 500 km.
9. No place in_is more than 120 km from tidal water.
10. The prime meridian of 0 passes through the Old Observatory at_, near
London.
B) Complete the sentences with one of the following words: Scafell Pike,
Snowdon, Ben Nevis, Slieve Donard, Severn.
1. The highest point in the British Isles is_/1,343 m.
2. The highest point in England is_/ 978 m.
3. Wale's highest point is Mount_/ 1,085 m.
4. The longest of the British rivers is the_/ 338 km.
5. The highest point in Northern Island is_/ 852 m.
Reading
A) Cloze test
Every eighth word is omitted. Try to guess it.
If you look at the map of_(Great) Britain you'll see two islands. In
_(the) old days, a
long, long while ago,_(these) islands were in the
same place and_(stormy) sea roared round them, just as it_(roars)
now. But the sea was not alive,_(then), with great ships and brave
sailors
sailing_(to) and from all parts of the world._(The) people living there
knew nothing of the_(rest) of the world and the rest of_(the) world
knew nothing of them. Once some_(ancient) people came in ships to
these islands_(and) found that they produce tin and lead. They_
(traded) with the Britons for these metals and_(gave) them other useful
things in exchange.
At_(that) time the whole country was covered with_(forests). The
greater part of it was misty_(and) cold. The Britons planted little corn
but_
_(they) could make
clothes and were clever in_(basketwork). Such were
the conditions of life of_(the) ancient Britons when Romans came one
late
_(summer) morning
of the year 55 B.C.
ancient inhabitants — people who lived in Great Britain long ago
tin — олово
lead — свинець
corn — зерно
В)
Answer the questions.
1. What have you
just known about the two islands, making up Great Britain?
2. Who began to
trade with Britons?
3. What was Great
Britain covered with at that time?
4. What could the
Britons do?
5. When did the
Romans come to the Great Britain?
Work in groups
The game "Which Group Knows More About Great Britain?"
Homework
Prepare the project "UK Basic Facts". Choose one of the UK
basic facts and write and tell about it.
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