II. Reading. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on two large islands and about five thousand small islands
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on two large islands and about five thousand small islands, called the British Isles, to the North-West of Europe. The total area is over The UK consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Southern Ireland now called Eire or the Irish Republic, is independent of the United Kingdom. The population of the UK is over 63million. About 80 % of the population live in cities. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrower part of it is called the Strait of Dover. The country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the Irish Sea. The shallow waters of the North and the Irish Seas provide good Shakespeare called Britain a «precious stone set in the silver sea» Mountains are an important feature of the geography of the country. There are mountain chains in Scotland, Wales and North-West England, but they are not very high. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Scotland, it is only 1343 metres high. North-West England is also famous for its beautiful lakes. The rivers of Great Britain are not very long but usually deep and never freeze in winter. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. Lying in the middle latitudes and surrounded by waters Britain has The UK is a state with a highly developed industry. It is known as one of the world's producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding. The UK is also one of the largest exporters of manufactured goods. At the same time it imports metal, oil, grain, meat, fruit, tea and other raw materials and foodstuffs. The largest cities and most important industrial centers of Great London, the capital, is one of the most important industrial centers. Lots of things such as clothes, foodstuffs, cars, aircrafts, instruments, medical equipment are produced in and around London. It is also the biggest port. Birmingham is the centre of the production of machines, lorries, Manchester in the North-West of England is the centre of the cotton textile industry, one of the Britain's most important producers of computers and electronic equipment, chemicals. Oxford and Cambridge are not big industrial centers but they are famous all over the world as educational centers. The oldest and most famous universities of Great Britain are situated there. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge date from the 12th and 13th centuries and the Scottish Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh from 15th – 16th centuries. Oxford is international because people from all over the world come to study there. Physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, biology, geography, agriculture are studied there. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy. Legislative power belongs to the Queen (formally) and the Parliament, which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Officially the head of the State is the Queen (from 1952 – Elizabeth II). But the actual power belongs to the parliament and the ruling party. The powers of the Queen are limited by the constitution. The government in the UK, since 1945 has alternated between only two political parties: the Conservative (the Tory) and the Labour Parties. No other party has been in office at all since 1945 and there have been no coalitions. The third long-established party, the Liberals, enjoyed moments of success, but no member of the Liberal Party has held government office since 1945. It is an interesting country to come to know with.
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