Maturitní
otázka èíslo 11. GREAT BRITAIN
It is
situated to the west of Europe. It
borders with the Atlantic ocean in the west and
with the
North Sea in the North – east.
The United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland covers an area of about 244 000
square km. It consists of two large islands (Great Britain – divided into England, Scotland
and Wales
and Ireland) and many smaller ones
(e.g. the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Scilly, Anglesey, The Hebrides,
the Shetlands, the Channel Islands…)
The main
mountain regions are the Cambrians
(Wales), the Pennines (the Backbone
of England), the Cheviot Hills (on
the border between England and Scotland), the Highlands of Scotland with the highest mountain Ben Nevis (1 342
m). Coast is heavily indented, especially on west. The longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames. The Isles have moderate
climate. It is rainy and windy very often.
Its population is about 57,000,000 people.
Different names: The United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland or Great Britain or just Britain.
Great Britain consists of Wales, Scotland, England and
Northern Ireland (Ulster).
The Commonwealth is the descendant of the British Empire, a
worldwide system of colonies; most of them are independent now. Colonies were
source of raw materials and cheap labour and they served as markets for
manufactured goods. The first country to attain self-government was Canada. In
1867. Later on also Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Ireland and the Union
of South Africa became independent. These were called as old Commonwealth
countries. New commonwealth members are India, Pakistan and The Isle of Fiji.
The Queen is still the head of each state.
Flag: 3 crosses (England, Scotland, and N. Ireland),
Wales- its own flag.
Language: English, Welsh (parts of Wales), Scottish and
Ireland Gaelic (they aren’t official).
Political system: Constitution monarchy, head of the
state is British Queen, but she has very little power. Parliament: 2 chambers:
House of Lords and House of Commons- bigger power.
Very
important is prime minister- now Tony Blaire. There are two main parties
(liberal and conservative) in Britain.
Religion: Anglican or Protestant.
Scotland
The capital
is Edinburg; the biggest city is Glasgow.
The Loch
Ness- the monster is the biggest attraction.
The highest
mountain is Ben Nevis.
Gretna
Green
It used to
be a part of Scotland. It is a small village; young people can get married at
16 without parents’ agreement.
Hadrian
Wall
Picts- brave people, they attacked Romans, they
protected Scotland.
England
Southwest
Plymouth
Home to
many England’s seafarers including Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman that
sail around the world. He set out to attack the Spanish armada from here. The
Pilgrim Fathers sailed from here to America.
Barnstable
Is one of
the oldest towns in Devon. It was established as Saxon Burg in 10th
century. It is an important trading centre.
Bath
Is the most
famous spa in England. Natural springs are nearly 50 degrees hot. Romans built
it.
Cornwall
The south-west
country of England, is known for its beautiful landscape.
Devon
Is the
region of wild moors. The area became famous through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The
Hound of the Baskervilles”.
Stonehenge
It is
situated on Salisbury Plain. The purpose of this construction is unknown –
probably religious and astronomical reasons. Europe’s most famous prehistoric
monument, it was in use about 3500 years ago. The ruins stand in the centre of
huge circle (98 meters in diameter). The circle is formed by a bank and a
ditch. The ruins consist of two stone circles and two horseshoes. In the centre
there is an Altar Stone.
Clovelly
A little
village with long steep cobbled street. The old stone houses and very popular
donkeys make it a great attraction.
Southeast
Dover
When you
approach Britain by sea, the first sights to see are the White Cliffs of Dover and Dover
Castle. Dover Castle, which is one of the country’s largest castles stands
on top of the cliffs. There is situated e.g. the Roman Lighthouse which is still in use, Medieval Tunnels and Admiralty
Look out which gives a magnificent view of the harbour and the White Cliffs
coastline.
Hastings
Hastings is
a seaside resort on the east-coast. It was the Normans who made the biggest
impact on Hastings - and much of what they built can still be seen today. The ruins of one
of William
the Conqeror’s first English castles
dominates Hastings. Inside, you can see a film about the battle of Hastings.
There are St Clement’s Caves where is a very
popular tourist attraction, which is called Smuggler’s Adventure. You can see there how smugglers lived. (There
are figures of smugglers and you can press buttons to get information about
their lives, work and so on.). It is built because there were about 70 000
smugglers in Hastings in the 17th (18th) century.
The houses and
pubs in the Old Town concealed secret passages where the smugglers hid from the
law.
There is Sea life Centre in Hastings as well
where you can see e.g. sharks, fish,
seahorses, octopuses, conger eels, rays, crabs, starfish and so on.
But no
visit to Hastings would be complete without a walk down the 122 years old pier, with its amusements and bars.
Battle
As you know
William the Conqeror defeated the Saxon King Harold in the battle of Hastings
in 1066. But it was not exactly in Hastings, it was in a small town which is
situated near H. That town is called Battle and after defeating Harold, W. the
Conqeror had an abbey built there to
Harold’s memory. (There is something like Harold’s
grave in that area.)
There is an
attraction called Yesterday’s World
in Battle.
It is a
museum of shops dated to Victorian time (the 19th century). You can
see there e.g. the old jewellers, chocolate and tobacco shop, the Victorian
chemist shop as well as the late Victorian kitchen and maid’s room.
Brighton
Not far
along the coast lies Brighton a fashionable seaside resort and a spa. Its
prosperity began with the building of the Royal
Pavilion by King George IV. in
the 19th century.
He had it built
in oriental style as his summer
residence. The interiors are decorated in the Chinese taste, the exterior is inspired by Indian architecture.
There is
the Palace Pier in Brighton, which
is similar to Hastings, Pier.
Canterbury
Canterbury
is the seat of the Archbishop. There
is a cathedral built by people of faith. Thomas Becket was murdered there in 12th
century and he is also buried there.
Canterbury
Tales based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s classic are big attraction. You can join
pilgrims on their way from London to Canterbury and listen to their stories,
which are spoken by famous speakers. You listen to strange sounds and smell
different smells.
Windsor
Home of
kings and queens of Britain for over 900 years. There are unique treasures. It
has been heavily damaged in 1992.
Great Park-
it used to be hunting forest, now it is famous for playing of polo.
Portsmouth
Traditional
home of the Royal Navy. It has been an important port. There are historic
ships, castles, forts, and museums. You can walk where Captain Cook or Nelson
once walked.
The Midlands
Liverpool
Second
largest port in GB. The dock (Albert docks) has been transformed into
International Garden Festival.
It is
famous for Industry, football horses and Beatles. Liver was a magic bird and it
is a symbol of Liverpool.
It is
called the city of the Beatles.
There is the Beatles museum and the Beatles club.
(Everything is
made for tourists.) Beatles Story- you can go through whole history of Beatles,
you listen to their songs and learn about their lives.
There is very
old Liverpool Cathedral. Liverpool
Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Britain and the 5th
largest in the world. (It is a protestant cathedral, it was completed by Queen
Elizabeth II.)
Coventry
Home of
Britain’s car industry, there is a famous cathedral which was once destroyed
and then rebuilt. It was bombed in the WW II. In the centre of the city there
stands a statue of Lady Godiva who lived in 11th century.
Manchester
Is a large
industrial, commercial and financial centre of the UK. Manchester ship canal is
36 meters long, Large production of cotton, clothes, machinery chemicals and
plastic.
Oxford
There is
the oldest university in England. Sir Christopher Wren or John Locke studied
there. Oxford University consists of 38 independent colleges. The largest is
called Christ Church. The city is situated at the meeting of two rivers- The
Thames and The Cherwell. The Oxford’s beer is still produced in last remaining
brewery. There are many museums, libraries, galleries (The museum of modern
art, The museum of Oxford, The university museum…).
There is
also a castle there.
Stratford
It is a
small town with only 17 thousand inhabitants but over 250 thousand people
visited Statford every year. In Holy
Trinity Church you can see the grave of Shakespeare, his wife and other
members of his family. Not far there is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre where
the
Shakepeare’s plays have been played.
Shakespeare’s birthplace is the house where Shakespeare was
born in 1564. It has been a place of pilgrimage for over 250 years
New place (Nash’s House)- Shakespeare’s family home from
1597 until his dead in 1616. It was pulled down in the 18th century
because the owner didn’t like the visitors. But the ruins can be still seen
today.
Hall’s Croft – is a house where Shakespeare is buried. It
is named after Dr. John Hall, Shakespeare’s son in law. He married Susanna
Shakespeare in 1607 and they lived here until moving to New Place after
Shakespeare’s death.
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage is the thatched farmhouse. It is
home of Anne before her marriage to Shakespeare. It has got picturesque cottage
garden.
Mary Arden’s House is a timbered Tudor Farmhouse where
Shakespeare’s mother grew up.
There are
1600 hotel rooms in Stratford. There is one hotel whose rooms haven’t numbers
but names of Shakespeare’s plays. So you can sleep in Hamlet’s room or in Romeo
and Juliet’s room.
East englie
Cambridge
A
university town situated on the river Cam. University: 30 colleges, firstly
only for men, since 1871 for women too. There is very famous bridge over the
river called Bridge of Sighs. It is wooden. There are no screws or nails. There
are wooden Mathematical Bridge and
the Bridge of Sighs over the river.
The
historical city is more beautiful than Oxford. Microsoft are building their 1st European research
centre there.
Wales
Wales is to
the west of England. The Welsh are very proud of their language and culture.
Welsh is one of the oldest living languages in
Europe. (It is the Celtic language like Scottish and Irish Gaelic.) It is
spoken by 20 per cent of the population.
King Edward I. started the tradition that the oldest son of
the English King has the title
The first Welsh Prime Minister of Great
Britain was David Lloyd George.
Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are the biggest industrial cities.
The main industries in Cardiff are coal
and steel industries. Mining has been one of the most
important industries for many years. One of the biggest power-stations in the world is being built in the heart of Welsh
mountain. (It uses the water of a large mountain lake to produce electricity.)
Cardiff has been the official capital of Wales since 1955. It was an important
industrial city and a port, nowadays it is a commercial and administrative centre. You should visit the Castle, the Cathedral or the National
Museum of Wales there.
There is the village with the longest name in the
world, in Wales.
(Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch)
There are 3 National Parks in Wales. The most famous
is Snowdonia, which covers about 2
sq km. The highest mountain Snowdon
is 1085 m. You can reach the summit on foot or by the Snowdon Mountain railway.
In the Snowdonia Museum you are
taken on a fascinating journey through time to reveal the power of Wales.
The Welsh Slate Museum shows us the life of people who
worked in this industry.
Wales is
sometimes called the land of castles,
because North Wales has several impressive castles. (Caernarfon, Flint castle,
Harlech Castle, …)
City of Bangor is a coastal city with unique character and landscape
– it has its own mountain. There is the Bible
Garden with a unique collection of some plants named in the Bible. There is
the Victorian Pier (over the Menai
Strait) which was built in 1896 in this city.
Bangor Cathedral is one of the oldest, its restoration has been
continuing.
There is an
annual competition in Wales, called eisteddfod.
People recite poetry, sing and dance.
St. David is the patron saint of Wales. The symbols are
a leek and a daffodil.
History
Britain
draws its name from one of the Celtic tribes- Brythons, who brought iron to
England.
England was
added to the Roman Empire in 43 AD.
Christianity
was brought to England in 4th century
In 4th
century waves of Jutes, Angles and Saxons arrived from Germanic lands.
In the 11th
century Danish king Canute made Britain part of his Scandinavian Empire.
In 1066
William the Conqueror defeated Saxon King Harold in a battle of Hastings.
1338-1453
Hundred Year’s War against France took place.
A long
civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York lasted
1455-1485.
King Henry
VIII separated the Church of England from the authority of the Pope in 1543.
A struggle
between the Parliament and Stuart kings led to a bloody civil war (1642-1649).
Finally Oliver Cromwell established a republic and king Charles was beheaded.
(The monarchy was restored in 1660, but the parliament stayed);
Technological
innovations led to the Industrial Revolution (1760-1850). Britain became the
world leader of power after defeating Napoleon in1850.
During WWI
and II Britain suffered big economic losses and the USA became the world’s
leading power.
Ireland
became independent in 1921.
Economics
GB has very rich coal deposits.
Hence is saying: “It’s like carrying coal to Newcastle.” GB has big deposits of
oil and gas in North Sea. As to steel GB is the 5th largest producer
in the world. In aircraft industry GB takes up 2nd position. During
WW II Spitfire, Hurricane and bomber Halifax were world-famous. Textile
production is traditional.
Great
Britain is a highly developed country. The main
industries are electrical, oil and aircraft industries and textile production. It is very rich in
natural resources as well, e.g. coal,
earth gas, lead, limestone, kaolin, chalk and so on. It is one of the
biggest shipbuilders (Newcastle).
Important agricultural items are cattle,
sheep, vegetables, fruit, potatoes and so on. 30 per cent of the population work in manufacturing and engineering
and nearly 60 per cent work in services.