Welcome to Britain!

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

• population

• political system

• education

• culture

• traditions

• sports

• London

• Authors

Population, People and

Languages

Official Symbols of the UK

The British Flag

The Union Flag

The Union Jack

It embodies the emblems of three countries united under one Sovereign.

The British Flag , known as the Union Jack is a combination of three flags:

the Saint Patrick’s cross

the Saint George’s cross

the Saint Andrew’s cross

The Welsh The Welsh FlagFlag doesn’t appear on the Union Jack.

The Union JackThe Union Jack.

On the flag appear:

1) the red cross of Saint George on the white ground, for England;

2) the white diagonal cross of Saint Andrew on a blue ground, for Scotland;

3) the red diagonal cross of Saint Patrick on a white ground, for Ireland.

National EmblemsNational EmblemsThe English a red rose.

The Scottish a thistle.

The Irish a shamrock.

The Welsh a leek or

a daffodil.

These are Britain’s patron These are Britain’s patron saints and their days.saints and their days.

England – St George – April 23rd

Wales - St David – March 1st

Ireland - St Patrick - March 17th

Scotland – St Andrew –November 30th

Population in BritainPopulation in Britain: about 58 mln

228 per sq km

England– 354

Scotland - 65

Wales - 134

Northern

Ireland - 110

People in four lands of Britain derive from:•The Celts (from western & central Europe)

•The Romans –occupied Britain in AD 43

•The Angles,Saxons and Jutes –Germanic

peoples –from the 3rdcentury

People in four lands of Britain derive from:•The Vikings from Scandinavia –from the end of the 8th century

• Scots from Ireland, merging with Picts – in the 9th century

* The Normans from France – in 1066

The Celtic Kingdoms

WalesIrelandScotland

Early InvadersEarly Invaders

The Vikings

LANGUAGES Indo-European Family

The Celtic LanguagesThe Welsh Wales, western countries

The Scottish Scotland, the Highlands

(form of Gaelic) of Scotland

The Irish (Erse) Southern Ireland

(form of Gaelic)

Cornish the peninsular of Cornwall

The Max variety the Isle of Man

of Celtic

Early InvadersEarly Invaders

AnglesSaxonsJutes

Official Language of the UKOfficial Language of the UK

* Germanic by its origin

* a marriage of Anglo-Saxon & Norman-French tongues

* the Queen’s English

* standard one

The English Language

Regional dialects of BritainRegional dialects of Britain

ancient but full of interest;pronunciation and actual words vary greatly from county to county.

Political System of Great BritainPolitical System of Great Britain

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy.

The head of the State is the Queen.

.

The Queen of Great Britain now is Elizabeth the Second.She is a symbol of Britain’s long history and tradition.

to open Parliament sessions,

to sign laws and important documents,

to meet important people,

The Queen’s duties are:

to visit other countries and public places,

to appoint ministers.

The real political power belongs to the Parliament.

the House of Commons,

the House of Lords.

The Parliament consists of two Houses

MP’s are not elected to the House of Lords.

The head of the House of Lords is Lord Chancellor.

There are 659 elected MP’s in the House of Commons

The Head of the House of Commons is the Speaker.

The head of the Parliament is the present Prime Minister

David Cameron

He lives and works at Downing Street,10.

The Prime Minister forms the Cabinet. There are about 20 MP’s in the Cabinet.

The Prime Minister + the Cabinet

=the British Government.

the Liberal party,

the Conservative party .

Great Britain is a multipartite state.

The main political parties are:

The British educational system

State schools –are free and provide their pupils with books and equipment for their studies

Private education7% of British children go to independent schools. Fees vary from about 250 pounds a term for a private nursery to 3.000 –for a secondary boarding school

Public schools“Public” are the most famous schools among private ones. Eton is the best known of these schools.The majority of independent secondary schools are single-sex.

First steps.Nursery school

prepares children for the start of

compulsory education.

Atmosphere is informal

Starting off

Compulsory primary education begins at 5 and continues until 11 At 7 and 11 teachers measure children’s progress in each subject.

At 11 most pupils go to secondary schools-comprehensives. At 16 they take a national exam called ‘GCSE’ and they can leave school if they wish

Some 16-year-olds can stay on at school and study for 2 further years for A level in 2 or 3 subjects.

Other 16-year-olds choose to study for more practical (vocational) diplomas relating to the world of work.

On a higher level

Universities and colleges accept students with “A”levels from 18.Students study for a degree that takes 3 years of full-time study

Education never stops.Millions of adults enrol each year on further education

courses leading to different qualifications.

The Hidden Curriculum refers to the way the school is organised

It includes rules pupils are expected to follow.

School-rules

uniformdiscipline

Form tutor

obediencepunishment

Cultural Life in Britain

There are several main stages inCultural life

LiteratureArtMusical

An english architector Christopher

St. Pauls Cathedral 1675 year

Wren

It is one of the finest pieces of architecture in Europe.

Westminster Abbey is a fine Gothic buildingThe 8 century.

Stands opposite the Houses of Parliament.

The Tower of London

It has been a fortress, a palace, a prison, and a royal treasure.

11 century.

Art Galleries

The Tate Gallery

The National Gallery

Turners Paintings

Modern Collection

300 professional

Royal Opera House

The Royal Shakes

peare Theatre

Theatres of Great Britain

Music and Musicians

“The Beatles”

Benjamin Britten

                                                         

With their new style of singing became very

Popular.

Great ShakespearThe Globe Theatre-the first professional theatre.

Plays: “Romeo and Juliet”

“Othello”

“Hamlet”

“King Lear”.

British Poetry :

Robert Burns,

Bernard Show,

Samuel Johnson.

Customs and Traditionsin Great Britain

Britain is full of customs and traditions.

There are many royal occasions:the trooping of the colourthe state opening of parliamentthe changing of the guardswan upping

The traditions are also widelyconnected with holidays.

The most important celebrations are:

New Year’s DaySt.Valentine’s DayEasterMother’s DayFather’s DayHalloweenGuy Fawkes NightChristmas

New Year’s Dayis celebrated on the 1st of January

British people visit friends and relatives,eat and drink a lot, make resolutions.

In Scotland after midnight people wait for the first visitor of the year who must carry coal into the house.

It is first footing.It brings good luck.

St.Valentine’s Day is celebratedon the 14th of February.

It is a day of sweet-hearts.

They show the friends or loved ones that they care sending “valentines”

Easter is celebrated on a Sunday in April

It is a religious holiday and the meeting of spring.

Children wake up and look for Easter eggs the Easter Bunny has left for them.

Mother’s Day is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday in May

Children of all ages treat the mothers to something special to show how much they appreciate the mothers.

Father’Day is celebrated on the 1st Sunday in June

On this day fathers are honored by the children.

Halloween is on the 31 of October

It was originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits but now it is time for fun.

Рeople wear masks and dress as ghosts and witches. Children dressed in white sheet knock on doors and ask if you would like “trick” or “treat”.

Pumpkin is a popular Halloween symbol.

People make special lamps, called “Jack-o-lantern”, out of pumpkins”to keep the witches away.

Guy Fawkes Night is on the 5th of November

Children make guys out of straw and old newspapers and fire them at night.

Christmas is on the 25 of December.

It is the most beloved of all holidays.

decorate fur treesbring evergreen brancheshung up stockings by the fire placesing Christmas Carolsgive each other presentsprepare Christmas dinner

On Christmas Day people

Santa Claus gets his list of toys from the millions of children and fills his sack with presents.

Each child hangs a stocking over the fireplace for Santa to leave candy and presents inside.

Boxing Day is on the 26th of December

It comes from an old custom of giving poor people Christmas boxes with food.

Enjoy your holidays!Have a good fun!

SportsSports in in Great Great BritainBritain

«All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy»

The British are known to be great sport-lovers.

When they are neither playing, nor watching games,

they like to talk about them

Many of the games we play now have come from Britain.

Football is one of the most popular games in the British Isles played from late August until the beginning of May

Large crowds of people support their favorite sides in football grounds.

There are plenty of professional and amateur soccer clubs all over Britain.

International football matches and the Cup Finals take place at Wembley.

One of the most British games is cricket.

                                                                                         

To many Englishmen cricket is both a game and a standard of behavior.

                                                                                          

The next chief spectator sport in British life is horserasing.

                                                                                          

                                                            

The Derby is perhaps the most famous single sporting event in the whole world.

                                                                                          

                                                           

People all over the world know Wimbledon as the centre lawn tennis

                                                           

Andre

Agassi

Boat-race between the teams of Oxford and Cambridge attracts large crowds of people

The British also like to play

                                                        

golf

baseball

hockey

grass-hockey

Scottish Highland Games attract large numbers of spectators .

Tossing the caber

Putting the weight

Throwing the hammer

Dancing

Piping

                                                           

                                    

RiversideRiverside LondonLondon

Discover Discover the the ThamesThames

Over 80 places to visit along the Over 80 places to visit along the bank of the riverbank of the river

Hampton Court Palace

Richmond

• Richmond Museum

•Old Deer Park

•Royal Botanic Gardens

Richmond

•Richmond Park

•Marble Hill House

•Strawberry Hill

Westminster

•The Houses of Parliament

•Big Ben

Westminster

•Westminster Abbey

•Palace of Westminster

•St James’s Park

Westminster

•White Hall

•Downing Street

•Buckingham Palace

Westminster

•Horse Guard’s Parade

•Tate Gallery

Charring Cross

Trafalgar Square

Charring Cross

National Gallery

Charring Cross

•St. Paul’s Cathedral

•Covent Garden

The Tower

The TowerThe White Tower

A Beefeater

The Tower

Tower Bridge & H.M.S Belfast

DocklandsThe area from Tower Bridge to the Royal Docks in the East is known as London Docklands.

The Docklands area is now the most modern section of the

City.

Docklands

Canary Wharf Tower,

Britain’s tallest building

DocklandsLondon Docklands Visitor Center is a good place to start with an exhibition and guided tours to the computer-driven Docklands Light Railway.

Greenwich

Royal Observatory 1675

Greenwich

The Queen’s House 1635

When a man is tired of London

he is tired of life;

for there is in London

all that life can afford.

Dr. Samuel Johnson. 1777.

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