Card 1 Geography and people

The British Isles form a group of Islands lying along the north-western coast of Europe. It comprises two
large islands, Britain and Ireland and a lot of smaller ones. The North Sea separates Great Britain from
Germany and Scandinavia, while the English Channel separates it from Normandy. The Irish Sea separates
Great Britain from Ireland. This position gave a lot of advantages to the development of its industry and
trade. The insular location has always safeguarded the country from foreign invasions. The Coast and the sea
shores are deeply indented, with many harbors which serve as convenient ports.
The country consists of 3 parts: England (London), Wales (Cardiff), Scotland (Edinburgh), Northern Ireland
(Belfast). The B. Isles were land above the sea. It is proved by: 1) the seas surrounding the B. Isles are very
shallow; 2) the White Chalk Cliffs of England correspond to those of Northern France; 3) the fauna and flora
are similar to those of the continent.The shallow waters that surround GB are very important for fishing and
navigation. It’s a country with a highly developed navigation.The area of GB is 2442km.

The largest island of the British Isles is called Great Britain. The other large one is Ireland. In the British Isles
there are two states. One of these governs most of the island of Ireland. The other state has authority over the
rest of the B. Isles. It is called the United Kingdom of GB and Northern Ireland (UK).Their political
unification was completed in 1800 when the whole of the B. Isles became a single state (UK). The political
unification was not achieved by mutual agreement.
The dominant culture of Britain today is English. The system of politics that is used in all 4 nations today is of
English origin.
The English domination is obvious. For instance, the supply of money in Britain is controlled by the Bank of
England.
There has been a long history of migration from Scotland, Wales and Ireland to England.
Card 2 Education
The education system is divided into nursery, primary education, secondary education and tertiary
education.
All maintained schools in England are required to follow the National Curriculum, which is made up of
twelve subjects. The core subjects—English, Mathematics and Science—are compulsory for all students aged
5 to 16. A range of other subjects, known as foundation subjects, are compulsory at one or more Key Stages:
Art & Design, Geography, History, and others. In addition, other subjects with a non-statutory
programme of study in the National Curriculum are also taught, including Religious education, Sex
education and Career education
Almost all state-funded schools in England are maintained schools, which receive their funding
from local authorities, and are required to follow the National Curriculum.
There have been 4 main types of maintained school in England:
 community schools
 voluntary controlled schools,
 voluntary aided schools,
 foundation schools
Independent schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum, and their teachers are not
required or regulated by law to have official teaching qualifications
FURTHER EDUCATION ----It is post-compulsory education that means education at a higher
level than secondary school, usually provided in distinct institutions such as universities.

HIGHER EDUCATION
Students normally enter university from age 18 onwards, and study for an academic degree.
POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION
Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which
might be a:
 Master's degree (typically taken in one year or two)
 Doctorate (typically taken in three years)

Card 3 Emblems, patron saints

Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem:
England - St. George and the Rose
The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time
of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose)
and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

Scotland - St. Andrew - the Thistle and Scottish Bluebell

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th
century as a symbol of defence. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.

Wales - St. David and the Daffodil

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable
called leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.
There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is
that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to
distinguish friend from foe.

Northern Ireland - St. Patrick and the Shamrock

The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale
tells of how Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a
shamrock on his feast day.

Card 4 Politics
The United Kingdom is governed within the framework of a constitutional monarchy.It means that there is a
Queen and the PARLIAMENT .The queen has almost no power in the country.Her powers are limited.Laws
are made by the Parliament.Thus,most of queens functions are symbolic.The Queens residence in London is
Buckingham Palace.The Executive power is exercised by Her Majesty Government,currently Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth 2 .The Legislative power is vested in the two chambres of the Parliament of the UK, the
House of Commons and the Supreme Court.The Uk political system is a multi-party system and the system of
government is known as the Westminster system.The British Parliament consists of two chambres,the house
of lords and the house of commons.In the house of lords are more than 1000 members,many seats are
hereditary.
The House of Commons has 635 members.They are elected by a general election(secret ballot)
In Great Britain there are three main political parties,the Conservatives,the Labour Party and the Liberals
Card 5 Scottish culture
When people think of Scotland ,there are a few things that always inexorably and immediately spring to
mind.Those are kilt,bagpipe and scotch wisky.
The kilt is a knee-lenght garment with pleats at the rear,originating in the traditional dress of men and boys
in the Scottish Highlands of the sixteen century.It is most often made of woolen cloth in a tartan pattern.The
kilt is worn on formal occasions at games and sports events and it has also been adapted as an item of
fashionable informal male clothing in recent years.
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument,aerophones.
Scotch whiskies is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland.They are distilled
twice ,although some are distilled a third time .Scotch wiskies use peat smoke to treat their malt,giving
scotch its distinctive smoky flavour.
The floral emblem of Scotland is thistle an ancient celtic symbol nobility and birth .Saint Andrews day is
celebrated on the 30th November.
The Unicorn is a heraldic symbol od Scotland(as well as lion)Unicorns could only be tamed by virgins.Their
horns were allegedly made of a substance called alicorn,which had a number of valuable magical propreties .
Music in Scotland offers something for all cultural tastes,ranging from traditional celtic music to modern
jazz,opera,rock and popular music.

Card 6 Sports
Sports play an important part in the life in Britain and is a popular leisure activity.
1)Football(soccer)
Football is the most popular sport in England,and has been played for hundreds of years.Some of
England’s football teams are world famous ,the most famous being Machester United,Arsenal and
Liverpool.In the English Football League there are 92 professional clubs.Hundreds of thousands of
people also play football in parks just for fun.The highlight of the English football year is Football
Association Cup Final each May.David Beckham is a brilliant footballer.He plays for Manchester
United and he is the captain of the English Team
2)Rugby
It is similar to football ,but played with an oval ball.Players can carry the ball and tackle each
other.The best rugby teams compete in te Super League final each September.
3)Tennis
The world’s most famous tennis tournament is Wimbledon.It is traditional for visitors to eat
strawberries and cream whie they watch the tennis.
4)Netball it the largest female team sport in England
5)Golf
Scotland is traditionally regarded as the home of golf .There are over 400 golf courses in Scotland
alone
6)Swimming is also a popular pastime and enjoyed by people of all ages
Card 7 Superstitions
Good luck
Lucky to meet a black cat.Black Cats are featured on many good luck greetings cards in England
Lucky to touch wood.We touch,knock on wood ,to make something come true
Lucky to find a clover plant with four leaves
A horseshoe over the door brings good luck.But the horseshoe needs to be right way up.
Catch falling leaves in Autumn and you will have good luck.Every leaf means a lucky month next year.
Cut your hair when the moon is waxing and you will have good luck.
Bad luck
Seven years bad luck to break a mirror.Mirror were considered to be tools of the gods.
Unlucky to see one magpie,lucky to see two.
Unlucky to spilt salt.If you do,you must throw it over your shoulder .
Unlucky to open an umbrella in doors
The number thirteen is unlucky .Friday the thirteenth is a very unlucky day.Friday is considered to be an
unlucky day because Jesus was crucified on a Friday
Unlucky to put new shoes on the table.

Food superstitions
When finished eating a boiled egg,push the spoon through the bottom of the empty shell to let the devil out
In Yorkshire,housewives used to believe that bread would not rise if there was a dead body in the vicinity

If you drop a table knife expect a male visitor,if you drop a fork a female visitor
If a child rides on a bear’s back it will be protected from whooping-cough
meeting two or three ravens together is considered really bad
It is said to be bad luck if you see bats flying and hear their cries
If a Sparrow enters a house one of the people who live there will die.

Card 8 British Royal Family

The British royal family comprises Queen Elizabeth II and her close relations.
Many members represent the British monarchy and support the monarch in undertaking public
engagements and often pursue charitable work and interests. The royal family are regarded as
British cultural icons.

Titles and Surnames

 The monarch's children and patrilineal grandchildren, and the children of the eldest son of
the Prince of Wales, are automatically entitled to be known as prince or princess with the style His
or Her Royal Highness
Per tradition, wives of male members of the royal family share their husbands' title and style.
Princesses by marriage do not have the title prefixed to their own name] but to their husband's;
for example, the wife of Prince Michael of Kent is Princess Michael of Kent.Sons of monarchs are
customarily given dukedoms upon marriage, and these peerage titles pass to their eldest sons.

Public role
Official duties are undertaken on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II by her children and their spouses,
grandchildren and their spouses, and cousins and their spouses. Among her cousins, only the
children of King George V's sons carry out royal engagements. The family support the Queen in her
state and national duties, with the exception of constitutional functions.
Many members have served in the Armed Forces themselves, including the Queen's sons and
grandsons.
Annual events attended by the royal family include the State Opening of Parliament, Trooping
the Colour, and the National Service of Remembrance.
According to historian Robert Lacey, the Queen has said that investitures of the honours
recipients are the most important thing she does.

Card 9 Traditions and customs of GB

Britain is full of culture and traditions which have been around for hundreds of years .We have English and
British traditions of sport ,music,food and many royal occasions.
Drinking tea
Britain is a tea-drinking nation.Tea in Britain is traditionally brewed in a warmed china teapot.Most Britons
like their tea strong and dark,but with a lot of milk
Fish and chips is the classic English take-away food and is the traditional national food of England
Punctuality
It is often considered impolite to arrive even a few minutes late.
Dining
When you accept a dinner invitation,tell your host if you have any dietary restriction.Food is eaten with a
knife and fork and dessert with a spoon and fork.
Some rules
Do not discuss business at dinner in someone’s house
At a formal dinner,do not smoke
You should leave a very small amount of food on your plate when finished eating.
Dating and marriage customs in Britain
In England and Wales people cannot marry if they are aged 16 or 17 and do not have parental consent
The trend nowadays is to marry later.
It is unlucky for the groom to see the bride on the wedding day before the service.
Bride and groom must not meet on the day of the wedding except at the altar.

The Queen wears the crown jewels and she opens the Parliament with a speech in the House of Lords
The Englishmen have love for old things
Most English love garden in front of the house and love animals very much.

Card 10 Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of Her Majesty The Queenand is the most
popular symbols of the British monarchy. Buckingham Palace was built for the first Duke of
Buckingham, John, beetween 1702-1705.In 1762, it was sold to the Crown. King George III
modernized and enlarged considerably the house. In the reign of King Edward II, he has
substituted the white and gold decoration for the richly colored 19th century schemes of Nash and
Blare. In the 1920, Queen Mary used the firm of White Alum, to redecorate a number of rooms.
Now, the rooms open to visitors are used principally for official entertaiment. These include
Receptions and State Banquets, Also, it has become the administrative centre of the monarchy
where, Her Majesty receives fereign Heads of State, Commonwealth Leaders and representatives
of the Diplomatic Corps. The palace is where the majority of The royal Household consisting of 6
main Departments and a staff of about three hundred people, has their offices.

Card 11 Theatres in Great Britain

In ancient time, plays were acted inside churches and later on the market places.The first theatre in England
„The Backfires” build in 1576, and „The Globe” build in 1599, which is closely connected with William
Shekspeare. Modern Theatres are „ The English National Theatre”, „The Royal Shekspeare Company” and
„Covent Garden”. The „Covent Garden” was built in 1732. It was burnt down in 1808 and rebuilds exactly a
year after. Now „Covent Garden”, it’s one of the few well-known opera houses open for 11months of the
year and it eploys over 600 people both of the Opera and the Royal Ballet.In London exists a lot of theatres ,
and most of them are placed in the West End. At The West End thatres you can seemost of the famous
English actors and actresses. One of peculiarity of the theatres in Great Britains is two different kinds of
seats, which can be booked, and unbootable once have no numbers and the spectators occupy them on the
principal: first come – first served

Card 12 Describe a famous personality from GB

William Sheakspeare is the greatest and most famous of English writers. It was the time of the English
Renaissance, and it is even called „the age of Shakspeare”. He was born on the 23d of April in 1564 in
Stratford on Avon. At the age of six he was sent to school, but had to leave it at the age of 13. His father,
John S., was a glove-maker, and when he fell into debt, William had to help him. When he was 21, he went
to London. He became an actor and a member of a very successful acting company. Probably, The Comedy
of Errors, Romeo and Juliet were performed for the first time on this stage. Sheakspeare wrote 37 plays:10
tragedies such as Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth., 17 comedies, 10 historical plays. Most of his plays
weren’t published, and it’s higly propable that they have been lost when the „Globe” burned down in 1613.
He died in 1616, and he was buried in the church of Stratford.