Unit 1

1.True or False
1 The British Isles consist of two large islands only. False (It is false, because Great Britain
includes several islands offshore from England, Scotland and Wales such as the Scilly Islands,
the Isles of Wight, Anglesey, and the island groups of the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands).
2 Great Britain is larger in size than Ireland. True (Because in the text is mentioned that the
largest island is called Great Britain whereas the other large one is called Ireland).
3 The Channel Islands are ruled absolutely by the United Kingdom. False (Because they are self-
governing territories with their own legislative and taxation systems).
4 Great Britain is separated from the continent just by the English Channel. False (It is separated
from the continent by the North Sea and by the English Channel).
5 Great Britain is believed to be part of the “Atlantic Iron”. False (Because Great Britain is
believed to be part of the Atlantic Bronze).
6 In the Iron Age, British people spoke a Celtic Language. True
7 The Vikings called Great Britain “Britania”. False (Bretland??)
8 Anglo-Saxons were Germanic Tribes. True
9 The Kingdom of Scotland was formed in the X! Century. False (The Kingdom of Scotland was
formed in the 9th century; (until the X! Century it was included as a part of the Kingdom of
Northumbria).
10 Germanic speakers once called British Inhabitants and their language “Cymru”. True
(Germanic speakers referred to Britons as Welsh).

2. Circle the correct answer from a, b, c

1. As well as Britain, the Atlantic Bronze also included:
a) Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal; b) Italy, France, Portugal and Spain;
c) Germany, France, Ireland and Spain.
2. The kingdom of Scotland was formed by------------------tribes:
a) Celtic; b) Gaelic; c) Anglo-Saxon.
3. Cymru, is now used to denote:
a) Ireland; b) Wales; c) Scotland.
4. Wales officially became part of England in the ------------------century:
a) XIII; b) XIV; c) XVI.
5. Scotland and England were officially united by force of the Acts of Union in:
a) 1707; b) 1710; c) 1709.
6. The kingdom which existed between 1707 and 1800 was referred to as:
a) Kingdom of England and Scotland; b) Kingdom of Great Britain; c) Kingdom of Wales
and England
7. The capital of Scotland is
a) Cardiff; b) Glasgow; c) Edinburgh

1. What are the milestones in the history of Britain mentioned in the text?
 Historically, Great Britain was first inhabited by people who crossed over the land bridge
from the European mainland. Also, we should note the fact that Britain in the Late
Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze.
Also, England was the country where the Industrial Revolution began in the 18th
century and which quickly transformed its society into the world's first industrialized
nation.

2. What are the two aspects of GB and UK are discussed in the text?
Geographical and Political ??
3. Speak about the development of the meaning of the word Cymru
Cymru is a name the Britons used to describe their territory (which is now restricted to Wales),
and the language is Welsh or Cymreig.

Great Britain and the UK

The UK versus Great Britain (Geographically versus Politically)

Two large islands and several much smaller ones, lying off the north-west coast of Europe are
collectively known as the British Isles. The largest island is called Great Britain whereas the
other large one is called Ireland. Geographically speaking, Northern Island is not included in
Great Britain. However, politically speaking, it is and the group (GB plus Northern Ireland) is
often referred to as the United Kingdom. Also, Great Britain also includes several islands
offshore from England, Scotland and Wales( such as the Scilly Islands, the Isles of Wight,
Anglesey, and the island groups of the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands. However, it does
not include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands which are not part of the United
Kingdom. Instead, they are self-governing territories with their own legislative and taxation
systems.)
Great Britain lies to the northwest of Continental Europe and to the east of Ireland. It is
separated from the continent by the North Sea and by the English Channel. Great Britain is
connected to continental Europe by means of the Channel Tunnel, completed in 1993, which is
considered to be the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world.
Great Britain is characterised by low, rolling countryside in the east and south, while hills and
mountains predominate in the western and northern regions. Historically, Great Britain was
first inhabited by people who crossed over the land bridge from the European mainland. It is
believed that until about 10,000 years ago, Great Britain was joined to Ireland, and as
recently as 8,000 years ago, it was joined to the continent by the strip of low marshland by
what is now known as the territories of Netherlands and Denmark.
According to several theories put forward by John T. Koch and others, Britain in the Late
Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze
which also included Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal. These are the main regions where
Celtic languages developed and later widespread throughout the world.
Later, in the Iron Age, the inhabitants of Great Britain became known as Britons and they
spoke a Celtic language. When the Romans conquered most of the island this became the
Ancient Roman province of Britannia. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Britons
inhabiting the south and east of the island were assimilated or displaced by invading
Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes), which are often referred to collectively as
Anglo-Saxons). At about the same time, Gaelic tribes from Ireland invaded the north-west
and eventually formed the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. Later, the south-east of
Scotland was colonised by the Angles and was included until the early XI century as a part of
the Kingdom of Northumbria. As a result of such changes, the population of south-east
Britain came to be referred to, after the Angles, as the English people.
Germanic speakers referred to Britons as Welsh. Cymru, a name the Britons used to describe
their territory (which is now restricted to Wales), and the language is Welsh or Cymreig. The
Britons living in the areas now known as Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall were not assimilated
by the Germanic tribes, a fact reflected in the survival of Celtic languages in these areas into
more recent times. In the 9th century, a series of Danish attacks on northern English
kingdoms led to the Briton’s coming under Danish control (an area known as the Danelaw).
In 1066, England was conquered by the Normans, who introduced a French ruling élite that
was eventually assimilated. Wales came under Anglo-Norman control in 1282 and was
officially annexed to England in the 16th century.
On 20 October 1604 King James, who had succeeded separately to the two thrones of
England and Scotland, proclaimed himself as "King of Great Britain, France and Ireland”.
However, England and Scotland still existed legally as separate countries with their
parliaments until 1707, when each parliament passed an Act of Union to ratify the Treaty of
Union that had been agreed the previous year. This created the United Kingdom, with a
single, united parliament, from 1 May 1707. Though the Treaty of Union referred to the new
all-island state as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain", many regard the term 'United
Kingdom' as being descriptive of the union rather than part of its formal name (which the
Treaty stated was to be 'Great Britain' without further qualification.) However, the all-island
kingdom that existed between 1707 and 1800 is often described as the "Kingdom of Great
Britain".
By size, Great Britain is the ninth largest island in the world and also enjoys the status of the
largest island in Europe. Although a middle-sized island by world standards, it is considered
to be heavily populated. Currently, the population of Great Britain is about 59.8 million
people, which makes it the third most populated island on Earth.
The entire island is a territory of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Island. Consequently, the term "Great Britain" (and the abbreviation 'GB') is
the traditional ‘short geographical form' of the full country title 'The United Kingdom of
Great Britain and the Northern Island. Most of England, Scotland, and Wales are situated on
the island of Great Britain, with their respective capital cities: London, Edinburgh and
Cardiff. The capital of Northern Island is Belfast.
As was mentioned, historically, the union of England and Scotland began in 1603 when under
the Union of Crowns Scotland and England was joined yet informally. This was made
possible by the fact of the accession of James VI, king of Scots, to the throne of England,
which practically joined the two kingdoms, England and Scotland under one monarch.
However, this was not a political union and, despite sharing the same monarch, the kingdoms
remained distinct and formally independent of each other.
These two countries finally made one political whole in 1707 by force of the Acts of Union
which merged the parliaments of each of the above-mentioned nation thus forming the
Kingdom of Great Britain. This happened under the last monarch of the Stuart Dynasty,
Queen Anne.

ENGLAND
England is the leading country of the UK in that it is the political, economical and cultural
centre. Being a part of Great Britain, it shares land borders with Scotland to the north and
Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the North West, the Celtic Sea to the south-west and the
North Sea to the east, with the English Channel, which opens out into the Atlantic Ocean, to
the south separating it from continental Europe.
As is known, England takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled
the territory during the 5th and 6th centuries together with Saxons and Jutes. England has
been a unified state since AD 927 and generally has had a significant cultural and legal
impact on the other parts of the UK as well as on the wider world. England is the home of the
English language, the Anglican Church and English law which serves as the basis for the
common law legal systems of many other countries around the world. Moreover, the
country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations
worldwide. In addition to this, England was the country where the Industrial Revolution
began in the 18th century and which quickly transformed its society into the world's first
industrialized nation.
The Kingdom of England which, after 1284 also included Wales, lost its absolute sovereignty
on 1st of May, 1707, when the Acts of Union resulted in a political union with the Kingdom
of Scotland to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1800 Great Britain was united
with Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland. In 1922, the Irish Free State was established as a separate dominion, but the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act in 1927 reincorporated into the kingdom the six Irish
counties (of Ulster) to officially create the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland.
The official language of England is English which is rapidly becoming the world’s lingua
franca. However, in many larger cities, mainly London, there are many communities who do
not speak English as a first language which adds yet more variety to the English language.
However, such communities are encouraged to maintain their own cultural roots and are also
given opportunities to integrate into society.
As for the religion of England, it is mostly Protestant (Church of England), but there are
many other Christian denominations: Roman Catholic, Church of Scotland, Baptist,
Methodist and other free churches. There is a sizeable representation of Hindu, Jewish and
Muslim minorities as well. This lingual and religious variety doubtlessly makes England a
very interesting country.

SCOTLAND
Scotland shares a border with England to its south and is bounded by the North Sea to the
east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and the Irish Sea to the
southwest.
Scotland comes from the Latin word Scoti, which applied to Gaels, people who originally
came from the region what is now Scotland and Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, the
word Scotia was used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland alongside Albania or Albany,
both derived from the Gaelic Alba, meaning white. The use of the words Scots and Scotland
to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the late middle ages.
The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, which also is Scotland’s largest financial centre. On
the other hand, Glasgow which is Scotland's largest city was once one of the world's leading
industrial cities whereas closeness to the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the
European has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil
capital.
Although Scotland’s legal system is historically close to those of England, Wales and
Northern Ireland, it operates a distinct jurisdiction in public and private law. Nowadays,
Scotland possesses its parliament which has some rights to govern the country.

Wales
Wales for which the Welsh term is Cymru [kumri] borders England to its east, and the
Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea to its west. Wales has a population estimated at three million
and is officially bilingual. Currently, the indigenous Welsh language is less spoken than
English though they both have equal status. However, there is a rising tendency to use Welsh
more over recent years, particularly in the younger generation with fluent Welsh speakers
currently estimated to be around 20% of the population.
Initially, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. Nowadays, Wales is regarded as one of
the modern Celtic nations. Wales was incorporated into England with the Laws in Wales
Acts of 1535-1542 creating the legal entity known today as England and Wales. In 1999 the
National Assembly for Wales was created, which, although being devolved, holds
responsibility for a range of devolved matters.
Cardiff (Welsh, Caerdydd) is the capital city of Wales with a population of around 320,000
people.
Cardiff enjoys the status of the largest media centre in the UK outside of London.

Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland and shares a border with
the Republic of Ireland (which is not a part of UK) to the south and west.
Northern Ireland was created as a distinct part of the UK on 3 May 1921 under the
Government of Ireland Act 1920, though its independence was formally over in 1800 by Act
of Union between Great Britain and Ireland. For over 50 years it had its devolved
government and parliament. Both of these institutions were finally abolished in 1973.
As a result of vigorous repeated attempts to restore self-government the present-day Northern
Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly were created both of which take an active
part in the government of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland has been a site of severe
ethnopolitical conflict between nationalists (Roman Catholic population) and unionists
(Protestants). The nationalists want Northern Ireland to be
the part of the Eire while the unionists wish it to remain part of the UK. Since the signing
of the "Good Friday Agreement” 1998, most of the military groups stopped their armed
campaigns. In general, Unionists consider themselves British and Nationalists see
themselves as Irish, though these identities are not necessarily mutually exclusive.