English speaking countries: UK, USA, Canada, Australia
English - speaking countries
1. The largest countries where English is the official language.
· The UK-
history, geography, political and cultural information.
· Australia- unique animals, school on air, flying doctors…
2. 3-5 towns
and places in the UK and Australia.
3. The USA- history, geography, political and cultural information.
· Canada- the most interesting
facts.
4. 3-5 towns and places in the USA.
5. American way of life- drive-ins, MC Donald’s, consumer society, etc…
The UK
The history of Great Britain
– The first people to inhabit the
British Isles were settlers from Europe. They introduced farming, potery and stone tools.
Stonehenge was built by these early inhabitants.
– Later the territory was invaded by Celtic
tribes. One of them was called Britons and the whole island was name Britannia.
– Then
Roman tribes came to the territory. They built a long wall to defend the border between England and Scotland and to
protect against enemies.
– Germanic tribes ( Angles, Saxons, Jutes) came to the territory in the middle of 5-th century.
According to Angels the territory was called England.
– Battle
of Hastings change the future of England, when William Duke of Normandy and his soldiers sailed from France across English
Channel to England.
– The Hundred Year’s War and the War of Roses belong to the history of England.
– A turning point in English history was The Tudor Period. One of the best remembered kings are
Henry VIII who has 6 wives and he became the head of the English Church and his daughter Elizabeth I. who became
an outstanding Queen of England.
– The Civil war was a war which result was that England was declared a republic under the
name of the Commonwealth with Oliver Cromwell at his head – his official title was Lord
Protector.
– The Victorian Era is called after Queen Victoria, Britain became the
strongest power in the world. She was just 118 when she came to the throne and she was good queen and ruled over 60 years. Britain
became the greatest: industrial power, colonial, financial and commercial power.
The official name
is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It consists of 4 states: England (
London), Wales ( Cardiff), Scotland ( Edinburg), Northern Ireland (Belfast). Irish republic is an
independent state. The capital is Dublin.
The UK lies on British Isles, which are formed of 2 major
islands – GB and Ireland and many small islands: Shetland, The Orkneys, Hebrides, The Isle of Anglesey,
the isle of Man, The isle of Wight.
British Isles are situated to the northwest of Europe.
British Isles
are bordered by:
- the Atlantic ocean on the northwest, west and southwest
- the
North sea on the East
- The English Channel in the south.
It separates the UK from the continent.
Climate is mild and wet. It’s influenced by the Gulf stream.
Population
There live nearly 60 millions inhabitants.
Area is approximately 245 000
km2
Surface
GB is divided into 2 regions: Lowlands and Highlands. Lowlands cover southern and
eastern part of England. Highlands cover the northern part of England and Scotland. They comprise such mountains like: The Pennines,
The Cambrians, The Grampians and others…
The highest peak is Ben Nevis ( in Scotland) and
Snowdon ( in Wales).
Rivers
Longest is the
Severn, others: Themes, Avon
Major industries include
iron and steel engineering, car production, air craft and shipbuilding, textile, plastics, electronics, chemicals, wool and food processing.
Leading mineral source is coal.
The chief
agricultural products are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, sugar, milk, meat and sugar beat.
Political
system of the UK
The UK is a constitutional monarchy. The head of the country is a monarchy – at
the present it’s the Queen Elizabeth II. In fact, the Queen has no real political power. The UK is
governed by the cabinet. The UK constitution is not written. It’s formed by statue, partly by common law, partly by
conventions. The rules of constitution are not codified and can be changed according to Act of Parliament.
The USA
AUSTRALIA
Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. The first people there were
Abogines. The most densely populated is South-eastern part of the country. The rest of Australia is very thinly
populated.
Australia was explored by the British explorer Captain James Cook. At first Australia was used as a prison
for british criminals.
The official language is English, cars drive on the left and the national game is
cricket.
The head of the state is Queen Elizabeth I.
There are unique animals such
as the kangaroo, the koala and the platypus. They aren’t found anywhere else. There are also poisonous animals eg. some kinds of
snakes and spiders. Also there are poisonous jellyfish, sharks and huge saltwater crocodiles.
The largest city is
Sydney with its famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House. However, Sydney isn’t the
capital. The capital is Canberra.
Australians live in the south-east corner between Sydney and Melbourne. This is
because of the very dry land. There are also some huge farms there with millions of sheep and cattle. There are 9
sheep for every person there. The children who live on these farms can’t go to school, because the nearest town is to far away. They study at home
with the School of the air. They talk to their teacher by the radio, telephone, the Internet and webcams…There is also a
flying doctors service. The doctor comes to you by plane.
Australia is a rich country. Meat, fruit, vegetables, wool
and wine are produced. Gold, silver, iron, copper, coal and diamonds are found there, too.
The
USA
The history of the USA
The first inhabitants of this area
were Native Americans –Indians. The sources of their livelihood were hunting, fishing and later
agriculture.
The discovery of America is attributed to Christopher
Columbus, an Italian sailor. But the first white men, who had reached the shores of North America, were the
Vikings. America recieves its name from an Italian, Amerigo Vespuci, who explored
the coast of Brasil.
Discovery of America had a great impact on European civilization because corn and potatoes was found
there.
In 17th century-puritans called Pillgrim fathers came from Britain to the USA, they
were not satisfied with the life in Britain and thought and they would find better life there. But at the beginning most of them
died becouse they did not know how to plant crops. Native Americans thought them how to do that and after a year they a good harvest. They made
a feast and invated also Native Americans. This feast is cold Thanksgiving day. I tis celebrated until now. But it has different
character.
Cotação dólar americano (USD) - Estados Unidos de América
Native people became angry when the
british government told them to pay taxes. When they put taxes on tea, citiziens of Boston boarded british ships and dumped tea into
the Harbour – Boston tea party.In 1774 war of the independence began. In Philadelphia was created American national government on
its head was George Washington. They cut political ties with Britain and the Declaration of independence was written by Thomas
Jefferson.
America joined first and second world war. After World War I there was a prohibition. Making
and selling alcohol was prohibited but many people illegally brought alcohol from Canada and sell it in illegal bars in basement.
The time between the two wars is called – the Great Depression. It started when the stock market crashed. It brought down the US
economic system. There was a big poverty and hunger. When Roosvelt was selected as president. Recovery started, it ment giving
people jobs. But it did not help. It is shown in books of authors.
The geography of the United States of America
The USA is made up of 50 states and a federal district (District of Columbia). The USA is situated in the North
America. Lying between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, the United States of America covers
a considerable part of North America and is nearly as large as Europe.
The neighbors of the USA are:
- Canada - on the north
- Mexico - on the south
- Atlantic Ocean - on the east
- Pacific Ocean - on the west
It is the third most populated country in the world, with more than 300 million
inhabitants. The most widely spoken language in the United States is English, but in many areas Spanish is
spoken.
Delaware was the first state that ratified the Constitution of the United States, so it is nicknamed The First
State. Alaska is the largest state and has the longest coastline in the US. The most populous state / the state with the most
people… is California. Texas is the second largest state by area / size and population / number of people. Florida
is nicknamed “the Sunshine State” and is known for the spacecraft launchings from Cape Canaveral.
Washington, DC is the capital city. New York City is the largest city by… population / number of people. It is an
important centre of… business / finance / art / media. Los Angeles is… famed for films and the famous actors / actresses.
The best climate can be found in Hawaii, Florida and California, where are tropical regions. In the northeast is the
climate more severe, here are 4 seasons and cold winters. The most extreme arctic climate can be found in Alaska.
In the USA there
is car industry, electronics, machinery, clothing, Nearly half of the country is a farmaland, but only 21 per cent is arable. The
main agriculture products are corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, tabbacco, cattle breeding, fruit and vegetables. The USA is fich in coal
coper lead.
Society
A lot of population has problems with alcohol, drugs and smoking. The most favourite sports
are baseball, american football, basketball and ice hockey. Majority of Americans have problems with overweight,
they have lack of physical activity and consume a lot of junk food.
American entertaining industry is influential. The
most famous and developed is film and music industry. Cinematography is often connected with Hollywood, which is a district
in Los Angeles, California.
Government and politics
The United States is a
constitutional republic and representative democracy. The United States has operated under a two-party system for most of its
history. The major parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Democrat Barack Obama is currently
the 44th U.S. president.
CANADA
People
Indians and Eskimos were
the original inhabitants. The first settlers were the French in the 17th century, who called their colony New
France. . English is the motner tongue of the majority of Canadians. 30 % are French
Canadians.
Due to the natural and climatic conditions, the density of population is very low. Most people live in the
southern part of Canada.
Geography
Canada is the second largest country in the
world and is situated between the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic Oceans. Canada occupies the northern part of North
America (except Alaska).
Climate
Canada is one of the coldest countries in the world and
most of the inhabited parts of Canada have a continental climate (warm and sunny summers, long and
cold winters). On the Pacific coast the climate is milder. In the uninhabited north the
winters are very severe = arctic climate.
Mountains:
The western part of Canada
is mountainous; the Cordilleras and several famous ranges form it, e.g.
- The Rocky Mountains
-
The Mackenzie Mountains
- The Melville Hills and others
The highest peak is Mt. Logan
(6 050m).
Rivers:
The principal rivers are:
*The
Mackenzie *the St. Lawrence, *the Fraser, *the Yukon, *the Saskatchewan, *the Nelson, *the
Colombia.
Lakes:
The interior of Canada possesses many
lakes:
* Great Slave Lake *Great Bear Lake *Lake Winnipeg *Athabasca .
There are also
The Niagara Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
Lakes and rivers in the north are ice-covered for a great part of
the year.
Sports:
For Canada is sport very important. Most
important sports are these: curling (it’s related to shuffle board), fishing, football (100% Canadian rules),
golf, hockey (NHL is composed from 7 Canadian teams), horse racing, lacrosse (officially Canada’s national sport),
skiing (finest skiing areas), snowmobiling (mainly for recreation, major snowmobiling region is Ontario) and hunting
(Canada is hunter’s paradise).
The system of Government
Canada is
a federation of ten provinces (famous are Alberta, Ontario, Quebec-the biggest province and so on)
- The
capital is Ottawa
- The official head of state is Queen Elizabeth II.
She is represented in Canada by the General – Governor but the actual head of the executive is the Canadian Prime
Minister
- There is a Federal government for the whole of Canada, and provincial Governments in each of the provinces.
- The Canadian
national symbol is the Maple Leaf, which is the most noticeable in the red and white national
flag.
Canada is an independent federation within the Commonwealth.
National
economy
Currency used in Canada is Canadian dollar.
Canada has mainly coal, metal,
oil and gas, machine-buiding and chemical industries which are gighly developed. Other important agricultural items
are live-stock production, oats, vegetables, tobacco, leather.
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