GREAT BRITAIN 1 The Geographical Position of

GREAT BRITAIN 1

The Geographical Position of Great Britain There are two large islands and several smaller ones, which lie in the north-west coast of Europe. Collectively they are known as the British Isles. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel. The country is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Great Britain is separated from Belgium and Holland by the North Sea, and from Ireland — by the Irish Sea. The official name of this country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The total area of Great Britain is 244, 000 square km. 2

The climate of Great Britain is mild, temperate and wet. In the country it is not hot in summer and it is not very cold in winter. Spring is very beautiful season because everything is covered with flowers. 3

Autumn is wet and cool. In January average temperature is from 3 to 7 degrees below zero and in July it is from 16 -17 degrees above zero. It often rains in Great Britain. It does not often snow in Great Britain. The weather changes very quickly. In the morning it may be shining brightly and in the afternoon it may rain. That is why radio and television inform people about weather forecast very often. The British joke "In other countries it is climate, in Britain we have weather. " 4

Famous People of Great Britain Ch. Darvin, a great English naturalist, developed the idea of evolution of all living things from simpler creatures. He wrote two most famous books "The Origin of Species" and "The Descent of Man". Ch. Darvin is buried in Westminster Abbey, among the greatest English scientists. Isaac Newton, one of the greatest men in the history of science was born in England in 1642. He may be considered the founder of modern mathematics, physics and spectrographs. He discovered the low of motion and the universal Law of gravitation. 5

Humphrey Davy is one of the greatest English chemists. One of his inventions is the miners safety lamp, known as the Davy Lamp. Michael Faraday is an English chemist and physicist. He was the discoverer of electromagnetic induction, of the law of relations between light and magnetism. He was the greatest experimental genius. 6

The country's official language is English. Numerically, the Church of England (or Anglican Church) has the largest number of adherents of any religion in Great Britain, accounting for 48 percent of the population; most members reside in England. The second largest religion, statistically, is Roman Catholicism (16 percent); Catholics reside throughout the kingdom. Other religions include Protestantism (which includes the state religions of both Wales and Scotland), Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. 7

Art British visual art began with an interest in ornamentation, influenced by early Scandinavian wood carvings, and after the Christianization of England, painting appeared at first only in illuminated manuscripts. From the 12 th to the 16 th century, the great cathedrals in the Romanesque and Gothic styles were the most outstanding products of English art. Among the characteristics that distinguished English from European cathedrals were double transepts, rectangular apses, and fan vaulting. Later, such 17 thand 18 th-century architects as Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren brought, respectively, Renaissance and baroque architecture to England. 8

From the beginning of the Renaissance, English painting was influenced by foreign artists, such as the German painter Hans Holbein the Younger in the 16 th century and the Flemish painter Sir Anthony van Dyck in the 17 th century. Not until the 18 th century, with the work of portrait painters such as William Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, and George Romney did a distinctive style develop in English painting. English styles in furniture and ceramics, in the work of Thomas Chippendale and Josiah Wedgwood in particular, evolved in the 18 th century. In the 19 th century John Constable was notable for landscape painting and Joseph Mallord William Turner for seascape painting, and in the 20 th century perhaps the best-known artists are the sculptor Henry Moore and the painters David Hockney and Francis Bacon. 9

Artistic and Cultural Life in Britain Artistic and cultural life in Britain is rather rich. It passed several main stages in its development. The Saxon King Alfred encouraged the arts and culture. The chief debt owed to him by English literature is for his translations of and commentaries on Latin works. Art, culture and literature flowered during the Elizabethan age, during the reign of Elizabeth I; it was the period of English domination of the oceans. It was at this time that William Shakespeare lived. 10

The empire, which was very powerful under Queen Victoria, saw another cultural and artistic hey-day as a result of industrialisation and the expansion of international trade. But German air raids caused much damage in the First World War and then during the Second World War. The madness of the wars briefly interrupted the development of culture. 11

Immigrants who have arrived from all parts of the Commonwealth since 1945 have not only created a mixture of nations, but have also brought their cultures and habits with them. Monuments and traces of past greatness are everywhere. There are buildings of all styles and periods. A great number of museums and galleries display precious and interesting finds from all parts of the world and from all stage in the development of nature, man and art. London is one of the leading world centres for music, drama, opera and dance. Festivals held in towns and cities throughout the country attract much interest. Many British playwrights, composers, sculptors, painters, writers, actors, singers and dancers are known all over the world. 12

Thank you for attention 13