Great-Britain
The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with hereditary monarchy, meaning that there is a monarch but the effective power belongs to the government, which is part of parliament and responsible to it but also normally dominates it. The government consists of about a hundred politicians under the Prime Minister.
The monarch is always the previous monarch’s eldest son or eldest daughter if there is no son. The present monarch is Elizabeth II who belongs to the House of Windsor and who has been the monarch for more than fifty years.
Great Britain consists of England, Wales and Scotland. The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
About 59 million people live in the UK, and people speak English, Welsh and Scottish.
Scotland:
There are three large geographical areas in Scotland: the Highlands, the Lowlands and the Islands, 5 million people live in Scotland. Edinburgh is the capital, Glasgow is the chief industrial and commercial city.
Places to visit: Alloway, Ayrshire – the birthplace of Robert Burns, Balmoral Castle – to be seen from a distance, The Edinburgh Festival – for music and drama, The Western Isles – for the beauty of their high land and wide seas, The Shetlands and Orkneys – the remote and barren northern islands, Loch Ness – to catch a glimpse of the monster?
England:
England is foten sub-divided into 3 parts: the North, the Midlands and the South.
Some places of interest in the North: Hadrian’s Wall – named after the Roman Emperor Hadrian – was completed int he 2nd century. It is a huge fortification all along the Scottish border. The Lake District – an area of mountains and lakes which looks larger than it really is. Dramatic, romantic scenery. York – once an importan Roman city. It has remains from all periods of history. The city walls, the cleaned and restored cathedral and its street of medieval buildings are most impressive.
Some places of interest in the Midlands: Stratford-on-Avon – the birthplace and burial place of William Shakespeare. The Royal Shakespeare Company plays here at the Festival Theatre as well as in London. Cathedral towns of Worchester and Gloucester – their ancient cathedral churches are beautiful and the towns provide a centre of cultural and business life. Coventry – the fine modern cathedral has been built next to the ruined one, bombed during World War II. The Peak District – an area of Derbyshire, it is England’s first National Park, protected against industry.
Some places of interest in the South of England: Windsor – the town on the River Thames. Its castle is a royal residence. Eton – close to Windsor. The famous public school here was founded in 1440. Canterbury – the cathedral and the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the religious head of the Church of England. Bath – a beautiful town int he West Country, interesting, because it was developed and built in the 18th century and remains as it originally was. Oxford and Cambridge – the famous (and the oldest) university towns in Britian.
Wales:
The capital is Cardiff. There are about 3 million inhabitants in Wales. There is a Welsh language. Welsh folklore and language strengthen each other. Every year a national festival of traditional poetry and music is held. It is called the ’Eisteddfod’. In the United Kingdom the longest river is the Servern, which rises in Wales and flows into the Bristol Channel.
Northern Ireland:
It is a land of lakes, rivers and a varied sea coast. The biggest lake is Lough Neagh. The country’s capital is Belfast. It is an industrial centre and port.
London:
The capital of the United Kingdom and England is London. It is one of the world’s leading financial, industrial and cultural centres with about 7 million inhabitants.
The most famous river is the Thames, which flows through London.
The United States of America
America is a nation of immigrants. With the exception of the Native Americans – the original peoples of America – the people of the U.S.A. came from other countries with widely differing languages, cultures, values and traditions.
The most important values are freedom and individualism – democratic freedom from tyrannical government and the individual freedom to make one’s own choices and make the decisions that control one’s life. Americans believe very strongly in self- reliance – relying on oneself instead of relying on others – to achieve what one wants.
Americans also highly value material wealth and hard work. The American Dream is that by working hard one can go from „rags to riches” – from being poor the being very rich.
The United States is a federal presidential republic. The president is elected every four years.
The United States of America, which has approximately 289 million inhabitants, is made up of 50 states, 48 joined together on the continent, plus Alaska and Hawaii. It can roughly be broken up into five large geographical areas.
The highest mountain in the United States is Mount McKinley, which located in south-central Alaska, in Denali National Park and Preserve. The longest river is the Mississippi.
The capital of the United States is Washington DC. It has a population of more than half a million.
New York City is a major port in south-eastern New York State. With its population of about 7.5 million people, it is the most popular city in the US. It consists of Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island boroughs. The second most populous city is Los Angeles with its 3.5 million inhabitants. You can find Hollywood, the centre of US film and television industry, here. The third largest town is Chicago, an industrial city on Lake Michigan with about 2.7 million inhabitants.
In the United States English, Spanish and Native Indian Languages are spoken.
The Northeast:
While there is a lot of farming in this region, especially in parts of New England, it is best known as a center for commerce and heavy industry. Both Boston and Philadelphia are old cities, Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia), the capital of the U.S.A., is the center of the federal government, and has many fine museums. New York City, called „the big Apple”, is filled with landmark skyscrapers, museums and other cultural institutions, and is the home of the Statue of Liberty.
The South:
The South has traditionally been known as an agricultural region int he past, principally growing cotton and tobacco, but now it is experiencing great economic growth and industrialization. New Orleans is famous for its Mardi Gras (Carnival) celebration and jazz, and Miami, of course, for its beach.
The Midwest:
The Midwest is primarily America’s „breadbasket”, with its endless fields of wheat and corn in states like Iowa and Kansas, but also has such major commercial and industrial cities as Chicago and Detroit, automobile capital of the U.S. Chicago, which is on Lake Michigan.
The Southwest:
The Southwest is a huge area with deserts, like Death Valley, as well as fertile farmlands, such as the orange groves of California. New high-tech industries are located in „Silicon Valley”, and there are oil wells in Texas and New Mexico. The Grand Canyon is one of its many spectacular natural wonders. Major cities include Dallas, of TV series fame, Santa Fe, an important cultural center, and Los Angeles, home of Disneyland and the movie industry in Hollywood.
The West:
The West lives on in everyone’s imagination as the Wild West, with its cowboys and gunfighters, American Indians and prospecting for gold, and it’s the birthplace of Levi’s blue jeans. Among its most famous cities are San Francisco with its hills, streetcars and the Golden Gate Bridge, Denver, the Mile High City where skiers love to go, Seattle, known for its year-round temperate climate, and Las Vegas, gambling capital of the U.S.