Английский язык. Александрова Г.А. - 59 стр.

                             III семестр
                                Unit 7
                   Conversational topic Great Britain

                                         Text 1
                                    The British Isles
       The British Isles consist of two main islands: Great Britain and
Ireland. These and over five hundred small islands are known collectively
as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Their total
area is about 120.000 square miles, i.e. one thirtieth of the size of Europe.
Great Britain proper comprises England, Wales and Scotland. The West
coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, its East coast by
the North Sea and the South coast by the English Channel.
       Once the British Isles were part of the mainland of Europe: the
chalk ridge which ends in the cliffs at Dover reappears on the coast of
France opposite and the coal that lies beneath the chalk in Kent is also
found in France. This suggest that there was originally no break between
these same geological formations on either side of the Strait.
       The seas round the British Isles are shallow. The North Sea is no-
where more than 600 feet deep. This shallowness is in some ways an ad-
vantage, Shallow water is warmer than deep water and helps to keep the
shores from extreme cold.
       The coast line is deeply indented. This indentation gives a good
supply of splendid harbours for ships and owing to the shape of the coun-
try there is no point in it that is more than seventy miles from the sea. The
western coats are very broken by high rocky cliffs and the eastern are
more regular in outline.
       There are three distinct regions in Scotland. There is the Highlands,
then there is the central plain or Lowlands and finally there are the south-
ern uplands with their gently rounded hills where the sheep wander.
       In England and Wales all the high land is in the west and north-
west. The south-eastern plain reaches the west coast at the Bristol Chan-
nel and by the mouths of the rivers Dee and Mersey.
       The Cheviots separates England from Scotland in the North, the
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