Two large islands lie to the west of the continent of Europe. Great Britain is the larger of them, and the smaller one is Ireland. These two and 5,500 smaller islands form the British Isles. The island of Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales. The isle of Ireland is divided into Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK is the official name of the country, occasionally referred to as Great Britain, which is, strictly speaking, only a geographic name. The Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea wash Great Britain from the west, and the North Sea washes it from the north and west. The English Channel separates it from the European continent. The Strait of Dover is the name of the narrowest part of EnglishChannel. The UK is not a very large country. Its territory is about 244,000 square kilometers, and no point of the country is more than 120 kilometers away from the sea. At the same time, the population of the UK is a third largest in Europe, comprising about 60 million people. It is incorrect to call everybody who lives in the United Kingdom “English”, as this is the name only for those who live in England. The Welsh are the residents of Wales, while the Scottish are people of Scotland. The correct common name for the English, rhe Scottish and the Welsh is the British. The Irish are those who live in Northern Ireland. The climate of the British Isles is generally mild; it is seldom cold in winter and never too hot in summer. This is due to the warm current of the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf Stream. Many people often called Britain a country of fogs, but now it is not quite so because of the climatic changes: there may be less fog than in any other European country. There are no high mountains and long rivers in the UK. The highest mountain is Ben Nevis in the Highlands in Scotland, and the longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames. Geographically, the UK has a very convenient position, as it lies on the crossroads from Europe to America. This is one of the reasons why Britain was (and is up to the present time) one of the leading world powers. The capital of the country is London. It is situated on the river Thames. Britain has an ancient and glorious history. It used to be the great empire “where the sun never sets”. It gave the world many famous scientists, writers, political leaders and explorers, such as Newton, Darwin, Drake, Shakespeare, Churchill and others. For centuries monarchs ruled Britain. The constitutional monarchy is still preserved in the country, though it is practically no more than a tradition and a tribute to the past. Queen Elisabeth II is the Head of State. The parliament limits her power, the parliament is elected every four yeas. The leader of the party that wins the majority during the elections becomes the Prime Minister. In fact, he becomes the head of state and forms the Cabinet. The second largest party forms the official Opposition.
