I would like to tell you about Great Britain.The official name of the country is “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” . The country is situated in the north-west of Europe and consists of two large islands, Great Britain and the Isle of Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area over 244,000 square kilometres. There are four regions in the UK: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The country is washed by the North Sea in the north, the Irish Sea in the west and the English Chanel in the south. The English channel separates Great Britain from France.Britain’s population is over 57 million. Four out of every five people live in towns. The UK is a constitutional monarchy: the head of the state is a king or a queen. In practice, the Sovereign reins, but doesn’t rule: the UK is governed by the Government — a board of Ministers who are the leading members of the political party in power and who are responsible to Parliament.Many centuries ago the islands were inhabited by Celts. Their tribes were developing into kingdoms when Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C. The Roman invasion began in AD 43. The Romans withdrew in 407. The tribes of Angles and Saxons crossed the Channel and overran all England except Cornwall and Wales. Christianity was introduced in the 6th century by missionaries from Rome.For many centuries this country was known simply as England. It had a strong army and navy. It waged numerous colonial wars. In the modem world England was the first country, where capitalism was established.There are many rivers in Great Britain. The Severn Is the longest river, the Thames is the most important one.London is the capital of the UK. It was founded by the Romans. The population of London is over 8 million people.The largest cities of Great Britain besides London are: Birmingham, Glasgo, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh.
