TOPIC Cities Of Great Britain

The largest cities of GB are: London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Coventry and Cardiff.

Birmingham is situated in the Midlands. It has the population over a million. This industrial region is called the Black Country. The plants of Birmingham, Coventry and Sheffield produce motor cars, railway carriages, light engineering products. Birmingham is impressive: glittering with ultramodern giant factories, hotels, restaurants, cafes, brilliant stores, beautiful cars and smart people. There is a fine art gallery in it. The public gardens are well kept, and there are lots of flowers there. Birmingham comes next in importance after London.

Coventry was greatly destroyed during World War II. Now it is quite modern. Coventry is of great interest because of the new cathedral (the old one was destroyed in 1940). The cathedral is a masterpiece of modern art. Coventry is the centre of the motor vehicle industry – the largest in the UK.

Edinburgh is the old capital of Scotland. It is one of the finest cities of GB, the centre of administration, where the Scottish Parliament sits. One of the most charming streets in Edinburgh is Princess Street, where the monument to Walter Scott (the Scott Memorial) is situated. Edinburgh is famous for its ancient Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the official residence of English kings in Scotland, and the main church in the city – St Giles’s Cathedral.

Liverpool is one of the largest ports in the world. It is situate on the Mersey river. It is also an industrial centre of GB. Enterprises of nearly all branches of industry are situated in Liverpool: shipbuilding, textile industry, engineering, automobile industry, etc.

Glasgow, the industrial and commercial centre of GB, lies on the Clyde river. The river plays a significant role in the life of the city – it is the largest waterway in Britain. The population of Glasgow is over one million. Glasgow is supposed to possess more public gardens and parks than any other city in Britain. In one of this park there is the pride of Glasgow – its Art Gallery, with the wonderful collection of pictures. One of the oldest British universities is situated in Glasgow.

Cardiff, the capital and the main port of Wales, is a centre of shipbuilding, electronics and chemical industry. Cardiff is also a university city.

Stratford-on-Avon is the town where William Shakespeare, the great playwright and poet was born in 1564. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Shakespeare Centre were built in the town.

Windsor is one of the most charming towns in England, and the Windsor Castle is the summer residence of the Queen. Construction of the Castle began in the eleventh century. The tourists are allowed to visit the Castle when the Queen is not in residence here. Just opposite the Castle the Eton College is situated. This College was intended for the 70 poorest orphans of the country. It soon became and is the most exclusive, the most aristocratic, the most famous and the most expensive school in the world.

Oxford and Cambridge are known all over the world as university towns. Both great universities are less than two hours journey from London by fast train. Admission to these universities is very difficult, but if a young man or a girl gets admission, gets through the exams, gets the degree – they are made for life! An Oxford or Cambridge degree is accompanied by all sorts of privileges. Oxford is not only an educational centre. It is the centre of motor car industry. Recent industrial development has so altered Oxford that Cambridge, as a city of fine architecture, is now more beautiful. In spring Cambridge is like a garden of flowers. Cambridge is a great centre of research.


TOPIC London

London is situated upon both banks of the River Thames. London dominates the life of Britain. It is the chief port of the country and the most important commercial, manufacturing and cultural centre. There is little heavy industry in London , but there is a wide range of light industry in Greater London.

The most characteristic parts of London are: the City, the West End, the East End, and Westminster.

The city is the oldest part of London. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices, and Stock Exchange. The City has its own police force and courts of law, and during the working day upward of half a million people earn their living there in the commercial heart of the capital. But by the weekend the City is populated by just 5.000 residents.

The West End is the most fashionable part of London. It is the West End where the University of London is centered with Bloomsbury as London’s student quarter. The main shopping streets are Piccadilly, Regent Street and Oxford Street.

The East End of London is unattractive in appearance, but very important to the country’s commerce. It is situated to the east of the City. The area nowadays not only attracts top name commercial, banking and business interest, but is also thousands of new residents, a lot of housing, restoration and conservation projects plus a superb range of shopping, leisure and water sports’ attractions.

Westminster is the political centre. The best known streets here are Whitehall with important government offices, and Downing Street. Street with the London residence of Prime Minister and the place where the Cabinet meets.


TOPIC British Economy

The British economic system is now a complex combination of several systems, and pure capitalism is probably a smaller element than in any other West European country.

About one-third of all goods and services are produced by central or local government or by state-owned corporations. Most energy production is socialised: production and distribution of electricity and gas, production of coal, production and distribution of oil, the iron and steel producing industry.

The state owns the railways, most buses, most public transport aeroplanes, nearly all important airports, water supply, radio, two of four television channels, posts and telephones. Local authorities, with state support, are responsible for roads, for the welfare services, and for ninety per cent of education.

The other two-thirds of the economy is within the private sector, shared between public companies, private companies and individuals.

The structure of British industry has changed greatly. In 1900, coal mining, textiles, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were its foundations. Since 1930 British industrial growth has been concentrated newer industries: chemicals, electrical goods, vehicles, aircraft, furniture and other consumer-durables. Now Britain produced high quality expensive goods, which has always been characteristic of its industry. Britain produced and exports cotton and woollen goods, leather goods, and articles made of various kinds of synthetic (man-made) materials.

The industries which have grown, in number of people employed, are banking, finance, insurance, the Law, advertising, educational, health and social welfare services, and other functions not involving the production of goods for use. Four million people were employed in these in 1960, eight million in 1980.

In contrast to industry, British agriculture has been consistently almost the most efficient in Europe. The grain crops and vegetables are grown in all part of the country, especially in the south.

The greater part of land is used for sheep and cattle breeding and pig raising. Sheep and cattle breeding are still developed in Great Britain.