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Қ.А. Ясауи атындағы Халықаралық қазақ – түрік университеті
ЕЛТАНУ ПӘНІ БОЙЫНША ЛЕКЦИЯ ЖИНАҒЫ
НЫШАНОВА С.Т.
ТҮРКІСТАН 2012
Пән сипаттамасы
Елтану курсыныњ маќсаты-студенттерге µздері тілін ‰йренетін ел туралы толыќ мєлімет беру,оларды осы елдіњ тарихи,географиялыќ,ќоѓамдыќ саяси µзгешілігін ќамтитын білім кешенімен ќаруландыру.
Ағылшын тілі мамандарын түгелімен дерлік мектепте, жоғары мектепте немесе т.б. орындарда ағылшын тілін оқыту, ұстаз болып адам төрбиелеу, педагогикалық сала жолдары күтіп тұр. Сонымен қатар оқып жатқан тілде сөйлейтін мемлекеттердін мекен жайы туралы,т±рмыс шындыѓы,тарихы,мєдениеті айтылады. Сол елдердің саясаты,оқу процессі да талқыланады.Ќазіргі кезде шетел тілін оќытыу процесі негізінде елтану ‰станымы алынады.Осы ±станымѓа с‰йене отырып,шетел тілін оќыту ‰йренетін тіл елініњ б‰кіл мєдени кењістігін оныњ барлыќ ерекшеліктерімен жєне ќарама-ќарсылыѓымен,±лттыќ жєне аймаќтыќ тењдесіз ерекшелігімен ќоса ќамтиды.
1.2Қойылған мақсаттарға жету үшін мына міндеттерді шешу ұсынылады:
: 1. Студенттерді АҚШ және Ұлы Британияның мекен жайымен таныстыру; 2. АҚШ және Ұлы Британияның мектепте және жоғары оқу орындарында оқу еңбегі мәдениетін меңгеруге жәрдемдесу;3.Осы елдердің саясатын айқындап түсіндіру;4.тілін ‰йренетін елдердіњ мєдени салт-дєст‰рлері туралы білімдерін ќалыптастыру.
-елтану курсын µткеннен кейін студенттер білуге тиіс:
-елтануды оќу нысанын жєне оныњ басќа ѓылымдармен байланысын;
-тілдін ‰йренетін елдіњ физикалыќ жєне экономикалыќ географиясын;
-тілін ‰йренетін елдіњ ќалыптасу тарихын;
-қогамдыќ саяси ќ±рылысын;
-салт-дєст‰р,єдет-ѓ±рып,±лттыќ мейрамдары мен рєміздерін.
1.3Елтану пәнін меңгеру нәтижесінде студенттер:
-тілін үйренетін елде болып жатқан саяси,әлеуметтік және мәдени процестерді талдап,жинақтап қорта;
- тілін оқып отырған ел мен Қазақстан Республикасы халықтарының салт-дәстүрлері мен әдет-ғұрыптарын салыстырып,олардың ортақ және ерекше жақтарын айқындайды;
- алған білімдері мен дағдыларынмәдениетаралық қатынас жағдайында асыра алулары керек.
Lecture 1
The Dawn of the British History
1. Primitive society on the territory of the British Isles
2. Roman Britain
3. Establishment of the feudal system in Britain in the early middles ages (5-11 centuries).
4. Establishment of the Kingdom of England.
5. The kingdom of England in the 10-11 century.
6. Norman Conquest of England.
1. Primitive society on the territory of the British Isles
At the down of their history the peoples on this planet lived in primitive societies. These primitive peoples, wherever they lived, began their long path of progress with stone tools, but they didn’t reach the same time level of civilizations at the same time in different countries.
The ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome were already in existence when the people living in Britain were only at the first stage of social development.
a) The earliest men.
In some part of Britain we can see a number of huge stones standing in a circle. These are the monument left by the earliest inhabitants of the country. The best-known stone-circle named Stonehenge dates from between 1900 and 1600 B.C. It is made of many upright stones, standing in groups of twos, 8.5 meters high. They joined on the top by other flat stones each weighting about 7 tones. No one can tell how these large stones were moved, or from what places they were brought. Stonehenge is still a mystery to scholars.
What was it used for? As a burial-place or a sacred place where early man worshipped the sun? About 3000 years B.C. many parts of Europe including the British Isles were inhabited by a people, who come to the known as the Iberians because some of their descendants are still found in the north of Spain (the Iberian Peninsula).
They lived in Britain long before a word of their history was written, and so not much is known about this people, but we can learn something from their skeletons, their weapons and the remain of their dwellings which have been fond.
The Iberians used stone weapons and tools. The art of grinding and polishing stone was known to them, and they could make smooth objects of stone with sharp edges and points.
b) The Celts
During the period from the 6 to 3 the century B.C. a people called the Celts spread across Europe from the east to the west.
More than one Celts tribe invaded Britain. From time these tribes were attacked and overcome by other Celtic tribes from the Continent. Celtic tribes called the Picts penetrated the mountains on the north, some Picts as tribes of Scots crossed over to Ireland and settled there. Later the Scots returned to the larger island and settled in the North beside the Picts. They came in such large numbers that in time the name of Scotland was given to that country. Powerful Celtic tribes, the Britons held most of the country and the southern half of the island was named Britain.
The Iberians were unable to fight back the attacks of the Celts who were armed with metal spears, swords, daggers and axes.
Most of the Iberians were slain in the conflict: some of them were driven westwards into the mountains. And now this place is called Wales.
The Greeks were the first to mention about the British Isles. It is from the Greek books that we know about the Phoenicians- who were great sailors and traders .The ancient Greek historian Herodotus who is called the father of history wrote that in the 5 century B.C. the Phoenicians used to come to the British Isles for tin which was used in making bronze, they called the British Isles the Tin Islands.
The famous Roman general, statesman and writer Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic War, a book written in Latin J.S .described the island and the Celts against whom he fought. He told Celts were tall and blue-eyed. They wore long flowing moustaches but no beards.
The Celts had no towns; they lived in villages.
The Celtic language today. To this day the descendants of the ancient Celts live on the territory of the British Isles. The Welsh who live in Wales are of Celtic origin. People in most parts of Wales speak Welsh, Celtic language. In Highlands of Scotland as well as in the western parts of Ireland the people speak a tongue of Celtic origin too.
Some words of the Celtic language can still be found in Modern English and most of them are geographical names. Many rivers, hills and towns are still called by their old Celtic names.
Eg:*in England there are several rivers called Avon which in Celtic means a river.
*the chalk highlands in the southern and south-eastern parts of England are called "the Downs” this name comes from the word down which means "bare, open highland".
2. Roman Britain.
1) Roman Empire.
In the 1 century B.C. when the in habitants of the British Isles were still living under the primitive communal system, the Roman Empire became the strongest slave-owning state in the Mediterranean.
It was the last and greatest of civilization of the ancient world. The Romans ruled all of the civilized world and 1 century A.D. they conquered Britain. Britain was a province of the Roman Empire for about four centuries.
While the Celts were still living in tribes the Romans were the most powerful people in the world. Roman society differed greatly from that of the Celts. It was a slave society divided into antagonistic classes. The main classes were the slaves and the slave owners.
The slave-owners made up the minority of the population but they owned the land, tools, buildings and slaves. The slaves possessed neither land nor tools & were themselves the property of the slave-owners.
The Roman conquered all the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. In the wars in which Rome gained one province after another for the empire, many thousands of prisoners were taken. They were sold at the slave-market at Rome. Slaves were so cheap that all the Romans except the poorest had one or more,& rich slave-owners possessed hundreds of them. In the 1 B.C. & in the 1 A.D. slavery spread widely in the Roman Empire.
2)The Roman Conquest of Britain.
One of the last countries to be conquered by Rome was France, or Gaul as it was then called. The war against the Gauls, who were Celtic tribes, lasted for eight year. Julius Caesar was appointed Head of the Roman army which was sent to conquer Gaul. In the course of his campaigns Caesar reached the Channel & that was how the Romans came to see the white cliffs of the land of the British Celts.
In 55 B.C. a Roman army of 10.000 men crossed the Channel and invaded Britain. The Celts saw their ships approaching & rushed to attack the invaders in the sea as they were landing. The Celts made a great impression on the Romans, who saw them for the first time in battle.
In the next year, 54 B.C. Caesar again came to Britain, this time with larger forces (25000 men).
The Romans who had better arms & were much better trained defeated the Celts in several battles. At last Roman army invaded Britain and conquered the South-East. Other parts of the country were taken from time to time during the next forty years.
3) Roman influence in Britain.
As a result of the conquest signs of Roman civilization spread over Britain. There had been no towns in Britain before the Romans conquered it. The civilized Romans were city dwellers and as soon as they had conquered Britain they began to build towns, splendid villas, public bath as in Rome itself.York, Gloucester, Lincoln and London became the chief Roman towns. London which had been a small trading settlement before the conquest now became a center for trade both by road and river. The Roman towns were military stations surrounded by walls for defense which were guarded by the Roman warriors.
Together with a high civilization the Romans brought exploitation and slavery to the British Isles.
Among the Celts themselves inequality began to grow. The tribal chiefs and nobility became richer than other members of the tribe. Many of them became officials acting for Rome. The noble Celts adopted the mode of life of their conquerors. They lived in rich houses and they dressed as Romans. They were proud to wear the toga which was the sign of being a Roman citizen.
The names of many modern English towns are of Latin origin too. The Roman towns were strongly fortified and they were called Castro which means "camps». This word can be recognized in various forms in such names as Chester, Winchester ,Manchester, Don caster, Lancaster. Any English town today with a name ending in "Chester", "cester" or "caster" was once a Roman camp or city.
1-4 century A.D.-Britain is a Roman province
5 A.D.-The Romans leave Britain.
3. Establishment of the feudal system in Britain in the early middles ages (5-11 centuries).
The Romans protected their province of Britain against the barbarian tribes until they left which was at the beginning of the 5 century the Anglo-Saxons, Germanic tribes invaded Britain.
The Anglo-Saxon conquest is regarded as the beginning of medieval history in Britain.
The Anglo-Saxons were the ancestors of the English. As a result of the conquest they formed the majority of the population in Britain.
After the Roman legions left Britain the Celts remained independent but not for long. From the middle of the 5 century they had to defend the country against the attacks of Germanic tribes from the Continent.
In the 5 century, first the Jutes and then after Germanic tribes - the Saxons and Angles began to migrate to Britain. The Saxons came from the territory lying between the Rhyne and the Elbe rivers which was later on called Saxony. The Jutes and the Angles came from the Jull and Peninsula.
In 449 the Jutes landed in Kent and this was the beginning of the Conquest. The British natives fought fiercely against the invaders and it took more than a hundred and fifty years the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes to conquer the country.
In the course of the conquest many of the Celts were killed, some were taken prisoners and made slaves or had to pay tribute to the conquerors.
By the end of the 6 century and the beginning of the 7 several kingdoms were formed on the territory of Britain conquered by the Germanic tribes. This territory later on became England proper. Kent was set up by the Jutes in the South-East. In the southern and southern-eastern parts of the country the Saxons formed a number of kingdoms -Sussex (the land of South Saxons), Wessex (the land of West Saxons) and Essex (the land of the East Saxons). Farther north were the settlements of the angles that had conquered the greater part of the country. In the North they founded North Umbria which has left its name the present country of north umber land. Murcia was founded in the Middle and East Anglia-in the East of England, north of the East Saxon Kingdom. These kingdoms were hostile to one another and they fought constantly for supreme power in the country.
The new conquerors brought about changes altogether different from those that followed the conquest of the country by the Romans. The new settlers disliked towns preferring to live in small villages. In the course of the conquest they destroyed the Roman town and villas. All the beautiful buildings and baths and roads were so neglected that soon fell in ruins. Sometimes the roads were broken up, the stones being used for building material. This art of road making was lost for many hundreds of years.
The Jutes, the Saxons and the Angels were closely a kin in speech and customs, and they gradually merged into one people. The name”Jute” soon died out and the conquerors are generally referred to us the Anglo-Saxons.
As a result of the conquest the Anglo-Saxons made up the majority of the population in Britain and their customs, religion and languages became predominant. They called the Celts ”welsh” which mean foreigners as they could not understand the Celtic language which was quite unlike their own.
But gradually the Celts who were in the minority merged with the conquerors adopted their customs and learned to speak their languages. Only the Celts who reminded independent in the West, Scotland and Ireland spoke their native tongue.
At first the Anglo-Saxons spoke various dialects but gradually the dialect of the Angles of Murcia became predominant. In the course of time all the people of Britain were known to us as the English after the Angles and the new name of England was given to the whole country. The Anglo-Saxons language or English has been the principal language of the country since then although it has undergone great change.
After the conquest of Britain the survivals of the primitive way of life were very strong among the Anglo-Saxons. But in the 7-9 centuries great changes were taking place in Anglo-Saxon society, Feudalism was slowly taking root.
4. Establishment of the Kingdom of England.
For three centuries a struggle went on between the little Anglo-Saxons kingdoms set up in the 5-6 centuries.
As feudal relations develop the owners of the landed estates strike to unify the separate kingdoms into one state under the power of the king.
At the end of the 8 century another brunch of Germanic people began to attack Britain.
The separate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms fighting among themselves become an easy prey for the invaders.
The 9 century sees the political unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms waged a constant struggle against one another for predominance over the country from time to time. Some stronger states seized the land of the neighboring kingdoms were always changing so were their boundaries.
The greatest and most important kingdoms were North Umbria, Murcia and Wessex. For a time North Umbria gained supremacy. Murcia was the next kingdom to take the lead. The struggle for predominance continued and at last at the beginning of the 9 century Wessex became the strongest state. In 829 Egbert, king of Wessex was acknowledged by Kent, Murcia and North Umbria. This was really the beginning of the unit of kingdom of England, for Wessex never again lost its supremacy and king Egbert became the first king of England.
Under this rule all the small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were united to form one kingdom which was called England from that time on.
The clergy, royal warriors and officials supported the king’s power.
The political unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms was spread up by the urgent task of defending the country against the dangerous raids of the new enemies. From the end of the 8 century and during the 9 and the10 centuries Western Europe was troubled by a new wave of barbarian attacks. These barbarians came from the North- from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and were called, as the Vikings, the Normans, and The Danes. They came to Britain from Norway and Denmark. But more often the British Isles were raided from Denmark and the invaders came to be known in English history as the Danes.
The Danes were of the same Germanic race as the Anglo-Saxons themselves and they came from the same part of the continent. But unlike the Anglo-Saxons whose way of life had changed greatly ever since they came to Britain, the Danes still lived in tribes. They were still pagans.
The Danes were well armed with sword, spear, dagger, battle- axe and bow.
North Umbria and East Anglia suffered most from the Danish raids. The Danes seized the ancient city of York and then all of Yorkshire. Soon after the Danes conquered East Anglia and England, north of the Thames, that is, North Umbria, Murcia and East Anglia were in their hands.
Only Wessex was left to face the enemy. Before the Danes conquered the North, they had made an attack on Wessex but in 835 King Egbert defeated them. In the reign of Egbert’s Son the Danes sailed up the Thames and captured London. Thus the Danes came into conflict with the strongest of all the Anglo- Saxon kingdoms, Wessex. In 871 the Danes invaded again. But it was not so easy to devastate Wessex as other parts of England. Wessex had united the small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and under the reign of Egbert’s grandson, King Alfred (871-899) who became known in English history as Alfred the Great Wessex became the center of resistance against the invaders.
Alfred managed to raise an army and to stop the offensive of the Danes. He made new rules for the army in which every free man had to serve and to come provided with the proper weapons.
During the reign of Alfred the Great the first British Navy was build and a war fleet of ships larger and faster than those of the Danes protected the island.
At the end of 9 century new Danish attacks were made, but they were beaten off; The Anglo-Saxon won their first victories on the sea, and soon the Danes no longer dared to attack Wessex.
5. The kingdom of England in the 10-11 century.
In the 10 century the united Anglo-Saxon feudal monarchy was consolidated. A much larger territory including the Dane’s land was now under the power of the kings of England.
From the end of the 10 century the Danes began to devastate the country again. And for some period in the 11 century England came under the power of the Danish kings.
Under both Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings feudal society continued to develop in England. More and more peasants lost their land and freedom.
In the second half of the 10 century under the rule of Alfred’s descendants the Saxon monarchy was further consolidated.
The Anglo-Saxons won several victories over the Danes, took away the Dane law and ruled over the whole of England.
The Danes were not driven out of the country but they were made subjects of Wessex.They submitted to the power of the Anglo-Saxon kings and never tried to make the Dane law into a separate kingdom.
The Danes influenced the development of the country greatly. They were good sailors and traders and they favored the growth of town and the development of trade in England.
Many Scandinavian words came into the English language at that time and are even used today. For example:
Adjective - happy, low, loose, ill, ugly, weak
Verbs - to take, to die, to call
Nouns - sister, husband, sky, fellow, law, window, leg, wing, harbour.
The Danes gave their own names to many of the towns they built.For example: Derby, Grimsby, Whitby Lowestoft etc.
2 .At the end of the 10 century the Danish invasions were resumed. The Anglo-Saxon kings were unable to organize any effective resistance. The Anglo-Saxon came again in great numbers the following year to demand more.
At the beginning of the 11 century England was conquered by the Danes once more. The Danish king Canute (1017-1035) became king of Denmark, Norway and England then made England the center of his power. But he was away from England in his kingdom of Denmark and so he divided the country into four parts called earldoms. They were Wessex, Murcia, North Umbria and East Anglia. An earl was appointed by the king to rule over each great earldom. The earls ruled over great territories and gradually they became very powerful.
6. Norman Conquest of England.
Four different peoples invaded England. First came the Celts in the 6 century B.C.; then the Romans in the 1 A.D.; they were followed by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5 century; after them came the Danes at the end of 8 century.
In the 11 century England was invaded by the Normans. This was the fifth and the last invasions of England.
In the 9 century while the Danes were plundering England another branch of North men who were related to the Danes were doing the same sailing to the Northern coasts of France. They came to be called the Normans, a variation of the word “North men”.
As we know the Danes settled down in the conquered part of England known as the Dane law. Likewise, the Normans settled down on land conquered from the French king- a territory which is still called Normandy after these Normans.
Many changes came about in the life of the Normans and the Danes after the 9 century. By the 11 century the Danes finally settled down as subject of the English kings. As time went on they gradually mixed with the Anglo-Saxon among whom they lived. Thus they retained their Germanic language and many of their customs that were very much like those of the Anglo-Saxons. But the Normans who had settled down in France had quite different manners, customs and language. They lived among the French people, who were different people, with different manners, customs and language. They had learned to speak the French language, and in many ways they had become like the French themselves.
The Normans lived under the rule of their own duke. In 1066 William, the Duke of Normandy, began to gather an army to invade Britain. The pretext for the invasions was the king who died in 1066.The king who died in 1066 had no children and Duke William cherished the hope that he would succeed to the English throne. (According to the English law it was the Witenagemot that chose the next king).But the Witenagemot choose another relative of the deceased king the Anglo-Saxon Earl, Harold, William of Normandy claimed that England belonged to him and began preparations for a war to fight for the Crown.
William landed in South of England and the battle between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons took place in a little village in the neighborhood of the town now called Hastings.
The victory at Hastings was only the beginning of the Conquest. It took several years for William and his baron to subdue the whole of England. Soon after the victory of Hastings, the Normans encircled London and the Witenagemot had to acknowledge William as the Lawful king of England. From that time the Norman duke became king of England –William I or as he was generally known William the Conqueror. He ruled England for 21 years (1066-1087).
The Norman Conquest brought about very important changes in the life of the Anglo-Saxons. King Harold had little power after the great lords. The Anglo-Saxon earls didn’t even join their king at Hastings. After the Conquest the royal power in England strengthened greatly. The Conqueror turned into slaves many Anglo-Saxon peasants who had been free before. They brought with them their language, laws and customs. Under their rule the English language changed greatly.
Lecture 2
Theme: The Land and the Population.
Geographical position of the British Isles
Physical structure and relief
Climate and weather
1. Geographical position of the British Isles
The British Isles are situated off the north-west coast Europe and consist of a group of islands. The total area of the British Isles is 322 246 square km-s. They are made up of two large islands - Great Britain and Ireland - and over 5.000 smaller islands.
Britain formally known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It comprises the mаіn land of England, Wales and Scotland (Great Britain) and the Northern Ireland (part of Ireland)
The capital of England is London, the capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, the capital of Wales is Cardiff, the capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.
As to the national emblems of the United Kingdom, one can name the red rose- the national emblem of England, the thistle- the national emblems of Scotland, the leek and the daffodils are the emblems of Wales, the shamrock (a king of clover) is the emblems of Ireland
The British Isles are of the continental origin. Once they formed part of that continent, they became islands only when they were separated from it. The separation took place thousands of years ago, after the last Ice Age, and greatly influenced the history and the geography of these islands.
The United Kingdom's area is some 244.100 sq. kilometers, of which about 99% in land and remainder island water. From south to north it stretches for over 900 km, and is just less than 500 km across in the widest part and 60 km in the narrowest.
The combined population of the British Isles-59.5 m/n people including that of the Republic Ireland makes the Islands one of the most densely populated parts of the earth's surface and the UK, at least, one of the most densely populated countries with nearly 57 million people.
The English Channel and the North Sea separate the British Isles from Europe. In the west they are washed by the Atlantic Ocean, in the east-by the North Sea. The two main islands - Great Britain and Ireland - are separated by the Irish Sea.
Off the north-western coast of Great Britain there is a group of Islands known as the Hebrides ([hebridiz] - Гебридские острова). They are divided into the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the groups of Islands, separated from each other by the sea of Hebrides and the Little Minch.
Separated from the mainland by the stormy mile wide land there are the Orkneys Islands, comprising about a hundred Islands, though only a third are inhabited, by about 19.500 people. Most of the people are engaged in dairy and poultry farming, bacon, cheese and eggs are exported to central Scotland.
Situated about 70 miles north of Orkneys there are the Shetland Islands which provide thin, infertile soils suitable only for rough pasture. The total population is about 18.000.The Shetland farmers during the summer months are actively engaged in herring-fishing.
In the middle of the Irish Sea there is the Isle of Man (571 sq. km).The Island is administered by its own Parliament and has a population of about 50.000.Chiefly engaged is farming, fishing and Tourist trade.
Another important Island in the Irish Sea is Anglesey contains only 52.000 people and more of working population are now engaged in industry than in fishing and agriculture.
The Isle of Wight is in the English Channel. It is diamond-shaped 40 km from west to east, and about half as much from west to south. The Isle of Wight lies across the southern end of Southampton. With its sunny beaches and pleasant varied Countryside, the Island forms the South Coast's most important tourist resorts.
Of the extreme south-western coast of Great Britain there is a tiny group the Isles of Scilly.
The Channel Islands lie to the south-west on the French side of the English Channel. They are known to the French as the Isles Normandy’s, and their position can indeed be best seen from a map of North-West France than Southern England.
2. Physical structure and relief
Britain has different physical characteristics and despite its small area, contains rocks of nearly all the main geological periods. There is a contrast between the highlands of western and northern Britain and the lowland areas of the south and east.
You will not find very high mountains or large plains here. Everything occupies little place. (Nature, it seems, has carefully adapted things-mountains, valleys, plains, rivers and lakes-to the size of the island itself.)
The highest mountain in the British Isles is Ben Nevis in Scotland, 1.347 meters high. The longest river is the Severn in England, 390 km long. The largest lake in Great Britain is Loch Lomond in Scotland, covering a surface area of 70 sq. kilometers.
England. Though England cannot be considered as a very hilly country still it far from being flat everywhere. The most important range of mountains is the Pennine range. Some rivers flowing from the central Pennines have cut long open valleys, (known as dales which attract tourist because of their picturesque scenery.) Rainfall in the Pennines is heavy and their flowing streams provide power for woolen mills. Today the area is used for water storage; reservoirs in the uplands supply water to the industrial towns on each side of the Pennines.
Across the north end of the Pennine Range there are the grassy Cheviot Hills. They serve as a natural borderland between England and Scotland.
The valleys, which separate the various mountains from each other, contain some beautiful lakes. This is so-called Lake District. They are Windermere, Crasmere, Coniston Water, Ennerdale water, Ullswater, Hawswater. This is the celebrated Lake District, where many tourists resort every year and where the famous poets Wordsworth, Coleridge, Quincy lived and wrote.
In north-west England, separated from the Pennine by the valley of the river Eden lie the Cumbrian Mountains. These mountains form a ring round the peak of Helvellyn (950).Other peaks Scafell (978 m) and Skiddaw (931 m)
Thirlmere and News Water are in use as reservoirs for the Manchester area and permission has been granted for Manchester to take water from Ullswater and Windermere.
The region is scarcely populated and sheep rearing is the main occupation of the farmers. A typical farmhouse is built of stone, quarried locally, and roofed with slate, also obtained in the region. Around it are a number of small fields, separated from one another by dry stone walls.
The south-west region is essentially agricultural area. The areas of best soil occur around the southern borders of Dart moor, in northern Devon and Vale of Taunton. On the lower land between the moors, both in Cornwall and Devon are fertile river valleys.
The south-west Peninsula presents numerous attractions for the holiday-makes and the artists, and tourism is of the most important activities of the region.
Wales. Wales is the largest of the peninsula on the western side of Britain. It consists of a complex of worn down mountain ranges representing high. They are called Cambrian Mountains. The highest and most glaciated area occurs in the north, especially around Snowdon (1.085 m) and often the mountains approach close to the sea.
The Cambrians largely comprise the upland areas, generally and collectively described as the Welsh Massif. In the south the massif includes an important coal field, on which an industrial area has grown. It is the most densely populated of 208 m/n inhabiting about one-eight of the area.
Two relief divisions may be distinguished in South-Wales;
1. A coastal plain which in the south-eastern part around Cardiff becomes up
to 16 km wide, and
2. The upland areas of the coal-field proper, which rise between 245 and 380
meters.
Much of the land of Wales consists of bare rock, it produce not good enough crops. There are barren moorland and rough pasture, with only a few' people to the square kilometers. But this region constitutes the heartland of Wales, for centered upon the massif in the Welsh culture where the traditions and language of a Celtic people are best preserved in the upland areas. Sheep are the basis of the rural economy, and the low-lying parts near the coast and in the valley bottoms dairy farming predominates.
Scotland. Scotland may be divided into three major physical regions; the Highlands, the Southern Uplands and the Central Lowlands.
The Scotland highlands lie west of a line from Aberdeen to the mouth of the Clyde. They form the most extensive and the most scarcely populated of the three regions, the mountains are separated into two parts by Glen More, or the Great Glen, a long crack in the earth's crust, running from north-west. To the south are the Grampians, which are generally higher than the North-West highlands, and contain loftiest summits, including Ben Nevis (1.347m) the highest peak in the British Isles. Glen More contains three lakes: Lock Ness, Lock Oich, and Lock Lochy. Climatically the region has some of the most severe weather experienced in Britain.
The Highlands comprise 47% of the land area of Scotland. At the same time Scotland’s population is 15%.
The Southern Uplands extend from the Central Valley of Scotland in the north to the Pennine Hills and Lake District in the South. Upland areas extend into the Central Valley, just as the Cheviots merge into the Pennines and the lowlands on both east and west coasts into the lowlands of North Umbria and those that surround the Lake District.
The Central lowlands of Scotland, sometimes known as the Midland Valley, lie between the Highlands and the Southern Uplands.
The Central lowlands are the most densely populated of the three main regions of Scotland; they occupy about 15% of it is people.
Ireland. Ireland is predominantly a rural island, with a generally low density of population and indeed few large towns other than those situated on the coast. The region’s geography of the islands is simpler than that of Great Britain, and especially than the regional geography of England.
The Central Plain of Ireland stretches west-east across the country from coast to coast.
Around the plain is a broken rim of mountains. In the extreme north-east is the Antrim Plateau or Mountains of Antrim.
Being geographically an island and a single unit, Ireland is politically divided into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, comprising six countries of Ulster which was one of the provinces of ancient Ireland: Antrim, Londdnol, Tyrone, Fermangh, Armagh and Down.
3. Climate and weather
Weather is not the same as climate. The weather of the British Isles is notoriously variable. The climate of a place or region, on the other hand, represents the average weather conditions through the year. In every part of the British Isles obvious changes are taking place as winter passes into spring, spring into summer, and so through autumn to winter.
Britain has a generally mild and temperate climate, which is dominated by marine influences and is rainy and equable. Britain's climate, which is much milder than that in any other country, is in the same latitudes.
This means that not only marine influences to warm the land in winter and cool it in summer, but also that the winds blowing over the Atlantic have a similar effect and at the same time carry large amounts of moisture which is deposited over the land as rain, Britain's climate is generally one of mild winters and cool summers, with rain throughout the year, although there are considerable regional changes.
Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year, put on average, March to June are the driest month and October to January the wettest.
Lecture 3
Political system of the UK
1. Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy
2. Parliament
3. Government
4. House of Commons
5. House of Lords
1. Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy
Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. Although the power of the monarch (king or queen) is limited by Parliament, political stability owes much to the monarchy, the continuity of which has been interrupted only once (the republic of 1649- 1660) in over a thousand years. The queen (king) reigns, but she ( he) doesn’t rule. The acts on the advice of her (his) Prime Minister and doesn’t make any major political decisions. The monarch summons and dissolves the Parliament, opens the annual session of the Parliament and addresses to the MPs with the speech from the throne. The Royal residences are Buckingham Palace in London, Holy Roodhouse in Edinburgh and Windsor Castle in the suburbs of London.
In law the Queen is Head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the Commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crow and the “supreme governor” of the established Church of England. As a result of a long process of evolution, during which the monarchy’s absolute power has been progressively reduced, the Queen is impartial and acts on the advice of her ministers.
The Queen and the royal family take part in many traditional ceremonies. Their visits to different parts of Britain and to many other countries attract considerable interest and publicity, and they are also closely involved in the work of many charities.
The British Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons and the Queen as its head.
2. Parliament
Parliament is a supreme legislative body. England was the first country to have a Parliament. British Parliament consists of the monarch, the House of Lords (Upper Chamber) and the House of Commons (Lower Chamber). British Parliament holds its sittings in the Palace of Westminster. The Palace of Westminster mostly known as the House of Parliament is situated on the embankment of the Thames. It is famous for its two great towers: Big Ben and Victoria tower. Big Ben belongs to the part of Westminster Palace which comprises the House of Commons. Victoria Tower is situated in the part of Westminster Palace which belongs to the House of Lords. When Parliament has a session there is a national flag on the Tower of Victoria. Besides two main chambers the Palace of Westminster has a number of working rooms for secretariat and deputies, rooms for the meeting of parliament committees, cafes, restaurants and libraries.
The main functions of the Parliament are law-making, control of the government, granting sanctions to taxes and state expenses. but as far as the law making function is concerned , only the House of Commons can propose the law. A proposed law, which is called a bill, is introduced by ministers on behalf of the British Government. Some deputies can also bring in bills. Such bills are called private members’ bills. In order to become an Act of Parliament a bill must pass through both Houses and the Royal assent.
3. Government
The British Parliamentary system depends on political parties. Most members of the government comprise representatives of the party which wins a majority of the seats in the House of Commons at a general election. The leader of the majority party becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister forms the government which usually consists of 60 or 70 ministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area in the government. From these 60 or 70 ministers the Prime Minister chooses a small group of 20 representatives. This group i9s called the Cabinet of Ministers or just the Cabinet. The Cabinet is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet Ministers are the holders of the most important offices, for example, Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Health.
The Cabinet defines the main trends of the British Government policy. The Cabinet works under the head of the Prime Minister. Frequent Cabinet meetings take place in the Prime Minister’s residence of (10, Downing Street). The power of the Cabinet is controlled by Parliament, for no bill which a minister prepares can become law until it is passed by an Act of Parliament.
4. House of Commons
The House of Commons comprises 650 elected members, who are known as Members of Parliament (MPs). Members of the Parliament are the representatives of local communities. At a general election held every five years, ordinary people elect one person from their constituency to be their Member of Parliament. That is why Lower Chamber of Parliament is called the House of Commons. The House of Commons hold sessions which last for 160-170 days. MPs are paid for their parliamentary work and they have to attend the sittings.
The House of Commons is presided by the Speaker. The speaker is elected by the House of Commons. Although the Speaker belongs to one of the parties he has to be unprejudiced. His function is to keep order. He controls who speaks and for how long. The speaker wears a long wig and sits in the Speaker’s Chair in the Hall of the House of Commons.
Speaker’s Chair stands at the North end. In front of it there stands the Table of the House which is occupied by the Clerk of the House and two Clerk assistants. There are benches for the Government and its supporters to the right of the Speaker. To the left of the Speaker there are benches occupied by the Opposition. There are also Cross benches at the South end of the Hall which is occupied by the members of any other parties. The front bench of the Government is called the Treasury Bench and used by the Prime Minister and other ministers. The front benches of the Opposition are occupied by its leaders. Those who sit on the front benches of both parties are called front benchers. The back benches belong to the rank-and-file MPs (back benchers).
The House of Commons plays the major part in law making. A Bill may be introduced by any MP, in practice it is generally introduced by a Minister. In order to become a law a bill has to go through three stages of reading in the House of Commons, then have the Agreement of the House of Lords and the Royal assent.
The first reading is just publication and distribution of the proposal among the MPs. There is no debate or discussion. The second reading includes debate, discussion and criticizing. The Speaker asks the House to vote. If bill passes the second reading it goes to a committee. The third reading is called a report stage. The Bill is discussed in detail and many alterations may be made. Then the Speaker receives the report of the Committee and asks the House to vote again. If the Bill gets a majority vote, it goes to the House of Lords.
5. House of Lords
The House of Lords consists of more than 1000 members, but only 250 take an active part in the work of the House. The members of the House are the Lords “Temporal” (i.e. Barons, Earls, Marquises and Dukes) and the Lords “Spiritual”(i.e. the Archbishops of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, and twenty- four Bishops).
The Lords “Temporal” can be hereditary peers and peeresses and life peers and peeresses. Life peers and peeresses receive their peerages as a reward for service and their children do not inherit the title.
Members of the House of Lords are not elected. They sit there because of their rank. The Chairman of the Upper Chamber is the Lord Chancellor. He sits on a special picturesque seat which is called the Woolsack. It is a large bag of wool covered with red cloth. This tradition goes back to the period of the reign of Edward III (XIYc.). The Woolsack is a reminder of the time when England’s commercial prosperity was founded on her wool exports.
The Lords debate a bill if it has passed by the House of Commons. They only have power to delay a bill ( if it isn’t a financial one). They can throw it out once, but if the bill is presented a second time they must pass it.
Lecture 4
Education system in the UK
PLAN: 1.School education
a) Primary education
b) Secondary education
2.Post-school education
3.University education
There are 3 stages of education in GREAT BRITAIN: primary, secondary and further education. Primary and secondary stages are school education. Further education means post-school education. Compulsory school education lasts 11 years, from the age of 5 to 16.
After the age of 16 young people can take further education. They can leave school but continue their education in a further education college, or they can continue studying at school until 18 years and then enter institutions of higher education or universities.
SCHOOL EDUCATION
There is compulsory secondary education in Great Britain. All children must, by law ,begin their school education at the age of 5 the minimum age for leaving school is 16.
There are schools maintained by state and private. Maintained schools in Great Britain are free. In private (or independent) schools parents have to pay for their children’s education. The fees vary from 250 pounds a term for day.
Education in the maintained schools usually consists of two-stages-primary and secondary or three stages – first schools, middle schools and upper schools. In most schools boys and girls are taught together. Pre-schools education can be taken from three to five in nursery schools or nursery classes of primary schools.
Great Britain has a great number of various types of schools, primary schools, middle schools, grammar, technical ,secondary modern schools, comprehensive schools and other.
A) PRIMARY EDUCATION
On the first stage of school education – primary stage children study in primary school from the age of 5 to 11.The primary school may be divided into two parts: infant and junior.
The infant school takes children from 5 to 7,after which they continue studying in the junior school from 7 to 11.
At infant school children learn reading, writing and arithmetic. They also sing, draw, do physical exercises. At junior school children have arithmetic, reading, composition, history, geography, nature study, art and music, physical education.
At 11, after finishing primary school course, children go to second stage of school education-secondary school.
Middle school teach children between 8 and 14 (8-12,9-13,9-14)after which pupils go to comprehensive school.
B) SECONDARY EDUCATION
Secondary education is compulsory for all up to the age of 16.There are different types of secondary schools: grammar, technical, modern and comprehensive schools.
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS take only children who have good results of the “11 plus examination (11+)”. It is an examination for children of 11 years old or a little older( eleven plus some months). It consists of an arithmetic paper, an English paper and an intelligence test.
Grammar school gave academic education for the selected pupils from the age of 11 to 18,and prepare them for higher education. The general level of education in these school is very high. The school teaches English language and literature, modern languages, Latin, Mathematics, physics, Chemistry, Biology, history, Geography and other subjects.
TECHNICAL SCHOOLS as well as grammar schools educate selective pupils. But they are specialized in technical studies. The main subjects are science and mathematics.
Secondary modern school give a general ,non-academic education up to the minimum school leaving age of 16.After finishing this school pupils cannot enter higher educational establishments.
Comprehensive school are the most popular schools in Britain today(especially in England and Wales).These schools take all the children in a given area without selecting examination .All the same time they offer all the courses taught in the three traditional schools described above-academic and practical subjects .So comprehensive schools are much bigger then the later.
COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL take the following age ranges : from 11 to 18 (after primary schools ) from 12,13 or 14 to 18 years (after middle schools ),and from 11 to 16 years.
All state schools have a National Curriculum. It consists of 10 subjects which all the children must study at school. The subjects are English, Mathematics, Science, a modern foreign language.(for 11-16 years olds),Technics and Design ,History, Geography ,Music ,Art, Physical education .Pupils progress in subjects is measured by written and practical tests.
The National Curriculum aims to ensure all children study basic subjects and have a better all-round education.
After 5 years of secondary education pupils take principal examinations for the General certificate of secondary education(GCSE) After the GCSE advanced (A)level.
2. POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION
At the age of 16 young people can choose their further education at school or outside school. They can continue studying at school until the age of 18. They can leave school and continue their education in various colleges, polytechnics and vocationally oriented schools, such as drama schools, art schools ,ballet schools or schools of librarianship and others. The most part of those institutions are private i.e. fee-charging.
These institutions do not give higher education, they prepare a variety of professions for industry and commerce such as sewing, typing, book-keeping and many others.
The UK post school institution of higher education are universities, polytechnics and other higher education colleges.
There are different universities in the country. Admission to universities is by examination or selection (interviews).British students get grants from their local education authority.
A university graduate leaves with a degree. It usually takes three years to get a BACHELOR OF ARTS or BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE.
A MA or MS degree may be got in one or two additional years .
Universities are centers of research as well as teaching and many postgraduates are engaged in research for higher education. The highest academic degree is the Doctor of Philosophy. It may take any number of years to finish the original research work necessary to get this degree.
British universities greatly differ from each other. They differ in date of foundation, size, history, traditions and general organization.
Higher education has become more available in the second half of the 20th century.
In 1960 there were less than 25 universities in Britain. By 1980 there were already more than 40,and by 1995 there were over a hundred institutions with the universities.
There are no great distinctions between different types of universities in Britain. But still there are some categories of them .First of all ,Oxbridge. Oxford and Cambridge were founded in the medieval period. These universities consist of semi- independent colleges each of them having its own staff (“Fellows”).The “Fellows” teach the college students either one-to-one or in very small groups. This system is unique in the world and known as tutorials in Oxford and supervisions in Cambridge.
Then, Scottish universities. By 1600 Scotland had 4 universities-Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St.Andrews resembles Oxbridge very much. In the other three most of the students live at home or find their rooms. There is less specialization than at Oxbridge.
During the 19th century various institutions of higher education(usually technical ones)were founded in the industrial towns and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Their buildings were of local bricks so they got the name “redbrick” universities. They contrasted chiefly with Oxford and Cambridge. At first, they prepared students for London University degree, but later they were given the right to award their own degrees. They become universities themselves. Now they accept students from all over the country. These universities are financed by local authority.
One of the developments in education in Britain is certainly the open university .It was founded in 1971. Some people don’t have an opportunity to study full-time, and this university allows them to study for degree.
This university ‘s courses are taught through television, radio and course books. Its students work individually and with tutors ,to whom, they sound their papers. The students discuss their work at meetings or through correspondence. In summer they attend short courses.
OXBRIDGE
Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest universities in Great Britain. They are called Oxbridge to denote an elaterium education.
Only rich people send their children to those universities .The main characteristic feature of these universities is the tutorial (that means the individual tuition)
Oxford and Cambridge universities consist of a number of colleges, each self-governing and independent. Before 1970 most of all Oxbridge universities were single-sex(mostly for men).But now the majority admit both sexes. The administrative body of the university consists of the chancellor (who is elected for life),the vice-chancellor(who is in practice the head of the university, and is appointed by the Chancellor) and two people, whose job is to maintain discipline. Each college has its staff called “FELLOWS”
The largest colleges have more than 400 students, the smallest have less than 30.
OXFORD is one of the oldest universities in Europe. It didn’t come into being all at once. Oxford had existed as a city for at last 300 years before scholars began to resort to it .
The end of the 12th century saw the real beginning of the university . The first group of scholars were from Paris and from other parts of Britain.
A characteristic feature of Oxford is that many traditions of the middle ages are still current there. One of them is that the students have to wear gowns .
The earliest college buildings seem to have no definite plan. They expanded at the end. Nowadays there are 29 college for men, 5 for women and another 5 both men and woman members .Oxford is the place of great beauty but it is not just a shrine to the past .It is a living entity.
Lecture 5
The main economical regions
1. The main economical regions
2. The South industrial and agricultural region.
3. The Midlands
4. Lancashire and Yorkshire
5. National Economy of Scotland
6. Wales.
1. The main economic regions.
Regional differences in the country’s economy are essential despite its small territory. Historically England proper is divided into the following economic regions the South industrial and Agricultural region, Central England or the Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire and North England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also regarded as independent economic regions of the United Kingdom. Hence, the whole country consists of eight economic regions.
One of the main problems to emerge in Britain during the twentieth century has been the imbalance of economic activity between individual regions. This largely on the coal fields and its replacement by a new structure more closely related to accessibility and the transport and network. Attempts have been made to slow down or even reverse this process but they have failed and Britain has witnessed the emergence of what has been called the “Two Nations” – one characterized by comparative economic activity (especially of the so-called “new industries”) population growth and a strong industrial base, the other which includes most of the coalfield marked by declining industries, decaying towns and cities, and high rates of emigration. The outlying national regions of the United Kingdom, such as Wales, Scotland and especially Northern Ireland are most depressive. The traditional disparities which existed between these regions and England proper have accelerated in recent years.
The combination of an inefficient manufacturing industry, then policy of “privatization” has produced unemployment are a true reflection of the decline which has occurred in the old industries of the country. Especially hard hit are the outlying national regions such as Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Besides these regions, North England, Lancashire and Yorkshire are also experiencing difficulties. South England and the midlands are comparatively doing well.
There is the obvious relationship between unemployment and the dependence of an area on manufacturing industry. For it has been manufacturing industry which has born the brunt of the recession, and employment in this sector of the economy has actually declined to such an extent that the very existence of some of the country’s major industries is now threatened. These included several of the industries upon which the United Kingdom has traditionally dependent for prosperity – such as iron and steel, shipbuilding, textiles. Emphasis has been put recently on the development of high technology industries – in an attempt to overcome the problems of the country. However, growth did not fully offset the losses suffered by the old traditional industries. In fact the industries to show large-scale growth have been limited to those in the area of high technology. Hence those regions where there is a greater concentration of high technology industries, such as South England, The Midlands, can be regarded to be in a more favorable position. Nevertheless, this remedy is not without its problems.
2. The South industrial and agricultural region.
This is the most important region in the country in terms of industry, agriculture and population. The region includes all the south of England, both the south-west. It’s the northern border runs from the Bristol Channel to the west. The south is the region of various industries and of the intensive agriculture. At the centre of everything is the city of London and its influence has become so widespread that the south-east has often been called The London City Region.
Today about 6.7 million people live in greater London. The outward movement of people from the inner districts of London is continuing. Its geographical position fitted London to be the chief commercial link of the UK with the outside world. One great advantage of the port, because of its high tides, was the ability of the vessels to sail up the estuary into the heart of the city. London handles the largest part of the country’s overseas trade. From 5 to 10 per cent of the exports (by tonnage) pass through the port of London and 15-20 per cent of imports. The millions of people living in Greater London and its surrounding areas provide a market for many important goods, especially food stuffs.
The importance of London as the industrial centre depends largely upon its situation at the centre of a vast national and international network of communications. The oldest industrial areas are near the city centre here industries such as clothing, furniture making and jewelry have tended to cluster in small distinct areas. The building of the docks near the city centre encouraged the development of a vast range of industries which processed imported row materials. Later the extension of the thee dock system toward the sea lead to the development of such typical port industries, as oil refining, steel-making, cement manufacture, paper making , etc.
As with most capital cities, London’s industries are extremely varied, among them electrical engineering, precision instrument production, radio engineering, aircraft production, manufacture of electronics equipment, the motorcar industry. These high technology industries are also sited in the satellite towns within Greater London. For example, just within Greater London, at Dagenham is the great Ford motor work. The chemicals and munitions industries are also developed in this region. Greater London is a major centre of pharmaceutical products. Greater London accounts for 25 per cent of the industrial goods of the country’s output in terms of value.
London has greater expansion in recent years; especially in the service industries provide employment for twice as many people as manufacturing industries. This is due to the enormous concentration of population in the city and the resultant need for service industries which occur there on a scale found now here else in Britain. For example, more then half of the national labor force employed in banking and insurance, the civil service and scientific research, work in London. Thousands of computers travel to central London each day to work in offices, banks, insurance, companies and shops. Add to this the work force catering for the tourist trade.
The other towns and cities, situated to the north of the Thames, and closely connected with the capital industrial specialization are Oxford, Cambridge and Luton.
Oxford has first mentioned in recorded history in the tenth century. It was a bridging point off the Themes, which made it an important trading centre in medieval times.
Oxford (98000) also became a leading educational centre, and by the end of the thirteenth century the earliest colleges of its world famous university had been founded. For centuries, however, its population drew slowly, and its more rapid development into an industrial centre waited till the twenties century. This come with the establishment of a large motor works in the suburb of Cowley in 1912, which together with other engineering works, was largely responsible for the rapid rise n its population reaching today about a hundred thousand inhabitants.
Cambridge (90000) is also best known for its ancient university. As with Oxford, the fine architecture of its colleges draws many visitors. Its industries, concerned with electronics including the manufacture of radio and television sets and scientific research instruments and printing have links with the university which has as international reputation for scientific research, facilities for high technology research and highly trade labor that can be recruited from the university.
Luton ((164000) provides an example of a town which became famous for one industry but prospered and expanded because of another. Luton became the countries leading hat-making town, straw from the local crop furnishing the raw material. But the demand has shrunk greatly in recent years.
Early this century a motor car firm built its principal factory at Luton. The motor works is the chief employer. It also attracted other engineering industries such as the manufacture of electrical appliances roller, bearing, etc. Nearby there is also one of the largest brickworks in Western Europe. The basic raw material, clay is extracted locally.
The Thames valley in general, between London and Bristol is an area of concentration of high technology industries of the future.
Bristol (384400) dominated south-west England, both as the region’s chief as its largest city. Bristol is a historic inland port situated in the seaport and Bristol Channel. If we look into the history of the port, we find that it once held a far more important position than it does today. Today it accounts for about 2 per cent of the country’s trade. One reason for the decline of Bristol as the seaport as its unfavorable location about 13 km above mouth of the Avon. This meant in course o time its clocks could no longer accommodate the larger vessels that were constantly being built. Outposts to Bristol were built at Avon-mouth and Potsherd: an out port is one that belongs to the main port, but is nearer the open sea and therefore has deeper water and can accommodate larger vessels. Avon-mouth has been specially equipped to handle various goods, such as imported frozen meat, butter, bananas. Import exceeds export. Different ores make a considerable percentage of the import as well as timber, grain, fodder. Automobile, tractors, locomotives, aircraft, cement from the export trade. Imports influence the character of local industries. This is very well seen in the manufacture of tobacco products and chocolate n Bristol is a major centre of non-ferrous metallurgy hardware is also produced in this city. The British version of the supersonic ‘Concor-Norwich Cathedral de ‘was assembled at an aircraft plant in Bristol. The chemical and petrochemical industries are also developing in rapid place.
Of the towns situated on the southern fringe of England the largest ones are Plymouth (244,000), Southampton (204000) Portsmouth (179000), Brighton (146000) and Bournemouth (145000).
Plymouth, situated at the head of Plymouth Sound, has a magnificent natural harbor, and it is well placed to guard the western approaches to the English Channel. Nearly 300 years ago work began on a dockyard nearby and from then on wards the great naval base of the British navy. The city has no major traditional industry and the naval dockyard remains the leading employers of labor. However, in recent years it has attracted a variety of light engineering industries such as the manufacture of television sets. The food industry has also developed due to its role as an importer of fruit and vegetables from France and the Mediterranean area.
Southampton is primarily a seaport, the most important one on the south coast. For a long time it was the leading passenger port in the British Isles, with special significance for its services to North America and South Africa. It was from here on April 12, 1912 that the famous Titanic made its first and last voyage to New York. The distinction belongs to the past, however, for most travelers now cross the Atlantic by air. Southampton continues to serve as a port chiefly because of the development of its freight traffic. Many of the vessels which enter Southampton port are oil tankers carrying petroleum to the great oil refinery at Fawley. Petroleum in fact is the most valuable single item in the imports. This refinery supplies fuel to power stations, raw material to chemical works, and aviation spirit to London Airport (Heathrow). Its expanding petrochemical industry has contributed much to the prosperity of Southampton.
Brighton and Bournemouth are the leading and most popular seaside resorts of the southern fringe of Britain. Brighton offers every kind of holiday accommodation, a generally brisk sunny climate, a variety of amusements. Brighton is a favorite site for the annual congresses of the leading political parties of Great Britain. The town has grown steadily and has acquired a number of light engineering industries. Brighton is also a dormitory town of London, for its houses many commuters. Bournemouth too attracts a lot of holiday-makers in the summer. As a matter of fact, F.Engels frequented this seaside resort in the later years of his life. There are the other numerous resorts on the southern shore very popular with holiday-makers because of the mild climate, warm seas and wonderful beaches.
The south is major agricultural region of Great Britain. However agricultural specialization is different in the south west and south east and east. Owing to the mild, moist climate of the south west, grass grows for a long period in the year, and farming chiefly consists of rearing livestock. On the fertile lowland soils cattle are the principal farm animals, especially dairy breeds which thrive on the lush pastures. Hence, dairying is the main farming activity here. Oats are barley make up the principal cereal. The farmer are grown for fodder for thee cattle. In the very south-west horticulture is developed^ the growing of early vegetables and flowers. In the very south of the country barley is the most important grain crop grown in rotation.
3. The Midlands
The Midlands is situated in the center of Great Britain between the South Industrial Agricultural region in the south and Lancashire and Yorkshire in the north. For the past two hundred years the Midlands has been one of Britain’s leading industrial regions.
It was the presence of coalfields, especially the South Staffordshire coalfields. Today it is one of the chief industrial areas in the United Kingdom. Quite often it is called the Birmingham /Black Country.
Birmingham itself stands outside the district known as the Black Country: a district lying west and north-west of the city. During the nineteenth century the area emerged as a center of heavy industry and the coal field towns became most important. Exploitation of the coal field devastated large areas of land. Much of the early prosperity depended upon one industry – the iron industry. Today the region produces less than five per cent of the country’s steel output and this small industry depends upon scrap metal and steel brought in from the major producing areas.
Although the basic iron and steel industry has virtually disappeared, the industries which depend upon it, particularly engineering. With the changes in industry have dome changes in surface features, and the Black Country is beginning to lose its image. However many of the problems created in the past still prevail today.
Birmingham is the industrial capital of the Midlands. In population (998,200) it’s the second largest city in Britain.
It has been said that Birmingham makes everything from a pin to a steam roller, but it is best known for its hardware. The motor industry employs thousands of workers.
Birmingham also makes bicycles, but its motor-cycle industry has declined, largely owing to Japanese competition. On the other hand, the city has its long tradition of making guns and has an international trade in sporting guns. Jewelry manufacture became a major industry, and Birmingham remains the country’s leading centre. The city is a major producer of consumer goods, are also developed. Among the manufacture of food products, cocoa and chocolate occupy a prominent place.
The other major city of the West Midlands conurbation is Coventry (310,000). It was already well known in the middle Ages. Trading in wool, and later making woolen cloth, was the chief occupation. During the nineteenth century on the basis of local coal the metal-working and engineering industries developed. During the early years of the century, the first car assembly lines were built, machine tool factories grew up to supply them.
During the Second World War Coventry suffered great damage from Nazi air raids. On the night of November 14.1940 came the greatest raid so far directed against an English provincial city. Nearly 75 per cent of the city’s industry had been seriously damaged and so had over 46,000 houses after the city was rebuilt. Today Coventry is the centre of the British motor industry.
Nottingham lace also became famous. Other industries in Nottingham are the manufacture of bicycles, pharmaceutical products and cigarettes. Derby is an important railway engineering centre because of its central position. Textile manufacture developed with the building of the country’s first silk mill.
At the south-west tip of the Pennines lies a district of the Midlands known as the Potteries with its major industrial centre Stoke-upon-Trent (26,000) famous for its pottery and ceramics industry.
In climate the Midlands has a midway place between the rather wet area to the west (Wales) and the drier, moor continental area to the east (East Anglia). A great deal of the region is under grass, either permanent or in rotation. Largely because of climatic differences, dairy cattle are more numerous in the west. But there is a higher proportion of beef cattle towards the east. Many sheep are also grazed. Nowadays the principal crops are barley and wheat, along with potatoes and sugar rise to market gardening nearby and a great variety of vegetables is produced.
4. Lancashire and Yorkshire
Two major industrial regions are situated to the north of the Midlands. They are Lancashire, which is on the western slopes of the Pennines and Yorkshire on the eastern side.
Lancashire is a historic centre of British industry, it the birth place of capitalism and it was here that the Industrial Revolution started.
We may distinguish two major centers in this region: Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
Merseyside is centered on Liverpool. In the space of two hundred years from 1650 to 1850- Liverpool grew from a small fishing village to become Britain’s leading port. The port served the Lancashire cotton industry which was the fastest growing industry in the world. Much of the prosperity was, due to its taking part in the shameful Triangular Trade or slave trade.
The chemical industry is developed, using brine (water is pumped down into the salt deposits, which dissolves the salt and then the water is forced to the surface as brine) from the salt deposits in nearby Cheshire. It expanded rapidly with the development of oil-based chemicals and the soap and detergent industries, which were closely related to it, also grew quickly. In the 1960s the motor-car industry developed here. However, today the car industry is in decline and this in turn contributed to the growth of unemployment. Another important industry, shipbuilding and ship repairing, developed at Birkenhead.
Great Manchester, like Merseyside, was one of the metropolitan counties to be formed in 1947, and includes a number of towns, grouped round the upper Mersey.
At the heart of the region the Manchester itself, a city of ancient origin probably called Mancunium by the Romans. People who live in the city are therefore known as Mancunians.
By the seventeenth century Manchester was the center of a textile industry. It was a great commercial city. Great advances in manufacture were made in the late eighteenth century by several inventions which marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The building of canals encouraged the development of the city.
However, the important was the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1984 which made the city a seaport in spite of it being 50 km from the sea.
Clothing manufacture based on cotton and synthetic fibers and good processing are important activities, but engineering (including electrical engineering) is the principal employer of labour.
Of the towns situated on the shore of the Irish Sea most important is Black pool, which is a popular coastal resort in northern England. Today it houses nearly one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. Due to extensive industrial development agriculture is less developed in Lancashire. There is a limited proportion of permanent grassland on the fertile lowlands of south Lancashire. Cattle and sheep are relatively few, but there is a concentration of poultry. Potatoes are an important crop. Other vegetables such as cabbages and peas are also cultivated.
South Yorkshire as a whole lies on the largest and most productive coalfields in the country.
Sheffield and its neighborhood produces almost two-thirds of the country’s alloy steels. Sheffield produces a wide range of steel goods besides cutlery.
Like South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire a large conurbation, and became one of the metropolitan countries formed in 1974. It is also the home of another great industry – the manufacture of woolen goods, and has one large town-Leeds (705,000).
Being the chief commercial and cultural center of West Yorkshire it does not lead in textile. Its main industry is the manufacture of clothing, and engineering is also important. The latter provides work mainly for men, as the ready-made clothing factories do mainly for women. Engineering products are extremely varied.
Bradford (462,500) has long been the leading centre of worsted and woolen manufacture.
In North Yorkshire the largest town is York (100,000). In Roman times it was called Eboracum. It has long been important as a route centre. Railway engineering developed, and another leading industry is the manufacture of confectionery (including chocolate). York attracts many tourists on account of its famous minister and the medieval city walls. In recent years the city’s population has changed little, but is especially swollen by tourists during the summer months.
On the basic of local are the iron and steel industry developed in Scunthorpe (66,000). The expansion of the town was due to the discovery of iron in the neighborhood. The steel provides an essential raw material for the engineering plants. Scunthorpe has large integrated steelworks where all the stages in steel manufacture take place: coal is converted into coke in coke ovens, the ore is smelted in blast furnaces, and the molten pig-iron is converted into steel at the same works. A massive modernization programme was carried out in the 1970s, and Scunthorpe today has become one of the leading steel-making centers in the country.
The estuary of the Humber is one of the most spacious in Britain, and it is also well placed for trade with Europe. Thus a number of seaports have grown up there, and two of them, Immingham and Grimsby, have risen to front-rank importance. Grimsby developed mainly as a fishing post (second places) Grimsby and Hull have long been rivals in the fish trade, (ports) taking first and second places among the country’s fishing ports. Both ports have suffered from the decline in the fishing industry. Grimsby, however, has benefited from the industrial development along the south bank of the estuary. It has also become a leading centre for the preparation of frozen foods.
In the early days prosperity depended largely on fishing and in most recent years the fishing fleet landed a bigger catch than of any other port. Hull had a majority of modern long-distance trawlers. When difficulties arose in the industry, in particular the adjustment of fishing limits, the effects were severely felt in Hull. Fishing and associated occupations no longer retained their leading role. Its industry is closely connected with the imports: timber goes to the sawmills, flour to flour mills, etc.
The economy of Yorkshire was always closely connected with wool. This is vividly reflected in the development of agriculture. The highlands along the Pennines covered with coarse grass form rough pasture for sheep grazing, especially in the western and northern regions. North Yorkshire is mainly a rural farming region. Farming is mixed and includes cattle rearing and cultivation of root crops such as potatoes, carrots and cereals, mainly barley. In the north dairy cattle outnumber beef cattle.
Much of the territory to the east, especially near the coast is under the plough. Barley and wheat are major crops and sugar beet and potatoes are also important.
5. National Economy of Scotland
Scotland due to its physical features which influence the development of the economy is divided into 3 parts: the Scottish Highlands which occupy the vast, complicated mountain area in the northern part of the country, the Southern Uplands which cover the smaller and lower hill area in the south and the Central Lowlands occupying the wide rift valley which separates the other two areas. The first two areas are sparsely populated, while the Central Lowlands occupying about 15 per cent of Scotland’s territory contain about 80 per cent of its people. The Central Lowlands best situated for population settlement are the industrial heart of Scotland, while the Glasgow region is dominating focus of industrial activity. Here the opening up the Central Coalfield and the growth of Glasgow as a port provided a strong industrial base and, by the end of the nineteenth century, the area was one of the major industrial centers of Britain, with important coal, steel, shipbuilding and engineering industries. The twentieth century has seen increasing problems in these industries and there has been a movement of population from the old established areas to new centers.
The iron industry grew up on the coalfield to the south-east of Glasgow where coking coal and iron ore occurred. These iron ores were quickly exhausted and the industry came to depend on ores imported through Glasgow. At present steelmaking is concentrated at two large integrated plants situated at Motherwell to the south-east of Glasgow. However, the future of these works is no longer certain.
Scottish steel has long been used chiefly by the heavy industries of the Glasgow area, where shipbuilding has been paramount. For a time Clydeside was the most famous shipbuilding district in the world. Shipyards extended along both banks of the Clyde estuary for about 30 km.
Clydeside also benefited by having pioneered the building of ships. But in the 1970s, further beset by the economic crisis of capitalism, Clydeside lost its place as the leading shipbuilding area in Britain.
Glasgow (715,600) is Scotland’s most populous city and third largest in the British Isles. It stands at the lowest bridging point on the river Clyde and has thus become the outstanding market centre for western Scotland, and commercially and industrially dominates Clyde side.
As a seaport it enjoyed a Savourable position for trade with North America. Engineering has not shrunk to the same extent as coal mining and shipbuilding. But nowadays practically as many workers are in the service industries as in Manufacturing. Of the latter, textile and clothing production has long been important, and carpets are among the woolen goods. Food products, furniture and office equipment are also manufactured. Extremely important in Scotland’s export trade is whisky produced in Highland distilleries.
Edinburgh (438,700) has been long recognized as the capital of Scotland, in spite of being second in size to Glasgow. The latter began to overtake Edinburgh in population with the Industrial Revolution. While Glasgow led the development of heavy industry, Edinburgh remained the country’s political and cultural centre. Picturesque surface features and the annual International Festival in the late summer have made Edinburgh the outstanding centre of tourism in Scotland. It also has a number of important industries: textile manufacture, brewing, flour milling, and biscuit manufacture. Other imports are timber and dairy produce. Paper manufacture, printing and publishing are important because Edinburgh is a university city, closely associated with education, as well as administration, banking and insurance.
North Sea oil has affected life on the Orkneys and the Shetland Islands. Oil terminals have been constructed on Orkney (Flotta) and Shetland (Sullom Voe), receiving petroleum by pipeline from the North Sea fields. This has involved the population into new occupations connected with oil production.
The natural conditions of Scotland have extensively affected agriculture. The Highlands are among the most severe in Britain and it has had important effects on the pattern of farming. This s particularly true of the traditional type of farming-clothing-which is still practiced in the remote areas of northern and western Scotland and on the surrounding islands. In the eastern part of the region, where there are Lowland with richer soils than the Highlands a much grater proportion of the land is tilled. Farming here is best described as mixed. On the arable land oats, turnips, and potatoes are cultivated and part of the area is improved grassland in rotation. Barley is often grown here for the production of malt whisky.
The Central Lowlands are best situated for farming. Types of farming change from west to east under the influence of climate. The western lowlands have a great deal of land under grass, and form Scotland’s main dairy farming area.
6. Wales.
Wales is the predominantly mountainous country, with large areas of land over six hundred meters in height, and for the past two hundred years, these upland areas have lost population. South Wales is the main area of industrial activity, because it was coal that first gave life to industry. The nineteenth century saw a tenfold increase in the population of the South west coalfield region. Large-scale expunction of coal mining did not take lace till the second half of the nineteenth century. Merchant navies, railways and works all required increasing amounts of coal. On the coast Cardiff and Newport handled the coal that came down by the valley railway.
By the 1930s coal exports were already declining, causing economic depression and unemployment. The overseas trade disappeared in World War II, and only partly and temporally revived in place time. Important consumers were now turning to oil, and the reduced demand led to the closure to many pits and again unemployment. From about 200 pits as the end of World War II the number was reduced to less that 50. The number of working miners fell by about two-thirds and the industry lost its position as the leading employer in South Wales. All this has created immense social problems, particularly in the valleys where the dependence on mining valleys is the Rhonadda, its population, however, is steadily falling due to coal production decline.
Like coal mining, the iron and steel industry is long established in the south. For much of the nineteenth century South Wales was the leading producer in Britain. The prosperity was based on the availability of basic raw materials-coking coal and iron ore. As the iron ores were exhausted, and foreign ores had to be imported, the iron and steel works were moved to sites near the coast. The major integrated steel works is situated at Port Talbot, where a new harbor was opened in 1970 to accommodate the largest ore carries. However, by the end of the 1970s the steel industry faced widespread recession and steel production was drastically reduced.
Other material industry in south Wales, notably the manufacture of tinplate is in the Swansea district, South Wales is an important centre for the manufacture of non-ferrous metals. Its main centre is Swansea. Industrial recession has also affected this industry. Efforts have been made to attract new engineering industries; however, they haven’t solved the serious social problems caused be the decline of the traditional industries.
Cardiff (280,000) is the largest city in industrial South Wales, and is also the national capital and main business centre. It rose to importance with the coal mining and iron industries. Today the cargoes it handles are mainly imports, to be distributed throughout south Wales. On imported grain flour milling developed as well as other food processing. Swansea and Newport shared coal exports too. However, later they suffered the same decline like Cardiff. The main port of Wales today is Milford Hayed (situated in the very southwest) because of its oil tanker traffic. It is one of the leading oil terminals of Britain. Refineries grew up on opposite shores and Milford Hayed became an important refining centre. A pipeline takes petroleum to a refinery near Swansea.
North Wales is mountainous. In the north-west is the district known as Snowdonia, where the Snowdonia National Park is situated and where the Snowdon the highest peak in Wales (1085m), towers over its mountain group. Sheep rising is the main occupation of the population.
In addition to the river valleys and the narrow coastal plain, North Wales has some Lowland areas, including those on the island of Anglesey. At these lower altitudes the climate is much more favorable. Here the farmers concentrate on cattle rather than sheep. They raise both dairy and buff cattle, the former providing milk for English industrial districts as well as the towns of North Wales. Oats root crops are drown here mainly for fodder.
Despite the small coalfield, industrialization has had little effect on North Wales. Recently two nuclear power stations were built: one in V, the other in Anglesey. They both supply power to the national grid system. Tourism is mainly concentrated in the northern coastal strip. On holy Island, which lies off the coast of Anglesey, is Holyhead, terminus of road and rail routs from London and chief ferry port, for services to the Irish public-via Dun Loaghaire (pronounced dunleary), near Dublin.
In general, Wales, which is the national outlying region of GB, faces serious social and economic problems, caused by the depression of its traditional industries. Unemployment remains high and the future of many miners and workers remains very uncertain.
Lecture 6
1. Geographical position of the USA
2. Six main regions
a. The Northeast
b. The central basin
c. The Southeast
d. The Great Plains
e. The mountains and Deserts,
f. The Coast Valleys
3. The rivers
4. The nation of immigrants
5. Why they came, why they come
Geographical position of the USA
The main landmass of the US lies in Central North America, with Canada to the North, Mexico to the South, The Atlantic Ocean to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West. The two newest states, Alaska and Hawaii are separated from the continental US: Alaska borders the North western Canada and Hawaii lies in the central Pacific.
The diversity of the country stems from the fact that it is so large and has so many kind of land ,climate and people .
The USA stretches 2,575 kilometers from North to South,4,500 kilometers from east to west. The deep green mountain forests of the northwest coast are drenched with more than 250 centimeters of rain each year.
A traveler from almost any other country can find points of the USA that remind him of home. There are pine forest dotted with lakes ,and mountain peaks covered with snow. There are meadows with brooks and trees and sea cliffs ,and wide grassy plains, and broad spreads of grapevines and sandy beaches.
The USA is too large and varied country to sum up in a short explanation. To understand some of its differences, it can be divided into six regions. Each regions is distinctive from the others economically, geographically, and ,in some ways, culturally
SIX REGIONS: The Northeast, The central basin ,The Southeast ,The Great Plains ,The mountains and Deserts, The Coast Valleys
1.THE NORHTEAST( THE MELTING POT)
This is the part of the US which most visitors see ,and the part that is most often described. The skyscrapers of New York, the steel mills of Pittsburg, the automobile assembly lines of Detroit-these symbols of industrial America belong to this region. Into this area of industry came millions of Europeans who made of it what became known as the ”melting pot” the fusion of people from many nations into Americans.
More than any other part of the country , this section reflects European culture and tradition .New York is the largest city, was bought from the Indians for a mere $24 worth of trinkets.
Now it is the financial center of the USA .New York is the welcoming port for most of the immigrants who saw ,as they sailed into its harbor ,the immense statue of liberty holding high her torch of freedom.
There are three other major seaports in the Northeast. All, like New York ,are great financial ,commercial and industrial centers. They are Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore. Boston was one of the first settlements and major cities and is the heart of the new England States.
PHILADELPHIA is where the Declaration of Independence and the constitution were drawn up and signed and where Benjamin Franklin, statesman and scientist ,lived ,Baltimore is a commercial and industrial center and important seaport.
THE CENTRAL BASIN
The gently sloping land of the central Basin was once the frontier to those who crossed the Appalachian Mountains. In Illinois these pioneers reached the end of the great eastern forests .Before them was a rich grass land .The fertile soils and the long hot summers with enough rain were a farmer’s dream. There the states as Ohio , Indiana, Illinois ,Iowa and Nebraska which are known as the Corn Belt. The North part of this region is in Wisconsin and Minnesota which are cooler and more moist states in this region. There dairy farming flourishes. On a typical farm in the Central Basin the farmer will own about 87 hectares and plant one main crop. He will also have a large herd of livestock. All planting ,cultivating, fertilizing, spraying and harvesting he will do himself.
THE SOUTHEAST( land of change)
This Southeast region is changing more rapidly than any other part of the US-not because the land is new, but because the area’s old, exhausted land is being given new life.
The region is blessed with plentiful rainfall and a mild climate .On most of its farmlands ,crops can be grown without frost at last six month of the year .A transportation artery , the Mississippi River and its southern branches, runs through the heart of the area ,and other rivers are found near its coast. Crops grew easily in its soil, which is brown on the coastal plain, red on the low hillsides, and black in east Texas .The mountains contribute coal ,water ,and rich valleys . Florida is a garden for subtropical fruits. Some of the nation largest fields lie in the states of Louisiana and Texas .The region is naturally rich in forests and minerals.
Before the US declared its freedom from Great Britain in 1776,the economy of the colonies (both north and south)was predominantly agricultural.
The geography of the northeast did not fit well into this pattern and, with independence ,the northern states broke away from it. But the South, with its rich soil and ideal climate found its wealth in agriculture with such crops as tobacco, rice and indigo.
Industrial power, the energy that turns machines is being developed, at last ,for human use. For example ,natural gas is a great resource for industrial power, but it must be transported after it is taken from the ground .Today South has built new pipeline underground which carry this resource from the gas and oil fields to mines and mill sites.
THE GREAT PLAINS
The Great Plains begin with he 50 centimeters rainfall line which runs north and South almost through the center of the country .The traveler becomes aware of the difference in the atmosphere once he crosses this invisible line .This is a land of extreme heat and extreme cold. It is a land where water is worth more than property. It is almost flat, rising imperceptibly for 640 kilometers until it suddenly meets the mountains to the West.
Nowhere is the rainfall more unpredictable or the climate more violent. For two or three years there may be enough rain .Then there is a year when no rain falls, when the streams from the mountains dry up and their channels are filled with sand .The wind blows constantly .It is very hot from July to September ,but it the winter snow covers houses.
The Great Plains is a hard country. The heat of the summer is scorching (hot),the winter is freezing .The wind blows fiercely with few hills or forests to stop it , from Montana on the Canadian border to the Mexican border state of Texas .Water is precious. Its scarcity drove the settlers on across the plains as far as they could go .Only Red Indians knew how to survive here. They captured the wild horses, descended from those that escaped from Spanish explores in the 16th century ,and hunted the buffalo, that provided them with most of their food, clothing and tools.
THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS region like the Great Plains did not attract settlers at first. It was a fearful area, to be crossed as quickly as possible to reach the Pacific coast. Seeking land and gold , the settler at first found neither until they reached the Pacific slopes .But then gold was found at Pikes Peak and in a few other parts of the Rocky mountains. Clearly ,there was gold in the Rockies and men hurried back ,faster than they had hurried through.
The Majestic Rocky mountains stretch all the way from Mexico to the Arctic, like the Alps, they are high , sharp and rugged. Compared with the Appalachians in the East ,they are young and their faces of bare rock are capped with snow ,even to the south. In the high valleys, there are remains of the glaciers, while below them there are clear, icy lakes.
The Rocky mountains are the long backbone of the continent –over 4,200 meters high and 560 kilometers wide in Utah and Colorado ,because of its unusual and varied natural beauty, much of this mountain and desert region has been preserved unspoiled in national parks such as Yellowstone in Wyoming and Death Valley in California.
Today about 170,000sq.kilometres of deserts. In the 960 kilometers between Salt lake city ,Utah and Peno ,Nevada ,there is nothing but dead lakes ,dry rivers, snakes and small animal life, enormous mineral wealth ,and the inhuman beauty of the desert.
Most of Rocky Mountain gold is gone today . Some other minerals also vanished much too quickly due to mining methods. While soil can gradually be restored and trees planted on bare hillsides ,the mineral wealth of the earth can not be re-created.
Today the nation’s largest open-hit copper mining center is Bingham, Utah, in one of the Great basin ranges.
Modern industry demands more and more of the nation’s mineral wealth.
Each new electric plant needs many kilometers of copper wire: machines require iron ,lead and other minerals .Coal, oil and natural gas must drive the machines.
States like Texas and Oklahoma long have been noted for their oil production, but the west also has vast new energy reserves.
The West is the site for the development of alternative energy sources. Wind-power experiments conducted in New Mexico eventually may lead to installations providing two percent of the nation’s electrical power.
Sunny Colorado ,New Mexico and California ,along with numerous other states, are important testing grounds for solar energy.
THE WEST COAST VALLEYS
When Americans began to move to the Far West-before any gold discoveries in the region the entire Pacific Coast attracted them. Why did they come, these men ,women and children from the East? Why did they endure the frightful trials of the plains, the mountains, the deserts? Why did they want so much to move West?
The Americans came because they wanted more space, free land ,a freer life ,and perhaps a fortune, too.
The Pacific Coast ,from San Francisco to Seattle ,was first reached by English ,Russian and other explorers. Some established fur trading posts.
All three Pacific Coast states-Washington, California and Oregon –face toward the Orient. Cargoes of fish timber and fruit are shipped from the ports of San Francisco, Portland and Seattle to Asia. There is a large Chinese Community in San Francisco.
Quaint cable cars clang up and down its sleep hills and ships sail from the Pacific Ocean under the sweeping span of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay, one of the world’s finest land-locked harbors.
Seattle is the gateway to Alaska ,the 49th state. In order to get to Alaska a person must take a boat or airplane.
The 50th state is Hawaii, it is a string of sun-drenched islands over 3.200 kilometers out in the Pacific Ocean from the coast of California. Pineapple plantation of Waikiki Beach are world famous. People living here speak of the rest of the US as the Mainland.
THE RIVERS:
1.Mississippi
2.Missouri
3.Ohio
4.Columbia
5.Colorado
6.Rio Grande
The Mississippi is one of the world’s great continental rivers , like the Amazon in South America, the Congo in Africa ,the Volga in Europe, or the Ganges, Amur in Asia .Its waters are gathered from two-thirds of the United States and, together with the Missouri (its chief western branch),the Mississippi flows some 6,400 kilometers from its northern sources in the Rocky mountains to the Gulf of Mexico, which makes it one of the world’s longest waterways.
The Mississippi has been called the “father of waters”. Through all its lower course it wonders along ,appearing lazy and harmless.
Where the Missouri pours into the Mississippi from the West is colours the river deep brown with small pieces of soil. Father downstream, where the clear waters of the principal eastern tributary the Ohio join the Mississippi, evidence of the difference between the dry west and raining east becomes apparent. For kilometers ,the waters of the two rivers flow on side by side, without mixing. Those from the west are brown, they have robbed the soil in areas of vegetation. The waters from the east are clear and blue; they come from hills and valleys where plentiful forest and plant cover has kept the soil from being washed away.
Like the Mississippi, all the rivers in the east of the Rockies finally reach the Atlantic; all the waters to the east of the Rockies finally arrive at the Pacific. For this reason the crests of the Rocky Mountains is known as the Continental Divide. There are many places in the Rockies where a visitor may throw two snowballs in opposite directions and know that each will feed a different ocean.
The two great rivers of The Pacific side are the Colorado in the south ,and the Columbia, which rises in Canada and drains the North .In the dry western country ,both rivers ,very different in character ,they are vital sources of life. The Columbia ,wild in prehistoric times ,cutting and shaping the land, now flows with quiet dignity. But the Colorado is still a river of enormous fury-wild, restless and angry. It races and plunges, cutting deeply into the desert rocks. But even the furious Colorado has been dammed and put to work. All the farms and cities of the Southwestern corner of the country depend on its water.
The Rio Grande ,About 3.200 kilometers long, is the foremost river of the Southwest. It forms a natural boundary between Mexico and the US, which together have built irrigation and flood control projects of mutual benefit .
THE NATION OF IMMIGRANTS
Immigrants in US why they came, why they come. The United States has often called “a nation of immigrants”. There are two good reason for this. First, the country was settled ,built and developed by generation of immigrants. Secondly ,even today America continuous to take in more immigrants than any other country in the world. It is not surprising, that the US is counted as the most heterogeneous societies in the world. Many different cultural traditions, ethnic sympathies, national origins ,racial groups, and religious affiliations make up” we the people”
Nonetheless, it would be very misleading to view America simply as a collection of different immigrant groups and ethnic or religious loyalties. It is not true that there are more Irish ,more German, and more Puerto Ricans living in New York City than there are Dublin, Frankfurt or San Juan .Nor do most New Yorkers think of themselves primarily as Jews ,Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Italians, Germans or Irishmen.
The US is one of the few countries that has no “official” national language. English is the common language by use , but it is not the national language by law. About 30 million Americans speak a language other than English at home .This means ,for example that if you meet an American in New Mexico who speaks Spanish as his first language ,he could be a recent immigrant ,having arrived in the US only a few years ago ,or his grandparents could have arrived in the US a hundred years ago.
WHY THEY CAME, WHY THEY COME
Major changes in the Pattern of immigration have been caused by wars ,revolutions, periods of starvation ,persecutions, religious in toleration, and in short ,by any number of disasters which led people to believe that America was a better place to be. More than a million Irish ,for instance immigrated to America between 1846 and 1851 in order to escape starvation and disease in Ireland. During the same period large number of other Europeans lead political persecution. And in the 1870’s another wave of refugees left the political turmoil of eastern and southern Europe to seek freedom and a future in America. The largest streams of European immigrants came between 1900 and 1920,that is before, after and during World War 1.
At other times ,for example ,during the Depression and during World War II, smaller numbers of immigrants came to the US. Since the 1960s more and more people have seen the poverty and wars in Asia and Latin America in the hope of finding a better life in the US. There is ,of course, another side to Americans’ ethnic pluralism and racial variety ,one that Americans, more than any other people are aware of. The first slaves brought to what is today the United States arrived in Virginia on board a Dutch ship in 1619.On the eve of the American Revolution ,slavery was already firmly established in what was shortly to be the United States of the America .In 1776, probably about the fifth of all inhabitants in the British colonies in America were Negro Slaves.
Without a doubt the American immigration experience ,then and now ,is one of the most important factors in American life. All immigrants have contributed to the development of some ”typical” American characteristics. Among these are the willingness to take risk and to strike out of the unknown with independence and optimism. Another is patriotism for the many who feel that they are Americans.
Lecture 7
Theme: The structure of Government
1. New nation
2. The constitution and the bills of right
3. The American system of government
4. Congress Legislative branch
5. The President and federal departments
6. The Presidency
7. Federal Judiciary
8. Checks and balances
9. Political parties
“Americans are a nation born of an idea; not the place ,but the idea, created the United States Government.”
1. A NEW NATION
In 1776, the 13 British colonies in America came together ,stood up and told what was the world’s greatest power that from now on they would be free and independent states. The British were neither impressed nor amused and a bitter six-year war followed , the Revolutionary War(1776-1783)It’s hard to appreciate today ,over two centuries later, what a revolutionary act this was. A new republic was founded ,turning into reality the dreams and ideas of a few political philosophers. Americans broke with on age-old tradition and so sent shock waves back across the ocean; they decided that it was their right to choose their own form of government. Something new was under the sun :a system at government ,in Lincoln’s words, ”of the people ,by the people, for the people”
2. THE CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL RIGHT
The Constitution of the US is the central instrument of American government and the supreme law of the land. For 200 years, it has guided the evolution of governmental institutions and has provided the basis for political stability, individual freedom, economic growth and social progress.
The former colonies ,now “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA «first operated under an agreement called the articles of Confederation (1781)
It was soon clear that this loose agreement among the states was not working well. The central, federal government was too weak ,with too few powers for defense, trade & taxation. In 1787,therefore delegates from the states met in Philadelphia .They wanted to revise the articles, but they did much more than that .They wrote a completely new document, the Constitution , which after much argument , debate and compromise was finished in the same year & officially adopted by the 13 states by 1790.
The American Constitution is the worlds oldest written constitution in force, one that has served as the model for a number of other constitutions around the world .
The Constitution, the oldest still in force in the world, sets the basic form of
government: three separate branches each one having powers (“checks & balances “) over the others. It specifies the powers and duties at each federal branch of government, with all other powers and duties belonging to the states .The Constitution has been repeatedly amended to meet the changing needs of the nation, but it’s still the “supreme law at the land”. All governments and governmental groups, federal state and local, must operate within its guidelines. The ultimate power under the constitution is not given to the President(the executive branch) or to the supreme Court(the judicial branch).Nor does it rest ,as in many other countries ,with a political group or party. It belongs to “WE THE PEOPLE”, in fact and in spirit.
In this way, Americans first took for themselves the liberties and rights that elsewhere were the privileges of an elite few. Americans would manage their own laws and of course ,they would make their own mistakes .
They stated in the first ten Constitutional Amendments, known together as the Bill of Rights ,what they considered to be the fundamental rights of any American .Among these rights are the freedom at religion, speech and press, the right of peaceful assembly , and the right to petition the government to correct wrongs. Other rights guarded ,the citizens against unreasonable searches ,arrests and seizures of property & established a system of justice guaranteeing orderly legal procedures .This included the right of trial by jury ,that is ,being judged by one’s fellow citizens .
The great pride Americans have in their constitution their almost religious respect for it comes from the knowledge that these ideas ,freedoms and rights were not given to them by a small ruling class. Rather they are seen as the natural “unalienable” rights of every American ,which had been taught for and won .They cannot be taken away by any government ,court & official or law.
The federal & state governments formed under the Constitution , therefore ,were designed to serve the people and to carry out their majority wishes(and not the other way around ) One thing they didn’t want their government to do is to rule them .Americans expect their government to serve them and tend to think of politicians and governmental officials as their servants. This attitude remains very strong among Americans today.
Over the past two centuries ,the Constitution has also had considerable influence outside the US .Several other nations have been their own forms of government in it. It’s interesting to note that Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolution drafted the French declaration of rights when he returned to France . And the United nation Cuarter also has clear echoes of what once was considered a revolutionary document.
3.THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
The governmental system in the US.- federal state country and local are quite easy to understand ,that is ,if you grew up with them and studied them in school . One foreign expert complained ,for example that the complexity of just the cities political and governmental structure is “almost unbelievable. The “real Chicago,” he explained spreads over 2 states, 6 countries, 10 towns, 30cities, 49 townships and 110 villages. Overlaid upon this complex pattern are 235 tax districts and more than 400 school districts.
There are, however ,several basic principles which are found at all levels of American Government .One of these is the “ One person ,one vote” principle which says that legislators are elected from geographical districts directly by the voters. Under this principle ,all election districts must have about the same number of residents. Another fundamental principle of American government it that because of the system of cheeks and balances ,compromise in politics is a matter of necessity, not choice. For ex., the House of Representatives controls spending and finance, so the President must have its agreement for his proposals and programme . He cannot declare war, either ,without the approval of congress. In foreign affairs, he is also strongly limited . Any treaty must first be approved by the senate .If there is no approval ,there is no treaty .The rule is the president proposes, but Congress disposes .What a President wants to do, therefore, is often a different thing from what a President is able to do.
4.CONGRESS LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up at the Senate and The House of Representatives. There are 100 senators ,two from each state .One third of the senators are elected every two years for six-year terms at office. The senators represent all of the people in a state and their interests.
The House has 435 members. They are elected every two years for two-year terms. They represent the population of “Congressional districts” into each state is divided. The number of Representatives from each state is based upon its population. For instance ,California ,the state with the largest population ,has 45 Representatives ,while Delware has one . There is no limit to the number of terms a senator or a Representative may serve.
Almost all election in the United States follow the “winner-take-all” principle :the candidate who wins the largest number at votes in a congressional district is the winner.
Congress makes all laws and each House of congress has the power to introduce legislation .Each can also vote against legislation passed by the other. Because legislation only becomes law if both houses agree , compromise between them is necessary . Congress decides upon taxes how much money is spent. In addition, it regulates commerce among the states & with foreign countries .It also sets rules for the naturalization of foreign citizens.
The US congress ,the lawmaking arm of the federal government consists of two houses: The House of Representatives& The Senate . Any congressman in either house ,or the president ,may initiate new legislation .
The Proposed legislation ,or bill, is first introduced in the House of Representatives, then referred to one at the standing committees, which organizes hearings on it and may approve, amend the draft. If the committee passes the bill ,it’s considered by the House of Representatives as a whole. It passed there. It goes to the Senate for a similar sequence of committee hearings and general debate.
In cases of disagreement, the House of Representatives and the Senate confer together. Once passed by the senate as a whole, the bill has to be examined by two more standing committees –The Committee on House Administration and The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and is then signed by the speaker at the House and by the President. Finally it must be signed by the president, who has the right to veto it .If the president vetoes a bill, it can still become a law-but only if it’s passed by a two –third majority of both houses of Congress.
5. THE PRESIDENT AND FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS.
The president of the US is elected every four years to a four year term of office, with no more than two full terms allowed. As it is true with Senators and Representatives, the President is elected directly by the voters(through state electors)In other words, the political party with the most Senators and Representatives doesn’t choose the President. This means that the President can be from one party and the majority of those in the House of Representatives or Senate(or both)from another. This is not uncommon.
Thus, although one of the parties may win a majority in the midterm election(those held every two years),the President remains President ,even though his party may not have a majority in either house. Such a result could easily hurt his ability to get legislation through Congress, which must pass all laws, but this is not necessarily so. In any case, the President policies must be approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate before they can become law. In domestic as well as in foreign policy, the President can seldom count upon the automatic support of Congress, even when his own party has a majority in both the Senate and the House. Therefore, he must be able to convince Congressmen ,the Representatives and Senators of his point of view. He must bargain and compromise. This is a major difference between the American system and those in which the nation’s leader represents the majority party or parties, that is parliamentary systems.
Within the Executive Branch, there are a number of executive departments. Currently these are departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture ,Commerce ,Labour, Health & Human Resources ,Housing & Urban Development, Transportation, Energy and Education. Each department is established for a specific area. The head of each department is appointed by the President .These appointments, however ,must be approved by the Senate. None of these Secretaries ,as the departments heads are usually called ,can also be serving in Congress or in another part of the government. Each is directly responsible to the President and only serves as long as the Presidents wants him or her to. They can be best be seen ,therefore as Presidential assistant and adviser. When they meet together ,they are termed ”the President’s Cabinet “Some Presidents have relied quite a bit on their Cabinets for advice and some very little.
THE PRESIDENCY
Term of office: Elected by the people. Through the electrical college, to a four-year term; Limited to two terms.
Salary:$ 200.000 plus $ 50.000 allowance for expenses and up to $ 100.000 tax-free for travel & official entertainment.
Inauguration: January 20,following the November general election.
Qualifications: Native-born American citizen at least 35 years old and at least 14 years
a resident of the United States.
Chief Duty: to protect the Constitution and enforce the laws mode by the congress.
Other powers: To recommend legislation to the Congress; to call special sessions of the Congress; to deliver message to the Congress; to veto bills; to appoint federal judges; to appoint heads of federal departments and agencies and other principal federal officials to appoint representatives to foreign countries; to carry on official business with foreign nations; to exercise the function at Commander –in-chief of the armed forces; to grant pardons for offences against the US.
The Presidential term of four years begins on January 20 following November election. The President starts his or her official duties with an inauguration ceremony, traditionally held on the steps of the US. The President publicly takes an oath of office, which is traditionally administered by the justice of the US.
6.THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY.
The federal judiciary is the third branch of government ,in addition to the legislative (Congress) & executive(President ).
It’s main instrument is the Supreme court, which matches over the other two branches .It determines whether or not their laws and acts are in accordance with the Constitution .
Congress has the power to the fix the number of judges sitting on the Court ,but it cannot change the powers given to the Supreme Court by the Constitution itself. The Supreme Court consist of a chief justice and eight associate justices. They are nominated by the President but must be approved by the Senate .Once approved, they hold office as Supreme Court Justices for life. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to any other court. Neither the President nor Congress can change their decisions. In addition to the Supreme Court, Congress has established 11 federal courts of appeal and below them, 91 federal district courts.
The Supreme Court has direct jurisdiction in only two kinds of cases. Those involving foreign diplomats and those in which a state is a party. All other cases which reach the court are appeals from lower courts. Most of the cases involve the interpretation of the Constitution .The Supreme Court also has the “power of judicial review” that it has the right to declare laws of actions of the federal state and local governments unconstitutional .While not stated in the constitution ,this power was established over time.
7.CHECKS & BALANCES.
The Constitution provides for three main branches of government which are separate and distinct from one another. The powers given to each are carefully balanced by the powers of the other two.
Each branch serves as a check on the others. This is to keep any branch from gaining too much power or from misusing its powers. The Chart below illustrates how the equal branches of government are connected and how each is dependent on the other too .Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of Congress. Congress in its turn ,can override a veto by two-third vote in each house. Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President .The President can appoint important officials of his Administration ,but they must be approved by the Senate. The President has also the power to name all federal judges; they also must be approved by the Senate. The courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of all acts of Congress and of Presidential actions and to strike down those they find unconstitutional.
The system of checks and balances makes compromise and consensus necessary. Compromise is also a vital aspect of other levels of government in the US. This system protects against extremes. It means, for example, that new presidents cannot radically change governmental polices just as they wish. In the US. therefore, when people think of ”the government”, they usually mean the entire system, that is ,The Executive Branch and the President, Congress and The Court. In fact and in practice ,therefore ,the President (i.c. the administration ) is not as powerful as many people outside the US seem to think he is. In comparison with other leaders in system where the majority party forms ”the government” he is much less so.
8.POLITICAL PARTIES.
The constitution says nothing about political parties, but over time the US has in fact developed a two-party system. The two leading parties are the Democrats and the Republicans .There are other parties besides these two, and foreign observes are often surprised to learn that among these there are also a Communist party and several Socialist parties. Minor parties have occasionally won offices at lower levels of government but they do not play a role in national politics. In fact, one does not need to be a member at a political party too run in any election at any level of government .Also, people can simply declare themselves to be members of one of the two major parties when they registered to vote in a district. Sometimes the Democrats are thought of as associated with labour and the Republicans with business and industry. Republicans also tend to oppose the greater involvement of the federal government in some areas of public life which they consider to be the responsibility of the states and communities .Democrats ,on the other hand tend to favor a more active role of the central government in social matters.
To distinguish between the parties is often difficult. Further more, the traditional European terms of “right” and “left” or “ conservative” and ”liberal” do not quite fit the American system. Someone from the “conservative right” for instance, would be against a strong central government. Or a Democrat from one part of the country could be very “liberal», and one from another part quite ”conservative. While some voters will vote a “straight ticket», in other words, for all of the Republican or Democratic candidates in an election ,many do not. They vote for one party’s candidate for one office, and another’s for another. As a result ,the political parties have much less actual power than they do in other nations. In the US the parties cannot win.
In about 70% of legislative decision, congressman will vote with the specific wishes of their constituencies in mind, even if they go against what their own parties might want as national policy.
It’s quite common, in fact, to find Democrats in Congress voting for a Republican President’s legislation, quite a few Republicans voting against it and so on.
Lecture 8
Educational system of the United States
Plan: 1. History
2. Control of education
3. Elementary Education and Secondary Education
4. Higher education
5. Adult and Continuing Education
1. History
Americans have shown a great concern for education since early colonial times. Among the first settlers, in fact, there were an unusually high proportion of educated men. In the Massachusetts Bay colony in the early 1600-s, as the British historian Rowse has pointed out, “there was an average of one university man to every 40 or 50 families much higher than in Old England”. Some of these men, many of them graduates of Cambridge, came together and in 1636 founded Harvard College, 140 years before American independence. Other early institutions of higher learning were the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, established in 1693, and Jate, founded in 1701.
Before the revolution in 1776, nine colleges had already opened in the colonies; most of them later became universities.
From the1640’s on, Massachusetts required all towns with more than 50 families to provide a schoolmaster at public expense. In the course of the 17th century, for instance free schools had been established in a number of places such as New Haven, New London, and Fairfield. Many academies (schools, offering a classical education, as well as practical training) opened throughout the next century, including the one established by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1775.
The importance of education in American life was also reflected in Ordinance of 1785 and 1787 which guidelines for organizing the new lands to the west. They provided for one square mile of land in each township to be reserved for public schools. The movement for free public schools gained its greatest moment in the 1830s, however. By 1850, every state had provided for a system of free public schools open to all and paid for by public taxes.
By the same year, state-supported colleges and universities had already been established in many states. These included recently settled states such as Florida, Iowa, and Wisconsin which were admitted to the Union in the late 1840s. In 1862, Congress passed a law which provided states with public (federal) lands to be used for higher education, especially for the establishment of agricultural and mechanical-arts College. As a result, many “land-grant colleges “ were established. These new state-supported institutions joined the large number of older, well-to-do private universities. They were important in the democratization of higher education in the United States.
By 1900, there were almost a thousand institutions of higher education in the U.S. Among them were law and medical “schools” and hundreds of small, four year Liberal Arts College. There were many other institutions of higher learning which emphasized everything from the training of teacher to the pulling of teeth.
Today, there are some 43 million pupils and students in public schools at the elementary and secondary levels and another 6 million at private schools throughout the country. In other words, 88 percent of American children attend public schools and 12 percent go to private schools. Four out of five of the private schools are run by churches, synagogues, or the religious groups. Any year, about 12 million Americans are enrolled in the over 3.000 colleges and universities of every type: Private, public, church-related, small and large, in cities, and states. Close to 80 percent of the college students attend public institutions, while a little over 50 percents of all high schools graduates enter colleges and universities. The early emphasis given to education remains today. United Nations figures (1980) show that in the amount spent on education per capita, the U.S. is in ninth place in the world (behind Qatar, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Denmark, Switzerland and Canada). Most historians agree that a great deal of the economic, political, scientific, and cultural progress America has made in its relatively short history is due to it’s commitment to the ideal of educating as many Americans as possible, to the best of their abilities. From the early times on, especially in the northern and western states, the public policy was to produce and educated people. In these States, the large majority of adults were literate at a time when an education was still bended to most Europeans. There can be little doubt that American education in its aim to provide equality of opportunity as well as excellence has raised the overall level of educations of Americans. It has encouraged more Americans than ever before to study for advanced degrees and to become involved in specialized research. The belief that the future of society depends on the quantity and quality of its educated citizens is widely held. It explains why a great many Americans are still willing to give more money to education, even during times of economic difficulty.
3. Elementary and Secondary Education
Because of the great variety of schools and colleges, and the many differences among them, none of the institutions can be singled out as enough basic similarities in structure among the various schools and system to permit some general comments.
Most schools start at the kindergarten level. There are some school districts that do not have this beginning phase, and others which have an additional “pre-school” one. There are almost always required subjects at each level. In some areas and more advanced levels, students can choose some subjects. Pupil who do not do well often have to repeat courses, or have to have special tutoring usually done in and by the schools. Many schools also support summer classes, where students can make up for failed courses or even take extra courses.
In addition to bilingual and bicultural education programs, many schools have reading difficulties. These and other programs repeat the emphasis of American education on trying to increase equality of opportunity. They also attempt to integrate students with varying abilities and backgrounds into an educational system shared by all. At the same time, high school student are given special advanced coursework in mathematics and the sciences. Nationwide talent searches for minority group children with special abilities and academic promise began on a large scale in the 1960 s. These programs have helped to bring more minority children into advanced levels of university education and into the professions.
Like schools in Britain and other English-speaking countries, those in the U.S. have also always stressed “character” or “social skills” through extracurricular activities, including organized sports. Because most schools start at around 8 o’clock every morning and classes often do not finish until 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon, such activities mean that many students do not return home until the early evening. There is usually a very broad range of extracurricular activities available. Most schools, for instance publish their own student newspapers, and some have their own radio stations. Almost all have student’s orchestras, bands, and choirs, which give public performances. Spanish, or Germans clubs, groups which meet after school to discuss computers, or chemistry, or amateur radio, or the raising of prize horses and cows. Students can learn flying, skydiving, and mountain-climbing. They can act as volunteers in hospitals and homes for aged and do other public service work.
Many different sports are also available and most schools share their facilities-swimming pools, tennis courts, tracks and stadiums- with the public. Many sports that in other countries are normally offered by private clubs are available to students at no cost in American schools. Often the students themselves organize and support school activities and raise money through “car washes”, baby-sitting, bake sales, or by mowing lawns. Parents and local businesses often also help a group that, for example, has a chance to go to a state music competition, to compute in some sports championship, or take a camping trip. Such activities not only give peoples a chance to be together outside of normal classes, they also help develop a feeling of “school spirit” among the students and in the community.
4. Higher Education
The American ideal of mass education for all is matched by awareness that America also needs highly trained specialists. In higher education, therefore, and especially at the graduate schools (those following the first 4 years of college), the U.S. has an extremely competitive and highly selective system. This advanced university system has become widely imitated internationally and it is also the one most sought after the foreign students.36 % of more than 34.000 foreign students in the US in the academic year in 1984/85 were enrolled in graduate programs.
While the American education system might put off selecting students until much later than do other systems, it does nonetheless select. And it becomes increasingly selective at the higher level. Moreover, because each university generally sets its oven admission standards, the best universities are also most difficult to get into.
Some universities are very selective even at the undergraduate or beginning levels. In 1984 for example, some 15.600 individuals sought admission to Sandford University, a private University, in southern California.
Because these individuals must pay a fee to even apply for admission, these were “serious” applications. Of that number, only 2.500 (about 16 percent) were admitted for the first year of study. It’s interesting to note that 70 percent of those who were accepted had attended public-not private-schools. Many state-supported universities also have fairly rigid admission requirements. The University of California at Berkeley, for example, admitted about 65 percent of all “qualified” applicants in 1984.
For Harvard, the figure is 17% (1984). Admission to Law or Medical schools and other graduate programs has always been highly selective. It is true, as often stated, that children who wish someday to go to one of the better universities start working for this goal in elementary school.
Needless to say, those children who have attended better schools, or who come from families with better educated parents, often have an advantage over those who don’t. This remains a problem in the U.S, where equality of opportunity is a central cultural goal. Not surprisingly, the members of racial monitories are the most deprived in this respect. Yet, it is still a fact today, as the BBC commentator Alistair Cooke pointed out in 1972, that
”a black bay has a better chance of going to college here than practically any boy in Western Europe”.
In 1985, for instance, 19.4 percent of all Americans 25 years and older had completed four years of college or more. However, the figure for blacks was 11.1 percent and for Hispanics 8.5 percent. Compared with the figures from 1970, when the national average was only 10.7 percent (with 11.3 percent for whites, 4.4 percent for blacks, and 7.6 percent for students of Spanish origin), this does reveal a considerable improvement within just 14 years. Yet, the educational level is still relatively lower for some groups, including women. While 23.1 percent of male Americans had four years of college or more in 1985, only 16 percent of women had. The number of students who fail to complete high school, too, is much larger among minority groups. The national average of all 18 to 24-years-olds who did not graduate from high school was 22.1 percent in 1985. For white students it was 20.9 percent, for blacks 28.7 percent, and for Hispanics the figure was as much as 45.8 percent. Many different programs aimed at improving educational opportunities among minority groups exits at all levels-local, state, and federal.
5. Adult and continuing education
The concept of continuing (or lifelong) education is of great to Americans. Every year, over 20 million Americans (that is about 10% of all adults) further their education through participation in part-time instruction. Some estimate that as many as 45 million adult Americans are currently taking courses in universities, colleges, professional associations, government organizations or even churches and synagogues. Most participants in continuing or adult education have a practical goal: they want to update and upgrade their job skills. As a result of economic changes and a rapid advance of the “information age”, the necessity to acquire new occupational skills has increased. Adult education thus fills a need of many Americans who want to improve their chances in a changing job market. This is one explanation for the continuing growth of adult education classes over the past several years. Of course, not all people take courses in adult education do this for job-related purposes. Many simply want to broaden their knowledge or learn something they wood enjoy doing such as printmaking, dancing, or photography.
Continuing education courses are provided mainly by community or junior colleges and mostly take place in the evenings. Over 80 percent of all companies today conduct their own training programs. Many large corporations offer complete degree programs, and some even support their own technical and business colleges and universities. In 1984, close to 6 million students were enrolled in industry- sponged degree programs It is estimated that some 8 million Americans are involved in corporate education of some kind.
The Theme: National Emblems of Great Britain
New words:
Windmills – ветряная мельница
Guarantees - гарант
Defense - защита
Leek – лук-порей
Shamrock - трилистник
Sermons - проповедь
Archers – лучник, стрелок из лука
Thistle – чертополох
Bluebell – колокольчик цветок
Eve - канун
Foe – противник
Feast - торжество
What are Britain’s National Emblems?
A national emblem symbolically represents a nation. Most national emblems originate in the natural world, such as animals or birds, but another object may serve.
National emblems may appear on many things such as the national flag, coat of arms, or other patriotic materials. One should not confuse a formal national emblem with less formal symbols perhaps associated with tourism or clichés, for example windmills in the Netherlands. Many unofficial symbols are as or even more important than the official ones. However official symbols are defined by law, which guarantees the proper use of them.
EMBLEMS OF BRITAIN
Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem: England - St. George and the Rose
The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).
Scotland - St. Andrew - the Thistle and Scottish Bluebell
The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defense. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.
Wales - St. David and the Daffodil
The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable called leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.
There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As Shakespeare records in Henry V, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.
Northern Ireland - St. Patrick and the Shamrock
The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.
The Thistle - National Emblem of Scotland
Common throughout the highlands, islands and lowlands of Scotland, the prickly purple thistle has been Scotland's national emblem for centuries. This proud and regal plant, which grows to a height of five feet, has no natural enemies because of the vicious spines that cover and protect it like a porcupine.
There are several different legends that tell how the thistle became Scotland's symbol, but most date from the reign of Alexander III and in particular the events surrounding the Battle of Largs in 1263.
It is often forgotten, that for hundreds of years much of Scotland was part of the Kingdom of Norway. By 1263 however, Norway seems to have had little interest in their former territory, that was until King Alexander III proposed to buy back the Western Isles and Kintyre from the Norse King Haakon IV. The thought of relieving King Alexander of some of his riches and territories appears to have re-kindled Norse interest in Scotland.
Late in the summer of 1263 King Haakon of Norway, now intent on conquering the Scots, set off with a sizeable fleet of longships for the Scottish coast. Gales and fierce storms forced some of the ships onto the beach at Largs in Ayrshire, and a Norwegian force was landed.
Legend has it that at some point during the invasion the Norsemen tried to surprise the sleeping Scottish Clansmen. In order to move more stealthily under the cover of darkness the Norsemen removed their footwear. But as they crept barefoot they came across an area of ground covered in thistles and one of Haakon's men unfortunately stood on one and shrieked out in pain, thus alerting the Clansmen to the advancing Norsemen.
His shout warned the Scots who defeated the Norsemen at the Battle of Largs, thus saving Scotland from invasion. The important role that the thistle had played was recognised and so was chosen as Scotland's national emblem.
The first use of the thistle as a royal symbol of Scotland was on silver coins issued by James III in 1470.
It is said that the Order of the Thistle, the highest honour in Scotland, was founded in 1540 by King James V who, after being honoured with the Order of the Garter from his uncle King Henry VIII of England and with the Golden Fleece from the Emperor of France, felt a little left out. He resolved the issue by creating the royal title of Order of the Thistle for himself and twelve of his knights, ‘…in allusion to the Blessed Saviour and his Twelve Apostles'. He set up the arms and badges of the order over the gate of his palace at Linlithgow.
The common badge worn by the knights is a cross surmounted by a star of four silver points, and over this a green circle bordered and lettered with gold, containing the motto "Nemo me impune lacessit", "No-one harms me without punishment" but more commonly translated in Scots as "Wha daurs meddle wi me", in the centre is the thistle. The badge is normally worn over the left breast
The Leek - the national emblem of the Welsh
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Proudly sported every St. David’s Day on 1st March and at every international rugby match, the leek is now widely recognised as the national symbol of Wales. But why is it that patriotic Welshmen and women across the world attach this strong smelling member of the onion family to their clothing? The true origins are now perhaps lost in myth and legend; however the history can certainly be traced back at least seven hundred years. During Elizabethan times, Shakespeare refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an "ancient tradition", and his character Henry V tells Fluellen that he is wearing a leek "for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman." Even earlier than this, entries in the household accounts of the ‘Welsh’ Tudor Kings of England, record payments for leeks worn by the household guards on St. David's Day. Earlier still in the fourteenth century, it is known that the feared Welsh archers adopted the green and white colours of the leek for their uniforms, perhaps at the Battle of Crecy. Earlier than this however, myth and legend begin to intertwine. According to one legend recorded by the English poet Michael Drayton in the early 1600’s, the leek was associated with St. David the Patron Saint of Wales who died in 589 AD. It is possible that the poet made up the story; however it tells how St. David ordered his soldiers to wear the leek on their helmets in a battle against the hated pagan Saxon invaders of Britain. The battle itself is also said to have taken place in a field full of leeks. It is indeed likely that the Welsh association with the leek predates St. David by hundreds and possibly thousands of years, to an age when people worshipped trees, plants and other such aspects of Mother Nature. To an age before Christianity, and perhaps to the last stronghold of the Druids on the Island of Anglesey. The Druids were not only the Priests, Doctors, Poets and Minstrels of ancient Celtia, they were also the teachers who retained the sacred knowledge of ancient times. It is in such times that the leek's reputation as a medicine to cure a variety of illnesses would have been most appreciated and perhaps even revered. It was highly regarded as a cure for the common cold, alleviating the pains of childbirth and was a tasty, healthy ingredient in cawl, the traditional Welsh broth. It could seemingly offer protection against wounds in battle or against being struck by lightning, and was also a means of foretelling the future and for keeping away evil spirits It is also claimed that by placing a leek under a pillow at night, young maidens could see the features of their future husbands. And so today each year on St. David's Day the leek is worn in the cap badges of every soldier in every Welsh regiment. Outside the army however, many other Welsh folk have substituted the daffodil for the leek, perhaps because it looks more attractive and certainly smells a lot better. Interesting to note however, that one of the many Welsh names for a daffodil is Cenhinen Bedr, or Peter's leek. As to the relative merits of the leek and the daffodil, it is purely a matter of personal choice as to which to wear on St. David's Day. However the authorities decided in 1984 that the British £1 coin representing the Welsh part of the United Kingdom would feature the leek on the reverse.
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Poppy - мак (символ мира) |
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The mild climate of Great Britain is good for plants and flowers. Some of them have become symbols in the UK. Poppy is the symbol of peace, the red rose is the national emblem of England, the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. The daffodils and the leek are the emblems of Wales, the shamrock is the emblem of Ireland. |
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The Red Rose was the emblem of the Lancastrians (приверженцы династии Ланкастеров, королевской династии, враждовавшей с династей Йорков), the white rose that of the Yorkists, the two contending Houses for the English throne in the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485). All rivalry between the Roses ended by the marriage of Henry VII, the Lancastrian with Princes Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, the Yorkist. The Red rose has since become the national emblem of England. |
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The Thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. There is a curious legend, according to which, the homely plant came to be chosen as a badge, in preference, to any other. |
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Welshmen all over the world celebrate St.David's Day by wearing either leeks or daffodils. The link between the leek and St.David is the belief that he is supposed to have lived for several years on bread and wild leeks. |
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The daffodil is also associated with St.David's Day, due to the belief that it flowers on that day. It became an alternative to the Leek as a Welsh emblem in the present century, because some thought the leek vulgar.
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What the red rose is to English men and the leek and daffodil to the Welsh, the little Shamrock is to the Irish. And they all wear this national emblem on St.Patrick's Day, March, 17. It is worn in memory of Irelands patron saint, whose cross is embodied in the Union Jack. |
The Theme: Public holidays in the United Kingdom
Plan
1 England and Wales
2 Northern Ireland
3 Scotland
4. New Year's Day
a) Hogmanay (New Year) celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland
5. Good Friday
6. Easter Monday
7. May Day
a) Traditional May Day celebrations
b) Origins
8. The May Day Bank Holiday
9. Christmas
10. St. Andrew's Day
New words
England and Wales
1 January - New Year's Day
Variable - Good Friday
Variable - Easter Monday
First Monday in May - May Day Bank Holiday
Last Monday in May - Spring Bank Holiday
Last Monday in August - Summer Bank Holiday
25 December - Christmas Day
26 December - Boxing Day
Northern Ireland
1 January - New Year's Day
Northern Ireland
Variable - Good Friday
Variable - Easter Monday
First Monday in May - May Day Bank Holiday
Last Monday in May - Spring Bank Holiday
12 July - Bank Holiday in Lieu of Battle of the Boyne - 12th of July
Last Monday in August - Summer Bank Holiday
25 December - Christmas Day
26 December - Boxing Day / St. Stephen's Day
Scotland
1 January - New Year's Day
2 January - 2 January
Variable - Good Friday
First Monday in May - May Day Bank Holiday
Last Monday in May - Spring Bank Holiday
First Monday in August - Summer Bank Holiday
30 November - St. Andrew's Day
25 December - Christmas Day
26 December - Boxing Day
These are the public holidays observed in the countries of the United Kingdom. Workers in the United Kingdom are not automatically entitled to time off on a public holiday. Time off can be provided for in an employment agreement or by expending annual leave.
British people tend to call their public holidays bank holidays. When an anniversary day that is usually a bank holiday falls on a weekend, the date of the bank holiday is postponed and declared for a following weekday. This new date is termed a 'bank holiday in lieu' of the actual anniversary day. In this way, public holidays are not 'lost' on years when they coincide with weekends (which will already be a day off for many people).
Increasingly, there are calls for public holidays on the patron saints' days in England, Scotland and Wales (Northern Ireland already has St Patrick's Day as a holiday). An online petition sent to the Prime Minister received 11,000 signatures for a public holiday in Wales on St. David's Day; the Scottish Parliament has introduced a bill for a public holiday on St. Andrew's Day; campaigners in England are calling for a bank holiday on St. George's
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome (though other dates were also used in Rome). In all countries using the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, except for Israel, it is a public holiday, often celebrated with fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts. January 1 on the Julian calendar corresponds to January 14 on the Gregorian calendar, and it is on that date that followers of some of the Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the New Year.Contents.
Hogmanay (New Year) celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Sydney leads the world in one of the first major New Year celebrations each year.
Images associated with New Year's Day
In Brittany, a common image used is that of an incarnation of Father Time (or the "Old Year") wearing a sash across his chest with the previous year printed on it passing on his duties to the Baby New Year (or the "New Year"), an infant wearing a sash with the new year printed on it.
New Year's babies
People born on New Year's Day are commonly called New Year babies. Hospitals, such as the Dyersburg Regional Medical Center in the U.S., give out prizes to the first baby born in that hospital in the new year. These prizes are often donated by local businesses. Prizes may include various baby related items such as baby formula, baby blankets, diapers, and gift certificates to stores which specialize in baby related merchandise.
Good Friday, also called Holy Friday, Black Friday, or Great Friday, is a holiday observed primarily by adherents to Christianity commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and often coincides with the Jewish observance of Passover.
Based on the scriptural details of the Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most probably on a Friday. The estimated year of Good Friday is AD 33, by two different groups, and originally as AD 34 by Isaac Newton via the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon. A third method, using a completely different astronomical approach based on a lunar Crucifixion darkness and eclipse model (consistent with Apostle Peter's reference to a "moon of blood" in Acts 2:20) arrives at the same date, namely Friday April 3,
In Muslim-majority Indonesia, Good Friday is a national holiday. All government offices, schools and certain businesses are closed on Good Friday by law and many newspapers choose not to publish on this day. Public holiday is also observed in Singapore and in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.
Easter Monday
Two boys enjoy treats during the annual Easter egg roll at the White House lawn on Easter Monday, 1911.
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic cultures. Easter Monday in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar is the second day of the octave of Easter Week.
Formerly, the post-Easter festivities involved a week of secular celebration, but this was reduced to one day in the 19th century. Events include egg rolling competitions and, in predominantly Roman Catholic countries, dousing other people with water which traditionally had been blessed with holy water the day before at Easter Sunday Mass and carried home to bless the house and food.
In Poland and parts of the United States, Easter Monday is called Dyngus Day, meaning "Wet Monday", referring to traditional pranks involving water.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, Easter Monday is known as Bright Monday or Renewal Monday, and is the second day of Bright Week. The services are exactly the same as on Pascha (Easter Sunday), except that the hymns from the Octoechos are in Tone Two. It is customary to have a Crucession (procession headed by a cross) either after Paschal Matins or after the Paschal Divine Liturgy. It is customarily a day for visiting family and friends. Easter Monday is also the day when St. George is celebrated, in years when the regular St George's Day (April 23) comes on or before Easter.
May Day
This article is about the holidays celebrated on May 1. For more information on the labour-related holiday, see International Workers' Day. For the distress signal, see Mayday (distress signal). For other uses, see Mayday (disambiguation).
May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to several public holidays. In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organised by the unions and socialist groups.
Traditional May Day celebrations
May Day is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. May Day falls exactly half of a year from November 1, another cross-quarter day which is also associated with various northern European pagan and neopagan festivals such as Samhain. May Day marks the end of the uncomfortable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations, regardless of the locally prevalent political or religious establishment.
As Europe became Christianized the pagan holidays lost their religious character and either changed into popular secular celebrations, as with May Day, or were merged with or replaced by new Christian holidays as with Christmas, Easter, and All Saint's Day. In the twentieth century, many neopagans began reconstructing the old traditions and celebrating May Day as a pagan religious festival again.
Origins
The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian, with the festival of Flora the Roman Goddess of flowers, the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane. Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe. A more secular version of May Day continues to be observed in Europe and America. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the Maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May. Various Neopagan groups celebrate reconstructed (to varying degrees) versions of these customs on May 1.
The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer. In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of sweets and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps.
Roodmas was a Christian Mass celebrated in England at midnight on May 1.
The May Day Bank Holiday, on the first Monday in May, was traditionally the only one to affect the state school calendar, although new arrangements in some areas to even out the length of school terms mean that the Good Friday and Easter Monday Bank Holidays, which vary from year to year, may also fall during term time.
1 May 1707 was the day the Act of Union came into effect, joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
In Oxford, it is traditional for May Morning revellers to gather below the Great Tower of Magdalen College at 6.00am to listen to the college choir sing traditional madrigals as a conclusion to the previous night's celebrations. It is then thought to be traditional for some people (often mistakenly labelled as Oxford University students) to jump off Magdalen Bridge into the River Cherwell. However this has actually only been fashionable since the 1970s. In recent years the bridge has been closed on 1 May to prevent people from jumping, as the water under the bridge is only 2 feet (61 cm) deep and jumping from the bridge has resulted in serious injury in the past yet there are still people who insist on climbing the barriers and leaping into the water, causing injury.
In Durham, students of the University of Durham gather on Prebend's Bridge at 5am to see the sunrise and enjoy pagan festivities, folk music, dancing, madrigal singing and a BBQ. This is emerging as a Durham tradition.
A good example of more traditional May Day festivities is still witnessed in Whitstable, Kent where the Jack in the Green festival was revived in 1976 and continues to lead an annual procession of morris dancers through the town on the May Bank Holiday. A separate revival occurred in Hastings in 1983 and has become a major event in the town calendar. Padstow also holds its annual 'Obby 'Oss festival. A traditional Sweeps Festival is performed over the May bank holiday in Rochester, Kent where the Jack in the Green is woken at dawn on the 1st of May by Morris dancers.
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The date of commemoration is not known to be Jesus' actual birthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either a historical Roman festival or the winter solstice. Christmas Day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.
Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, the exchange of cards, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas for children. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between Saint Nicholas and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.
Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but has also recently come to be celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.
Etymology
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank holiday or a public holiday in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and countries in the Commonwealth of Nations with a mainly Christian population. In South Africa this public holiday is now known as the Day of Goodwill.
The name derives from the English tradition giving seasonal gifts (in the form of a "Christmas box") to less wealthy people. In the United Kingdom this was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers, servants, tradespeople and postal workers.
Boxing Day is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas Day. Unlike St. Stephen's Day, Boxing Day is a secular holiday and is not always on 26 December: the public holiday is generally moved to the following Monday if 26 December is a Saturday. If 25 December is a Saturday then both the Monday and Tuesday may be public holidays. However the date of observance of Boxing Day varies between countries.
In Ireland — when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland — the UK's Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of St Stephen as a non-moveable public holiday on 26 December. Since Partition, the name "Boxing Day" is used only by the authorities in Northern Ireland (which remained part of the United Kingdom). There Boxing Day is a moveable public holiday in line with the rest of the United Kingdom.
The Banking and Financial Dealings Act of 1971 established "Boxing Day" as a public holiday in Scotland. In the Australian state of South Australia, 26 December is a public holiday known as Proclamation Day.
In the countries that observe this holiday, 26 December is commonly referred to both as Boxing Day and as St. Stephen's Day, no matter what day of the week it occurs. However, in some countries, holidays falling on Saturday or Sunday are observed on the next weekday. Boxing Day cannot be on a Sunday, that day being the officially recognised day of worship, so traditionally it was the next working day of the week following Christmas Day, (i.e. any day from Monday to Saturday).
In recent times this tradition has been either forgotten or ignored. Most people consider 26 December to be Boxing Day even when it falls on a Sunday. The last year 26 December was called Christmas Sunday in the United Kingdom and Canada was 1993. The next time the date fell on a Sunday (1999), it was known as Boxing Day.
If Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, then Monday 28 December is declared a bank or public holiday. In the United Kingdom and some other countries, this is accomplished by Royal Proclamation. In some Canadian provinces, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday that is always celebrated on 26 December. As with most statutory holidays in Canada, if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, compensation days are given in the following week.
St. Andrew's Day
St. Andrew's Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is celebrated on 30 November.
Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and St. Andrew's Day is Scotland's official national day . In 2006, the Scottish Parliament designated St. Andrew's Day as an official bank holiday. Although most commonly associated with Scotland, Saint Andrew is also the patron saint of Greece, Romania, and Russia.
In Germany, the feast day is celebrated as Andreasnacht ("St. Andrew's Night"), in Austria with the custom of Andreasgebet ("St. Andrew's Prayer"), and in Poland as Andrzejki ("Andrews").
St Andrew's Day is an official flag day in Scotland. The Scottish Government's flag-flying regulations state that the Flag of Scotland (The Saltire) shall fly on all its buildings with a flagpole. The Union Flag is also flown if the building has more than one flagpole. The arrangements for the United Kingdom Government in Scotland are the opposite. They fly the Union Flag, and will only fly the Saltire if there is more than one flagpole.
The flying of the Saltire on St Andrew's Day is a recent development. Prior to 2002, the Scottish Government followed the UK Government's flag days and would only fly the Union Flag on St Andrew's Day. This led to Members of the Scottish Parliament complaining that Scotland was the only country in the world that could not fly its national flag on its national day. The regulations were updated to state that the Union Flag would be removed and replaced by the Saltire on buildings with only one flagpole.
The flying of the Union Flag from Edinburgh Castle on all days, including St Andrew's Day causes anger among some Scottish National Party politicians who have argued that the Saltire should fly on November 30 instead. However, the Union Flag is flown by the British Army at the Castle as it still is an official British Army flag flying station, and all Army installations fly the Union Flag at ratio 3:5. Historic Scotland, a Scottish Government agency, lease part of the Castle to the British Army. The British Army has been criticised for refusing to fly the Saltire above Edinburgh Castle, but dropping the Union Flag in its recruitment campaigns in Scotland instead preferring the Saltire, a decision branded hypocritical by SNP politicians.
Related traditions in continental Europe. This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page.
In parts of Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Romania, superstitious belief exists that the night before St. Andrew's Day is specially suitable for magic that reveals a young woman's future husband or that binds a future husband to her. Many such customs exist, for example the pouring of hot lead into water (in Poland, one usually pours hot wax from a candle through a key hole into cold water), divining the future husband's profession from the shape of the resulting piece (related divinations using molten metals are still popular in Germany on Hogmanay). In some areas in Austria, young women would drink wine and then perform a spell, called Andreasgebet (Saint Andrew's prayer) while nude and kicking a straw bed. This should magically attract the future husband. Yet another custom is to throw a clog over one's shoulder: if it lands pointing to the door, the woman will get married in the same year.
In some parts of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, young women would write down the names of potential husbands on little pieces of paper, and stick these into little pieces of dough, called Halusky. When cooked, the first one to float to the surface of the water would reveal the name of their future husband.
In Poland, it is popular for women to put pieces of paper (on which they have written of potential husbands) under the pillow and first thing in the morning they take one out, which reveals the name of the future husband.
In Romania, it is customary for young women to put 41 grains of wheat beneath their pillow before they go to sleep, and if they dream that someone is coming to steal their grains that means that they are going to get married next year. Also in some other part of the country the young women light a candle from the Easter, and bring it, at midnight, to a fountain. When the water is well lit, they say a prayer to St. Andrew asking them to let them get a glimpse of the face of their future husband. After the prayer is over, usually the water moves and the young women can see the face of their beloved. St. Andrew is also the national saint of Romanians and Romanian Orthodox Church.