Thhe united Unit 2 KKinngdOlL Warming Up Work in pairs, Do this quiz and find out how much you know about the UK I How many countries does the UK consist of? C four 2 How long does it take to fly from Beijing to London Heathrow Airport? a about six hours B about ten hours C about sixteen hours 3 Who rules the country: the Prime Minister or the Queen? a The Queen b The prime ministe C both 4 What are the provinces called in England? 5 Which is the longest river in England? a The River Avon B The River Thames C The River severn How well did you do? If you got all five questions right, you know a lot already Now, read on and find out more about the UK Pre-reading I Can you name the capital cities of the countrics of the UK? 2 England can be divided into three main areas. Do you know what they are? 3 What do you know about any cities or towns in the UK? Reading e PUZZLES IN GEOGRAPHY There is no need to debate any more about why different words SCOTLAND ure used to describe the four countries: england, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can easily clarify any problems if you study British history. First there was England, Wales was linked to England in the 13th century AD. Now when people refer to England you WALE find wales included as well Great Britain was the name given when England and Wales were joined to Scotland. It happened in 1603 when King James of Scotland became King of England and Wales as well. To 9
Unit 2 The United Kingdom their surprise. the three countries found themselves united peacefully instead of by war. However, just as they were going to get Ireland connected to form the United Kingdom, the southern part of that country broke away to form its own government. So only Northern Ireland joined with England. Wales and Scotland to become the United Kingdom and this was shown to the world in a new flag called the Union Jack. Cnss of St George (England) Cross of St Andrew(Scotland) Cross of St Patrick(lreland Union Jack Although the four countries do work together in some areas(for example, in intemational relations) hey are still very different. For example, Northern Ireland. England and Scotland have developed different educational and legal systems as well as different football teams for competitions like the World Cup England is the largest of the four countries and for convenience it is divided roughly into three zones. The zone nearest France is called the South of England, the middle zone is called the Midlands, and the one nearest to Scotland is known as the North. You find most of the population settled in the South, but most of the large industrial cities in the Midlands and North of England Although many of the cities are not as large as those in China. they have famous football teams and some even have two. However, these industrial cities built in the 19th century do not have the historical attractions of other places. For those you have to go to older but smaller towns first built by the Romans. There you will find out more about British history and culture. The greatest historical treasure of all is London with its museums, art collections, theatres, pa Ind buildings. It has the oldest port built by the Romans in the Ist century AD, the oldest building begun by the Anglo-Saxons in the 1060s and the oldest castle constructed by later Norman rulers in 1066. But London has been influenced only by some invaders of England. The first invaders, the Romans, left their towns and roads. The second. the Anglo-Saxons, left their language and their government.The third, the Vikings, influenced the vocabulary and place-names of the North, and the fourth. the Normans, left castles and words for food. If you look around the British countryside. you will find evidence of all these invaders. You must keep your eyes open if you are going to make your trip to the United Kingdom worthwhile! Comprehending 1 Read the passage and answer the questions I The Union Jack flag unites the three flags of three countries in the United Kingdom. Which country is left out? Why? 2 What three countries does British Airways represent? 3 Which group of invaders did not influence London? 10
Unit 2 The United Kingdom 2 Look at the map of England and Wales. Divide it into three parts. Draw lines across to show the zones of the South, Midlands and North of England. Now put each town or city into its correct zone. ENGLAND North: GCOTLANO Midlands ATLANTIC WALES South Celthe Brito m FRANCE 3 Divide the passage into three parts and write down the main idea of each part Part I Part 2: Part 3 Use the information to write a short summary of the passage Learnting about Language Discovering useful words and expressions 1 Choose the correct words to complete the passage. kingdom clarify attraction influence puzzle debate legal convenience this wonderful opportunity so carefully is a to me. the boss said on the phone. This is the project for you. You will live in a town in England and have a house with all modern Our headquarters in Beijing will problems that may arise over the Internet. You will help us to examine any that may arise if we want to build a factory somewhere in the United We think you will find living in England will be a great and so we would like to you to take this job. We hope you will accept it 11
Unit 2 The United Kingdom 2 All of the words below can take the place of said, but they are used under different conditions and in different situations, choose the correct word from the list to fit each of these sentences smile ask be st decide hout agree SCream I"Shall we leave now ? " he to us and we left the room very quietly. 2"Is she tall and thin with black hair and wearing a red dress?" she the police, 3"How pleased I am to see you well today and looking so happy. her father. 4"Help Help! I cant swim the frightened boy. 5"Please don' t hurt my cat. Sarah as her brother picked it up by one leg 6"Id like to live in a castle of my own too young pn 7"Yes. I bought a car and a new flat this winter. my father after listening to my 8"Are you coming with us? Li Ming to her friend on the other side of the room. 9"I didnt like that meal at all e customer 10"Perhaps you would like to go this way? the man shyly. 11"I will buy the green car with the red seats and not the blue one. my friend 12“ This is what I,d do, the headmaster Discovering useful structures 1 Can you find the following sentence in the reading passage? Now when people refer to England you find Wales included as well. In this sentence the past participle is used as the object complement and is formed with have/get/ find/.+ object+ past participle Please find three more sentences from the reading passage with past participles used as the object complement 2 2 Complete the sentences by using the words in brackets and the structure have/ get/find something done. I We (the house/mend )now 2 You look different today. (you/ your hair/cut)? 3 Do you want to ( the dictionary /deliver) to your house or would you prefer to come to the shop for it? 4 A: Could I have a look at the photographs you took when you were in Europe? (not/the film/develop)yet 12
Unit 2 The United Kingdom 5 On my way to the station my car broke down. When I got to the repair shop I (it/close) 6 The computer doesn' t seem to work well. You'd better (it/ repair)? 7 Jill and Eric (all their money /steal)while they were on holiday 8 Chris (some flowers /send)to Sarah on her birthday. Then Chris sked Sarah to marry him and they it/ announce) in the newspaper They had no time to arrange their own wedding, so they (it/ organize) by a company 3 Play the game: "What did they find? "Write one sentence about what Mr and Mrs Smith found when they came home from work one day. Remember to use the past participle as the object complement. EXAMPLE: They found the window broken Divide your class into groups of five. Give a piece of paper to the first person in each group who folds the paper over his/her writing, so the next person cannot see it. Pass the paper to the next person in the group. When the last one in the group has finished writing, he/she comes to the front of the class to read all the ideas of his /her group. The one with the most interesting ideas wins. Using Language Reading SIGHTSEEING IN LONDON Worried about the time available, Zhang Pingyu had made a list of the sites she wanted to see in London. Her first delight was going to the Tower It was built long ago by the Norman invaders of AD 1066. Fancy! This solid, stone, square tower had remained standing for one thousand years. Although the buildings had expanded around it. it remained part of a royal palace and prison combined. To her great surprise, Zhang Pingyu found the Queens jewels guarded by special roya soldiers who, on special occasions, still wore the four- hundred-year-old uniform of the time of Queen Elizabeth L. There followed St Pauls Cathedral built after the terrible fire of London in 1666. It looked splendid when first built! Westminster Abbey, too, was very interesting. It contained statues in memory of dead poets and writers, such as Shakespeare. Then just as she came out of the abbey, Pingyu heard the famous sound of the clock. Big ben ringing out the hour. She finished the day by looking at the outside of Buckingham Palace, the Queen's house in London Oh, she had so much to tell her friends! The Tower of london