Сочинение / Про Великобританию (на англ.)

Великобритания находится на севере-заподе. Столица Великобритании -Лондон-стоит на реке Темзе. На набережной Темзы стоит очень красивое здание Парламента. Издалека видна его башня с главными часами страны. У этих часов четыре циферблата, а длина минутных стрелок превышает 4 метра! В 2012 году башня называлась "Башней Елизаветы" в честь королевы Великобритании Елизаветы ll.

There are many holidays in Great Britain. They are Christmas day, Boxing Day, New Year’s day, Easter, May Day, Spring bank holiday and Summer bank holiday. Public holidays in Great Britain are called bank holidays because the banks as well as most of the offices and shops are closed. The most popular holiday is Xmas. Every year the people of Norway make a present to the city of London. It is a big Xmas tree which is placed on Trufalger square. Central streets are beautifully decorated. During Xmas groups of singers go from house to house. They collect money for charity and sing carols, traditional Christmas songs. Many churches hold carol services on the Sunday before Xmas. The fun starts the night before, on the 24 of December. This is the day when people decorate their trees. Children hang stockings above their beds, hoping that Santa Claus will come at night and fill them with toys and sweets. Xmas is a family holiday. Relatives prepare for the big Xmas dinner of turkey and Xmas pudding and everyone makes and receives presents. The 26th of December, Boxing Day, is an extra holiday after Xmas. This is the time to meet friends or sit at home and watch TV. New Year’s day is less popular in Britain then Xmas. Besides public holidays there are some special holidays in Britain. One of them takes place on the 5th of November. On that day in 1605 Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the House of Parliament and to kill King James I. But he didn’t succeed. The King’s men found the bomb and took Guy Fawkes to the Tower. Since that day the British celebrate the 5th of November.
There are also some smaller and lesser known holidays in Great Britain.

Великобритания - многонациональная страна. И кореных британцев там осталось очень мало. Я рад(а), что эта страна принимает другие народы. Этим они похожи на русских. Британцы сделали свою столицу Лондон очень красивим, почти каждый человек хочет хоть раз там побывать. Британцы чаще всего перфекционисты и это в них мне нравится. Удивительно то, что до сих пор они считаются королеством. Хоть и большинство вопросов решает парламент, королевская семья тоже важна. Биг Бен в Лондоне иногда нарекают в честь королевы.
Великобритания хорошая страна с хорошим народом.

Great Britain is an unique country with the rich culture and many interesting traditions. Nowadays, the country is famous for its special political system, for its symbols and features. That is actually an island, which includes Scotland, Wales and England. The capital city of the country is London. It is also a legendary city and many people want to live there because of its special charm, beautiful architecture and unique citizens.
Великобритания является уникальной страной с богатой культурой и многими интересными традициями. Страна славится во всем мире своей особенной политической системой, своими символами и особенностями. Страна –это, фактически, остров, который включает в себя Шотландию, Уэльс и Англию. Столица страны — Лондон. Это также легендарный город и многие люди хотят жить там, потому что у него есть особый шарм, красивая архитектура и уникальные жители.

Elizabeth II comes from the Windsor dynasty. He is the head of the British Commonwealth and, in addition to the United Kingdom, the queen of fifteen independent states: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Jamaica. He is also the head of the Anglican Church and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Great Britain. In Scotland (due to a personal union), the queen continues to perform certain state duties as a guarantor of the Church of Scotland, and also represents the head of state at the opening of the sessions of the Parliament of Scotland [6] and authorizes the signing of the laws of Scotland through "royal sanction" [7]. Elizabeth II - the oldest British (English) monarch in history [8]. She is currently the record holder for the time spent on the British throne [9] [10]. Since October 13, 2016 after the death of the King of Thailand, Phumipon Adulyadej, is the most long-standing head of state on the planet [11]. He is the oldest among women in the world - the acting heads of state, and in Europe - the oldest acting head of state. He is the most long-standing head of state (among women) in world history. He is the second oldest acting head of state in the world after the president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe [12]. Since January 23, 2015 is the oldest active monarch in the world, after the death of the King of Saudi Arabia Abdullah ibn Abdul-Aziz Al Saud [13].

Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2 (80,823 sq mi), Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island, and the ninth-largest island in the world. In 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the world’s third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, and together these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, comprise the British Isles archipelago.

National Emblems in Great Britain

The red rose was the emblem of Lancastrians, the white rose that of the Yorkists, the two Houses fighting for the English throne in the War of Roses. But their struggle ended by marriage of Henry VII, the Lancastrian with Princess Elizabeth, the Yorkist. The red rose has since become the emblem of England.

The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. It happened in very old times when Norsemen wanted to settle in this country. They came close to the Scots’ camps in the night and wanted to kill them in their sleep. That’s why they took off their shoes so as to make no noise. But one of the Norsemen stepped on a thistle and screamed. The Scots woke up and put the enemy to flight.

The leek is the emblem of Wales. Welshmen all over the world celebrate their national holiday St David’s Day by wearing leeks. They do it because they believe St David have lived for several years on bread and wild leeks.

Irishmen wear their national emblem on St Patrick’s Day. It’s a small white clover with three leaves on the stem. It is called a shamrock.

Красная роза была эмблемой Ланкастеров, а белая роза - рода Йорков, двух домов, которые боролись за английский престол в Войне Роз. Их борьба закончилась браком Генриха VII, Ланкастера с принцессой Елизаветой, рода Йорк. Красная роза с тех пор стала эмблемой Англии.

Чертополох является национальной эмблемой Шотландии. Это произошло в очень давние времена, когда скандинавы хотели поселиться в этой стране. Они приблизились к лагерям шотландцев ночью и хотели убить их во сне. Именно поэтому они сняли свою обувь, чтобы не производить шума. Но один из скандинавов наступил на чертополох и закричал. Шотландцы проснулись и обратили противника в бегство.

Лук-порей является эмблемой Уэльса. Уэльсцы во всем мире отмечают свой национальный праздник День Св. Дэвида прикрепляя лук-порей к одежде. Они делают это потому, что считают, что святой Дэвид прожил несколько лет на хлебе и диком луке-порее.

Ирландцы носят свою национальную эмблему в День святого Патрика. Это маленький белый клевер с тремя листьями на стебле. Он называется трилистник.

Flag of the Great Britain
The flag of Great Britain is the flags of three countries united under one board, and is a combination of heraldic banners: the flag of England is represented by the St. George cross; it is a red cross on a white background; The flag of Scotland is represented by the cross of St. Andrew, it is a white diagonal cross on a blue background; and the flag of Northern Ireland, is a red diagonal cross of St. Patrick on a white background.
The red cross on a white background is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England and Wales. The white diagonal cross on a blue background is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross on a white background is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. In 1801, the cross of St. Patrick was included in the flag of the United Kingdom, and then it symbolized the whole of Ireland. But in 1820 Ireland in the majority decided to become a separate country, in the UK there was only Northern Ireland.
History of the British flag:
Officially, the British flag was adopted on January 1, 1801, which tells us that this is one of the oldest flags of the whole world. For the first time the British flag was chosen back in 1606, when he combined the flags of England and Scotland. The flag of Ireland was added in 1801. Thus, the flag became as we know it today. Wales does not have its own flag, because by that time it was already united with England.·
Interesting facts about the British flag:
The British flag is sometimes called the Flag of the Union, but more often the name is Union Jack. This is one of the most recognizable flags in the world, since this flag is often found in places of British colonies.
Also the flag is often used by adherents of various football teams.
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Great Britain is a good place to visit. This region of our planet has a deep and interesting story and a tone of picturesque landmarks. Being in London, for instance you can visit diferent shops, cafes, parks & museums. Walking around the streets you will definitely see different groups of people and that is actually cool. GB is full of landmarks & landscapes as I said. Here are lots of castles and world’s famous places such as London eye or Bachingham palace. Thus it’s adviceable to visit this piece of our planet.

1) Спорт и игры в Великобритании.
   The British have a reputation for being mad about sports. In fact they like watching sports more than playing them. The British are spectators and the most popular spectator sports are cricket and football.
   Football is the most popular game. Football, or soccer, is an example of a professional game. The game of football was first played in Britain, and later people began to play football in other countries.
   There are many amateur soccer players in Britain who play the game on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Amateur clubs often play against professionals.
   Almost every school has its football team and every boy in Britain knows a lot about the game. He can tell you the names of the players in the most important teams, he has pictures of them and knows the results of many matches.
   Rugby is another popular British sport which is played in other countries. It is also called rugby football. The story is told that in 1823 boys at Rugby school in England were playing football in the normal way, when suddenly one boy picked the ball up and ran with it. That was how a new game was born. There are two forms of rugby football: the amateur game and the professional game. The two games have different rules.
   Football is the favorite winter game in Britain and cricket is the favorite summer sport. Amateur cricket has the same rules as the professional game. A typical amateur cricket match takes place on a village green, an open space in the centre of the village. It is played between two teams — the «home» team and the «visitors» who come from another village.
2) Спорт и игры в России.
   Sport has always been popular in our country. There are different sporting societies and clubs in Russia. Many of them take part in different international tournaments and are known all over the world.
   A great number of world records have been set by Russian sportsmen: gymnasts, weightlifters, tennis players, swimmers, figure skaters, runners, high jumpers. Our sportsmen take part in the Olympic Games and always win a lot of gold, silver and bronze medals.
   Millions of people watch figure skating competitions, hockey and football matches, car races, tennis tournaments and other sports events. Certainly watching sports events and going in for sports are two different things.
   In the past it was never admitted that professional sport existed in our country. The official point of view was that our sport was totally amateur. Now everybody knows that sport can be a profession and a business.
   But sport can be fun as well. Besides, it helps to stay in good shape, to keep fit and to be healthy.   Doing sports is becoming more and more popular. Some people do it occasionally — swimming in summer, skiing or skating in winter — but many people go in for sports on a more regular basis.
   They try to find time to go to a swimming pool or a gym at least once a week for aerobics or yoga classes, body building or just work-out on a treadmill. Some people jog every morning, some play tennis.
   For those who can afford it there are clubs where they give lessons of scuba diving or riding. In spring and summer young people put on their rollerskates and skate in the streets and parks.