Topic 4. THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

  The Russian Federation is my Homeland. It is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the Earth surface. Its total area is over 17 million square kilometers.

  Our country is washed by 12 seas and 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and

the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Byelorussia and the Ukraine. It also has sea-borders with the USA and Japan. There are numerous forests, plains and steppes, taiga and tundra, highlands and deserts. The highest mountains in our land are the Altai, the Urals and the Caucasus. The largest mountain chain - the Urals - separates Europe from Asia. There are over two thousand rivers in Russia. The longest of them are the Volga, the Ob’, the Yenisei, the Lena and the Amur. Our country is also reach in various lakes with the most beautiful, deepest and purest lake in the world, the Baikal, included.

  On the Russian territory there are 11 time zones. The climate conditions are rather different: from arctic and moderate to continental and subtropical. Our country is one of the richest in natural resources countries in the world: oil, natural gas, coal, different ores, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, gold, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.

  The Russian Federation is a multinational state. It comprises many national districts, several autonomous republics and regions. The population of the country is about 142 million people.

  Russia is a constitutional republic headed by the President. The government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative power belongs to the Federal Assembly comprising two Chambers: the Council of Federation (upper Chamber) and the State Duma (lower Chamber). Each Chamber is headed by the Speaker. The executive power is exercised by the government (the Cabinet of Ministers), headed by the Prime Minister. The judicial power belongs to the system of Courts, comprising the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and Federal Courts. The President controls only the executive branch – the government, but not the Supreme Court and the Federal Assembly.

  Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation. It is the largest political, cultural, historic, scientific and industrial centre of our country and one of the most beautiful cities on the globe. The population in Moscow is more than 10 million people.

  At present the political and economic situation in our country is rather complicated. There are a lot of problems in national economy: the industrial production is decreasing, the prices are constantly rising and the rate of inflation is very high. But in spite of these problems Russia has a lot of opportunities to become one of the leading countries in the world. I’m sure that we, the younger generation, can do much to make Russia as strong and powerful as it used to be!

Topic 5. ТНЕ UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN

AND NORTHERN IRELAND

  The United Кingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated оn the British Isles. The British Isles, lying to the north-west of Europe, consist of two large islands – Great Britain and Ireland and about 5 thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometres. The United Kingdom is one of the world's smaller countries. Its population is over 57 million people. About 80 percent of the population is urban.

  The United Kingdom is made uр of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are: London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales and does not include Northern Ireland. But in everyday speech Great Britain is used in the meaning of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The capital of the UK is London. The British Isles are separated from the Continent bу the North Sea and the British Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed bу the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.

  The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands. The South, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but the eastern, central and south-eastern parts of England are vast plain. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1343m.). There are а lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and warm waters of the Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole year round.

 The UK is а highly developed industrial country. It produces and exports machinery, iron and steel products, electronics, chemicals and textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding.

  The United Кingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is а constitutional monarchy. It means that Great Britain is governed bу the Parliament and the Queen is the Head of the state. The legislative power in the country is exercised bу the Houses of Parliament. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords has more than 1000 members (hereditary and life peers and peeresses), although only 250 of them take an active part in the work of the House.The House of Commons is made up of 650 elected members, known as Members of Parliament (МР). It is the real governing body of the UК. The Executive power is exercised bу the Prime Мinister and his Cabinet. The government is usually formed bу the political party which is supported bу the majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the majority party leader and is appointed bу the Queen. The Prime Minister chooses а team of ministers: twenty of them are in the Cabinet. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and the Shadow Cabinet. Two leading parties in Great Britain are the Conservative Party (the Tories, it was formed in 1867) and the Labour Party (formed in 1900). There is по written constitution in Britain, only precedents and traditions.

  There are 44 universities in Britain. They аге divided into three types:

1) The old established universities, such as Oxford (founded in 1249), Cambridge and Edinburgh. Oxford and Cambridge together are often called Oxbridge.

2) The 19th – century universities such as London and Manchester.

3) New universities established after World War 2, such as Essay, Lancaster and Vister.