North-west of London, in the midland counties (the Midlands) is a very important industrial

district which is known as the "Black country". In Birmingham, the centre of this area, and in the

manufacturing towns nearby, various goods are produced: machine tools, tubes, domestic metalware,

rubber products, etc. The largest coal and iron fields in Britain are located in the Midlands. Further

north is Manchester, one of the main centres for electrical and heavy engineering and for me

production of a wide range of goods including computers, electronic equipment, petrochemicals,

dye-stuffs and pharmaceuticals. The Manchester Ship Canal links Manchester with Liverpool, one of

Britain's leading seaports.

East of Manchester is the city of Sheffield, well-known for its manufacture of high quality

steels, tools and cutlery. A short railway journey to the north-east will take you from Manchester to

Bradford, the commercial centre of the wool trade.

Further north is Newcastle situated on the North Sea coast, a city famous for its shipbuilding

65 Nowadays there is little industry in London as heavy engineering plants have been moved to the nearest manufacturing towns.

yards and its export of coal.

What is remarkable about the second half of the 20th century is the accelerating pace of

change.

The Scottish economy has moved away from the traditional industries of coal, steel and

shipbuilding. North-east Scotland is now the centre of offshore oil and gas industries. There has been

a significant development in high-technology industries, such as chemicals, electronic engineering

and information technology. In Scotland, the richest part is that of the Lowlands. Here there are coal

and iron fields. Glasgow is the largest city, seaport and trading centre of Scotland.

Recent decades have seen fundamental changes in the Welsh economy. Wales is an important

centre for consumer electronics, information technology, chemicals, and food and drink.

Although Britain is a densely populated, industrialized country, agriculture is still one of its

most important industries. Dairying is most common in the west of England, where the wetter

climate encourages the growth of good grass. Sheep and cattle are reared in the hilly and moorland

areas of northern and south-western England. Its best farmland lies in the south-eastern plains.

The south of England is rural, with many fertile valleys, well-cultivated fields and pastures.

The south-eastern coast is well-known for its picturesque scenery and mild climate and a

number of popular resorts. On the southern coast of England there are many large ports, among

them: Southampton, Portsmouth, Plymouth.

TEXT B. THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE

— I know that there are many types of natural scenery in England. But what is there in the

English landscape that strikes the eye of the stranger used to other countries?

— Its "park-like" appearance, I believe. England in truth looks like one great well-ordered

park with its old trees, green meadows and hedges.66

— But as far as I know the hedges take up a considerable part of soil suitable for ploughing.

— They do. But the Englishman loves the green of England with its hedges, tender-green in

spring, covered with leaf and flower in summer, a blaze of gold and red in autumn. In winter too they

are still beautiful with a few scarlet berries almost burning in the frost.

— And yet, if England swept away her hedges and put in their place fences the saving of land

would be enormous.

— But much of the park-like beauty of the countryside would be gone and with it the

peculiar character of the English landscape.

— I hear there are a lot of lovely gardens all along the English countryside. Are English

people fond of gardening?

— They are. Almost every one in England tries to come in touch with a bit of plant life. In

the East of London you may see workingman's "flats" with their window gardens. In the West End,

land which is worth many thousands of pounds per acre is devoted to garden use. In the small

suburban villas a very considerable tax of money and labour is paid in the effort to keep in good

order a little pocket handkerchief of lawn and a few shrubs.

— Well, I think that this proves that the Englishman is at heart a great lover of nature, though

he is supposed to be such a prosaic and practical person.

TEXT C. LOOKING AT THE MAP OF RUSSIA

— I'd like you to tell me something about your country.

— I think the best way to get a general idea of a country is to study the map. It's lucky I've

got one with me. Here it is.

66 hedge: a row of bushes or low trees which are forming a kind of barrier.

— Perhaps we had better start with the physical outline of the country.

— Well, Russia can be divided roughly into two main regions — the highlands in the east

and the lowlands covering the greater part of the country, with a long mountain range cutting it into

two unequal parts.

— You mean the Urals. They form the natural border between Europe and Asia. But the

highest mountain chains, as far as I can see are situated in the south and the south-east of the country.

What do you call them?

— The Caucasus, between the Caspian and the Black Sea and the Altai in Asia.

— I'd love to go there. My hobby is mountaineering. But our mountains are not so high as

yours, as far as I know.

— I believe they are not We have peaks four and a half miles high. But we also have

lowlands several hundred feet below sea level. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the

midlands, tundra and taiga in the north.

— What are the "steppes"?

— They are treeless plains covered with grass. The soil is fertile there.

— And is the tundra like our heather moors?

— Not in the least. It's a kind of frozen desert in the Arctic region.

— And what is the 'taiga', I wonder?

— It's a thick coniferous forest stretching to the south of the tundra. It's rich in animals,

valued for their fur like sable, fox, squirrel.

— I'd like to go hunting there, but I'm afraid I would never be able to stand toe cold.

— Our climate is also varied. In the south-west the weather is usually mild and wet; northern

Asia is one of the coldest places on earth, and in the south the heat is unbearable. But in the middle

of the country the climate is moderate and continental.

— Well, it has been very interesting for me to hear all those things. Thank you very much for

your information.

Memory Work

England! with all thy faults, I love thee still,

I said at Calais, and have not forgot it

I like the taxes when they're not too many;

I like a sea-coal fire, when not too dear;

I like a beef-steak, too, as well as any;

Have no objection to a pot of beer;

I like the weather when it is not rainy,

That is, I like two months of every year.

George Byron

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY (П)

Words

border n

hedge n, υ

resort n

cattle n

level n

rural adj

chemicals n

machinery

n

steppe n

cotton n

moderate adj

stretch υ,

n

desert n

pasture n

taiga n

dock n

peak n

tool n

fence n

picturesque adj

tundra n

fertile adj

range n