[00:00.66]Unit 5 English and English-speaking Countries
[00:05.43]Lesson 20
[00:09.80]Exercise 1.2
[00:12.64]The United Kingdom lies in Western Europe
[00:15.47]in the north of the Atlantic Ocean.
[00:17.81]It is divided into for countries:
[00:20.27]England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
[00:24.45]The full name of the country is the United
[00:26.56]Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
[00:29.71]The short form is United Kingdom or just UK.
[00:34.16]It is called a kingdom because
[00:36.04]it is ruled by a king or a queen.
[00:38.81]The present queen of the UK is Queen Elizabeth.
[00:42.45]The UK is not a big country;
[00:45.25]it's about the size of New Zealand,
[00:47.60]but its population is much larger,
[00:50.20]about 59 million.
[00:51.90]The official language is English
[00:53.84]and the capital is London.
[00:55.95]The weather in the UK is mild
[00:57.45]and it rains a lot,
[00:59.52]although in parts of northern England
[01:01.51]and in Scotland it can get quite cold.
[01:04.47]People in the UK love sports a lot.
[01:07.98]Soccer, which is the national sport,
[01:10.31]is very popular.
[01:11.65]The lion is a symbol which was first used
[01:14.48]by King Richard I in the 12th century
[01:17.26]to show the strength of England.
[01:19.54]Today it is still used on the Queen's coat
[01:22.45]of arms.
[01:27.11]Exercise 2.2
[01:29.63]I'd like to welcome all of you on our tour,
[01:32.89]Great Sights of London.
[01:35.02]To your right is the British Museum which
[01:37.69]receives about 6 million visitors a year.
[01:41.86]This is the largest museum
[01:43.94]in the United Kingdom.
[01:45.68]Here you will find the very famous Egyptian
[01:48.33]mummy collection that draws visitors from
[01:51.00]all over the world.
[01:53.10]Now, ladies and gentlemen,
[01:54.77]on your left is Buckingham Palace which was
[01:57.04]built in 1705 for the Duke of Buckingham
[02:00.63]whose family still lives there today.
[02:04.18]Queen Elizabeth, who is the ruler of the UK,
[02:07.29]opened Buckingham Palace to the public in 1993.
[02:11.35]Up ahead are the Houses of Parliament.
[02:14.29]This building consists of the House of Commons
[02:17.27]and the House of Lords.
[02:18.85]Let's all check the time on Big Ben,
[02:21.72]a clock tower which is probably
[02:24.01]the most famous symbol of London.
[02:26.52]Finally, to you left is St. Paul's Cathedral.
[02:29.97]This is where Prince Charles
[02:31.62]and Lady Diana got married.
[02:33.96]It's a beautiful sight,isn't it?
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