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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland To the west of the continent of Europe he two large islands. The larger of them is called Great Britain, and the smaller, Ireland. These two and 5,500 smaller islands form the British Isles. 203 The island of Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales: The isle of Ireland is divided into Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK (the United Kingdom) is the official name of the country, occasionally referred to as Great Britain, which is, strictly speaking, only a geographic name. Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea from the west, by the North Sea from the north and west. It is separated from the European continent by the English Channel. The narrowest part of the English Channel is called the Strait of Dover. The UK is not a very large country. Its territory is about 244,000 square kilometers, and no point of the country is more than 120 kilometers away from the sea. At the same time, the population of the UK is the third largest in Europe, comprising about 60 million people. It is incorrect to call everybody who lives in the United Kingdom “English”, as this is the name only for those who live in England. The residents of Wales are named Welsh, while the people of Scotland are called Scottish. The correct common name for English, Scottish and Welsh is British. Those who live in Northern Ireland are called Irish. The climate of the British Isles is generally mild; it is seldom cold in winter and never too hot in summer. This is due to the warm current of the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf Stream. Britain was always known as the country of fogs, but now it is not quite so because of the climatic changes: there is maybe less fog than in any other European country. There are no high mountains and long rivers in the UK. The highest mountain is Ben Nevis in the Highlands of Scotland, and the longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames. Geographically, the UK has a very convenient position, being located on the crossroads from Europe to America. This is one of the reasons why Britain was (and is up to the present time) one of the leading world powers. The capital of the country is London. It is situated on the river Thames. Britain has an ancient and glorious history. It used to be the great empire “where the sun never sets”. It gave the world many famous scientists, writers, political leaders and explorers, such as Newton, Darwin, Drake, Shakespeare, Churchill and others. For centuries monarchs ruled Britain. The constitutional monarchy is still preserved in the country, though it is practically no more than a tradition and a tribute to the past. Queen Elisabeth II is Head of State. Her power is limited by the parliament, which is elected every four years. The leader of the party that has won the majority during the elections becomes the Prime Minister. In fact, he becomes the head of state and forms the Cabinet. The second largest party forms the official Opposition.
