The United Kingdom（Period 2 Reading）
unit 2 the united kingdomperiod 2 readingⅰ words & phrases: 1.consists of 2.puzzling 3.legal4.left out 5.collection 6.influence7.break away from8.clarified9.convenience10.constructⅱ fast-reading 1.did the countries of the uk unite peacefully or by war? 2.where should we go if we want to appreciate some historical attractions of the uk? ⅲ invaders’ influence on england and londonenglandlondonthe romansthe anglo-saxonsthe vikingsthe normansresearch and activitiesread another passage about the united kingdom.compare it with the passage “puzzles in geography”, paying special attention to the writing styles of the two writers.
britain and irelandthe island of britain lies to the east of ireland.the two are separated by the irish sea.the letters“uk”stand for“the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland.”the uk is made up of four countries.in the north is scotland, with its capital edinburgh.scotland has many lakes and mountains, and is famous for its beautiful.wales lies to the west of england.its capital is cardiff.everyone there can speak english, but the first language in north wales is welsh.there are welsh newspapers.programmes on the radio and tv are in welsh.the countryside here is very beautiful too, with lots of mountains and rivers.there used to be a lot of coal mines in the south, but many of them have been closed, or are about to be closed.england, the largest country in britain, is in the southeast.its capital is london, which is also the capital of the uk.london lies on the river thames and has a population of seven million. much of england is rather flat, although there are hills in the northeast and in the centre of the country.ireland is divided into two countries.in the north, northern ireland, with its capital belfast, is part of the united kingdom.the southern part of the island is a separate country, called the republic of ireland with dublin as its capital.generally, the weather in britain is neither too cold in winter nor too hot in summer.it is colder in the north, warmer in the south, drier in the east and wetter in the west.ireland is especially wet.in all parts of britain it rains every month of the year; there is no“dry season”.snow falls in scotland every winter and sometimes in england and wales too.falls of snow in ireland are most unusual.