1.Off the coast of mainland Western Europe lie two islands called the British Isles ofwhich the big one is the island of , or , and the small one is the island of .2.Britain is divided into three parts: , and .3.GMT is short for , which is the time on the line of (degree)longitude, which passes through , a district of southeast London, used as a basis for calculating time throughout the world in different time zones.4.The national flag of the United Kingdom is also called or .5.England was once conquered by , , and .6.Of the four nations, feel most British, is the most confident of itsown identity, and is most closely related to England.7.Monetary unit of UK is .8., , and are major industries in UK.9., , and are major trading partners of UK. is known as “”, due to its declines in economy.11.National Holiday of UK is .12.and weakened the European monarchies, and introduced the ageof constitutional monarchy, a monarchy with powers limited by Parliament.13.Three major national parties of UK are , and .14.Depending on the relative strengths of the parties in the House of Commons, theOpposition may try to overthrow the Government by defeating it on a “”vote.15.The Prime Minister’s official residence is , which is the symbol of theBritish Government.16.In UK, Ministers are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of .17.As the language of England, English is a language belonging to thebranch of the family.18.Standard English is variously known as , , , andor .19.and are very popular Christian festivals in UK.20. a system now in general use of arranging the months in the year and thedays in the month, introduced by Pope Gregory ⅩⅢ (1502-85).21.The only really important patriotic festival is on which areremembered in special church services and civic ceremonies.22.The population of UK is nearly million.23., and are the main language used in UK.24.is national nickname of UK.25.The English have a mixed cultural heritage combining , , ,and elements.26.The English have many differences in regional speech. The Chief division isbetween and .27.The ancestors of the Welsh were , who escaped to the wild mountains ofWales form the invading Angles and Saxons.28.Today about % of the Welsh population still speak Welsh as their firstlanguage and about % of the Welsh people speak only Welsh, and ancient Celtic language.29.The Welsh have festivals of song and dance and poetry. The great event of theyear is , which is an annual gathering in Wales where competitions are held.30.The Welsh can be described as “”, because the majority of the populationlives in the valleys or the coast.31.Irish, often called , is a form of Gaelic.32.NHS is short for , which is the national insurance and social security inUK.33.The purpose of NHS is .34.The social security system is designed to secure a basic standard of living forpeople in financial need, such as people who are , , , , , or .35.Great Britain and the northern European countries, often termed “”, havewide-ranging social welfare programs.1.Off the coast of mainland Western Europe lie two islands called the British Isles ofwhich the big one is the island of Britain, or Great Britain, and the small one is the island of Ireland.2.Britain is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England.3.GMT is short for Greenwich Mean Time, which is the time on the line of 0°(degree) longitude, which passes through Greenwich, a district of southeast London, used as a basis for calculating time throughout the world in different time zones.4.The national flag of the United Kingdom is also called the "Union Jack" or "UnionFlag".5.England was once conquered by the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes andthe Normans.6.Of the four nations, the English feel most British, Scotland is the most confidentof its own identity, Wales is most closely related to England.7.Monetary unit of UK is British pound.8.Machinery, transportation equipment, metals and food processing are majorindustries in UK.9.Germany, France, Netherlands and U.S. are major trading partners of UK. is known as “the sick man of Europe”, due to its declines in economy.11.National Holiday of UK is Birthday of Queen, second Saturday in June.12.The Glorious Revolution and the French revolution weakened the Europeanmonarchies, and introduced the age of constitutional monarchy, a monarchy with powers limited by Parliament.13.Three major national parties of UK are the Conservative party, the Labor partyand the Liberal Democrats.14.Depending on the relative strengths of the parties in the House of Commons, theOpposition may try to overthrow the Government by defeating it on a “matter of confidence” vote.15.The Prime Minister’s official residence is No. 10 Downing Street in London,which is the symbol of the British Government.16.In UK, Ministers are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the PrimeMinister.17.As the language of England, English is a language belonging to the Germanicbranch of the Indo-European family.18.Standard English is variously known as RP, BBC English, Oxford English, andthe King’s English or Queen’s English.19.Christmas and Easter are very popular Christian festivals in UK.20.The Gregorian calendar, a system now in general use of arranging the months inthe year and the days in the month, introduced by Pope Gregory ⅩⅢ (1502-85).21.The only really important patriotic festival is Remembrance Sunday on which thedead of both World Wars are remembered in special church services and civic ceremonies.22.The population of UK is nearly 60 million.23.English, Welsh and Gaelic are the main language used in UK.24.John Bull is national nickname of UK.25.The English have a mixed cultural heritage combining Celtic, Anglo-Saxon,Norman, and Scandinavian elements.26.The English have many differences in regional speech. The Chief division isbetween southern England and northern England.27.The ancestors of the Welsh were the ancient Britons, who escaped to the wildmountains of Wales form the invading Angles and Saxons.28.Today about 25% of the Welsh population still speak Welsh as their first languageand about 1% of the Welsh people speak only Welsh, and ancient Celtic language.29.The Welsh have festivals of song and dance and poetry. The great event of theyear is the National Eisteddfod, which is an annual gathering in Wales where competitions are held.30.The Welsh can be described as “people of the valleys”, because the majority of thepopulation lives in the valleys or the coast.31.Irish, often called Erse, is a form of Gaelic.32.NHS is short for the National Health Service, which is the national insurance andsocial security in UK.33.The purpose of NHS is to help the individual stay healthy.34.The social security system is designed to secure a basic standard of living forpeople in financial need, such as people who are elderly, sick, disabled, unemployed, widowed, bringing up children or on very low incomes.35.Great Britain and the northern European countries, often termed “welfare states”,have wide-ranging social welfare programs.。