Організація позакласної роботи з країнознавчої тематики на уроках англійської мови на середньому етапі навчання іноземних мов загальн

9. Conservation and the Environment

The United Kingdom has for many years had policies to protect its ownnatural

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environment, such as designating particular areas as National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AON Bs). It supports action on global environmental concerns like reducing ozone depletion and emissions of greenhouse gases (particularly carbon dioxide). It is also a part of several international agreements to conserve wildlife, such as the Berne Convention on European wildlife and natural habitats and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands of international importance. Fifteen sites in the UK have been listed in the World Heritage List, including Hadrian's Wall built in Roman times.

10. Entertainment and Leisure

The most common leisure activities among people in the United Kingdom are home-based, or social, such as entertaining or visiting relatives and friends. Watching television is by far the most popular leisure pastime: about 97% of households have a colour television set. Other regular pastimes include listening to the radio and to recorded music, reading books (6 out of 10 people are members o\ public libraries), gardening and do-it-yourself home improvements. Purchases of compact discs have risen rapidly, and the proportion of households with a compact disc player has increased from 15% in 1989 to 63% today.

In 1999 UK residents took an estimated і 34 million trips within the UK. Most popular destinations were the West Country, eastern England, Scotland and Wales. UK residents made over 53 million visits overseas with Spain, the most popular destination, followed by France. Long-haul holidays are growing in popularity, especially Central and South America and the Caribbean. In November 1994 the first draw of the UK's National Lottery took place. Since then, its popularity among the British people has surpassed all expectations. The Lottery generates funds for many sporting, cultural and charitable causes.

11. The Art

People in the United Kingdom have widespread access to the arts, covering drama, music, opera, dance, cinema and visual arts, and London is one of the world's leading cultural centres. It has around 100 theatres showing musicals, modern dramas, classical plays, and comedies. Musicals, such as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, are popular attractions along with the work of the subsidized theatre companies, the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Globe Theatre, where William Shakespeare performed, has been reconstructed near its original London site. Most other big  towns and cities have  arts         

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facilities and some, such as Birmingham and Manchester, also have world famous orchestras.

About 500 professional arts festivals take place across the United Kingdom each year. Some are celebrations of national cultures, such as the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales which was instituted in 1880. Jn Scotland the annual Edinburgh International Festival is the largest arts festival of its kind in the world and celebrated its 54th year in 2000. Pop and rock are by far the most popular forms of music in the U K, and British groups continue to achieve international success. There are some 1,800 cinema screens in the UK with attendances of around 2 million a week. Leading actors and playwrights include Robert Carlyle, Dame Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, and Harold Pinter and Alan Bennett.

12. Households

The average size of households in Great Britain has fallen from over four people in 1911 to 2.4 in 1998-99; some 27% of adults live alone. The majority of people live in houses and (to a lesser extent) flats. About 67% of householders in the United Kingdom own their home. The number of owner-occupied homes has risen to 16.1 million from 4 million in 1950. Most people buy their homes with a mortgage loan, with the property as security. Around 70% of households in Great Britain have the use of at least one car or van; 26%) have two or more cars. Over 90% own a television, telephone, deep freeze/fridge freezer and a washing machine. Half the households in the UK have a pet.

13. Education

Although compulsory schooling is from age 5 (age 4 in Northern Ireland) to age 16, many children attend nursery schools from the age of 3 or 4. Around 93% of children in the UK get free education from public funds. The rest attend fee-paying private schools. The average weight of a British child's school bag is 5.5 kilos. About 70% of 16-year-olds choose to stay on at school for another one or two years to obtain higher qualifications. The proportion of young people entering higher education in universities and colleges has risen from one in eight in 1979 to almost one in three today. There are over 1 million students in higher education courses. There is a National Curriculum for all pupils in England and Wales. It consists of: English, mathematics, science, history, geography, information technology, music,

art, design, physical education, religious education and a modern foreign language. The first three are 'core' subjects and schools are expected to spend more time on them. National testing

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nd assessment of pupils' performance at ages 7 and 11 is confined to these subjects. Examinations are taken at age 16. Similar curricula are taught in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Most secondary schools teach French, and many also offer a choice of Spanish, German, Italian or Russian.

14. Welfare

On average British men live for 74 years and women for 79 years, compared with 49 and 52 years 100 years ago. People are living longer because of better diet, improvements in medical care, and better working and living conditions. A state retirement pension is payable to women at the age of 60 and to men at the age of 65, although legislation to equalise the state pension at 65 (phased in over 10 years from 2010) has been passed. Over 10 million people receive a retirement pension. Around a third of all public money is spent on social welfare for the elderly, sick, disabled, unemployed and people on low incomes.

 

15. Health

The United Kingdom's National Health Service, which is available free to all, started in 1948. Both Pap worth hospital in Cambridge and Harefield Hospital in London are famous for transplant surgery, the former having carried out the first combined heart, lung and liver transplant in 1986. The world's first 'test-tube¹ baby was born in the UK in 1978. There is a growing emphasis on the prevention of illness through health education programmes.

Statistics for 1972 show that 52% of men and 41% of women smoked cigarettes. By 1996-97 these figures had fallen to 29% for men and 28% for women. On a typical day 750,000 people visit their doctor and 500,000 prescriptions will be dispensed by pharmacies.

16. Sport

About 29 million people over the age of 16 in the United Kingdom regularly take part in sport or exercise. Walking is the most popular physical activity. Football is the largest spectator sport. The four nations that make up the UK usually enter separate teams in international sports competitions. Major British sporting events include the Football Association Cup Final, the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the Open Golf championship and

the Grand National (a world-famous horserace over fences). Cricket and rugby also have strong followings in Britain. In the 2000 Olympics, the UK won 1.1 gold medals.