The political system

The United Kingdom has a very interesting political system. Great Britain is a Parliamentary Monarchy. The head of the state is the Queen, Elizabeth the Second. Her power is limited by the Parliament which consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The real power belongs to the House of Commons. The House of Lords is a traditional institution. There are two leading political parties there: the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. The name of Margaret Thatcher – the Prime Minister of Great Britain – is known all over the world (about M. T.)

The educational system is as follows: there are state and private schools, colleges and Universities there. Just like in our country at present. Everybody knows the most famous and old Universities in the world: Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Many famous Englishmen studied there.

British literature is one of the most famous in the world too. The names of William Shakespeare, Robert Burns, George Byron are known to everybody. Shakespeare’s tragedies “Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear” and others are very popular with the public. The same is with his comedies and sonnets. Walter Scott wrote the first historical novels. Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland. Children all over the world like this book.

The flag of Great Britain is called the Union Jack; it is made of three crosses.

English food is also worth mentioning. They have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner, and of course traditional English 5 o’clock tea. English people eat eggs with bacon and tomatoes, toasts with marmalade, they drink juice, tea, tea with milk and coffee. Some people say that English food is boring and tasteless; foreigners say that it is fish and chips.

I am sure that in some years I shall go to England and I know what places to visit and what to see there. I want to see everything, to go everywhere.

The population of Great Britain today is about 59 million people. The official language is English. In Scotland and Wales people use the dialects. Many other languages are spoken in Great Britain today because it has become a multi-national country.

dinner, and of course traditional English 5 o’clock tea. English people eat eggs with bacon

Famous people

(Britain, America)

I’d like to say a few words about the people I admire.

I think that one of the most outstanding people of Great Britain is Margaret Thatcher (Robins). I read some articles about her life and activities. I know that she was born in 1925. Her father had a shop but he was very interested in local politics. Margaret was a good student and studied chemistry at Oxford. Then she met and married Denis Thatcher, a successful businessman. Later she decided to study law. She was elected to the Parliament in 1959. For four years she was Secretary of State for Education. In 1975 she became the leader of the Conservative party. In 1979 she became Prime Minister, Britain’s first woman Prime Minister. There were many hard events in Britain in the period of her rule: unemployment, inflation, problems of Northern Ireland. She had an image of a strong, respected leader. Thatcher was called the “Iron Lady”. She won her post three times. She made a great contribution into the development and prosperity of her country. People loved and trusted her. In 1990 Margaret Thatcher resigned. Three men were the candidates for the post of Prime Minister. John Major won.

Another person whom I respect very much is President of the USA, the “Father of our country”. He lived a great life. He was a progressive farmer of that time. Washington was the commander-in-chief of the American National Army. He led the American Army to the victory in the War of Independence. Then he became the President and solved many problems facing his country.

His political career was long and successful. Washington is the most respected national hero of the USA. The capital was named after him. Many parks, streets, bridges, schools bear his name.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 926