Outstanding Events in the History of Great Britain
There were many outstanding events in the history of Great Britain. Many different tribes tried to control the territory of Britain. England was added to the Roman Empire in 43 A.D. Roman invasion played a very important role in the history of the country. The Roman built the first roads in the country, dug the first walls. The Romans, who were great architects, constructed the first towns in Britain.
But the Normans influenced the British civilization most of all. They came in 1066 under the leadership of William the Conqueror. As the invaders spoke French, their speech influenced the English language.
Once the British had to face the French in 1805 at the battle of Trafalgar. Then Admiral Nelson won a great victory over the French fleet. In order to commemorate this event the monument to Admiral Nelson was erected on this square...
If you get on a bus or catch a train in Britain, especially during the morning and evening «rush hour», you'll see a lot of people reading newspapers. The press tells us about various political views, interest and levels of education.
Papers are usually divided into «quality» papers which are serious with long, informative articles and «popular» which have smaller size. They are less serious and contain more human interest stories than news.
More daily newspapers, national and regional are sold in Great Britain than in most other developed countries.
There are about 135 daily papers and Sunday papers, 2000 weekly papers and about 100 papers produced by members of ethnic groups....
The United Kingdom (abbreviated from "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland") is the political name of the country which consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (sometimes known as Ulster).
Great Britain is the name of the island which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, whereas the British Isles is the geographical name of all the islands off the north-west coast of the European continent. In everyday speech "Britain" is used to mean the United Kingdom.
The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The upright red cross on a white background is the cross of the 1st George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross on a blue background is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, The red diagonal cross on a white background is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland...
Musical activity in Britain has reached in 20th century its highest level since Tudor times. An unusual amount of new composition has included the operas of Sir Benjamin Britten and the symphonies of Sir Edward Edgar and Ralph Maughan Williams who can be considered as the greatest symphonic composers Britain has produced.
The musical public has grown steadily larger, and can support nightly concerts at London's two great concert halls, The Royal Festival Hall and The Royal Albert Hall, as well as a number of smaller halls. London has five major orchestras.
Choral singing, always a feature of British musical life, remains as popular as ever, particularly in the North of England and Wales.
In London The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, maintains a high standard and draws large audiences. Opera is also performed at Sadler's Wells Theatre...
The British have not been regarded as a particularly musical people and, from the end of the 17th century until the 20th century, there were relatively few British composers of international renown.
Before the 16th century, musical life was centred on the church, especially the cathedrals and the royal chapels. The choral works of John Taverner, William Byrd and Thomas Tallis are still performed today, most notably by the choirs of King's College, Cambridge and Christ Church in Oxford. Secular music in the 16th century included the instrumental work of William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons and the madrigals of Gibbons and Thomas Morley...
London is the main Britain's tourist attraction. The city is known for its ancient cathedrals, churches and particularly for its art museums and galleries.
The British museum is one of the world's greatest treasure stores. It was founded in 1753 on the collections of Sir Hans Sloane. The money to house them was raised by public lottery. Today the museum has two departments — the Museum of Mankind and the Natural History Museum. The Museum of Mankind includes a vast collection of antiquities, including marbles from the Parthenon, the Rosetta Stone that provided the key to Egyptian hieroglyphics, ancient works of art in stone, bronze and gold, a collection illustrating Western Asiatic civilizations. The Natural History Museum contains five principal collections on the history of plants, minerals and the animal kingdom. A series of new permanent exhibitions has been opened in the museum, among them 'Dinosaurs and their living relatives'...
Traditionally English people have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is served in the morning. It used to be a large meal with cereal, eggs and bacon, sausages, tomatoes. But such a large breakfast takes a long time to prepare and is not very healthy. Nowadays, Britain's most popular breakfast consists of cereal, toast with marmalade, juice and yogurt with a cup of tea or coffee.
Lunch is a light meal. Most people have no time to go back home for lunch so they eat at school, cafes, pubs or restaurants.
The main meal is dinner, which is usually between 6 and 7 p.m. A typical evening meal is a meat dish with vegetables and dessert....
Since the 1970's eating habits in Britain have undergone a change. People have been encouraged by doctors, health experts and government advertisements to eat less fat and more fibre. Fat is believed to be one of the major causes of obesity and heart disease. Forty per cent of adults in Britain are overweight and Britain has one of the highest death rates due to cardiovascular disease in the world. Britons have also become more aware of calories, the energy value of food. Some people count the number of calories they eat every day, so that they can try to take in fewer calories and lose weight. Food manufactures have started to help the general public to make more informed choices about what they eat.
So the traditional British breakfast is bacon, eggs or sausages, preceded by fruit and followed by toasts. Britons may eat this breakfast at weekends or on special occasions but prefer a smaller and healthier meal to start a day. Lunch is a light meal and is eaten at school or work. Lunch takes 40 minutes. Dinner is usually the main meal of the day and consists of two courses...
Manchester is one of the English most important cities. It is located in the northern part of England, not far from Liverpool. Today the population of Manchester is 438,000.
Manchester began, when a wooden fort was built by the Roman army on a plateau about 80 AD. The fort was rebuilt in stone about 200 AD. Soon a civilian settlement grew up around the fort.
However in 407 the Roman army left Britain and the civilian settlement disappeared. The stone fort fell into ruin.
In 7th century the Saxons created a new village, but it was tiny. The surrounding area was thinly populated and was mostly forest. The Saxons called any Roman town or fort a caester. They called the old fort at Manchester Mamm caester. The village nearby took its name from the fort. By 1086 the settlement was called Mamecester. In time the name changed to Manchester. In 919 the king repaired the old Roman fort as a defence against the Danes...
London is not only the political, financial and manufacturing centre of Great Britain. It is the main tourist attraction of the country, too. London's many places of interest attract thousands of tourists every year. Tourists usually want to see Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London.
Westminster is now the political centre of London. In the 11th century king Edward the Confessor decided to build a great abbey church there. Now there are royal tombs in the Abbey, as well as memorials to Britain's famous people, including memorials to writers, poets and musicians in the Poets' Corner. William the Conqueror was crowned there, and since then all the coronations have been held in the Abbey. The Palace of Westminster was built, too, during the reign of Edward the...
