English Speaking Countries

English spread all over the world. Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are English speaking countries. Why English is so extended language in the world?

During the 17^th and 18^th centuries British navigators sailed across the seas with the aim of extending Britains power and prosperity (процветание). They colonized new territories around the world, taking their language with them. The first New World settlement was established in Jamestown in America in 1607. Canada was won from the French in 1763. During the 17^thcentury British rule was established in the West Indian islands of Antigua, Barbados, Jamaica, St Kitts and Trinidad and Tobago. Australia and New Zealand were discovered during Capitan Cooks voyage in 1768. English was imposed as the official language of the new colonies; it was the language of education and administration.

English speaking countries are situated in different parts of the world and differ in many ways. The weather and climate of these countries, and the way of peoples life differ. Each country has its own history customs, traditions, and its own national holidays. But they all have a common English language.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consist of 4 parts: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. There are no high mountains, no very long rivers, no vast forest areas in U.K. Great Britain is parliamentary monarchy. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. Christmas day is one of their favorite holidays. Its celebrated on the 25-th of December. Traditions connected with it are to give presents to each other, to send Christmas cards and to make traditional Christmas dinner with turkey and pudding.

The USA is situated in the central part of the North American continent. The population of the USA is about 240 million people. Most of Americans speak English. But there we can also meet French, German and other languages. The USA is a highly developed industrial country.

Canada has to official languages - English and French.

Australia and New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand are situated in the southern hemisphere summer, so the warmest month is January, and the coldest winter month is June. Snow falls only on the mountain there. Many immigrants from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland live in Australia and New Zealand.

First Conditional Exercises.

Упражнение 1. Put the verbs in the brackets into the Present Indefinite or the Future Indefinite Tense.

1. If Peter __________ (come) to my place, we__________  (go) to play in the yard.
2. If Peter__________ (not  come) to my place, I __________ (watch) TV.
3. If Frank’s parents__________ (have) their holidays in summer, they __________ (go) to the seaside.
4. If they __________ (have) their holidays in winter, they __________ (stay) at home.
5. If the fog _______ (thicken), Harold _______ (put up) the tent for the night.
6. When I _______ (finish) my work, I_______ (go) to the cinema.
7. We_______ (buy) this book as soon as our mother_______ (give) us some money.
8. When we _______ (come) to your place you_______ (show) us your present.
9. I_______ (return) you your ring when you_______ (ask) me.
10. I_______ (wait) for my friend until he_______ (come) from the shop.
11. My father_______ (start) writing before the sun _______ (rise).
12. As soon as you _______ (finish) your study I_______ (present) you with a new flat.

Choose the correct reflexive pronouns from the dropdown menu. myself - yourself - himself - herself - itself - ourselves - yourselves - themselves 1) Robert made this T-shirt . 2) Lisa did the homework 3) We helped to some cola at the party. 4) Emma, did you take the photo by ? 5) I wrote this poem . 6) He cut with the knife while he was doing the dishes. 7) The lion can defend . 8) My mother often talks to . 9) Tim and Gerry, if you want more milk, help . 10) Alice and Doris collected the stickers . British Holidays and Traditions (Праздники и традиции Великобритании) Great Britain is an old country and it has a lot of holidays and interesting traditions. Holidays in the country are historic and public. Most public holidays are called bank holidays because banks, companies and most shops do not work on these days. Such holidays include New Year's Day, Easter Monday and others. At Easter, the British give each other chocolate eggs, which they eat on Easter Sunday. Christmas is on the 25-th of December. Families spend this day together. For many people this is the most important holiday of the year. Family members wrap up their presents and put them under the Christmas tree. Children hang colourful socks at the end of their beds for presents. They believe that Father Frost puts presents inside the socks. New Year's Day is not as important in Britain as it is in Russia. People usually make promises to themselves such as to give up smoking, to change their lifestyle and others. St. Valentine's Day is celebrated on the 14-th of February. This is the traditional day for those who are in love. Young people give flowers and greeting cards to their Valentines and celebrate this day together. Halloween is a holiday loved by all children. It takes place on the 31-th of October. There are a lot of parties and people dress up in costumes of witches and ghosts and make lanterns of pumpkins with a candle inside. People also play different games and have fun. Children usually go from one house to another with empty baskets or bags, knock on doors and say: Trick or treat. People should give them something, or they will play a trick on them. Among historic holidays, Guy Fawkes Night can be mentioned. In the 15-th century, a group of people with Guy Fawkes as their leader decided to blow up the Houses of Parliament. They did not manage to do this and Guy Fawkes was caught and hanged. Since then the British celebrate this day burning a doll made of straw and dressed in old clothes on a bonfire. Children dress in old clothes and beg in the street saying: A penny for the Guy. There are a lot of customs in Great Britain. One of the most famous is gardening. Most of the English keep small gardens full of flowers behind their houses or around them. In spring, there are a lot of flower-shows and vegetable-shows with prizes for the best exhibitions. In Northern Ireland there is a holiday called St. Patrick's Day. It is celebrated on the 17-th of March. On this day people wear green clothes and drink Irish beer. There are carnivals and barbeques all over the country.