GREAT BRITAIN, Science

GREAT BRITAIN

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland occupies territory of the British Isles which are situated to the north-west of Europe. They consist of two main islands: Great Britain and Ireland. England is in the south of the island of Great Britain, Scotland is in the north and Wales is in the west. Northen Ireland is situated in the noth-eastern part of Ireland. It’s western coast is washed by the Atlantic ocean. In the east the island of Great Britain is washed by the North Sea. The Irish Sea, the North Channel and the St. George’s Channel separate Ireland from Great Britain. Great Britain is separated from France by the English Channel, which is 32 km wide in it’s narrowest part. In everyday speech “Great Britain” is used to mean the UK.

The climat of Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid. As the weather changes with a wind, and Britain is visited by winds from different parts of the world, the most characteristic feature of Britain’s weather is it’s variability. Summers are not hot and winters are not cold in Britain. The snow never lies for long on the ground. As a rule there is no ice on the waters of rivers and lakes. So we may say that the British climat has 3 main features: it is mild, humid and changeble. That means that it’s never too hot or too warm.

English is the official, but not the only language used in the country.

Britain has been many centuries in the making. The Romans conqered most part of Britain, but were unable to subdue the fiercely independent tribes in the West and in the North. Further waves of invaders followed: Angels, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings and Normans. All these contributed to the mixture we call English. For many centuries this country was known simply as England. It had a strong army and navy. It waged numerous colonial wars. England, once the “work shop of the world”, was the first to become a highly industrial country.

There are no big rivers in Great Britain. The biggest are Severn and Thames. There are a lot of mountain in Great Britain, but they are nit high. The highest mountain - Ben Nevis - is in Scotland. The flora of the British Isles is much varied and the fauna is similar to that of the north-west of Europe. The country is not very rich in natural resourses but there were suffice for the Industrial Revolution to start.

London is the capital of the UK. It was founded by the Romans. The population of London is over 8 million people.

The largest cities of Great Britain besides London are: Birmingham, Glasgo, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh. The most important seaports are: London, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff.

Science

The word “science” comes from the latin word “scientia”, which means “knowledge”. Scientists make observations and collect facts in field they work in. Then they arrange facts ordelly and try to express the connaction between the facts and try to work out theories. Then they have to prove the facts or theory correct and make sufficient and sound evidence. So sientific knowledge is always growing and improving.

Science has great influence on our life. It provides with base of modern technology, materials, sources of power and so on. Modern science and technology have changed our life in many different ways. During the present century our life changed greatly. Thanks to radio and television we can do a great number of jobs; it was radio and TV that made it possible to photograph the dark side of the moon and to talk with the first cosmonaut while he was orbiting the Earth. On of the wonders og our age is the “electronic brain”, or giant calculating mashine, which can to some extent duplicste human sences. The desk computer is expected to function as your personal librarian, to carry out simple optimization computations, to control your budget or diet, play several hundred games, etc. further development of the computer is bellieved to lead to a situation in which most of the knowledge accepted by mankind will be stored in the computers and made accessible to anyone with the home computers. It is natural that the advent of minicomputers with extensive memories and possibilities will lead to a new higher level in information culture. Among other things, we shall be able to organise educational process in the country’s colleges and universities and also in the system of school education on a new basic. Knowledge is the most valuable wealth, and minicomputers will help us to make it accessible for everyone. Agrycultiral sientists develop better varietives of plants. The development of antibiotics and other drugs has helped to control many diseases. Studies in anatomy and physiology have let to amazing surgical operations and the inventions of lifesaving mashines, that can do the work of such organs as heart, lungs and so on. Nuclear fission when a tremendous amount if energy is setting free is very important discovery.

Science improved the living standarts, communications, promoted contact between people and government, knowledge and culture, made it possible to discover and develop new sources of energy, made it possible to prolong man’s life.

But science also has some disadvantages. It produces mass culture: painting, music, literature. Some scientific inventions increase the ecological problems, prov