English- speaking countries. (текст и тест)

English- speaking countries

Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are English-speaking countries.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom flag is the Union Jack. It’s red, white and blue. Each country has a national emblem. The English emblem is a red rose. The Welsh emblem is a vegetable or flower a leek (лук-порей) or a daffodil (нарцисс). The Scottish emblem is a wild plant – a thistle (чертополох-колючка), and the Irish emblem is a shamrock (трилистник, клевер). 56 million people live in Great Britain.

Scotland is a very beautiful country. There are high mountains and big lakes. In winter you can ski in the mountains. The Scottish live in Scotland. The capital is Edinburgh. In Scotland there are a lot of castles. In North Scotland there is a deep, dark lake – Loch Ness. People say there is a big monster in the lake – the Loch Ness Monster. People in Scotland sometimes wear kilts. They play bagpipes (волынка) and they dance.

Northern Ireland is in the north of Ireland. The capital of it is Belfast. Belfast is a large industrial city. It has a big port. There a lot of farms in the country. The climate is warm and wet.

Wales is in the west. It is a country of high mountains and pretty valleys. It has many factories and coal mines (угольная шахта). The capital of Wales is Cardiff. The Welsh are very musical. Every year they have a festival of Welsh music.

England is the largest country of Great Britain. The capital of England is London. There are a lot of industrial towns, beautiful countryside, green hills, lakes and sandy beaches in England.