Unit 2 reading
The UK
Which country will hold the 30th Olympiad in 2012?
Lead-in
What is the full name of the UK?
UK —— The United Kingdom
of the Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国
Please do the quiz on page 9.
What do you know about the UK?
Warming up
1. How many countries does the UK consist of ? A. two B. three C. four
2. How long does it take to fly from Beijing to London Heathrow Airport? A. about six hours B. about ten hours C. about sixteen hours
direct flight

be made up of
3. Who rules the country: the Prime Minister or the queen? A. The Queen B. The Prime Minister
C. both
4. What are the provinces called in England?
A. countries B. departments C. states
5. Which is the longest river in England? A. The River Avon B. The River Thames C. The River Severn
England
When you mention England, what or who will you think of?
Brainstorming:
English language
……
Manchester Union
Big Ben
Queen Victoria
Cambridge University
Princess Kate
Queen Elizabeth the Second
伊丽莎白二世女王
Beckham
贝克汉姆
the Union Jack
英国国旗
Big Ben
大本钟
Oxford University
牛津大学
Cambridge University
剑桥大学
London Tower Bridge
伦敦塔桥
London Tower Bridge
The River Thames
泰晤士河
More information about the UK
Answer the questions.
Can you name the capital cities of the countries of the UK?
Pre-reading
Can you name the capital cities of the
countries of the UK?
England
Wales
Scotland
Northland Ireland
London
伦敦
London
伦敦
England can be divided into three main areas. Do you know what they are?
New words and expressions
Unite vi. & vt. 联合；团结
Kingdom n. 王国
consist vi. 组成；在于；一致
consist of 有…组成
province n. 省；行政区
divide…into 把…分开
clarify vt. 澄清；阐明
accomplish vt. 完成；达到；实现
conflict n. 矛盾；冲突
unwilling adj. 不愿意；不乐意
break away (from) 挣脱（束缚）；脱离
union n. 联合；联盟； 结合；协会
credit n. 信任；学分；赞扬；信贷
to one’s credit 为…带来荣誉；值得赞扬；
在…名下
currency n. 货币；通货
institution n. 制度；机制；公共机构
convenience n. 便利；方便
rough adj. 粗糙的；粗暴的
roughly adv. 粗略的；粗糙的
nationwide adj. 全国性的；全国范围的
attract vt. 吸引；引起注意
architecture n. 建筑学；建筑艺术
collection n. 收藏品；珍藏；收集
administration n. 管理；行政部门
port n. 港口
countryside n. 乡下；农村
enjoyable adj. 令人愉快的；是人高兴的
leave out 省去；不考虑
The Queen’s position is ceremonial: opening Parliament, welcoming Heads from other countries, going on tours to other countries to encourage trade with Britain.
VS
The Prime Minister together with his most important ministers (called Cabinet) and his Members of Parliament make important political decision and the laws.
The River Thames and Severn are very similar in length but River Thames is slightly longer. The River Thames is 338 km and the River Severn is 290 km. The River Avon is much shorter.
1. Can you name the capital cities of the countries of the UK? What do you know about any other cities or towns in the UK?
2. England can be divided into three main areas. Do you know what they are?
Pre-reading
3. Look at the title and pictures in the reading passage and predict what it is about. Then skim it to see if you were right.
Skim the text, and tick out what are mentioned in the text.
geography
history
the biggest country – England
invasions
cultures
food
languages
life styles
sports
London
flag
literature
Skimming
Introduces the topic to the reader.
Explains what the term “great Brain” means and how it came about.
Explains the differences in the four countries.
Explains how England is divided into three zones.
Explains the importance of London as a cultural and political centre in the UK.
Get the main idea for each paragraph.
Comprehending
1. The Union Jack flag unites the flag of three countries in the United Kingdom. Which country is left out? Why?
The country left out is Wales. It is usually assumed to be part of England.
2. What three countries does British Airways represent? 1 _______ 2 ________ 3 ______
3. Which group of invaders did not influence London?
The Vikings didn’t influence London.
Wales
Scotland
England
Divide the passage into three parts and write down the main idea of each part.
What England includes;
about Great Britain; the UK.
Part1:
Para 1-3
England
Wales
Part 1
How UK was formed?
In the 13th century AD
England
Wales is usually assumed (被认为是) to be part of England.
Wales
Scotland
in 17th Century
Get Ireland connected to form the United Kingdom
Northern Ireland
Only Northern Ireland joined with Britain to become the United Kingdom
first only England
the 13th century AD, England + Wales.
1603, England + Wales + Scotland
Great Britain
Later, Great Britain + Northern Ireland
England
the United Kingdom
North
Midlands
South
Part 2-England
Look at the map of England and Wales in the following page. Divide it into three parts. Draw lines across to show the zones of the South, Midlands and North of England. Now put each town or city into its correct zone.
England is divided into 3 zones.
Most population settled in ___________________.
Most of the large industrial cities are in ______________________.
Many cities have famous ____________.
the South of England
the North and the Midlands
football teams
Why did capital London become the
cultural center of England?
There are a lot of historical treasure in
London.
Why are there so many historical
treasures in London?
London has been influenced by some
invaders.
Part 3-London
In the England history, there are several invasions. They are: ___________,
_______________, __________, ___________.
the Romans
the Anglo-Saxons
the Vikings
the Normans
What did they leave?
Part 3-Invaders
Romans:
Anglo-Saxons:
towns and roads
Language and government
the Vikings:
the Normans:
Influence the vocabulary and place-names of the North
Castles and words for food
Fill in the blanks.
The full name of England is the ______ ________ of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It consists of four parts, they are __________, __________, _______ and ________________, people always think ______ is a part of England. The flag of the UK is called the ______ _____.
United
Kingdom
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
Wales
Union
Jack
Post-reading
The four countries have different ___________ and ____ _______ as well as different _______ ______.
_______ is the largest of the four countries and it is _______ ___ three parts. Most of the people settled in the ______, but most of the large industrial cities in the _________ and the ______. The capital of the UK is ________, it has many great places of interest.
England
divided into
South
Midlands
North
London
educational
legal
systems
football
teams
1. Can you work out why London is the
capital of England, Great Britain and
the UK?
Discussion
2. What geographical factors make it
difficult to invade England successfully?
What is the writing style? What is the main idea of the text?
1. Writing style
The text is written in narrative style, which introduces to the learners how the UK was formed geographically and historically, mainly dealing with England and the other three countries, which not only work together as a union in many aspects but also develop their own administrative systems.
It also introduces the four invaders who influenced the UK language, place-names, vocabulary and system of government.
2. Main idea
The text mainly explains to the learners how the four countries, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland formed the UK, and how they work together and how they are different.
It also introduces how England can be divided into three different zones geographically and how London was influenced by some of the four invaders culturally and historically and how the evidence of the invasions can be found around the countryside of Great Britain.
Explanation
How many countries does the UK consist of ?
大不列颠由多少个国家组成？　　　
consist vi. 在于, 存在于; 组成, 构成
【习惯搭配】
1) consist of 由…组成, 由…构成, 包括
(注意:不能用于被动语态和进行时态)
= be made up of
This club consists of more than 200
members.
Coal consists mostly of carbon.
2) consist in 基于, 在于, 存在…之中
The beauty of the city consists in its
magnificent buildings.
2. England can be divided into three main areas.
英国可以分成三大部分。
　 divide 意为“把一个整体分成若干个部
分” 常与 into, among, between
搭配
divide into 把……分成
　 divide sth. among sb.　 在……分配
divide A from B　 使分离; 使分开
divide… by…　 用……除以
划分;把整体分成若干部分, 破坏了宾语的完整性。　　　　
分隔; 把原来连在一起或靠近的分隔开来, 没有破坏宾语的完整性, 只是将宾语分开。
divide
separate
辨析: divide, separate
The world is divided into five continents.
Let’s divide the cake into three.
He separated the big eggs from the small ones.
The grinding machine (碾谷机) separates the grain from the husk(糠).
1. The apple was _______ into two.
2. We _______the money equally.
3. Oxygen can be ________ from water.
4. The Taiwan Strait ________ Taiwan from Fujian.
试一试
divided
divided
separated
separates
3. You can clarify this question if you study British history. 如果你学习了英国历史, 就能弄清楚这个问题了。
clarify vt. 澄清, 讲清楚, 阐明　
vi. 澄清, 清楚, 明了, 易懂事
Could you clarify the question？ 你能解释这个问题吗？
His mind suddenly clarified. 他的头脑突然清醒了。
拓展: clarification n. 澄清，阐明
It is time for the clarification of the situa