It is never too hot or too cold m Great Britain. This is because of the sea, which keeps the island warm in winter and makes the air cool in summer. The winds are also very often in Great Britain. They blow from the south-west two days out of every three. But the warm winds from the Atlantic are very wet. They also bring a lot of rain to the island. The east or north-east winds are cold and dry.
The weather very often changes in Great Britain. You can never have the same kind of weather for a long time. In spring, for example, sunshine and showers follow each other so often during the day that an umbrella or a rain-coat are really necessary in Great Britain. The weather in spring is generally mild, but sometimes the days are really cold. The summer is not so cold as on the continent, and warm days in autumn are beautiful. In winter they have all sorts of weather. Sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows. Still, in Great Britain it is never so cold in winter as in our country and they do not get so much snow there as we get here in Russia. The rivers and lakes are seldom covered with ice. As the ice, if there is any, is not thick enough, they seldom go skating on the rivers in Great Britain.
But the worst thing about the climate in Great Britain is the thick fog they so often have in autumn and in winter. In London it often mixes with the smoke of plants and factories and they call it the “smog”. It is sometimes so thick that cars may run into one another.
VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Britain was originally a land of vast forests, mainly oak and beech in the Lowlands and pine and birch in the Highlands, with great stretches of marshland and smaller areas of moors. In the course of time, much forest land was cleared and almost all Lowlands outside the industrial areas were put under cultivation. Today only about 6 per cent of the total land area remains wooded.
Extensive forests remain in eastern and northern Scotland and in south-eastern and western England. Oak, elm, ash, and beech are the commonest trees in England, while Scotland has much pine and birch. The Highlands with thin soil are largely moorland with heather and grasses. In the cultivated areas that make up most of Britain there are many wild flowers, flowering plants and grasses.
The fauna or animal life of Britain is much like that of north-western Europe, to which it was once joined. Many larger mammals such as bear, wolf have been hunted to extinction, others are now protected by law. There are many foxes. Otters are common along rivers and streams, and seals live along much of the coast. Hedgehogs, hares, rabbits, rats and mice are numerous. Deer live in some of the forests in the Highlands of Scotland and England.
Some 230 kinds of birds live in Britain, and another 200 are regular visitors, many are songbirds. The most numerous are blackbirds, sparrows and starlings. Robin Redbreast is the national bird of Britain. The number of ducks, geese and other water fowl has diminished during recent years.
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There are many threats to wildlife and ecological balance around the coast. The biggest threat to the coastline is pollution. Even much-loved Blackpool is not officially safe. More than 3.500 million tons of industrial waste is pumped into the North Sea every year. “We cannot continue to use our seas as a dustbin and expect our coastline to survive,” says Greenpeace. Many other ecological problems may be caused by privatization of the coast. Many of the rivers are ''biologically dead'', i.e. unable to support fish and wildlife.
SPORTS IN GREAT BRITAIN
English people are fond of all kinds of sports. During the autumn and winter shooting and fox-hunting are the great sports in Great Britain. Boxing is very popular especially in the large towns and important boxing matches are attended by many spectators. Horse-racing is also a great national sport. Among games football and cricket take the first place in public interest. Huge crowds watch the matches between the most important clubs, while practically every school or large business firm has its own particular cricket and football clubs. Tennis is another very popular game while golf has firmly established itself in favour and there are golf-links all over the country.
The numerous rivers afford excellent opportunities for swimming and rowing and the Oxford and Cambridge boat-race, in which crews from these two universities compete, take place every spring on the Thames.
SIGHTSEEINGS OF LONDON
The Tower of London is the most famous of all the historical buildings in London. It stands today almost unchanged since first it was built in the 11th century. In the past the Tower of London served both as a palace and as a state prison, but it is only a museum today.
St Paul's Cathedral is the greatest work of England's greatest architect Christopher Wren. The cathedral was begun in 1675. It was opened in 1697 but was finished only in 1710, when Wren was almost eighty years old. There are memorials to many famous men of England in the Cathedral.
Trafalgar Square is in the centre of the West End of London. On the north side is the National Gallery; in the north-east corner is the National Portrait Gallery, and in the centre is Nelson's Column with the figure of the great seamen. Trafalgar Square is the place where mass meetings and demonstrations for peace and for working people's rights take place.
"Big Ben" is the name of the great bell which strikes the hour. It is in the clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament.
Westminster Abbey is the historic building in London to which every visitor sooner or later goes. The Abbey was founded in the 11th century. Many of Great Britain's famous men are buried in Westminster Abbey.
Piccadilly Circus is a square in the central part of London. London's best-known theatres and cinemas and most famous restaurants are on Piccadilly Circus. In the square you can see people of many nationalities and hear a lot of different languages.
Hyde Park is the largest park in the West End of London. In the 19th century it became a popular place for public meetings.
The British Museum is one of the largest museums in the world. It consists of the National Library and Museum of History, Archeology, Art and Ethnography.