MUST LEARN.
Topic "Geographical Position and Climate of the U.K."

Geographical Position and Climate of the UK.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. They lie to the north-west of Europe. The British Isles are separated from the continent by the English Channel.

The United Kingdom consists of four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England, the central part, occupies the most of the island of Great Britain. To the north lies Scotland and Wales is to the west of the country. The fourth part is called Northern Ireland. Each part has its capital. The capital of England is London, Wales has Cardiff, Scotland has Edinburgh and the capital city of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

Great Britain is a country of forests and plains. There are no high mountains in this country. Scotland is the most mountainous region with the highest peak, Ben Nevis. The rivers of Great Britain are not long. The longest rivers are the Thames and the Severn. The capital of the United Kingdom, London, stands on the banks of the river Thames. As the country is surrounded by many seas there are some great ports at the seaside: London, Glasgow, Plymouth and others.

Wales is a country of lakes.

Seas and oceans influence the British climate which is not too cold in winter but never hot in summer. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid.

The weather in Britain changes very quickly. One day may be fine and the next day may be wet. The morning may be warm and the evening may be cool. Therefore it is natural for the people to use the comparison "as changeable as the weather" for a person who often changes his or her mood or opinion about something.

The weather is the favourite topic of conversation in Britain. When two Brits are introduced to each other, if they can't think of anything else to talk about, they will talk about weather.

The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when in rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say "It's raining cats and dogs". Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year.

So, we can say that British climate has three main features: it is mild, humid and changeable. That means that it is never too hot nor too cold. Winters are extremely mild. Snow may come but it melts quickly. In winter the cold is a humid cold, not of the dry variety.

British people say: "Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather."