INTERNATIONAL STUDENT’S DAY

International Students' Day is an international observance of student activism, held annually on November 17. Taking the day differently than its original meaning, a number of universities mark it, sometimes on a day other than November 17, for a nonpolitical celebration of the multiculturalism of their international students.

The date commemorates the anniversary of the 1939 Nazi storming of the University of Prague after demonstrations against the killing of Jan Opletal and the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and the execution of nine student leaders, over 1200 students sent to concentration camps, and the closing of all Czechoslovakian universities and colleges. The day was first marked in 1941 in London by the International Students' Council (which had many refugee members) in accord with the Allies, and the tradition has been kept up by the successor International Union of Students, which has been pressing with National Unions of Students in Europe and other groups to make the day an official United Nations observance. The Athens Polytechnic uprising against the Greek military junta of 1973 came to a climax on November 17, with a violent crackdown and a tank crushing the gates of the university. The Day of the Greek Students is today among the official holidays in Greece.

The 1989 Prague demonstrations for International Students Day helped spark the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day is today marked among both the official holidays in the Czech Republic (since 2000, thanks to the efforts of the Czech Students' Chamber of The Council of Universities) and the holidays in Slovakia.

Tasks.

- Write 5 questions about the text ask your friends

- Make a dialog about your plans to celebrate Student's day

GREAT BRITAIN

Great Britain (official name — the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is situated on two large islands, the larger of which is Great Britain, the smaller is Ireland. In addition to these two islands Great Britain includes over five hundred small islands. The total area of Great Britain is 240,000 sq. kms, its population is 56,000,000 people.

In the north-west and west the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, in the east — by the North Sea. The island of Great Britain is separated from France by the English Channel. Northern Ireland, which is a part of Great Britain and which is situated on the island of Ireland, is separated from Great Britain by the North Channel.

The island of Great Britain is divided into two parts: mountainous (in the north and west of the island) and lowland (in the south and east). There are no very long rivers in Great Britain. The most important rivers are the Thames (the deepest) and the Severn (the longest). The rivers seldom freeze in winter. Due to moderating influence of the sea Great Britain has an insular climate, rather humid and mild, without striking discrepancy between seasons.

Great Britain consists of four main parts: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Administratively Great Britain is divided into 55 counties. The biggest cities of Great Britain are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Cardiff.

England is the largest part of Great Britain (it occupies over 50% of the territory and its population amounts to 83 % of the total population of Great Britain). Wales is a peninsula in the south-west of the island of Great Britain. It occupies about 9 % of its territory with the population of 4.8 % of the total population. The Welsh speak their own language. Scotland is the most northern part of Great Britain with the territory of 32 % of the total territory and with the population of 9 % of the total population of Great Britain. Northern Ireland occupies the north-east part of the island of Ireland. Its territory amounts to 5.2 % of the total territory of Great Britain. The main cities of Nothern Ireland are Belfast and Londonderry.

Great Britain is a parlimentary monarchy. Officially the head of the state is the Queen (or the King). However, the power of the Queen in Great Britain is not absolute. She acts only on the advice of the ministers and Parliament. There is no written constitution in Great Britain. The main principles of British legislation are expressed in other documents, like "Magna Charta", "Habeas Corpus Act", "Bill of Rights", the Parlimentary Act which decided the position of the House of Lords, the Judicature Act, etc. The British legislation does not provide written guarantees of individual political rights.

Parliament in Great Britain exits since 1265 and is the eldest Parliament in the world. It consists of two Houses — the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords consists of 1000 peers who are not elected by the people. The House of Commons is a nation-wide representative body which is elected by the people at a general election not less frequently than once in 5 years. After the general election the Queen appoints the head of the government — the Prime Minister. As a rule the Prime Minister is the leader of the party that has won the election. The Prime Minister appoints the ministers to compose the government.

There are two main political parties in Great Britain: the Conservative party and the Labour party. The Concervative party came into being in the 19th century as a result of the evolution of the Tory party. The Labour party was founded in 1900. Since 1906 it has borne the name of the Labour Party. For the first time the Labour Party won the election in 1945.

Great Britain is a highly-developed industrial country. The main fields of British industry are machine-building, ship-building, metallurgy, electronics, etc.

GREAT BRITAIN

Great Britain occupies a large island to the West of Europe. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland constitute the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The total area of the United Kingdom is 244,000 square kilometres with a population of 50 million.

The climate of the country is mild. It is typically maritime. The winters are warm, the summers are cool and the weather is very changeable.

There are many rivers and beautiful lanes in the country. The rivers in Britain are not long. Many of them are connected by canals.

Many large cities are situated on the rivers. London, the capital of Great Britain, is in the valley of the Thames. Stratford is on the banks of the Avon, Cambridge is on the Cam.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial capitalist country. Almost half of Great Britain's population is engaged in industry. Shipbuilding, machine building, electronic engineering now are the main branches of Great Britain's industry.

Great Britain is a monarchy. But the power of the Queen (or King) is limited by Parliament.

Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Members are elected only to the House of Commons. The House of Lords is hereditary. Members of one House may not enter the other. The exception is the day of the State Opening of Parliament.

In the House of Lords before the Throne there is the Woolsack upon which the Lord Chancellor presides over the lords.

The Speaker presides over the members of the House of Commons.

The Party which obtained the majority of seats in the House is called the Government and the others the Opposition. The Prime Minister is responsible for the policy conducted by Parliament. Ministry is formed from the party in power.

The House of Lords has 850 members. The House of Commons has 630 members who are elected. The election is held every 5 years. At present there are the following political parties: the Conservatives, the Labour Party, the Liberals and the Communist Party. The Communist Party was founded in 1920. The Communist Party of Great Britain takes part in every working class struggle. It has been in the forefront of all workers opposition to imperialism. It defends the rights of working class.

When Parliament sits, a flag (Union Jack) flies over Victoria Tower by day and a light in the Clock Tower burns above Big Ben - by night.

LONDON

London is the capital of Great Britain. It is situated on the Thames. It is a large industrial and cultural centre. It is one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is about 7 million people.

The Thames divides London into parts: the West End and the East End.

The West End is the district of the rich. In the West End there are many famous museums and theatres, palaces and parks.

The City, where nobody lives, is the commercial centre of the country. Whitehall is the political centre.

The East End is the district of factories and of the poor.

There are very many places of interest which are known to you through photographs and pictures: e. g. the Houses of Parliament, the Tower, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, the British Museum.

London is not only a large city but also a seaport. Great oceangoing ships bring various goods from countries thousands of miles away.

The fog is one of the most typical features of London because of its geographical position in a deep river valley.

The fog spreads everywhere, it is in the streets and creeps into the houses. Cars move along slowly, but still street accidents are frequent in the log. People cannot see each other. They creep along the houses touching them with their hands not to lose their way or not to be run over by a car.