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Britain For Learners of English (văn minh anh) CHAPTER 1: COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 
General information: 
What was the famous saying, showing the British Empire’s pride? 
“The sun will never set on the British Empire”.
(19th and early 20th centuries, a period in which the British Empire
reached a global territorial size => vastness of colonies.) 
1. Geographycally speaking (p.8): 
What are the two largest island?  1. Great Britain 2. Ireland 3. Hundreds of smaller islands
=> lying off the north-west of Europe 
2. Politically speaking (p.8):  What are the two states? 
The Republic of Ireland (“Eire”, “Ireland”, “The Republic”) 
The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland => The U.K 
3. The four nations (p.10):  What are the four nations? 
England + Scotland + Wales + N. Ireland
(People in Ireland, Wales, Highland Scotland => Celtic culture)
(People in England, Lowland Scotland => Germanic culture)  Most common British traits:
+ wearing summer clothing at the first sight of sun
+ apologizing automatically. Politeness
+ ability to talk at length about the weather
+ making a cup of tea in response to a crisis
+ finding queue-jumping the ultimate crime
+ forming a queue for pretty much anything
+ tending to find humor in dark or bad situations. Sarcasm is common 
4. The dominance of England (p.12):
1. The system of politics used in all 4 nations => English origin
2. English => the main language
3. English dominance => detected in aspects of British public life
4. Money in Britain is controlled by the Bank of England
5. Term “Anglo” (tribe settled in England in 15th century)
6. Names of publications, organizations => England as the norm REVIEW:
1. The name of publications and organizations are portrayed England as the norm (p.12)
2. The Irish is supposed to be great talkers (p.11)
3. English is the main language of all four nations (p.12) 4. The
culture of people in Ireland, Wales, Highl dominant and Scotland was Celtic (pa.10)
5. The union Jack is the national flag of the UK (p.14)
6. Money in Britain is controlled by the Bank of England (p.12)
7. Northern Ireland is a part of the UK (p.10)
8. The kilt is a well-known symbol of Scottish traditional clothes (p.11)
9. Britain is located in the North-west coast of Europe (p.8) CHAPTER 3: GEOGRAPHY  1. Climate: 
The same as that of north-western part of the Europe mainland  More rain further west  Warmer, sunnier in the south  Wet, foggy land in the past  Winters :
+ regular snow in highest areas + no snow in lower parts + slightly colder in the East  Changeability of weather 
Reason for English people’s characters  Always talking about weather  As sober as an English man Equatorial climate British climate 1. Hot and wet throughout
2. Cool summers, mild winters, and the year rainfall throughout the year 3. The temperature remains
4. The temperature changes widely at around 26c-28c between months. The highest through the year. The
temperature is about 20c in summers total rainfall is about
and about 2c in winters. The total 1800 mm
rainfall is about 900mm (half that of the equatorial climate) 
2. Land & settlement (p.35-36): 
South & east: low-lying, flat plains, gently rolling hills  North & west: mountainous  Forests: largely disappeared 
Grassland + enclosure of fields with hedgerows  Impression of variety 
3. Environment & pollution (p.36-37): 
Industrialized country => smog = smoke + fog 
Water pollution => awful smell from the River Thames  Pollution from factories 
Use of motor cars => air quality 
Attempts at using green energy sources: solar power, tidal power, wind power, but not popular. 
4. London (p.38):  London dominates Britain 
Home to headquarters of all government departments, major legal
institutions, the monarch, headquarters of national TV networks, nation newspapers. 
West End => theaters, cinemas, expensive shops 
East End => poorer residential areas => home to waves of Immigrant groups 
Central London => smalls part of Greater London 
The majority of “Londoners” live in suburbs => travelling into the center each day to work 
5. Southern England (p.39): 
The outer suburbs of London => commuter land  Most densely populated  The Downs: + hill => sheep farming
+ sea => retired people live along the coast 
Business => trade, provision of services, light manufacturing 
“West country’’ => attractive image of rural beauty, farming 
South-west peninsula => rocky coast, small bays, 
Most popular holiday area Britain 
East Anglia => flat land => wheat, other crops 
6. The Midlands of England (p.39-40):  Birmingham:
+ second largest city, major engineering center + factories of the potteries 
Grimsby (east coast) => fishing ports, fishing processing center 
7. Northern England (p.40): 
Deposits of coal, iron ore => coal mining, production of steel goods, shipbuilding 
Decline of heavy industry in Europe => hit the industrial north of
England in 20th century => unemployment 
8. Scotland (p.41): 
Highlands = mountains, deep valleys => spectacular beauty 
Sheep farming, production of whisky  2 big cities:
+ Glasgow: heavy industry, strong artistic hertige 
Forefront of European design & architecture
+ Edinburgh: capital of Scotland 
Scholarship, law, administration, famous Festival of Arts 
9. Wales (p. 41-42):  Capital: Cardiff  Industrial villages  Coal mining 
Mount Snowdonia: largest national Park in Britain 
10. Northern Ireland (p.42):  Capital: Belfast 
Industry: shipbuilding, manufacture of linen 
Spectacular: natural beauty, especially steppingstones REVIEW:
1. The climate in Britain is ____. (p.32)
a. Sunnier in the North, more rain in the West.
b. More rain in the West, sunnier in the South .
c. Sunnier in the North, more rain in the South.
d. Sunnier in the South, more rain in the North.
2. Which may best describe winters in Britain? (p.32)
a. Snow takes place everywhere in the country
b. Regular snow in lower parts, no snow in higher areas
c. Regular snow in higher areas, no snow in lower parts d. There is no snow at all
3. Find one word to describe the weather in Britain.  Changeability
4. Why do Britain people are interested in talking about the weather when they meet each other? 
Because the weather is changeable
5. Describe the topography of the South and East of Britain (p.35) 
Low-lying, flat plains, gently rolling hills
6. Describe the topography of the North and West of Britain (p.35)  Mountainous
7. The feature of land in Southern England is the enclose of fields with hedgerows (p.36)
8. The outer suburb of London is a “commuter land” (p.39)
9. Glasgow in Scotland was the European city of Culture and has a strong artistic heritage (p.41)
10.Mount Snowdonia in Wales is the largest National Park in Britain (p.42)
11.To deal with the pollution in Britain, there were attempts at using green
energy sources. Such as solar power, tidal power, wind power, which were popular
=> False (p.37 -> not universally popular)
12.Many young people live in the Downs of Southern England because of the coast 
False (p.39 -> retired people, not young people)
13.The South-east in warmer and drier, and the North-west is coller and wetter  True (p.36)
14. Birmingham is the second largest City of Britain  True (p. 39)
15.Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland although it is smaller than Glasgow  True (p.41)
16.Wales is famous for its Giant’s Causeway, which looks like enormous steppingstones 
False (p.42 -> not Wales. It’s located in Northern Ireland)
17.As the world’s first industrialized country, its cities were the first to
suffer the atmospheric condition, called “smog” (p.36)
18. As the headquarters of all government departments of the country,
London dominates Britain (p.38)
19. London is so cosmopolitan that is has the greatest cultural and racial variety (p.38)
20. The decline is heavy industry in Europe in the 20th century hit the
industry north of England, which lead to a significant unemployment (p.40) CHAPTER 4: IDENTITY 
1. Ethnic identity: the four nations:  Scotland:
1. Public life: education, legal, welfare systems different from the rest
of Britain (Scottish parliament)
2. Dialect known as Scots (different features) 3. Have their own banknotes
4. Many symbols of Scottishness (kilts, pipes, haggis, dancing reels) 5. Flag: St. Andrew Cross  Wales:
1. For 20% population => mother togue is Welsh => public support:
all children in Wales learn Welsh at school
2. Many local newspapers in Welsh
3. National icon/hero => Owain Glyndwr = legendary status of Welsh folklore 4. A Welsh television channels  English identity:
1. Little distinction between “England” and “Britain”
2. Its own anther: Land of Hope & Glory
3. The 4 nations: look the same, eat the same food, have the same
religious heritage (Christianity), learn the same language, have the
same attitudes to the roles of men and women 
2. Other ethnic identities (p.46): 
Hundreds of ethnicities, but 2 major groups:  1st group:
+ Black Caribbeans => 1948: great immigration
+ Caribbean music: calypso, reggae, ska
+ The Notting Hill Carnival was started by Caribbean immigrants.  2nd group:
+ the Indian subcontinent => Asians + stock closely together
+ retain their religions, music, dress, food preferences
+ parents have more control over their children 
3. The family (p.48): 
Family events (wedding, births, funerals) => not large gatherings of people 
Christmas period => little sense of extended family 
Proportion of people living alone: high 
Proportion pf children born outside marriage: rise dramatically 
Single parent families: social problem 
Geographical identity (p.49) 
People in the North of England => conscious and proud of being “northerners” 
The Northerners: see themselves (theoretically) tougher, more honest, warmer-hearted 
Southerners: soft, hypocritical, unfriendly  Class (p.50): 
An awareness of class forms a sense of identity 
Not possible to guess a person’s class by looking at his clothes, car, bank balance 
English grammar & vocab used in public, radio, TV news, broadcasts,
books, newspapers => Standard English 
Everyday speech, used by working class => non-standard 
Prestigious accent: “Received Pronunciation “(RP) 
BBC English/ Queen’s English => upper class 
6. Men and women (p.52): 
To discriminate on the basic of sec: illegal  Acceptable: + a man = untidy + scruffy
+ a woman = display emotions + affection
+ a family’s financial situation is not just the responsibility of the man 
7. Social & everyday contacts (p.54): 
Numerous clubs devoted to various sports, pastime: important part in
people’s lives => share same interests + attitudes 
Profession/skill: also, important aspect of sense of identity 
8. Religion & politics (p.54) (tu ham khao) 
9. Identity in Northern Ireland (p.54)
Ethnicity, family, politics, religions are all inter-related 
People whose ancestors came from Lowland Scotland/England: + Protestant
+ want N.Ireland to remain part of the UK 
People whose ancestors were native Irish: + catholic
+ want N. Ireland to become part of The Irish Republic. 
10. Being British (p.55): 
75% in an opinion poll in 2007 => proud to be British 
Subject of “Britishness” = a topic of great public concern 
Possible reasons for the interest:
+ the realization that the UK by itself now has less influence on the rest of the world
+ the fear that the UK might actually break up 
11. Personal identity: a sense of humor (p.56): 
Worst shame => if regarded as a person without a sense of humor 
To be humorous => everyday way of talking 
The ability to laugh at yourself and to “take a joke” is highly prized REVIEW:
1. Which is NOT true about the UK?
a. In England the northerners are more warm-hearted, but the
southerners are more unfriendly