The Uk

GEOGRAPHY
The United Kingdom, also called the U.K., consists of a group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe. It
is a unique country made up of four nations: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. England,
Wales, and Scotland also make up Great Britain. Much of the north and west of the U.K. is covered in high
ground, knife-edged mountain ridges separated by deep valleys. This terrain was shaped in the last Ice Age,
when thick glaciers covered the land. In the south of England, the countryside is mostly rolling hills.
In northwest England and the Scottish Highlands are dozens of lakes, called lochs. These were left behind
when the Ice Age glaciers melted. They tend to be long and narrow, and some are very deep. Legends say that
a giant monster called Nessie lives in Loch Ness in Scotland.

NATURE
About 5,000 years ago, the centre of the United Kingdom was covered with thick forests. Thousands of years
ago, these woodlands were cleared by ancient farmers, and today only about 10 percent of the land is forest.
The United Kingdom's complex geology gives rise to a wide variety of landscapes and a range of habitats for
its animal and plant life. But it is a very crowded country, and there are not many truly wild places left. The
most successful wildlife species are those that can live alongside people. Great Britain's rugged mountains,
like the Scottish Highlands, offer habitat that is relatively untouched by humans. The country's 7,700 miles
(12,429 kilometers) of shoreline, ranging from tall cliffs to beaches to marshes, also provide homes for
wildlife such as seabirds and seals.

HISTORY
The first Britons (people who live in the United Kingdom) were the Picts, who arrived about 10,000 years
ago. In the eighth century B.C., the Celts arrived from Europe and pushed the Picts north into Scotland. In
A.D. 43, the Romans invaded and ruled for nearly 400 years. They built roads, bathhouse, sewers, and large
villas. By the sixth century A.D., German peoples known as Angles, Jutes, and Saxons were moving into
Britain. The Angles gave their name to England, and English people became known as Anglo-Saxons. From
the 900s to the 1400s, England was ruled by Viking, Danish, and Norman invaders. In 1485 the Welsh noble
Henry Tudor claimed the English crown and became Henry VII, the first of five Tudor monarchs. Several
important lines of kings and queens followed. By the 1800s, Britain was one of the most powerful nations in
the world. Trade generated immense wealth, and the country built a huge overseas empire. But the early 20th
century was a time of setbacks for Britain. Drained by World War I and II, Britain could no longer afford its
empire, and most of its colonies became independent.

PEOPLE AND CULTURE

The British are the creation of waves of invaders and migrants, including Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons,
Vikings, and Normans. In the 1950 and 1960s, people from former colonies in the Caribbean, Africa, and
Asia came to the United Kingdom to work. Sports and literature are among the United Kingdom's cultural
claims to fame. Soccer, rugby, cricket, boxing, and golf were all invented in Britain. And the U.K. has
produced many great writers, including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Robert Burns. J.K.
Rowling, the writer of the Harry Potter books, is British.

GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMY

Britain's system of government has developed over many centuries. Kings once ruled with advice from a
council of religious leaders and nobles. This council eventually expanded into the Parliament, which now
passes all the country's laws. Today, the monarch (which can be a king or queen) has no real power. The
United Kingdom has been a leading trading nation for more than 500 years. In the 19th century, British
industry helped make the country the most powerful nation in the world. It is still one of the strongest
economies on Earth.
THE USA

Geography
The United States of America is the world's third largest country in size and nearly the third largest in terms
of population. Located in North America, the country is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and to the
east by the Atlantic Ocean. Along the northern border is Canada and the southern border is Mexico. There are
50 states and the District of Columbia. More than twice the size of the European Union, the United States has
high mountains in the West and a vast central plain. The lowest point in the country is in Death Valley which
is at -282 feet (-86 meters) and the highest peak is Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet (6,198 meters).

Nature
The landscape varies across the large country from tropical beaches in Florida to peaks in the Rocky
Mountains, from rolling prairie lands and barren deserts in the West to dense wilderness areas in the
Northeast and Northwest. Interspersed throughout are the Great Lakes, the Grand Canyon, the majestic
Yosemite Valley, and the mighty Mississippi River. The wildlife is as diverse as the landscape. Mammals
such as bison once roamed freely across the plains, but now live only in preserves. Black bears, grizzlies, and
polar bears are the largest carnivores. There are over 20,000 flower species and most came from Europe.
There are nearly 400 areas which are protected and maintained by the National Park Service, and many other
parks in each state. The bald eagle is the national bird and symbol of the United States and is a protected
species.

History
For centuries native peoples lived across the vast expanse that would become the United States. In the early
17th century, settlers moved from Europe to the New World, established colonies, and displaced the native
peoples. he settlers fought for their independence from Britain in the late 18th century and formed a union of
states based on a new constitution. The nation continued to expand westward and although the country is a
relatively young nation, it has become a global power since declaring independence from Britain on July 4,
1776.

People and Culture

Throughout its history, the United States has been a nation of immigrants. The population is diverse with
people from all over the world seeking refuge and a better way of life. The country is divided into six
regions: New England; the mid-Atlantic; the South; the Midwest; the Southwest, and the West. European
settlers came to New England in search of religious freedom. The mid-Atlantic region includes Delaware,
Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the city of Washington, D.C. These industrial areas
attracted millions of European immigrants and gave rise to some of the East Coast's largest cities: New York,
Baltimore, and Philadelphia. The South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, all of which struggled
after the Civil War, which lasted from 1860-1865. The Midwest is home to the country's agricultural base
and is called the "nation's breadbasket." The region comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The
Southwest is a beautiful stark landscape of prairie and desert. The states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
and Texas are considered the Southwest and are home to some of the world's great natural marvels, including
the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns. The American West, home of rolling plains and the cowboy, is a
symbol of the pioneering spirit of the United States. The West is diverse, ranging from endless wilderness to
barren desert, coral reefs to Arctic tundra, Hollywood to Yellowstone. The states of the West include Alaska,
Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Government and Economy

Citizens over the age of 18 years old vote to elect the President and Vice President of United States every
four years. The president lives in the White House in the capital city of Washington, D.C. There are two
houses of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 senators, two from each of
the 50 states and each serves a six-year term. There are 435 representatives who must be elected every two
years. The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices who are picked by the president and must be approved
by Congress. For the first time in the nation's history an African American, Barack Obama was elected
President of the United States in 2008. Advances in the past hundred years have established America as a
world leader economically, militarily, and technologically. America has the largest coal reserves in the world.

The EU

The purpose of the EU is to promote peace, the well-being of people living in the area as well as social and
economic progress, to establish freedom, security and justice.

In 1951, six countries, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, founded the EEC
(European Coal and Steel Community) that later became the EU. There were a few rounds of enlargement
over the years, the biggest of all in 2004, when 10 countries joined among them Hungary. The latest
enlargement round was in 2007 when Romania and Bulgaria became member states.

Candidate countries can only join the EU if they meet three criteria. The first is that it has to have stable
institutions that guarantee democracy, the of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.

The EU is divided into three pillars. The first is the European Community where all European decisions have
to be made with the agreement of both the EU Council and the European Parliament. The other two are
foreign and security policy, as well as policy on judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

The Community budget is financed by the financial contributions of the member states. Each country
contributes to the budget with a percentage of its gross national income as well as a percentage of its VAT.

The advantages of being an EU member are the free movement of labour, goods, services, and capital. It is
easier to find employment or study in other EU countries for any EU citizen and, of course, travel is also
easier since there are national borders. Many services and products are cheaper as well because there are no
import and export tariffs and the whole market is more competitive.

The disadvantages of the EU membership are that some industries may not be able to compete with more
developed and financially more stable member countries. Some of the less financially sound countries may
also suffer from losing its highly qualified workforce. There is also a great amount of bureaucracy.

The European Parliament is elected by the citizens of the Union to represent their interests. Elections are held
every five years, and every EU citizen is entitled to vote, and to stand as a candidate regardless of where they
live in the EU. The members are democratically elected and they do not sit in national blocks, but in Europe-
wide political groups. The European Parliament has major supervisory powers over the activities of the
European Union.

The Schengen Agreement, got its name from a small village in Luxembourg, and its aim is to allow people to
travel without having their passports checked at international borders. There is cooperation and coordination
between the police and the judicial authorities in order to safeguard internal security and , in particular, to
fight organised crime. To achieve this aim, the Schengen Information System was set up. It is a complex
database used by authorities of the Schengen member countries to exchange data on certain categories of
people and goods.