Big cities in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland / Большие города в Соединенном Королевстве и Северной Ирландии

Great Britain is a densely populated country. There are a lot of big cities in the country. Like all other countries it has a number of smaller cities and towns. More than half of people in Britain live in towns of 50,000 inhabitants or in the suburbs of such towns. Each of the great cities of the country has gathered around it a group of smaller towns. Greater London is, perhaps, the biggest of such cities. It has already over 8.500,000 inhabitants, nearly one-fifth of the total population. It is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Historical and geographical circumstances have made London one of the world most important business and cultural centres, its places of historical interest (Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and others) attract millions of tourists from all over the world each year.

The cities Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, and Manchester are all cities of more than 1,000,000 people. The growth of Birmingham is closely connected with its industry. Most of the goods, which are produced in the city, are transported to London and then to different parts of the world. The district around Birmingham is a land of factories and mines. Like Birmingham, Manchester is of recent growth. It is the centre of the cotton industry. It does not have many ancient buildings. Few English cities have, however, better public parks. There are over 50 of them in the city, the largest is Heaton Park. In libraries and schools the city is also rich. The University of Manchester, which was founded in 1880, is famous for its modern studies.

Glasgow is the third largest city of Great Britain. The city is known all over the world for its ship-building. Glasgow-built locomotives run in every part of the world. Scotland's only motor manufacturing factory is situated in Glasgow. The factories are modern in appearance and they are smoke-free since they rely on electricity as their source of power. Cardiff is the modern national capital of Wales. Its population is about 280,000. It is one of the largest industrial cities of the country.

It is the hearth of the Welsh coal and steel industries. Cardiff also has an important shopping centre.

The two largest cities of the Northern Ireland are Belfast and Londonderry. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland and its administrative centre. It has the population of 450,000. It has a well developed transport machine-building industry. Belfast has also a University, which was founded in 1845. Londonderry has the population of 150.000. The city received its name in 1609. The prefix "London" was added to the existing town of Derry. It is now known as the most western town of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Словарь

circumstances — обстоятельства

a mine — шахта

growth — рост

cotton — хлопок

coal — уголь