Wales - Oxford University Press

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Culture club
Wales
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Leggi il brano e scrivi i titoli del riquadro al
posto corretto. K
Culture History Natural beauty
Population and language Sport
The nation of Wales
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Wales is part of the United Kingdom, but it is a separate
country. The capital city, Cardiff, is in the south-east
of Wales. It has got its own parliament – the Welsh
Assembly. The Welsh Assembly meets in the new
Senedd building in Cardiff. The Welsh flag is a red
dragon on a white and green background. The national
symbols of Wales are the leek and the daffodil.
The population of Wales is 3 million. Three hundred
thousand people live in Cardiff. Everyone in Wales can
speak English, but a lot of people in Wales speak Welsh,
too. It is an ancient Celtic language. The Welsh are very
proud of their language and all children learn Welsh at
school. There are lots of TV and radio programmes in
Welsh. It is very different to English.
Wales has got some beautiful scenery. Two of
the UK’s national parks – Snowdonia and the Brecon
Beacons – are in Wales. Mount Snowdon (1,085 metres)
is a famous mountain in Snowdonia. There are also lots
of beautiful beaches in Wales. The beaches are popular
with tourists, and they are very good for surfing.
Wales has got a long and interesting history and there are
many ancient castles there. The eldest son of the king or
queen of the UK is called the Prince of Wales. Prince Charles
is the present Prince of Wales.
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Wales is a very musical country, and lots of singers (pop and
classical) come from there. An ancient Welsh tradition is the
Eisteddfod. It is a competition for singers, dancers, poets and
storytellers. Eisteddfods are still popular today. Male voice
choirs are another special Welsh tradition. These are choirs
with only men singers.
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The Millennium Stadium is a large new stadium in
Cardiff for sports matches and concerts. Its roof can
open and close! Wales is famous for its national rugby
team. Rugby, not football, is the number one sport
in Wales! The Welsh team players wear red shirts. The
crowd sings the Welsh national anthem, ‘Land of My
Fathers’, at the start of every match.
Glossary
background sfondo
leek porro
daffodil narciso giallo
proud of orgoglioso di
scenery paesaggio
eldest (il) maggiore,
primogenito
poet poeta
choir coro
roof tetto
national anthem
inno nazionale
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Rispondi alle domande.
ES
1 Which city is the capital of Wales?
2 How many people live in Wales?
3 What is Snowdonia?
4 Who is the present Prince of Wales?
5 What is an Eisteddfod?
6 Which is the favourite sport in Wales?
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Ascolta e leggi questa canzone gallese.
We’ll keep a welcome in the hillside
We’ll keep a welcome in the hillside.
We’ll keep a welcome in the vales.
This land you knew will still be singing
When you come home again to Wales.
This land of song will keep a welcome
And with a love that never fails,
We’ll kiss away each hour of *hiraeth
When you come home again to Wales.
Presentazione orale
4 Project
Scegli una regione italiana e prepara
una presentazione orale. Prendi degli
appunti usando le seguenti domande come
aiuto. Parla per circa un minuto. ES T
Where is it in Italy?
Does it have a special flag or symbol?
What is its population?
Do the people speak a different language
or dialect?
t What interesting things can you see there?
t What is it famous for? (sports teams, food,
famous people, etc.)
t
t
t
t
Look!
Assicurati di sapere pronunciare i numeri con
più cifre in inglese, specialmente per un tema
geografico. Ad esempio:
456
four hundred and fifty-six
3,000
three thousand
6,800
six thousand eight hundred
70,000
seventy thousand
4,000,000 four million
DVD 1 Puoi trovare ulteriori informazioni
sui diversi paesi del Regno Unito nel Culture 1
del DVD e a pag. 34.
*hiraeth (Welsh) = homesickness (English)
= nostalgia di casa
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