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Great Britain, formally known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has an area of some 244,027 square kilometres and is divided into 49 administrative counties. It consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Ranking about seventy-fifth in size among the countries of the world it has less than 2 per cent of the world's land area. Great Britain, the largest island in the north-west of Europe, is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea, and from the Continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover.
The surface of England and Ireland is rather flat while the highland area comprises Scotland and most of Wales. The highest mountain in the United Kingdom is Ben Nevis in Scotland (1343 m.). The rivers are not very long but they are deep. The chief rivers are the Severn (220 miles) and the Thames (215 miles). The Thames flows through London, and makes it a large sea port, though London is 84 kms away from the sea.

The town I live in is not very large and there are no big galleries and museums in it. But we have a good Natural History Museum in our town.

Last week I was on an excursion there. First we listened to a lecture on the history of our region which was very interesting. Then a guide showed us the exposition of the museum. We walked through its halls looking at different stands with exhibits. There were ancient vases and coins, dishes and bowls, tools and arms. The guide told us about the origin and the age of the exhibits and answered our questions. The girls asked questions about national costumes and dishes and the boys were interested in arms.

The next hall was even more interesting. There we saw stuffed animals and birds. It was a small zoo of the region nature. There was also an aquarium full of different fish, tortoises and shells. The collection of minerals was interesting, too.

I have learned very much from my visit to the museum.