1.-¿ What is the difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain?
The United Kingdom is made up of the countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Nothern Ireland. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland. Great Britain, on the other hand, comprises only England, Scotland and Wales. It is the largest island of the British Isles. Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic form the second largest island.
The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom. They are largely self-governing with their own legislative assemblies and systems of law. The British Goverment is, however, responsible for their defense and international relations.
2. What does the Union Flag stand for and how should it be flown?
The flag of Britain, commonly known as the Union Jack (which derives from the use of the Union Flag on the jack-staff of naval vessels), embodies the emblems of three countries under one Sovereign. The emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of three patron saints:
the white diagonal cross, or saltire, of St. Andrew, for Scotland, on a blue ground;
the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, for Ireland, on a white ground.
The final versions of the Union Flag, including the cross of St. Patrick, appeares in 1801, following the union of Great Britain with Ireland. The cross remains in the flsg although now only Nothern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.
Wales is not represented in the Union Flag because, when the first version of the flag appeared, Wales was already united with England. The national flag of Wales, a red dragon on a field of white and green, dates from the 15th century and is widely used throughout the Principality. The dragon as a symbol was probably introduced into Britain by the Roman legions. According to tradition, the red dragon appeared on a crest borne by the legendary King Arthur, whose father, Uthr Pendragon, had seen a adragon in the sky predicting that he would be king.
3. How old is the London’s Tube?
The London Underground, or “tube” as it is often known, was the world’s first urban undergroung railway. It began operating in 1863, when the Metropolitan Railway opened a line between Paddington and Farringdon. Even in those days traffic jams caused by the congestions of horsedrawn vehicles generated complains and letters to The Times, and as a result construction work began on the underground railway in 1860.
Although Londoners were originally sceptical about the project, calling it the “sewer railway” the service was an immediate success. Trains were steam operated, and travel must have been murky, sulphuruous and extremely grimy compared with today’s electrically operated trains.
