Transportation

The UK is on the west of the Continent and also it is on the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of islands of Great Britain island, Northern Ireland, and about 900 islands. The UK' s shape looks like boot.

Train

Many people in the UK live along way from their work. They often travel by train from the suburbs into the town centre to work. The organisation of the railway system in the UK has changed recently. For many years the railway was run by a public company, British Rail. In 1994, this company was split into two parts: Railtrack, which owns the track and the station,and several private companies, which operate the trains.

I researched about Channel Tunnel. The UK is surrounded by ocean so it is not connected with other countries like Japan. But people can go France easily thanks to Channel Tunnel. This is the longest Tunnel in the world. The total length of the tunnel is 50.45km. And people can through this tunnel by train. It takes only 20 minutes from England to France. Standard fare is about ￡44 , and over night fare is ￡49. I was surprised. It is easier and cheaper to go France than using plane.




The UK is surrounded by ocean like Japan. But The UK have a lot of connection with Europe. As you know, the UK is joining EU. Now EU has a 27 member states.
On the other hand, Japan has experience　of national isolation before. Now Japan is opened for other countries, but Japan is still isolated island. If a tunnel is made between Japan to Korea or China, a lot of people will come and go.

The UK

The UK is on the west of the Continent and also it is on the Atlantic Ocean.It consists of islands of Great Britain island, Northern Ireland, and 900 islands. The area is 244,000 square kilometers, and it is smaller than Japan. The population of the UK is 61,565000 and it is the 22 nd place in the world according to the list of countries by population. Incidentally Japan's population is 127,530,000 and it is the 10 th place. The UK has a long history, so the UK is a historical, interesting and attractive country.When I was high school student, I learn about the UK in the world history class, and I became interested in the UK.

Japanese people call the UK Igirisu. This word comes originally from Portuguese. The formal name of the UK is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is very long, so people often say the UK or Britain. The UK is composed of 4 countries, England, Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Last year I went to England to study English. I was very happy because I can go a dream country. I stayed Bath city where is a one of the beautiful city in the England for a few weeks. The Roman town of Bath is near Bristol. The Romans settled there because of its natural hot spring. They built a temple to the goddess Minerva in front of the spring. ( I took picyures in there!) In the eighteenth century, the town became popular with the Royal Family and the aristocracy. They came to bathe in the hot spring, drink the spa water from the fountain and socialise with their upper class friends.




And I also visited London. I took some pictures at Big Ben and Tower Bridge. These buildings are symbols of London.

As you know London is capital city of England. I think it is the most famous city in the world. London is very fun. There are a lot of historical buildings, museums, and shops. Next Olympic Summer Games are held in this city in 2012. Must be a lot of players and audiences will come here. Then I also want to go there again.