GREAT BRITAIN

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Britain includes Great Britain (comprising England, Scotland and Wales) and
Northern Ireland, and lies off the northwest coast of mainland Europe. It is 500 Km wide
and nearly 1,000 km long.
Its closest continental neighbors France and Belgium. It lies between latitudes 50
North and 60 North. London, the capital is close to the same of latitude as Berlin,
Vancouver and Warsaw.
Great Britain is the largest island in Europe and the eight largest in the world. It is
about the same size as Honshu the biggest of the island that make up Japan, and about
twice size of Iceland of Cuba.
Although it is as closer to the North Pole as eastern Siberia or Hudson Bay Britain
has a warmer climate. While the British climate is very changeable, temperatures rarely
fall below 10 or go above 32. Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year.
The wettest parts are the mountainous areas of the West Coast. Britain is a densely
populated and industrialized nation, but much of the country is cultivated and around
10% of the land is covered by legally protected National Parks.

PEOPLE
English is the official language, but many people know more than one language.
Around 20% of the people Wales speak Welsh and children learn it in schools. About
80,000 people in Scotland speak Gaelic.

For centuries people from overseas have settled in Britain to escape persecution or
in search of a better standard of living. They have brought with them their languages,
cultures and religions.
The most widely spoken minority languages today are from the Asian subcontinent but other languages include Italian, Spanish, Greek, Turkish and Chinese.
Ethnic minority communities make up about 5 % of the total population.
Population growth in Western Europe is generally low. There were 781,000 live
births in Britain in 1992, or 13,5 live births per 1,000 population.
The death rate is slightly lower at 11 per 1,000. The population is therefore fairly
stable. The proportion of elderly people has been increasing as a result of better
standards of living and health care.
The percentage of young people on the population has been falling. At present
only 20% of people in Britain are under the age of 16.
Although Britain is quite small in terms of land area, it has a large population of
nearly 58 million, which ranks 17th in the world. With an average of 239 people per sq.
km, Britain has the highest population density in Europe.
Most people in Britain live in towns or cities. England has 370 people per sq. km;
Scotland has 66 Wales 139 and Northern Ireland 118. London is the 17 Th most heavily
populated city in the world, but still much smaller than Mexico City.
Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century,
played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature
and science.
At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface.
The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World
Wars.
The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding
itself into a modern and prosperous European nation.

LONDON EYE
London is the capital and largest urban area of both England and the United
Kingdom. It is the largest city in the European Union. An important settlement for two
millennia, London's history goes back to its founding by theRomans.
Since its foundation, London has been part of many movements and phenomena
throughout history, including the English Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the
Gothic Revival. The city's core, the ancient City of London, still retains its limited
medieval boundaries; but since at least the 19th century, the name "London" has also
referred to the whole metropolis that has developed around it.
London is one of the world's business, financial and cultural centres and its
influence in politics, education, entertainment, media,fashion and the arts contribute to
its status as a major global city. The city is a major tourist destination both for domestic
and overseas visitors, with annual expenditure by tourists of around 15 billion.
Greater London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the historic
settlement of Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the site comprising the
Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church.
The London Dungeon. In the bowels of London Bridge Station this famous
waxwork museum of torture focuses on the dark side of life. As such it can paint an
artificially grim portrait of London: Jack the Ripper is small fry by today's serial killer
standards. Stocks, executions, torture machines, rats, plague are the main crowd
attractions. The queues stretch right up Duke St Hill for at least 100 metres, unemployed
actors in 'period' costume and ghoulish make-up keep them amused while they're
waiting.
Life in London was undoubtedly hard for the poor or those who for some reason
were ostracised by society, worth remembering as you go round, for example, Hampton

Court which paints an equally biased view of a rosy Olde England.

Their younger, Paris branch for some reason claims it's the original - we suspect
branches will be spring up everywhere, even in your suburb. There a restaurant inside
and sometimes nightclubs are held there. Their very atmospheric website gives you a
flavour of the place.
Madame Tussaud's. Most large towns have waxworks museums, and this is just another
one, albeit much bigger. It's a big crowd puller - the queues can be horrendous - but you
can pre-book a ticket online and walk jauntily by the unfortunates if you wish. Has
worked hard over the years to achieve a semi-official status, like the Guinness book of
records. Have your photo taken next to Charles , the artist formally known as Prince (if
the crowd will part for long enough), or the artist formerly known as Prince (or whatever
he calls himself today). Also on the site is the planetarium, which is much like all other
planetaria, only more so.
We think there are much better things to do in London, especially considering the
steep admission price - thousands disagree.
It's on the Marylebone Road, 100 yards from Baker Street tube, and conveniently
close to Sherlock Holmes' fictional residence which maintains a small 'Museum' - visit
only if you're a diehard fan. Recently tourists have taken to having their photo taken by
the horrible statue of Sherlock Holmes outside Baker Street tube. Please don't - you'll
cringe later on.
If you get that stuffy feeling after Tussaud's walk 400 yards north to Regent's Park
- and beyond to Primrose Hill for a great view over London. On the weekend it's an easy
walk right through to Camden Market.
The British Airways London Eye, sometimes called the Millennium Wheel is the firstbuilt and largest observation wheel in the world (a type of or evolution on the Ferris
wheel), and has been since its opening at the end of 1999.
It stands 135 metres (443 feet) high on the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the

South Bank of the River Thames in Lambeth, London, England, between Westminster
and Hungerford Bridges.
It is adjacent to London's County Hall, and stands opposite the offices of the
Ministry of Defence situated in Westminster which it overlooks to the west.
Designed by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield, the wheel carries 32
sealed, air conditioned, passenger capsules attached to its external circumference.
It rotates at a rate of 0.26 metres per second (about 0.9 km/h or 0.6 mph) so that one
revolution takes about 30 minutes to complete. The wheel does not usually stop to take
on passengers; the rotation rate is so slow that passengers can easily walk on and off the
moving capsules at ground level. It is, however, stopped on occasion to allow disabled
or elderly passengers time to alight safely.
Structurally the Eye resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel, and was depicted as
such in a poster advertising a charity cycle race. The wheel is not the first of its kind,
one much smaller used to stand opposite Earls Court station during the latter part of the
19th Century and which just like the Eye was for Londoner's and visitor's enjoyment.
The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the river Thames on
barges and assembled lying flat on pontoons. Once the wheel was complete it was raised
into its upright position by cranes. The wheel was initially lifted at a rate of about 2
degrees per hour until it reached 65 degrees, where it stayed for a week while engineers
prepared for the second phase of the lift. The total weight of steel in the Eye is 1,700
tonnes.
The Eye was opened by British Prime Minister Tony Blair on December 31, 1999,
although it was not actually opened to the public until March 2000 because of technical
problems. Since its opening, the Eye, operated by Tussauds Group but sponsored by
British Airways, has become a major landmark and tourist attraction. Recently, The
London Eye was voted the world's best tourist attraction in a poll commissioned by the
snack company Pringles.
The Eye enjoyed a warmer reception from the British public upon its opening than

London's other significant Millennium project, the Dome, although the delay in opening
had caused some press scepticism. By July 2002 around 8.5 million people had 'flown'
the eye. It originally had planning permission only for five years, but at that time
Lambeth Council agreed plans to make
the attraction permanent.
Although the Eye is currently listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest
observation wheel in the world, it is unlikely to keep that title for long. Plans have been
announced to build a 170 m wheel on the Las Vegas Strip and a 200 m wheel in
Shanghai. (By comparison, the original 1893 Ferris wheel was 75 m high).
Ownership of the Eye is divided between British Airways with 33 % , the
Tussauds Group and its creators.
Most great landmarks are born out of government, business, or the arts. The
London Eye's parents were the advertising and tourism industries, and turns under the
logos of its corporate sponsors. The people behind the scenes bristle if you call it a
Ferris wheel. They prefer the term "observation wheel" because of the great views from
inside and presumably to distance themselves from the notion that Ferris wheels are only
for the very young.
Whatever you call it, the London Eye is the largest one in the world, at 450 feet
and weighing 1,600 tons. Unlike earlier wheels that relied on trusses and braces for
strength and stability, the Eye uses six kilometres of steel cables imported from Italy to
achieve the same rigid shape with much less mass. Still, a steel frame is at the core, and
was built in The Netherlands.
Other parts of the wheel were manufactured in the Czech Republic, and Germany.
Because of its size and urban location, the wheel was actually assembled over the River
Thames, then hoised upright upon completion. But in spite of the huge amount of
planning involved, things didn't go as smoothly as organizers would have hoped.
People were supposed to be able to ride on New Year's Eve, 1999. But safety
concerns and problems with a clutch mechanism kept the capsules sealed to the public.

People were finally allowed to experience the magnificent views in March of

2000, three months late.
Thanks to the modern media, and the turn-of-the-century celebration held
December 31, 1999 that was broadcast around the world, the London Eye has become at
least as famous as another landmark Ferris wheel: the Prater in Vienna. However, it took
more than 100 years for the Prater to secure its mark in history, while the Eye did it in
just a few months. Still, only the Prater has been featured in a James Bond movie ("The
Living Daylights"). Look for that to change, as the London Eye is likely too tempting a
landmark for the British superspy to resist.
In October, 1999 two Spanish environmental protesters climbed the wheel and
spent two days in its girders.
In August, 2000 a Dave Rolstone of Wales climbed up the Wheel to protest United
Nations economic sanctions against Iraq.
On 20 December, 2000 Kurds and Turks angry about how a series of prison riots
in Turkey were handled took over the wheel. The riots were sparked by the burning
deaths of a number of prisoners on hunger strike. Some of the protesters doused
themselves with gasoline and threatened to set themselves on fire.

BILBIOGRAFIE

http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roata_din_Londra

MIHAI EMINESCU
Mihai Eminescu was born in 15 January 1850 at Botosani . He was the 7th of the
11 childs of Gheorghe Eminovici .
He spent his childhood at Botosasi and Ipotesti in his parent's house and
outdoors ,in a total freedom in moves ,and touch with peple and nature. Eminescu
evoked this state with deep nostalgy in his later poems : 'Fiind baiet' or 'O ,ramai'.
He studies at the school of Cernauti in the 1858-1866 period and he graduates the
4th grade the fift out of 82 people. After that he studi-es 2 years in gimnasium ,and
leaves school in 1863 ,comes back in 1850 and leaves again in 1866.
Meanwhile Eminescu was hiered as a functionary at diverse institutions in
Botosani ,or spends the time with the 'Tardini-Vladicescu' troupe.
The year 1866 is the first year in Eminescu's literary activity. In January the same
year his teacher Aron Pumnul died so his students published a broshure named
'Lacramioarele invataceilor gimnazisti' wich included the poem 'La mormantul lui Aron
Pumnul' signed by Mihai Eminovici.
In 9 March 1866 he debutes in Iosif Vulcan's magazine named 'Familia' with the
poem 'De-as vrea'. Iosif Vulcan changed Mihai Eminovici's name to Mihai Eminescu .In
the same year Eminescu published another five poem in the 'Familia' magazine.
The poet made a journey on the root Cernauti-Blaj-Sibiu-Giurgiu-Bucuresti since
1866 until 1869 ,wich helped him to learn more about the romanian people. In this
period he worked at the National Theatre where he met I.L. Caragiale .

CONSTANTIN BRNCUI UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

STUDENT: RADA RALUCA