Read the text and say what you know about the economy of the UK.

1. Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It is famous for its industry, heavy and light engineering. The country is the fourth largest exporter of manufactured goods. The most important British manufacture is heavy goods such as machinery, tools, bridges and locomotives; industry is concentrated in the north and Midlands of England.

The largest cities of Great Britain are: London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, and Leeds. London, the capital of the UK and the largest city in Europe dominates Britain. It is a world centre for business and money trading, the country's largest port and a cultural centre.

Birmingham is the Britain's second largest city and its engineering centre. Sheffield is the centre of the steel industry. It produces aeroplanes, motor-cars, electric machinery and apparatus (General Electric Company), agricultural machinery, machine tools, railway carriages, and almost everything made of steel and iron.

Manchester became the world's leading producer of cotton goods. The cotton industry is also centered in Lancashire, Preston and Bolton, which are the main manufacturing towns. Manchester is also a large inland port, access to which is by the Manchester Ship Canal. The wool industry, England's oldest large trade, is located east of the cotton towns, at Leeds, Bradford and Hull in Yorkshire. An important industrial region is the central Lowlands of Scotland, where woolen and other fabrics, lace, glass, paper, steel and pig iron are produced.

Liverpool is the second, after London, largest port and the major export outlet of the United Kingdom. Other important ports are: Southampton, Belfast, and Cardiff. Shipbuilding is centered in Liverpool, Newcastle, and Glasgow. Glasgow in Scotland is the third largest city in Britain. It is associated with heavy industry. It is also famous for its shipyards, lying along the banks of the river Clyde. Important shipyards are located along the coast.

2. Most of the British iron ore is produced in England, especially in Cumberland, Lancashire and Staffordshire. Tin ore and copper are obtained almost exclusively from Cornwall, while lead comes mainly from Flint and Derbyshire. Zink occurs in North Wales, the Isle of Man and in Scotland. The whole British supply of china clay (kaolin), which is of great importance in the ceramic, papermaking and chemical industry, comes from Cornwall. The most important potential sources of water power are in the highlands of Scotland, North Wales and Cumberland.

Great Britain's sea fishing industry is among the most important in the world. The principal kinds offish caught are herring, cod, plaice and hake as well as oysters, crabs and lobsters.

The United Kingdom's economic prosperity is dependent on its foreign trade. Leading exports are machinery, road vehicles and aircraft, chemicals, electrical machinery, iron and steel. Leading imports are meat, fruits and vegetables, cereals and cereal preparations, nonferrous metals and wool.

The United Kingdom is a capitalist state with mixed economy where production is controlled by both the Government and the private producers. The elected National Economic Development Council coordinates work and development of private and public companies.

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