other?Write an essay explaining how your experience supports Kincaid's viewpoint. Further Reading The Beauty of Britain J.B.Priestley! 1 The beauty of our country-or at least all of it south of the Highlands2-is as hard to define as it is easy to enjoy.Remembering other and larger countries,we see at once that one of its charms is that it is immensely varied within a small compass.We have here no vast mountain ranges,no illimitable plains,no leagues of forest,and are deprived of the grandeur that may accompany these things.But we have superb variety.A great deal of everything is packed into little space.I suspect that we are always faintly conscious of the fact that this is a smallish island,with the sea always round the corner.We know that everything has to be neatly packed into a small space.Nature,we feel,has carefully adjusted things-mountains, plains,rivers,lakes-to the scale of the island itself.A mountain 12,000 feet high would be a horrible monster here,as wrong as a plain 400 miles long,a river as broad as the Mississippi. In America the whole scale is too big,except for aviators.There is always too much of everything.There you find yourself in a region that is all mountains,then in another region that is merely part of one colossal plain.You can spend a long,hard day in the Rockies simply traveling up or down one valley.You can wander across prairie country that has the desolating immensity of the ocean.Everything is too big;there is too much of it. 2 Though the geographical features of this island are comparatively small,and there is astonishing variety almost everywhere,that does not mean that our mountains are not mountains,our plains not plains.Consider the Lake District3.You can climb with ease-as I have done many a time-several of its mountains in one day.Nevertheless,you feel that they are mountains and not mere hills-as a correspondent pointed out in The Times recently.This same correspondent told a story that proves my point.A party of climbers imported a Swiss guide into the Lake District;and on the first morning,surveying the misty,jagged peaks before him,he pointed to a ledge about two thirds of the way up and suggested that the party should spend the night there.He did not know that that ledge was only an hour or two's journey away and that before the light went they would probably have conquered two or three of these peaks.He had not realized the scale of the country.He did not know that he was looking at mountains in miniature.What he did know was that he was certainly looking at mountains,and he was right,for these peaks,some of them less than 3,000 feet high,have all the air of great mountains. 3 My own favourite country,perhaps because I knew it as a boy,is that of the Yorkshire Dales4.For variety of landscape,these Dales cannot be matched in this island or anywhere else.A day's walk among them will give you almost everything fit to be seen on this earthother? Write an essay explaining how your experience supports Kincaid’s viewpoint. Further Reading The Beauty of Britain J. B. Priestley 1 1 The beauty of our country—or at least all of it south of the Highlands 2—is as hard to define as it is easy to enjoy. Remembering other and larger countries, we see at once that one of its charms is that it is immensely varied within a small compass. We have here no vast mountain ranges, no illimitable plains, no leagues of forest, and are deprived of the grandeur that may accompany these things. But we have superb variety. A great deal of everything is packed into little space. I suspect that we are always faintly conscious of the fact that this is a smallish island, with the sea always round the corner. We know that everything has to be neatly packed into a small space. Nature, we feel, has carefully adjusted things—mountains, plains, rivers, lakes—to the scale of the island itself. A mountain 12,000 feet high would be a horrible monster here, as wrong as a plain 400 miles long, a river as broad as the Mississippi. In America the whole scale is too big, except for aviators. There is always too much of everything. There you find yourself in a region that is all mountains, then in another region that is merely part of one colossal plain. You can spend a long, hard day in the Rockies simply traveling up or down one valley. You can wander across prairie country that has the desolating immensity of the ocean. Everything is too big; there is too much of it. 2 Though the geographical features of this island are comparatively small, and there is astonishing variety almost everywhere, that does not mean that our mountains are not mountains, our plains not plains. Consider the Lake District3 . You can climb with ease—as I have done many a time—several of its mountains in one day. Nevertheless, you feel that they are mountains and not mere hills—as a correspondent pointed out in The Times recently. This same correspondent told a story that proves my point. A party of climbers imported a Swiss guide into the Lake District; and on the first morning, surveying the misty, jagged peaks before him, he pointed to a ledge about two thirds of the way up and suggested that the party should spend the night there. He did not know that that ledge was only an hour or two’s journey away and that before the light went they would probably have conquered two or three of these peaks. He had not realized the scale of the country. He did not know that he was looking at mountains in miniature. What he did know was that he was certainly looking at mountains, and he was right, for these peaks, some of them less than 3,000 feet high, have all the air of great mountains. 3 My own favourite country, perhaps because I knew it as a boy, is that of the Yorkshire Dales 4 . For variety of landscape, these Dales cannot be matched in this island or anywhere else. A day’s walk among them will give you almost everything fit to be seen on this earth