42036 (Приемы и средства личностно-ориентированного обучения иностранному языку в средней школе), страница 10

AUTUMN

The State Opening of Parliament. Parliament governs modern Britain. But traditionally the Queen opens Parliament every autumn. She travels from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament, in a gold carriage - the Irish State Coach. At the Houses of Parliament the Queen sits on a throne in the House of Lords. Then she reads the Queen's Speech. At the State Opening of Parliament the Queen wears a crown and crown jewels.

Guy Fawkes Day. November 5th is Guy Fawkes Day in Britain. AH over the country people build wood fires, or "bonfires", in their gardens. On top of each bonfire is a straw man. That is a figure of Guy Fawkes. He was one of a band of conspirators who wanted to blow up the Houses of Parlia­ment and kill King James I and his ministers. However, the plot failed, Fawkes was caught on the 5th of November 1605. The conspirators were executed and Britain has celebrated Guy Fawkes night since then. Before November 5th, children use their guys to make money. They stand in the street and shout "Penny for the guy". Then they spend the money on fireworks.

WINTER

Up-Helly-Aa. The Shetlands are islands off the coast of Scotland. In the ninth century the Vikings from Norway came to the Shetlands. They came to Britain in ships and took away gold, animals and sometimes people.

Now, 1000 years later, people in the Shetlands remember the Vikings with the festival, which they call "Up-Helly-Aa". Every winter people of Zerwick, the capital of the Shetland Islands, make a model of a Viking long ship with the head of a dragon at the front. Then, on Up-Helly-Aa night in Janu­ary, the Shetlanders dress in Viking clothes and carry the ship through the town to the sea and burn it there. The festival is a party for the people of the Shetland Islands.

Carol Singing. Originally, carols were songs performed with dancing at Christmas and other festivals. They were of­ten sung outside houses by costumed actors called Mummers. Many of today's carols have been written since the 19th cen­tury as Christmas hymns celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Make home groups. Read one of the texts carefully. Find out more information about British traditions.

Answer the questions individually.

Text 1. "SPRING"

What holiday is a very important day for Welsh people?

What flower do people wear on St. David's Day?

Is May Day an important celebration nowadays?

How did people celebrate May Day in the Middle Ages?

What is "maypole dancing"?

Text 2. "SUMMER"

What person has got two birthdays?

What ceremony is traditionally held on the Queen's of­ficial birthday?

How can you explain the word "color" in this text? 1)Does the Queen's swan keeper mark all the swans on the Thames?