Т.В. Артеменко, Е.В. Кривощекова, Е.В. Кравченко, Н.Е. Николаева - Reader in Language and Culture - Part II, страница 4

It is not the done thing to drink with others without buying yourround. The advantage is that only one person needs to leave the group inorder to get six drinks instead of six people queuing up individually. Thedisadvantage is that you can end up drinking six pints when you only camein for one.CultureEngland is the country of Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, Dickens andBeatrix Potter. The first is, by common consent, a hero of the human race, aTitan of literature against whom all other writers in the world over the past400 years have been measured.

The next three are worthy names in mostliterate households. But the work of the fifth is best known; for while theothers tended to write about people, Beatrix Potter wrote about animals.So it is that a mention of Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Tiggy-"Winkle and JeremyFisher elicit an immediate response from English audiences while theagonies of King Lear, Coriolanus and Othello leave the better read of themintellectually stimulated but emotionally stone-cold.Other nations may thrill to Henry V's call to arms at Agincourt or warmto Juliet's tearful pleas to her Romeo, but English audiences of all agesreach for the tissues on hearing how Jemima Puddleduck outwits the fox,adjusts her bonnet and escapes the cooking pot to live another sunny day.Close on the heels of Beatrix Potter comes A.A.

Milne, whose Winnie-ThePooh - written by an adult for other adults but passed off as a children'sbook -is read by adults for the rest of their lives.Anthropomorphic juvenilia apart, the English cherish their literary18culture mostly by ignoring it. They treat it as they treat their best teaservice: it's nice to know it's there, but perhaps it's best saved for specialoccasions.In any case, to make too much of their cultural treasures would beshowing off. This applies both to the nation and to the individual who isunusually well-read.

Where a German might impress with a display of hiserudition, it would not he welcome in England - except as a pretext for selfdeprecating humour. You might, for example, mention Hamlet, but only toset up a joke about Shakespeare having been savaged by a Great Dane.TelevisionTelevision is the closest most English people get to culture. Britishtelevision, especially the state-run British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),coasting along on its former reputation, is really trading on past gloriesthese days.

Not only is there substance to allegations of 'dumbing down' they have been dumbing down unsuccessfully. Many of the qualityprogrammes on British television are, embarrassingly, now American.Television on all channels majors in sports coverage and heroic strugglesoccur between television companies to win exclusive rights to televise themost popular events. But even the English cannot quite live by sport alone.Pandering to the competitive nature of their audiences, broadcasters screenlarge numbers of quiz and games shows, a wealth of news and discussionprogrammes and the occasional original drama series. These are bulked outwith comedies, mini-series, and soap operas - which are a nationalobsession.

It is said that even Her Majesty the Queen watches CoronationStreet (perhaps attracted by the name).For the rest, it is old films of which the nation never tires. Programmesaimed at the more intellectual members of society are screened late at nightso as to cause the least inconvenience to the majority.19The PressAlthough inclined by nature to mind their own business (or perhapsbecause of this trait), the English have a congenital weakness fornewspapers that go out of their way to mind other people's. Some of themore downmarket ones in the attempt to boost their circulation interpret'freedom of the press' as publishing newspapers free of anything resemblingnews.In England, particularly among men, one's choice of newspaper is abadge of identity, a declaration of where one stands, and an affirmation ofpolitical belief - as in this tongue-in-cheek profile of newspaper readers:The Independent is read by the people who think they should run thecountry, The Guardian by the people who think they do run the country,and The Times by the people who actually run the country.

The FinancialTimes is read by the people who own the country, The Daily Telegraph isread by people who ran the country 50 years ago and The Sun is read bypeople who don't care who runs the country so long as the female on page 3has got nice knockers.The ArtsIt has been wisely observed that the English do not much like music butthey do love the noise it makes. Indeed, on the whole this sums up theEnglish attitude to practically all the arts. They are vaguely in favour, solong as they do not have to think about them too much.They will tolerate ballet so long as it Swan Lake or Nutcracker, andopera so long as it is Carmen or Traviata. They dislike modern art, but likesaying how much they dislike it, so contemporary British artists earn aliving being as controversial as possible.They prefer American films to their own, but every year the obligatory'quirky British comedy' about a bunch of losers will break through.

WhileHollywood promotes the message that everyone ought to be rich and20beautiful, England has cornered the market in films which suggest thatpeople tend to be anything but, and that life is generally a bit of a bummer.No other country could make a success out of Brassed Off, or The FullMonty. America may be the land of success, but nobody can do failure likethe English.The only art form that arouses real emotion among the English ismusicals.

These the public will happily pay for. When Lloyd Webber meetsBeatrix Potter, nobody will be able to get a seat.Public TransportThe English take masochistic pride in the unreliability of their publictransport. Every year, the railways are taken completely by surprise by thewholly unexpected phenomena known as 'autumn' and 'winter'. Trains aredelayed and cancelled due to such freaks of nature as 'leaves on the line'and 'snow'. If it is pointed out that snow is not exactly unexpected inEngland, the explanation will be that it's the 'wrong kind of snow'.Buses are almost invariably late, but cheerfully try to compensate forthis by arriving in groups of two or three when they do finally show up. Theonly exception is when the passenger arrives exactly on time - in whichcase it is guaranteed that the bus will have arrived and left two minutesearly.Contrary to legend, the English are an instinctively punctual people, butit is by no means bad form to arrive 15 minutes late.

It will be put it downautomatically to transport problems, and hosts will, in fact, rather expect it.The Not So Open RoadAlmost everyone over the age of 17 either owns or has access to a carand uses it frequently, especially for short journeys in suburban areas.

Thisleads to enormous traffic and parking problems in towns and to terminalmotorway congestion. The average speed in built-up areas is now 11 miles21an hour - a speed exceeded a hundred years ago by a horse-drawn carriage.The problem is doubled by the halving of available road space at any onetime by roadworks. Highways are under constant siege as vast stretches arecordoned off behind lines of red and white cones. Whole communitiesspring up with portable site offices, portable lavatories and car parks oftheir own as road-menders are joined by men working for the gas,electricity, water, telephone and cable TV companies. More often than notthis happens serially.

When the last of them folds his tent, it's time for theroad-menders to move in again.Questions.1. What is the attitude of the English towards other nations? What isthe historic aspect of this phenomenon?2. What is the implication of the newspaper heading “Fog in the Channel- Continent cut off”?3. Are the Englishworriedthat theymay be misunderstoodormisjudged?4. What are the English “sterling qualities” as see by the Englishthemselves?5. Dot he English trust other peoples of Great Britain? What are theirreasons?6.

How do the English perceive other nations?7. Dot he have any favorites? Dot he English like them withoutreservation?8. Comment on the saying “An Englishman’s home is his own castle.”9. What political gesture signals absolute self-control? Is it appropriateto ever lose it?10.What behaviour does “going too far” imply? How do the Englishreact to it?11.Why are the English considered hypocritical?2212.Give examples of the English common sense.13.Does the term “a good sport” refer only to sports?14.How do the English understand stoicism? In what situations dothe display it?15.Are the Englisha deeply religious nation? What are theirstrongest beliefs?16.Give examples of English creative initiative, both big and small.17.Why do the English join clubs?18.Describe the English class system. Is it rigid or mobile?19.How can a person be socially placed?20.What kind of place is a pub? What makes it a pleasant anddemocratic?21.What kind of literature is the most popular among the adultEnglish?22.What is usually on TV?23.Comment on the profile of newspaper readers.24.Are the English lovers of arts, according to the author?25.What problems of public and individual transport are the mostcommon in England?II.