N. Kryazheva - The United States and the United Kingdom. Past and Present (doc) (798446), страница 14
Текст из файла (страница 14)
PETS
Britain is a nation of animal lovers. Dogs are especially popular in the UK. People often give them a lot of attention and consider them to be part of the family. Everybody Knows there are more than five million dogs almost as many cats, over three million budgies, cage birds, aquarium fish. 10 ml pounds are spent annually on pets.
In Britain pets can send Christmas cards to their friends, birthday cards to husbands, wives, boy or girl-friends. Owners can buy for their pets jewelry, nylon, velvet collars, lace-trimmed panties, night-gowns, pyjamas. Newspapers sometimes have articles about dogs who have done clever things such as saved a child's life.or travelled miles to find their owners after they have been lost. "The Sunday Mirror" has estimated that Britain spends six times as much on pet foods as on baby foods and roughly 16 times as much as on cancer research.
There are also many television shows, films.and stories about dogs, including Lassie and Scoobie Doo. Because dogs are generally considered to be loyal and friendly, they are sometimes called "man's best friend".
Words and Phrases:
to estimate - оценивать patch of land - небольшой участок земли
reason - причина deep-rooted - имеющий глубокие корни
to prefer - предпочитать pets - любимцы
immensely - безмерно (очень) to research - исследовать
owner - владелец researcher - исследователь
night-gown - халат, пеньюар research - исследование
Tasks:
1. Draw a parallel between pets in Russia and Great Britain.
2. Render the text in your own words.
3. Speak about your favourite dog (cat, cage bird, or aquarium fish).
4. Speak about your garden, if any.
5. Speak about the flower language.
SPORT IN GREAT BRITAIN
British people have always been known for their love of sports. Some people Jake part in sports themselves, others are only spectators. But there are few Brit-lsh People who have absolutely no interest for sports.
The most popular game for men are golf and cricket in summer and football in Winter. Every schoolboy knows the names of the best teams and their players.
A crowd of loyal fans usually go after their favourite team to other towns to sup. port the players. Football is the most popular of spectator games in the UK. дм kinds of racing come after football: horse-racing, dog racing, motor racing ana boat racing. It is legal to place bets on the participants.
Tennis is played by both men and women all the year round, on grass courts in summer and on covered courts in winter. Many people like to watch tennis instead of playing. The Wimbledon championships in winter in which the best tennis players of the world take part attract crowds of people.
Boxing is popular in Great Britain as well. But many British people consider boxing too rude and cruel and boxing for women and children is forbidden now.
Sport in one form or another takes part in an average British person's daily life. In English schools sport is an important part of the system of education. Every student can go in for basketball, football, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, wrestling and karate. They care strongly about sporting spirit.
Words and Phrases:
spectator -зритель cruel -жестокий
team - команда rude - грубый
to support - поддерживать to care - заботится, ухаживать
to play bets - держать пари to care for - интересовать
fen - болельщик, любитель care - забота, попечение
Tasks:
1. Answer the following questions.
a. Which is the most popular of spectator games in Great Britain?
b. Which is the most popular sport for both men and women?
c. What is Wimbledon known for?
d. Is it legal to place bets in horse-racing in Russia?
e. What kind of sports can be called a "nation hobby" in England?
2. Speak about Russian sports.
FOOD
Customs and traditions always held by the Englishman are present in his eating. He is used to certain foods and never tires of them.
There are four meals a day in English home: breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner.
Breakfast is the first meal of the day. It is about 8 o'clock in the morning, and consists of porridge with milk rarely with cream and salt or sugar, cornflakes, eggs boiled or fried, bread and butter with marmalade or jam, bacon or sausage, or liver, or cold ham, toasts. Breakfast toasts in England are traditionally cold. Some people like to drink tea, but others prefer coffee, though tea is part and parcel of British life. Instead of porridge they may have fruit juice, or they may prefer biscuits. The midday meal is called lunch. The usual time for lunch is 1 p.m. This meal starts with soup or fruit juice. Then follows some meat or poultry with
potatoes - boiled or fried, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, and peas. Meat is rather expensive in Britain. Rice and macaroni are seldom served. Then a pudding comes. Instead of pudding they may prefer cheese and biscuits. Last of all coffee I black or white. Englishmen often drink something at lunch. Water is usually on the table, but some prefer juice or lemonade.
Tea is the third meal of the day. It is between 4 and 5 p.m. the so-called 5 o'clock tea or high tea; it is also a substantial meal and is eaten by families, which do not usually have a late dinner. On the table there is tea, milk or cream, sugar, bread and butter, cakes and jam. In well-to-do families it consists of ham or tongue, tomatoes and salad or a kipper, followed by fruit: pears, apricots, pineapples, strong tea with cream and a cake. Friends and visitors are often available at tea. Tea making in England is an art.
Dinner is the fourth meal of the day. The usual time is about 7 p.m. and all the members of the family sit down together. Dinner consists of soup, fish or meat with vegetables, potatoes, green peas, carrots and cabbage, sweet pudding, fruit salad, ice-cream or cheese and biscuits. Then after a talk they have black or white coffee.
Sunday dinner is a special occasion, (week-end). Beef or lamb are brought and eaten hot with vegetables. After this a large heavy pudding with custard will probably follow. Dessert may consist of fruit or many varieties of pies and tarts. They are eaten hot or cold.
There is the order of meals among English families. But the greater part of the people in the towns, and nearly all country-people, have dinner in the middle of the day instead of lunch. They have tea a little later between five thirty or six-thirty, and then in the evening, before going to bed, they have supper.
So, the four meals of the day are either breakfast, dinner, tea, supper or breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner.
Legend about tea and coffee
Coffee and tea were not known in Europe three hundred years ago. People were afraid to drink them because they thought coffee or tea could kill a person. Once a King of Sweden decided to find out whether it was true or not. At that time there were two young brothers in prison. They were twins and were very much alike. They had committed a crime and had been sentenced to death. The King said: "I'll let them live but they must drink coffee or tea to the end of their lives. One must drink tea and the other coffee". Very soon the King died. Both brothers Nved for many years. So, the length of the life does not depend upon drinking either coffee or tea.
In the days of Elizabeth beer was the normal breakfast liquid. By 1700 the English became a tea-drinking nation. The English are famous for the amount of tea they drink, "a nice cup of tea" is one of the most commonly heard phrases in Britain.
Most of English people drink their tea, but give little thought to what actually happens when they pour water over tea leaves.
Three of substances contained in the tea leaves come out of the leaves into the water. Theoflavins give the tea its color, theorubigins affect its taste and caffeine makes tea a stimulant.
Scientific research confirms that using waiter, which is as near boiling point a possible gives the best cup of tea since it brinigs out more of all those substance from the tea leaves. But, however, hot watetr will always take a few minutes fa the process to be completed. The hostess firrst of all must rinse the tea-pot with boiling water (this is called "warming the pot'") before adding several tea-spoons of tea.
The amount of tea varies, of course, according to the number of the peop|e present plus one spoonful for the tea-pot. The pot is then filled to allow the tea to infuse or draw for five minutes English peoplle seldom put lemon juice or rum in their tea.
No self-respecting Briton would drink tea, which has not been made in a teapot in a civilized way.
Why the Britons became addicted to tea when continentals favoured coffee is a mystery as yet unexplained.
JOKES ABOUT TEA
The English know how to make tea and what it does.
Seven cups of it wake you up in the morning. Nine cups wilt put you to sleep at night.
If you drink it in the afternoon, it wilt re/ax you for thoughts. If you are hot tea will cool you off.
Then of course you should drink a lot of it in off-hours. If you are cold it will warm you up.
The taste of good tea is very simple. If a sp)oon stands up in a cup, it is strong. If a spoon starts to wobble, it is weak.
Words and Phrases:
to pour - наливать pineapple - ананас
stew - тушеное мясо amount - количество
chop - отбивная котлета tea leaves - листья чая
cauliflower - цветная капуста to oonfirm - подтверждать
lamb - телятина to complete - завершать, заканчивать
custard - сладкий крем tea-spoon - чайная ложка
kipper - лосось (копченая рыба) tеа-pot - чайник для заварки чая
apricot - абрикос tea-fparty - чаепитие
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