N. Kryazheva - The United States and the United Kingdom. Past and Present (doc) (798446), страница 24
Текст из файла (страница 24)
111. The extremes frequently seen in films and on television have little in common with the lives of the vast majority of people, or what average Americans dream about.
112. English is the main foreign language taught within most school systems.
113. But the English language began to spread throughout the world only in the 17th centure, when the first English settlements arose in North America.
114. Nowadays English is the most wide-spread language geographically, second one only to Chinese in the number of people who speak it.
115. One shouldn't forget the problems of English spelling, pronunciation and prepositions.
116. Learning any foreign language is not an easy thing.
117. If you want to master a foreign language, you must be ready to make efforts and be patient.
118. Modern British English is strongly influenced by American English.
119. It is highly advisable for the people who learn English to know both forms of those words which are in most common usage.
120. When people from this province came to what they later called Great Britain they found some familiar conditions there and first of all its damp climate.
121. Since this country was larger than their own Bretaigne they called it "Great Britain".
122. Most English people have been slow to adopt rational reforms such the metric system, which came into general use in 1975.
123. The English people do not want to trouble of adapting themselves to new.
124. The conservatism may be illustrated by reference of the public attitude to the monarchy.
125. The monarchy survives, but has no power and does not want any Parliament to establish its rights.
126. Laws passed by two Houses do not become affective until she has signed them.
127. Today the Queen is not only the head of state, but also an important symbol of national unity.
128. She reigns, but does not rule, although the Queen is the third richest .woman in the world.
129. The life of Parliament is divided into periods called "sessions".
130. Parts of the Palace including the Commons Chamber itself were badly damaged in an air raid made by fascists in 1941, and have been rebuilt since 1945.
131. The party, which has the largest number of members in the Parliament, is called the Government.
132. He chooses from the Lords and Commons about 60 men to take the main offices and form the Ministry.
133. No outside person is allowed to see any Cabinet papers until they become only of historical interest.
134. The money the Government spends is the people's money.
135. It is "A City" which arose from a number of towns and villages.
136. Many monuments of London's history can be found in the city.
137. St. Paul's Cathedral was built between 1675 and 1710 to replace the old Cathedral that was largely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.
138. The West End, spreading from the political centre Westminster includes Piccadilly Circus and the fashionable Covent Garden.
139. When Higgins retired he built himself a grand house, which was called Piccadilly Hall.
140. Piccadilly is a fine street stretching from the circus to Hyde Park Corner.
141. Just behind the Trafalgar Sguare is the National Gallery where there is one of the finest collections of pictures in the world.
142. The British Museum is one of the greatest and best-known museums in the world, both in the diversity of its collection and in their wide range and high quality.
143. The British Museum Library is a reading-room and a reference library, but not a lending one.
144. The Houses of Parliament were completed a century ago.
145. Today the Queen lives at the Palace for only part of the year and when she is in her residence the Royal Standard is flown.
146. The Tower of London is quarded by Beefeaters, who are dressed in old-fashioned traditional uniforms.
147. Despite many houses built by the council there are still miles of little dwellings and slums.
148. Hyde Park is famous for its Speaker's Corner, where people go when they want to tell other people about their political opinions.
149. London is known by its system of public transport which includes red buses, black taxis, and an underground railway called "the Tube".
150. Being the capital of Wales, financially and industrially, Cardiff is the most important city in an upland country.
151. Cathay's Park, the centre of the civic life of the city, with its exceptionally fine group of municipal buildings and its National Museum of Wales, where you will find an enthralling collection of Welsh art and handicraft, both ancient and modern, is a splendid place.
152. There is much cultural activity in Wales,especially in literature, drama and music.
153. From the streets in the centre of the city you can see the ships coming to Edinburgh from different countries of the world.
154. Manchester is the fifth largest port in Great Britain although it is 56 km away from the sea.
155. It was the first city in England, which built its own airport in 1919.
156. The manufacture of cotton goods was responsible for changing the town into the great city it became in the last century.
157. People who live in them cannot afford to have a house of their own.
158. Law and custom in Britain support a clear separation between what is public and what is private.
159. To emphasize this division, people prefer to live in a house, set back from the road.
160. British houses are thought to be very cold, maybe the coldest in Europe.
161. If there is one living-room in the house, then there is a hall into which the front door opens.
162. The house can be easily sold, if necessary and if the price is attractive.
163. Most houses are sold on the open market by the "property developers".
164. This is probably one reason why so many people prefer to live in houses rather than flats.
165. Many people who have no gardens of their own have patches of land in especially reserved areas.
166. Newspapers some-times 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.
167. There are also many television shows, films,and stories about dogs, including Lassie and Scoobie Doo.
168. Because dogs are generally considered to be loyal and friendly, they are sometimes called "man's best friend".
169. British people have always been known for their love of sports.
170. Most people don't like blocks of flats because the provide the least amount of privacy.
171. It is legal to place bets on the participants.
172. The Wimbledon championships in winter in which the best tennis players of the world take part attract crowds of people.
173. Customs and traditions always held by the Englishman are present in his eating.
174. Some people like to drink tea, but others prefer coffee, though tea is part and parcel of British life.
175. 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.
176. Most of English people drink their tea, but give little thought to what actually happens when they pour water over tea leaves.
177. Scientific research confirms that using water, which is as near boiling point as possible gives the best cup of tea since it brings out more of all those substances from the tea leaves.
178. The pot is then filled to allow the tea to infuse or draw for five minutes English people seldom put lemon juice or rum in their tea.
179. Why the Britons became addicted to tea when continentals favoured coffee is a mystery as yet unexplained.
180. The system is supposed to provide equality of opportunity for all, but it has some inequality.
181. People forget that teen-agers belong to another generation, with all the changes and problems, but also new ones, of which parents are frequently unaware, but which teen-agers have to solve.
182. Apart from being fun aerobics has a scientific basis.
183. Research has shown that runners have weight less than nonrunners, even if they eat more, so aerobics will keep them slim, too.
184. Even if you like school, it seems that someone is always telling you what to do.
185. People learn better and faster when they have more choice in what they learn and when and how they learn it.
186. At Free school, people believe that school should teach what the children need and what to learn.
187. There is no single, universally accepted definition of what a university should be like.
188. All British universities can be roughly divided into three groups, namely "ancient", "redbrick" or "modern" ("provincial") and the new ones.
189. Each student has a tutor who plans his work and requires him to write essays and papers on the subject he is studying, and submit them to him regularly about once a fortnight for correction and discussion.
190. The teaching is in the colleges, which are placed in various parts of London.
191. Some of them quickly became popular because of their modern approach to university courses.
192. The Open University was established to give educational opportunities to those people who want to continue their education at home.
193. In general Bachelor's degree is given to students who pass exams at the end of three or four years of study.
194. Other teachers who have no title of "Professor" are entitled "Lecturers", "Readers", "Senior Lectures".
195. When a university teaching post is vacant it is usually advertised in newspapers.
196. There are lots of domestic customs, which go centuries back.
197. The oldest military ceremony in the world is the Ceremony of the Keys, which has taken place every night at the Tower of London, for more than 700 years.
198. Another tradition is sitting at a fire-place, which is found in every home.
199. They shook hands to show that they did not have a sword.
200. But one must shake hands when one meets a person for the first time.
201. They talk about the weather because it changes often.
202. There is an interesting story about the word " marmalade".
203. Pancakes are eaten by British people on Shrove Tuesday in February or March.
204. Gentlemen always shake hands when they are introduced to each other even if they have to cross a room to do so.
205. There is a wide distance between rudeness and reserve.
206. One can be polite and at the same time reserved of matters.
207. They seem to remain cheerful under difficulties.
208. They are taught from childhood not to rush for seats in busses and trains, but take queues at bus stops in a quiet and orderly manner.
209. People should be taught how to wear clothes.
210. To let anyone see what you have in your mouth is offensive.
211. The fact that you have put your fork and spoon down shows that you have finished.
212. If food has been taken into your mouth, no matter how you hate it, you must swallow it.
213. There are a lot of table manners and children are taught by their mothers everyday.
214. But Santa Claus begins to visit every house on Christmas Eve.
215. There is another tradition on the Eve of Christmas.
216. Nearly all the Christmas food is traditional, but a lot of traditions are not very old.
217. One can also send a card to an unknown person.
218. But traditionally it is not recommended to write somebody's name on it.
219. You are expected to meet witches and ghosts that night.
220. On November 5th 1605, he tried to kill King James I, but he was caught and beheaded in the Tower of London.
221. The Shakespeare Festival in Stratford was held in 1769.
222. A wooden amphitheater was built, two wagons arrived with fire-works, and medals were issued in copper, silver or gold with Shakespeare's likeness on one side.
223. Schools, colleges and universities are closed on Saturday and Sunday.
224. People who stay at home at the week-end try to relax, enjoy themselves.
225. Week-end starts on Friday evening when people leave work and wish each other a nice week-end.
226. People either go and watch or sit and watch the sport programmes on television.
227. The pub is the place where people can meet and talk in a friendly atmosphere.
228. But in pubs there is a general atmosphere of warmth and cosiness.
229. English people are proud of their traditions, that's why even modern pubs look as if they were several hundred years old.
230. The person who runs a pub (he is called "landlord") is employed by the brewery.
231. The second peculiarity is that most pubs are divided into at least two separated bars: the public bar and the saloon one.
232. Children are not allowed inside a pub if the pub has no children's certificate.
233. The BBC is financed by payments which are made by all people who have TV-sets.
234. Britain has two channels for presenting programmes on serious topics, which are watched with great interest by a lot of people.
![](https://s.studizba.com/z.php?f=/templates/si/i/noavatar.png&w=100&h=100&t=1"){kind=avatar}
