Traditions and customs in britain

Text 1

ENGLISH TODAY

There are over 2,700 languages in the world, but English today is the most important international language. Four hundred million people speak English as their first language. Six hundred million people speak it either as a second or as a for­eign language. That is 20 percent of the world's population.

English has become a world language, because it is spoken as a mother tongue in all the continents of the world. In the 17th century it was brought to North America by the first colonisers. Then in the 18th century English was brought to Australia, later on to Africa and India.

Millions of people are learning English today. It is the lan­guage of summit meetings and international conferences. It's also the language of the United Nations. Foreign political leaders usually speak to international journalists in English. The latest discoveries and ideas in all spheres of science and medicine appear in special international journals, of which 60 percent are in English. 80 percent of all information in the world's computers is in English.

Besides, there are a lot of brilliant world-famous English, American, Canadian and Australian writers and poets who gave the world their wonderful works. The reader can fully appreciate them only in the original.

And finally, many young people learn English as a foreign language because it is the language of rock and pop music.

Notes

first language, mother tongue - родной язык

either ... or - или ... или

summit meeting - совещание в верхах

the United Nations - ООН

Text 2

A LETTER

Moscow, October 2 ,1951

Dear Sergei, I am so glad to have a letter from you. Of all our boys you are the only one I hear so seldom from. You write little about yourself; and there are so many things that I am interested in.

So you are leaving the Far East and will soon be in Moscow. Will you come here on business or to stay? Will you bring your fami­ly over? I am eager to see you and have a good talk.

From your letter I see that the only thing, you know about me is that I am a student now. So I am. In two years I shall be an architect. I am working hard. It is not so easy to study after an inter­val of several years.

I am married. My wife is a pianist and is now working at the Con­servatoire.

I think you are anxious to hear about our friends. Kirill and Lena are in Moscow. Kirill is not long from the Army and studies now at the University. Lena is a student at a Medical Institute. She will graduate this year and is now working for her state examinations. Vadim is somewhere in the Urals. I know little about him. He is the same energetic, cheerful fellow. He always calls on us when he is in Moscow. The 23rd of November is a traditional day when we all gather at my place. We have a very good time together.

Well, I hope that you will join us the next time we meet because we all miss you. Please remember me to your family.

Your affectionate friend Oleg

Notes

to hear from - получать письма от

So I am здесь - Так оно и есть

he is not long from the Army - он недавно вернулся из армии

to call on - навещать

remember me to your family - передай от меня привет семье

Text 3

Getting about London

What is London?

We can say that it is one of the largest cities in the world, that it is one of the world's most important ports and that it is the capital of Great Britain.

But all these answers do not give any idea of London.

London is more than two thousand and five hundred years old. About seven million people live there. There are more than 10 thousand streets in London.

Most of the streets are not very wide and most of the buildings are not tall, but multistorey buildings have also appeared in London and almost all of them are hotels and offices.

London Underground (or Tube) is the oldest and longest in Europe. There are eleven different lines with more than 500 stations.

Although London is a crowded and noisy city you can find many pleasant parks and green squares there.

Regent's Park is the most beautiful park and Hyde Park is the largest, it is one of the most popular places of rest of Londoners on hot summer days.

There are three main parts in London: the City, the West End and the East End .

The oldest part of London is the City, the business centre. But the political centre is Westminster which is in the West End.

The West End is famous for its rich shops, hotels, restau­rants, cinemas, museums and other places of interest. Only rich people live there.

The East End is another part of London. Many houses there are poor and many streets are narrow and dirty.

The East End is famous for its docks but they have closed. Now people are building houses there. Already there are offices, shops and restaurants, a cinema and a large hotel for a modern traveller. By 2000 there will be a sports centre, a shopping centre, an airport and many other new buildings.

There is so much to see in London that even Lon­doners can always find new sights. They like to say: "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."

Notes

multistorey - многоэтажный

crowded - переполненный

sights - достопримечательности

Text 4

THE BRITISH PRESS

The British are great newspaper readers. They look through newspapers at breakfast, read papers on their way to work, on the bus, on the train and when they come home in the evening.

The British press consists of several kinds of newspapers. There are national and local, morning and evening newspa­pers; there are daily, weekly and special Sunday papers. There are national papers that are sold all over the country with a large circulation. They give general news and are published in London. There are two main types of national papers - the "popular" papers and the "quality" papers. The popular papers are smaller in size with lots of pictures and big headlines which are designed to catch the eye of the reader. They offer their readers different short stories, crime reports, cartoons and advertisements. They are easy to read and often contain little real information. Examples of this type of papers are "The Daily Mail," "The Sun" and "The Daily Mirror."

"Quality" papers appeal to the more serious reader, who wants to read about politics and foreign affairs. These papers, such as "The Daily Telegraph," "The Times" and "The Guardian" are bigger in size with longer articles and wider coverage of events. They have different pages for home news, foreign affairs, feature articles, fashion, business, sport and so on.

The Sunday papers have a higher circulation than the dailies, they are larger than the daily papers and usually con­tain more articles dealing with general information.

Regional or local papers are published in towns and areas outside London, and mostly cover the local news.

There is no censorship of the press in Britain, though all papers are responsible for what they publish.

Notes

to look through - просматривать

circulation - тираж

to be designed to - быть предназначенным для

to catch the eye - попасться на глаза, привлечь внимание

cartoon - карикатура

coverage of events - охват событий

Text 5

MADAM TUSSAUD'S

Madam Tussaud's is the most popular and talked about wax museum in the world. There are wax models of the famous and infamous, both living and dead, from every walk of life.

Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Marilyn Monro, Michael Jackson, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, the British Royal family, Bill Clinton, Jack the Ripper ... There is no other place where you can see all the celebrities at once, even if they are only wax figures.

So if you want to rub shoulders with kings and queens or the latest pop stars, or probably with notorious criminals, this is the place to go.

The museum is situated in Marylebone Road, not far from the street which is famous as the home of the first great detective in fiction, Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

There's usually a long queue in front of the museum. No wonder! Many tourists would consider their trip to London worthless if they didn't visit the famous Madam Tussaud's.

There are several halls at Madam Tussaud's. Highlights include the Grand Hall, the Chamber of Horrors and "The Spirit of London" exhibition.

The wax figures are standing and sitting, and sometimes even moving and talking. They are extremely realistic and when they look at you, their eyes sparkling, you often feel uncomfortable in their company. Computer controlled figures (they are called audioanimatronics) are especially popular with the visitors.

New models are being produced all the time while the old ones are quietly removed from display.

Over the years hundreds of celebrities have made their way to Madame Tussaud's studio. Most people agree to be portrayed, but some refuse. Mother Teresa was one of the few who declined, saying her work was important, not her person.

Notes

queue - очередь

Text 6

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

William Shakespeare, the greatest and most famous of English writers, and probably the greatest playwright who has ever lived, was born on the 23d of April, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon.

In spite of his fame we know very little about his life. At the age of six he was sent to school, but had to leave it at the age of 13. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove-maker, and when he fell into debt, William had to help him in the trade.

At the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. Ann was eight years older than her husband and the marriage wasn't a happy one.

When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London. We don't know why he left Stratford-on-Avon.

There is a story that Shakespeare's first job in London was holding rich men's horses at the theatre door. But nobody can be sure that this story is true.

Later, Shakespeare became an actor and a member of a very successful acting company. It's highly probable that The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet and some other plays by Shakespeare were performed for the first time on this stage.

Very soon, however, the actors were told that they could no longer use the land that their theatre was built on.

There is a story that in the dead of night the whole acting troop took down their theatre, timber by timber, brick by brick. They carried it across the river and rebuilt it. The new theatre was called the Globe.

Shakespeare's Globe was rather different from modern theatres. The plays were performed in the open air and the audience got wet if it rained. Women in those days weren't allowed to act in public and all the parts (even Juliet!) were played by men.

Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, 10 tragedies, 17 comedies, 10 historical plays. He also left 7 books of poems. Shakespeare died, ironically, on the same date as his birthday, the 23d of April, 1616.

Notes

fame – слава

to fall into debt – влезть в долги

in the dead of night – глубокой ночью

timber by timer – по бревну

brick by brick – по кирпичику

Text 7

TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS IN BRITAIN

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britain traditions play a more important part in people's life than in other countries.

The British are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. Some ceremonies are rather formal, such as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Trooping the Colour, the State opening of Parliament. Sometimes you will see a group of cavalrymen riding on black horses through the streets of London. They wear red uniforms, shining helmets, long black boots and long white gloves. These men are Life Guards. Their special duty is to guard the king or the queen of Great Britain and very important guests of the country.

To this day a British family prefers a house with a fireplace and a garden to a flat in a modern house with central heating. Most British love gardens. Sometimes the garden in front of the house is a little square covered with cement painted green in imitation of grass and a box of flowers. They love flowers very much.

The British like animals very much, too. Pet dogs, cats, horses, ducks, chickens, canaries and other friends of man have a much better life in Britain than anywhere else. In Britain they have special dog shops selling food, clothes and other things for dogs. In recent years the British began to show love for more "exotic" animals such as crocodiles, elephants, tigers, cobras, camels.

Holidays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Christmas is a great English national holiday and in Scotland it is not observed at all. But six days later, on New Year's Eve the Scots begin to enjoy themselves. All the shops and factories are closed on New Year's Day. People invite their friends to their houses. Greetings and presents are offered.

Some British traditions are strange, some are funny, but they are all interesting.

Notes

to keep up – соблюдать, придерживаться

to troop the colour – торжественно проносить знамя (на параде)

the state opening of Parliament – торжественное открытие сессии парламента

Life Guards – лейб-гвардия

To observe - соблюдать

Text 8