The British way of life

Almost every nation has a reputation of some kind. The French are supposed to be merry; the Germans dull, formal Fond of military uniforms; the Americans boastful, energetic. The English are reputed to cold, reserved, rather haughty people who do not shout in the streets. They are steady, easy-going and fond of sport. People in England do not shake hands as much as people do in Europe.

The English are a nation of stay-at-homes. “The Englishman’s home is his castle” is the saying known all over the world. It is true that English people prefer small houses, built to house one family, perhaps with a small garden.

The fire is the focus of the English home. What do other nations sit round? The answer is they don’t. They go out to cafes or sit round the cocktail bar. For the English it is the open fire and the ceremony of English tea. Tea is part of prose of British life, as necessary as potatoes or bread. It must be made “just like mother makes it”, one teaspoonful of tea for each person.

It is drunk with or without sugar but almost always with milk.

The English people often say something about the weather when they begin the conversation. In fact, people talk about the weather more in Britain than in most parts of the world. For one thing, the weather in Britain changes very quickly. One day may be wet and the next day may be fine. The Englishmen often say:” Other countries have climate, we have weather”. For another thing, the weather is a safe topic for conversation. It plays a big part in the lives of the British people. Every daily newspaper publishes a weather forecast. Both the radio and the television give the weather forecast several times each day.

The club is decidedly British institution. Club membership is a part of clubmen professional and business life. Membership of the club is regarded as carrying a certain social prestige. Most of the clubs are old. They derived from coffee-house, where Englishmen gathered for company and conversation. The members of all clubs are to be elected. There exist school clubs and college clubs, political clubs and cultural clubs, town clubs of all sorts. Sixty years ago, clubs were regarded to be only male territory. Now nearly all the clubs are open for both men and women.

Вариант № 2

1.Переведите предложения (Страдательный залог):

1. A catalogue was enclosed with this letter.

2. These books are read with great interest.

3. The price of the goods is fixed in US Dollars.

4. English is spoken in many countries of the world.

5. These problems are usually discussed during talks.

2. Переведите предложения с модальными глаголами:

1. Can I have the bill, please?

2. You should not smoke so much.

3. May I have my ticket back, please?

4. He must read this book.

5. You should read this book.

3. Определите время в данных предложениях:

1. She has been painting the ceiling. (Present Perfect/ Present Perfect Continuous)

2. She has painted the ceiling. (Present Perfect/ Present Perfect Continuous)

3. I’ve been repairing the car. (Present Perfect/ Present Perfect Continuous)

4. The car is OK again. I’ve repaired it. (Present Perfect/ Present Perfect Continuous)

5. What have you been doing since we last met? (Present Perfect /Present Perfect Continuous)

6. Have you ever played tennis? (Present Perfect/ Present Perfect Continuous)

4. Откройте скобки:

1. “Yes, that is what I (to do) for the last five months”.

2. What (you do) this time yesterday?

3. It was a funny situation but nobody…… (laugh).

4. We were in a very difficult position. We…..(not know) what to do.

5. Составьте предложения, используя слова из скобок:

1. You have a friend who is learning Arabic. You ask:

(how long/ learn/ Arabic?). How long have you been learning Arabic?

2. You have just arrived to meet a friend. She is waiting for you. You ask:

(how long/ wait?)……………………..

3. You see somebody fishing by the river. You ask:

(how many fish/ catch?)

6. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What do you plan to do next summer?

2. What place will you go to next month?

3. Do you think it will rain much next week?

4. Do you plan to see you friends next Sunday?

7. Переведите предложения и определите время:

1. Mary is still writing letters. She’s been writing letters all day.

2. Mary has written ten letters today.

3. They’ve been playing tennis since 2 o’clock.

4. They’ve played tennis three times this week.

5. She’s been smoking too much recently.

6. Somebody has smoked all my cigarettes.

8. Составьте отрицательные предложения:

1. I shall start my paper with a traditional introduction.

2. This paper will be a report of experimental findings.

3. There will be an introduction to the discussion of this experiment.

4. The experimental error will be large in this case.

9.Прочитайте и переведите текст: