TEXT 4. Read and translate the text. Make up 10 questions on its contents

How the British Relax

As British people say, «all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy». Like everybody else, British people like doing things outside work.

Gardening is a well-known favourite. As the weather in Britain is relatively mild, British people manage to do gardening almost all the year round. Sometimes this can be just doing a bit of weeding and sometimes, serious vegetable and fruit growing. In fact, regardless of the size of the garden, the British can always find plenty to do in it. Mowing grass is also very important. Every Sunday morning (except for winter) they come out to mow their lawns. To outsiders, it almost seems like an obsession but to a British person it is an important social duty. The British see an unmown lawn, not only as a sign of laziness, but also as disrespect to others (and you can get fined for it as well).

Walking is also very popular. Ask any British person if they have a pair of walking boots and the answer will probably be yes. Except for dry summer days, the beautiful British countryside is pretty muddy, so you need a good pair of walking boots or «wellies» to enjoy your walk. Walking as a leisure activity has a long tradition in England. You can buy a variety of maps and guides to walking routes. Organized walking is also popular and is a good way to discover local sights of interest with a group of like-minded people and a good guide.

Cycling is another popular activity. Unfortunately, many British roads are very busy and don't have cycling paths, so cycling can be a bit dangerous in Britain, many people find quiet country roads and spend their whole holidays exploring their homeland on their bikes. More extreme sports like rock climbing also attract people. And, of course, the famous British eccentricity is the cause of unusual sports like extreme ironing. Extreme ironing is a serious sport where teams of people compete at who can do their ironing in more extreme conditions. Mountains, rivers, tall buildings, busy streets… no location is unsuitable for extreme ironing fans. The contestants are judged on both the extremity of the location and quality of the ironing. Phil Shaw, the creator of the sport, says it «combines the thrill of an extreme sport with the satisfaction of a well-ironed shirt». Extreme ironing is now an international sport with serious competitions and organized events.

Of course, not all British people keep fit by engaging in extreme sports. Many go to the gym, swimming pool or fitness classes. However, it has to be said that the British are not the sportiest nation in the world. You see, watching TV often gets in the way. Increasingly, British people spend their free time watching TV. Sad, but true. The only comforting thing is that they are not on their own - most of the world seems to be doing the same!

As far as actually going away on holiday, many British people choose to spend their holidays abroad, preferably somewhere warm and dry. Spain, France and Greece are regular destinations due to convenient location and kind climate. City breaks are also a good idea for changing the scenery and enjoying new places without too much trouble.

 

 

TEXT 5. Read and translate the text and the dialogue. Share your experience about complaining.

How the British Complain

In restaurants, as elsewhere, the British may moan and grumble to each other about poor service or bad food, but they find it difficult to complain directly to the staff. Complaining would be «making a scene» or «drawing attention to oneself» in public – all forbidden by the unwritten rules. So when the waiter asks if everything is all right they smile politely and mutter: «Yes, fine, thanks».

Some braver people do complain, but their complaints sound timid and apologetic.

«Excuse me, I’m terribly sorry, um, but, er, this soup seems to be rather, well, not very hot – a bit cold really».

«Sorry, but, um, I ordered the steak and this looks like, er, well, fish».

«Sorry, but do you think we could order soon? (this after a twenty-minute wait with no sign of service) It’s just that we are in a bit of hurry, sorry». And they look at the floor as though they have done something wrong.

The British also tend to apologize for making perfectly reasonable requests:

«Oh, excuse me, sorry, but could we possibly have some salt?»

«Sorry, but could we have the bill now, please?

And even for spending money:

«Sorry, could we have another bottle of this, please?»

And they always apologize when they haven’t eaten much of their meal:

«Sorry, it was lovely, really, I’m just not very hungry».

At the restaurant

Husband: This meat is as tough as old boots. How is your fish?

Wife: It tastes off. And these vegetables are cold.

Husband: The wine is awful – I asked for dry and they have given us sweet!

Wife:And look, there’s a worm in my salad!

Waiter:How is your meal? Is everything all right?

Husband: Oh, yes it’s all lovely!

Wife: Excellent, thank you!

TEXT 6. Read and translate the text. Be ready to discuss.

The British and the Food

Changes

Today many people want food to be quick and easy. When both parents are working, they cannot cook large meals in the evenings. Ready-made meals from supermarkets and take-away meals from fast food restaurants are very popular. If you are feeling tired or lazy, you can even phone a local restaurant. They will bring the food to your house.

Eating out

Twenty years ago, British people usually ate at home. They only went out for a meal at special times, like for somebody’s birthday. But today, many people eat out at least once a week.

English breakfast

If you go to a hotel in Britain and ask for a typical English breakfast, you’ll probably get bacon and eggs, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, tea and toast. When porridge or fruit juice are offered as well, the meal is sometimes advertised as a “full English breakfast”. But how many people in England actually eat an English breakfast? Only one person in ten! In fact, today’s English breakfast is more likely to be nothing! One in five people say all they have for breakfast is a cup of coffee, and many children go to school without eating anything.

Lunch

If you go to Britain to study English and you stay with a family you will almost certainly be given a packed lunch to eat for your midday meal. Some factories and schools have canteens where you can eat but the packed lunch is the most common thing to eat. A packed lunch usually consists of some sandwiches, a packet of crisps, an apple and a can of something to drink, for example, Coca-Cola. The quality of a packed lunch can vary from terrible to very good, it all depends on who makes it.

British tastes

In the past, traditional steakhouses were very popular places, but now many people prefer foreign food. Every British town has Indian and Chinese restaurants, and large towns have restaurants from many other countries too.

Pubs are very popular. There are over 60 000 pubs in the UK. British people drink an average of 99,4 litres of beer is drunk in pubs and clubs.

Tea-drinking

The British population drinks about 2 000 000 000 cups of tea a day! That is an average of nearly 1 040 cups of tea a year for each person. Tea – mostly green tea from China – came to Britain in the late 1500s, but it was only for the very rich. It became cheaper about three hundred years later in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). People from all classes started drinking it. But some people thought that too much tea was bad for your health. So they started putting milk in it, to make it healthier!