A Nation of Newspaper Readers

More daily newspapers are sold per person in Britain than in almost any other country. Sunday papers are especially popular and some people spend all day reading them.

A nation of Animal Lovers

Britain is famous for being a nation of animal lovers, and many people in Britain keep pets. The most popular pets are dogs, cats, hamsters, birds and rats. All in all, there are more than 27 million pets in the country. According to a recent survey, half of pet owners let their cats or dogs sleep in their bed, 40% buy their pets Christmas and birthday presents, 10% of pets eat meals at the table with their owners.

The Rich

The richest people in Britain are pop stars, actors, writers, inventors and members of the royal family. Paul McCartney is the world's first pop star billionaire.

London Zoo

Founded in 1828 London Zoo is the oldest zoo in the world. More than 15,000 animals live there today. One cage invites visitors to step inside, and the sign on the cage reads: «London Zoo presents the most destructive animal in the world – Man».

The London Eye

The London Eye is one of the tallest obser­vation wheel in the world. It is 135m high. Since opening in March 2000 it has become a symbol of modern Britain.

The London Underground

The London Underground is the oldest underground railway in the world! It was built in 1863! Londoners call it the “Tube” because of the shape of the most tunnels.

Cricket

Cricket, the national sport of England, is terribly long. It can take five days to play! It's terribly slow, too. Thirteen players are on the field, but ten of these stand still most of the time. Another strange thing about cricket is that both teams wear the same colour - white. Some words and phrases usedin cricket have become idioms. It isn't cricket, for example, means «it's unfair».

Clubs and Societies

There are all sorts of clubs and societies in Britain: the Left-Handers Club, the Tall Person Club, the Talbot Association (only for people called Talbot), the Bald-Headed Club, the Spoon Collectors club, the Button collectors club, the Thimble Society, the Hat Pin Society... The list is endless.

TEXT 3. Read and translate the text. Give some more symbols of Great Britain.

Icons of Great Britain

The Rose

England. The national flower of England is the rose. It all started during the time of the Wars of the Roses – civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

At the end of the war the two roses were combined in the Tudor rose. The idea belonged to Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch and the father of Henry VIII. Henry was a Lancastrian, but he fell in love with Elizabeth of York, married her – and united the two houses. Looking for a symbol of this union, he chose a red rose with a white rose in it.

During the Tudor period, hundreds of inns were named the Rose – to show loyalty to the royal family. There are still many pubs and hotels all over the country named after this flower.

In 1871, the newly formed Rugby Football Union selected an England team to play the first ever international match against Scotland. The committee chose a red rose as the team's badge. Although England lost the match, held in Edinburgh, the country's rugby teams have worn red roses ever since. Besides, every country in the United Kingdom has its own national flower.

Scotland. The national flower of Scotland is a wild plant – a thistle.

Wales. The Welsh emblem is a vegetable or a flower – a leek or a daffodil.

Northern Ireland. And the national flower of Northern Ireland is another wild flower – a shamrock.

The V-sign

Nobody knows for sure where the V-sign came from but many English people have chosen it as a national icon. During World War II it was used to mean victory, and it was used again by hippies in the 1960s and 1940s to mean peace. As the symbol of peace, it has become universal, while the «V for Victory» will forever be associated with the wartime prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill.

Fish and Chips

It all started about 150 years ago, when women in poor English families had to go out to work in factories. There was no time to shop and cook so they bought fast food in the street, on the way back from work. The most popular was fried fish with a piece of bread. Then the first chips came from France. The «chipped» potatoes, as they were called in those days, were also sold in the street. But at first, no one thought of selling fish and chips together.

The idea to sell fish and chips together first came to a Londoner Joseph Malin. In 1860, he opened a fish-and-chip shop in Cleveland Street in London’s East End. Soon there were fish’n’chip shops everywhere in working-class areas. They used to put your fish and chips in an old newspaper – with a lot of salt and vinegar on top. Be careful because sometimes they give you too much!

Today, fish and chips are a still very popular in Britain but they come in clean white paper bags! You can buy your fish and chips «open» so you can eat them as you walk home, or you can buy them «wrapped» to keep them warm until you get home. More than 250 million portions are eaten in the country every year.

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.