Read the text with a dictionary and answer the questions that follow it.

The 6 ravens have been kept in the Tower of London now for centuries. They used to come in from Essex for food cracks when the Tower was used as a palace. Over the years people thought that if the ravens ever left the Tower, the Monarchy would fall. So Charlesdeclared that 6 ravens should always be kept in the Tower and should be paid a wage from the treasury. Sometimes they live as long as 25 years but their wings are clipped, so they can’t fly away, and when a raven dies another raven is brought from Essex.

Some ceremonies are traditional, such as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Trooping the Colour ¹, the State Opening of Parliament. The ceremony of trooping the Colour is one of the most fascinating. It is staged in front of Buckingham Palace. It is held annually on the monarch’s official birthday which is the second Saturday in June. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Colonel-in-Chief of the Life Guards.

She is escorted by Horse Guards riding to the Parade. The ceremony is accompanied by the music of bands. The procession is headed by the Queen.

In England the Queen opens the parliament once a year, she goes to the House of Parliament in the golden coach, she wears the crown and the crown jewels. She opens the Parliament with a speech in the House of Lords. The cavalrymen wear red uniforms, shining helmets, long black boots and long white gloves. These men are Life Guards.

In the House of Lords, Chancellor sits on the sack of wool. This tradition comes from the old times when sheep wool made England rich and powerful.

In the House of Commons there are two rows of benches: one row is for the government and the other one is for the opposition. The benches are divided by a strip of carpet, which is also a tradition from old days, when that division prevented two parties from fighting during the debates.

The Englishmen have love for old things. They prefer houses with a fireplace and a garden to a flat in modern houses with central heating. The houses traditionally are not very high. They usually two-storied. British buses are double-decked and red, mail-boxes are yellow, the cars keep to the left side of road-all these are traditions.

Most English 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 English people love animals very much too. Sometimes their pets have a far better life in Britain than anywhere else. In Britain they usually buy things for their pets in pet-shops. All the animals‚ domestic or wild‚ are protected by the law and cruelty to them is punished by the British police.

Queuing is normal in Britain, when they are waiting for a bus or waiting to be served in a shop. People will become very angry, and very rude, if you ‘jump’ the queue.

Traditionally telephone boxes, letter boxes and double-decker buses are red.

Old customs and traditions may seem strange to visitors but the English still keep up them, which mix with everyday life in the streets.

^1.Trooping the Colour – «торжественный развод караула с выносом знамени».

Answer the questions on the text:

1. What categories can you divide British traditions into?

2. What’s the role of customs and traditions in the life of the British people?

3. What hobbies do the Englishmen have?

4. What is normal for Britains but seems strange and unusual to you?

Chapter 9. The systems of education in Belarus and Great Britain

Text 1. The System of Education in Belarus

Read the text and do the exercises that follow it.

Study the following vocabulary before reading the texts:

compulsory – обязательный

a vocational school – училище

great emphasis is laid on – большой упор делается на