Celtic invasion and Celtic borrowings

The invasion of the Celtic tribes went on from the 8th – 7th cc. BC to the 1st c. BC.

The first Celtic comers were the Gaels, but the Brythons arrived two centuries later and pushed the Gaels to Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall (West Wales), and settled in the south and east. The Brythons (Britons) held most of the country, and the southern half of the island was named Britain after them.

About the 1st c. BC, the most powerful tribe, the Belgae, invaded the south-east. Part of the Brythons was pushed on to Wales, and the rest stayed in England.

Thus the whole of Britain was occupied by the Celts who merged with the Picts and Scots.

The Gaelic form of the Celtic dialects was spoken in Caledonia (modern Scotland) and Ireland, the Brythonic form in England and Wales.

This Celt-dominated mixture of the Picts, Scots and other ingredients came to be called Brythons or Britts.

Celtic borrowings in the English vocabulary are not very important, for examphe: noun bin – засік.

We can find Celtic element in geographical names:

Dover (Gael. Dour – water)

Llandaff, Llandovery (Gael. llan – church)

Loch Lomond, Loch Katrine (Loch – lake)

LONDON is of Celtic origin. The Celts called it Llyn-dun – фортеця поблизу ріки (dun-“hill” and also “fort”).

 

Food and drinks in the USA

Meal Times. In the U.S. meals are usually served at the following times: breakfast 6:30-10:00 a.m., lunch: 11:30 -2:00 p.m., dinner: 5:00 p.m. - 8:00. For breakfast meals Americans have cereal and milk, eggs and pancakes or French toast. For lunch they prefer a sandwich, yogurt or a light entrée. Dinner includes a main course of meat, poultry or fish, and soup, salad and vegetables. Brunch, a common Sunday meal served between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., is really a combination of breakfast and lunch.

Common dishes. There are a wide variety of foods, depending upon which type of restaurant you go to. Some American-style restaurants have a typical menu.

Appetizers are nachos /a tortilla chip topped with melted cheese/, chili /a thick sauce of meat and pepper/, shrimp cocktail, raw vegetables and dip, finger sandwiches, cheese and crackers. Soups are French onion, chicken, vegetable, and soup of the day. Salads are regular, Greek, chef, Caesar or spinach. Main Courses are steak, fried chicken, fish, hamburgers, pasta and pizza. Hot and Cold Sandwiches are combinations of ham, turkey, roast beef, chicken, tuna or egg salads etc., served between two slices of bread. Beverages are coffee, tea, soft drinks, mineral water and iced tea. Deserts are cakes, ice cream, frozen yogurt, fruit, etc. Breakfast dishes are cold cereal and milk, warm cereal, toast, yogurt, eggs, pancakes, French toast, waffles, etc.

Pot luck supper. Sometimes when the family gets together with other families they have what’s called potluck supper. This is an informal occasion, so people dress casually but nicely. Invitations can be written or made by phone, and each person is asked to bring a dish of food: starter, main course, salad or vegetable, or dessert. The hostess knows how many of each kind of dishes but not exactly what the guests will bring. That's why it is called "pot luck". It is a lovely surprise, holding a dinner party what you are going to feed your guests.

As the guests arrive, they put their "pot" on the table and the meal is served buffet-style. Drinks are provided, although some guests might bring a bottle of wine as a present. It is a fun, and a relaxed way of getting together with friends.

Restaurants. Americans eat out often. Fast food restaurants have wide popularity. There are two types of restaurants in the U.S.: fast food and full-service restaurants. The style of fast food restaurants is much like that of cafeteria. Patrons go up to a counter to order their meal: hamburgers, hot chicken sandwiches, and pizza. It is then placed on a plastic tray which patron brings to a table. A typical dinner costs from $3.00 to $6.00. It is expected that patrons will finish within 30-45 minutes. In full-service restaurants a waiter comes to take the patrons' order. Dinner can vary from $10.00 to $50.00. It is expected that pa­trons will finish eating and leave restaurant within an hour. To express satisfaction with service patrons will give a tip of 20% of the bill. Small tips are given to coat check attendants /up to $1.00/, rest room and car park attendants /50 cents/.

Water and ice. Most people in the U.S. drink tap water. Any cold beverage you order will be j served to you with ice unless you request otherwise.

Historically, there was the Grand Exchange. Kernels of New World corn became a yellow cur­rency more valuable to the well-being of the world than nuggets of gold. Potatoes kept famine from Euro­pean villages. Sweet potatoes eased China's dependence on rice. Wheat from the Middle East made North America's Great Plains the "breadbasket of the world". Five centuries after it started, the Grand Exchange goes on.

 

Music and folklore in Great Britain

Music can be inspiring force only if it is itself inspired. Music influences us because we all have different physical, mental and emotional tendencies. Each person will absorbfrom the music the kind of feeling natural for him. As we absorb the feeling of the music our inner nature grows. This growth is an enrichment of the psyche.

Music can open new phases of our inner life because the way of expression of music is limitless. There may be talents lying dormant within us which music can stimulate into activity. We can be affected in many different ways by the same composer. Beethoven's Eroica Symphony inspires heroic actions; his Moonlight Sonata brings into play our deepest emotions and longing for the Ideal.

Some kinds of music vitalise us, others depress and fill our hearts with melancholy.

I would like to tell you about Benjamin Britten/1913/, an English composer, pianist, conductor and outstanding representative of modern English music. He played the piano at seven, composed an oratorio at nine, and had written a symphony by the time he was 16. His opera Peter Grimes was produced in the USA.

He is an eclectic composer whose manner of writing is influenced by the aesthetic requirement of the work he is producing. Every page of his work bears originality.

Among his other compositions are Beggars' Opera, Midsummer Night's Dream. Britten's special gift lies in his music for the stage.

TRADITIONAL CEREMONIES IN LONDON

An Invitation to the Palace

When the Queen invites a lot of people for dinner, it takes three days to do the washing up. Everybody has five glasses: one for red wine, one for white wine, one for water, one for port, and one for liqueur. During the first and the second courses, the Queen speaks to the person on her left and then she speaks to the person on her right for the rest of the meal. When the Queen finishes her food, everybody finishes, and it is the time for the next course.

Changing the Guard

One of the most impressive and popular displays of royal pageantry is changing the Guard, which takes place every day, including Sunday, at 11.30.

The troops who take part are selected from the five regiments of Foot Guards. Their numbers are dependent on whether the Queen is in residence or not. These form the famous Brigade of Guards, and they consist of the Grenadiers, the Coldstream Guards, and the Welsh, Irish and Scots Guards.

Each regiment has two colours – a royal one and a regimental one. The royal colour can be seen only when the Queen is at home. Sometimes the colour is decorated with a laurel wreath. The laurel wreath signifies the anniversary of a battle in which the regiment was engaged.

The Brigade of Guards serves as a personal bodyguard to the Sovereign. When the Queen is in residence at Buckingham Palace, there is a guard of four sentries. Only two are on duty when she is away from London.

 

Big cities of the USA

NEW YORK CITY

New York City is the nation's largest city and richest port. It is the national leader in business and art. New-York City was the first capital /1789-90/ of the United States. It is the financial headquarters of the world. Park Avenue, Wall Street and Broadway have become synonyms for wealth. As a cultural capital the city has its theater district and the cultural complex of Lincoln Center. New York City is home of the United Nations Building., City area is 320 sq. miles. Population is 8 million.

Manhattan is the heart of the city. It is a rocky island, 13 miles long and 2 miles wide. Fifth Avenue is a symbol of wealth and elegance. Seventh Avenue symbolizes the women's fashion industry. Broadway is a place where most theatres are situated. Manhattan is divided into 3 parts: down­town, midtown /20th St - Central park/, and uptown. Downtown Manhattan is the business center. Wall Street - America's financial center - has become world famous. The City Hall houses the offices of the Mayor. In China Town there are shops with goods from the Orient. There is the campus of NY University. Greenwich Village is home of literary and artistic world.

Statue of Liberty Museum is on Liberty Island. The statue is largest ever made. There are exhibits of Museum of Immigration in base of statue. The Statue of Liberty was presented by France on July 4,1884 for the U.S. centennial.

Uptown Manhattan has a Memorial to Christopher Columbus in Columbus Circle. New York Coliseum is most modern exhibition hall. Central Park has playgrounds and tennis courts. Lincoln Center in­cludes the new Met /the Metropolitan Opera/ and the NY State Theatre and Philharmonic Hall. American Museum of Natural Histor y has finest collections. Metropolitan Museum of Art collections cover 5,000 years. Columbia University was founded in 1754. The tuition is $6,000 a year.