Текст 4

Eating out

Many housewives in Britain have nice kitchens in their apartments. But they have neither time nor desire to cook. They often buy ready-made food at the supermarkets or go to restaurants.

In most towns there is a wide variety of restaurants serving different types of food at different prices. Most British towns now have Chinese or Indian restaurants which serve quite cheap food; Italian restaurants are also popular and French restaurants are famous for high quality expansive cooking.

When you have looked at the menu and chosen what you want to eat, the waiter will come and take your order. Normally, you tell him what you want for the first two courses. He will take your order for the dessert and coffee later.

In some places you can dance to disco music between the courses of your meal. "Dine and dance" is offered by the restaurants of large hotels and clubs.

While having your drink or meal you may enjoy a cabaret. This can be any kind of show: music, singing, dancing, or people telling stories or jokes.

When you finish eating, ask the waiter to bring you the bill. In most restaurants a service charge (10-15 %) is added into the total sum that's why it's not necessary to give the waiter a tip.

According to the restaurants etiquette you don't shout "Waiter" loudly across the room if you want to call him. You raise your hand and try to catch the waiter's eyes without shouting or waving your arms. It's not easy to get the waiter's attention, but it's much more polite than shouting - which would make you very unpopular.

As well as restaurants most towns have a number of bars and cafes where you can get sandwiches and other snacks. There are also hamburger restaurants specializing in cheap meals - especially hamburgers. Many pubs now have restaurants or grill rooms too. In some you can get a full range of dishes, in others the choice is more limited.

A fairly recent development is the growth of take-away restaurants. Here you can buy cooked meals to take home.

Ответьте на вопросы:

1. Do many housewives in Britain often buy ready-made food at the supermarkets and go to restaurants?

1. Can you find any other restaurants except British in most towns?

2. What can you say about service in restaurants?

3. What other places to go out for a meal in Great Britain do you know?

Текст 5

English Pubs

Pubs are very important part of British life. People talk, eat, drink, meet their friends and relax here. They are open at lunch time and again in the evening. But they close at 11 p.m. (10.30) on Sundays. The word "pub" is short for "public house". There are thousands in Britain, and they nearly all sell pub lunches. One of these is a Ploughman's lunch, a very simple meal. It's just bread and cheese.

Pubs also sell beer (British beer is usually warm). The traditional kind is called "real ale". That's a very strong beer from an old recipe. In the pubs in south-west England there's another traditional drink - scrumpy (cider). You make scrumpy with apples, but it's not a simple fruit juice. It's very strong.

If they are with friends, British people sometimes lift their glasses before they drink and say "Cheers". This means "Good luck". Pub names often have a long tradition. Some come from the 13^th or 14^th century. Every pub has a name and every pub has a sign above its door. The sign illustrates the pub's name.

For company and conversation, the English people go to the pub. The cafes in England sell only coffee, tea and "soft" drinks. You go to a cafe for a meal or for quick cup of tea, but not to sit and watch the world go by. When you want to relax after a day's work, you go to the local public house. Everybody goes there, except children, who are not allowed in. if you go up to the bar, you may find every kind of person: doctors, schoolmasters, and workmen. They all go there to talk and to drink their unusual drink.

Nearly everyone drinks beer. Most pubs, in fact, have a piano and on Saturday night the customers may well gather round it and sing. The songs they sing are the same all over England: sentimental and sad songs, like "if you were the only girl in the World". They are easy to learn. The people who want to sing ask someone to play the tunes on the old piano. They group themselves round it and they buy drinks for the pianist. That is the custom. The one who plays has free drinks as long as he plays.

Good humour and good temper give English pubs their character. If you go there regularly the landlord will try to get to know you. He will remember what you usually drink and may well become a personal friend, the pub is the place where you meet people. You get to know other "regulars". You talk about the weather or how the English cricket team is doing in the Test Match against Australia. The pub is after the only place where men may meet each other after work. It is very surprising, but even in large cities each public house has its own regular customers, who go there every night, to drink one or two pints, slowly, and to have a game of dominoes or to play darts. And although they see each other almost every night for years, the regulars who meet there will never go into each other's homes.

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• Favourite songs

• Pub visitors

• Healthy food

• The main pub drink

• Pub food

• "Cheers"

• A regular customer