English business etiquette
Conservative dress is very important for both men and women. Whether you’re inter-viewing for a professional jobs or a restaurant position.
Dark suits, usually black, blue, or gray, are quite acceptable.
Men’s shirts should not have pockets; if they do, the pockets should always be kept empty. Additionally, men should wear solid or patterned ties, while avoiding striped ties.
Men wear laced shoes, not loafers.
Businesswomen are not as limited to colours and styles as men are, though it is still important to maintain a conservative image.
It is unwise to rush the English into making a decision.
A simple handshake is the standard greeting (for both men and women) for business occasions.
Privacy is very important to the English. Therefore asking personal questions or intensely staring at another person should be avoided.
Eye contact is seldom kept during British conversations.
To signal that something is to be kept confidential or secret, tap your nose.
Personal space is important in England, and one should maintain a wide physical space when conversing.
A smiling face is a welcoming face. Smile a lot, respect the people and their customs and you will be treated with respect.
The English like to form orderly queues (standing in line) and wait patiently for their turn e.g. boarding a bus.
If someone is blocking your way and you would like them to move, say ‘excuse me’ and they will move out of your way.
It is very good manners to say “please” and “thank you”. It is considered rude if you don't. You will notice in England that we say “thank you” a lot. If you accidentally bump into someone, say “sorry”.
Men and women both hold open the door for each other. It depends on who goes through the door first.
English weather
The
English say ‘Other countries have a climate, in England we have
weather’. It happens because the weather changes more often than in
other countries. The
English weather on the whole is not good.
English weather is very changeable:
a fine morning may change into a wet afternoon and evening.
British winters are mild and springs are cool because of the winds that blow from the Atlantic Ocean. In spring sunshine and showers follow each other so often during the day that an umbrella or a raincoat is absolutely necessary in England. Summer is the hottest season in England. It's time for holidays, when people go to the seaside for sunbathing and swimming. As for autumn it isn't so nice. It's a season of winds. Days of sunny and warm weather in September is called Indian summer. In winter in England it sometimes rains and sometimes it snows. It isn’t cold in winter and they don't get much snow. Spring flowers start to bloom from February.
No conversation ever starts in England without a comment on the weather. It is almost a formality. “How do you do?”, “Nice day today, isn’t it?”, “Isn’t it hot today?”, “Isn’t it a beastly day?”, “Shocking weather, isn’t it?”
These remarks are often used when speaking about the weather:
What’s the weather like today? - Какая сегодня погода?
How’s the weather? - Как погода?
Is it cold outside? / Is it cold out? – На улице холодно?
Is it hot outside? / Is it hot out? - На улице жарко?
It’s not too cold. It’s not too hot. – Не очень холодно (жарко).
It’s getting colder. It's getting warmer. – Холодает (теплеет).
Do you know the weather forecast? They said it might get windy at night.
What’s the temperature? It’s pretty warm, 20 degrees Celsius.
Nice weather (хорошая погода)
Beautiful weather, isn’t it?
It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?
Nice morning today, isn’t it? Yes, it is. / It sure is.
How nice the weather is today!
The weather is fine.
The weather is good today. The sky is clear, the sun is shining.
Bad weather (плохая погода)
Terrible weather, isn’t it?
What a terrible day! Yes. / It sure is.
It is cold, isn’t it? / Cold, isn’t it?
The weather is bad today. The wind is blowing, and it is getting colder.
It’s terrible outside. The snow is melting, and the roads are slippery.
It looks like rain. It looks as if it is going to rain.
I got caught in the rain yesterday.
I was wet to the skin. I got wet to the skin.
I hope it would get warmer soon.
I love it when it’s warm like this!
The
sun is shining
It's
drizzling
The
wind is blowing
It's raining
It's
hailing
It's
pouring = It’s
bucketing.
It's
snowing
It's
thundering
(The snow is falling.)
Sweltering
= It’s sweltering.
Freezing
= It’s freezing
or It’s a sweltering day. or It’s a freezing day.
Warm
= It’s warn.
Cold
= It’s cold.
or It’s a warm day. or It’s a cold day.
CONVERSATIONS:
A: What beastly weather! It is simply pouring!
B: It is. And I’ve got wet through.
A: I’ve seen on Internet that there will be a heat spell later this week.
B: Oh, I don’t mind the rain. It is quite pleasant to walk with a good raincoat on.
A: And you call this July! Where is the summer?
B: Oh, we had it last Thursday after dinner.
***
Fred: It's so cold, I can’t stop shivering! I hate winter!
Bob: Oh, it’s not so bad. I mean, it could be worse.
Fred: Well, what’s winter like in New York? It must be better than here in
London.
Bob: Actually, it’s worse! Not only is it colder with more snow, but winter
lasts longer as well.
Fred: That sounds terrible. People there must be happy when February comes
around. They can really look forward to spring.
Bob: Actually, February is the worst month of the winter. And we usually have
snow in March, often in April too. In a very bad winter, we can even have
snow in May!
Fred: Oh, that’s terrible! How can people live there?
Bob: Believe it or not, many people look forward to winter.
Fred: That’s hard to believe. Who would be so crazy?
Bob: People who love to ski or ice skate would be so crazy. For them, winter is
the best season of the year.
Fred: I guess I can understand their feelings. Maybe I should learn to ski or ice
skate.
Bob: I used to ice skate a lot when I was younger. Is there any place we can go
ice skating in London?
Fred: I know of one ice skating rink, in the shopping centre. There’s a rink
right in the middle! People skate in the basement, while people on the
first floor can watch them from above.
Bob: Maybe we should go there once, just to try it.
Words & Expressions:
mild — умеренный (о погоде, климате и т. п.) cool — прохладный, свежий shower — сильный ливень an umbrella — зонт a raincoat — плащ weather forecast — прогноз погоды to sunbath — загорать на солнце Indian summer — бабье лето foggy — туманный gloomy — мрачный to freeze (froze, frozen) — замерзать, покрываться льдом drizzle – мелкий дождь, моросить
hail – град
it is bucketing – дождь льет как из ведра
sleet – дождь со снегом
thunder – гром
sweltering – душный, знойный
beastly weather – отвратительная погода
spell – короткий промежуток времени
to shiver – дрожать от холода
Questions:
What do the English say about their weather?
What people do in summer?
What is your favourite season?
What do you think the weather will be like tomorrow? on Sunday? next week?
e.g. I think it’ll be hot next week.
(cool, sunny, rainy, warm, lovely, fine, damp, foggy, windy, cold, wet)