1. III. The british character

1. Read the proverbs and find the Russian equivalents. Think what they have in common.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

So many countries, so many customs.

East or West home is best.

2. You are going to read a list of sayings. Choose those that could describe the British way of life and give your comments.

An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.

The Englishman who visits Mount Etna will carry his tea-kettle to the top.

In Britain you need four ‘thank you’ to buy a bus ticket.

Not only England, but every Englishman is an island.

3. Read the text and choose the sayings, which are according to the text.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Good and bad manners make up the social rules of the country. It is not always easy to learn them because they are not written down in books! These are “unwritten rules”.

Visitors to Britain are often surprised by the strange behaviour of its inhabitants. The British like queues. They queue up when they are waiting for a bus, in shops… So one of the mistakes is to get on a bus without waiting your turn. The British are very sensitive to such behaviour and they may get angry at queue–jumpers – people who do not wait their turn in the queue.

The British are more reserved than the people of many other countries. They do not like to show their emotions. They usually do not easily get into conversation with strangers. They do not like personal questions (for example, how much they earn or about their family life). They take more time to make friends. They would like to know you better before they ask you home. So do not be upset if your English friends do not invite you home!

It is rude to smoke in someone’s house without asking: “May I smoke here?”

If you enjoyed the evening, call your friend the next day or write him a short “thank you letter”. Perhaps it seems funny to you, but British say “thank you, thank you” all the time.

In some countries it is not polite to eat in the street. In Britain it is common to see people eating in the street, but it is not polite to smoke in the public places. And non–smokers can be rude to smokers who break the rule.

Pubs are an important part in British life. People, especially men, go to the pubs to relax, meet friends and sometimes to do business.

At one time, it was unusual for women to go to pubs. These days, however, there are only a few pubs where it is surprising for a woman to walk in.

Children under the age of 14 are still not allowed into some pubs.

Pub food is cheaper than in most restaurant, and you do not have to leave a tip. But you have to go to the bar to get your food and drink. There are no waiters in pubs.

Try to remember all these rules, when you are in Britain, as there is a very good proverb: “When in Rome, do as Romans do”.

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

1. social rules

2. “unwritten rules”.

3. character

4. inhabitants

5. traits of character

6. features

7. to behave

8. behaviour

9. to characterize

10. to seem

11. failure

12. to be supposed to

13. to queue up

14. to wait someone’s turn

15. habit

16. to make friends

17. to get into conversation

18. to rely on

19. to break rules

20. to follow the rules

EXERCISES ON THE VOCABULARY

1. Divide the adjectives into positive and negative.

reserved selfish

conservative sympathetic

polite open

friendly easy-going

rude reliable

emotional sensitive

communicative flexible

hardworking relaxed

creative kind

ambitious honest

4. Make up a 5-sentence story, which would describe one trait of character. The other students should guess the word.

5. Translate the part of the sentence using the words from the vocabulary list.

1. Visitors to Britain are often surprised by странным поведением местных жителей.

2. Соблюдение очереди является типичной чертой поведения Британцев when they are waiting for a bus.

3. Weather talk считается традиционным началом разговора.

4. The British are very замкнутые, поэтому им нужно много времени, чтобы подружиться или начать разговор.

5. It is easier нарушить правило than соблюдать его.

6. People were afraid of положиться на него, т.к. он казался неудачником.

7. Every nation has its customs and типичные черты характера.

8. Привычка пить чай в 5 часов became a tradition.

EXERCISES ON THE TEXT

1. Summarize the information from the sayings and make up the list of the adjectives that may describe the British.

2. Listening. Work in pairs. One of you is “A” and another is “B”. “A” is going to listen to the man and “B” – to the woman. Make the list of adjectives describing the British character.

3. Compare your lists. What have you learned about British people?

4. Read the text and fill in the table.

	Britain	Europe	Russian
Weather Life Family Clothes Food Communication manners

A Warning to Beginners

In England everything is other way round. You must understand that when people say ‘England’, they sometimes mean ‘Great Britain’ (England, Scotland and Wales), sometimes they mean ‘the United Kingdom’ (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), sometimes ‘the British Isles’ (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland) – but never just England.

On Sundays in Europe the poorest person wears his best clothes and the life of the country becomes happy, bright and colourful. On Sundays in England the richest people wear their oldest clothes and the country becomes dark and sad.

In Europe nobody talks about the weather; in England you have to say, “Nice day, isn’t it?” about two hundred times every day, or people think, you are a bit boring.

In Europe you get Sunday newspaper on Monday. In England, a strange country, you get Sunday newspaper on Sunday.

In Europe people like their cats but in England they love their cats more than their family.

In Europe people eat good food. In England people think that good manners at the table are more important than the food you get to eat. The English eat bad food but they say it tastes good.

In Europe important people speak loudly and clearly; in England they learn to speak slowly and quietly so you cannot understand them.

In England clever people show that they are clever by talking about Aristotle, Horace and Montaigne; in Europe only stupid people try to show how clever they are. The only people who speak about Latin and Greek writers are those who have not read them.

Europeans cry and quickly get angry; instead of this the English just laugh at their problems quietly.

In Europe people are either honest with you or they lie to you; In England people almost never lie, but they are almost never quite honest with you either.

Many Europeans think that life is a game; the English think cricket is a game.

5. If you have a chance to communicate with a British or an European person who will you prefer to talk with? Pay attention to features of Russian character.

6. Take part in competition. Write a short description of what a visitor to your country should expect in terms of cultural behaviour and win a trip to a country of your choice.

7. Choose one situation and make up a dialogue:

1. You are going to travel to GB and come to the travel agency and you need some advice how to behave in this country. You ask the agent to help.

2. You are going to visit GB and you ask your friend, who has visited GB, to give you a piece of advice about the main rules of behaviour in this country.

3. You are in GB and your English friend gives you recommendations how to behave yourself in this country.