- •Britis values and assumptions. Monarchy
- •Tasks for the video lesson 1. The island people (I)
- •Lesson 2. The island people (II)
- •Task 3. After watching. Sailing to britain...
- •As others see us
- •0 Wad1 come Pow'r the giftie2 gie3 us
- •It wad frae5 mony6 a blander free us
- •Views of britain. The official view
- •Тhe people's view
- •British society a changing world
- •Attitudes
- •Stereotypes and change
- •English versus british
- •Multiculturalism
- •Conservatism
- •Being different
- •The love of nature
- •The national trust
- •The love of animals
- •Formality and informality
- •The scruffy british
- •Public spiritedness and amateurism
- •I. Mark the following areas of activity as 'professional' or 'amateur / voluntary':
- •II. Sort out the following as positively or negatively viewed by the British:
- •Privacy and sex
- •Lovely weather we're having
- •I. Turn the following noun phrases into the corresponding verbal ones. Make the necessary changes.
- •II. Match the nouns with the adjectives they collocate with:
- •What is england?
- •I. Which of the following proverbs best reflect, to your thinking, the peculiarities of the English national character?
- •II. Explain the meaning of the following:
- •III. Match the adjectives with the nouns they collocate with:
- •IV. Explain the use of articles with the word England:
- •I. Fill in the grid:
- •II. Sort out the details for each "stereotype" of the English person
- •III. Answer the questions:
- •IV. Do you agree that
- •No longer an island
- •Have the english finally left their
- •Island mentality behind?
- •Cast in the same mould
- •Change of direction
- •I. Match the following proper names with relevant characteristics:
- •I. In groups and pairs discuss:
- •Vigdis Vad Milsen: a foreigner's point of view
- •Interview people who had contacts with the British or Americans. Ask about their impressions and discuss the results of your research in class. О национальном характере англичан.
- •Monarchy
- •Vocabulary
- •The royal family
- •The Sovereign
- •The Royal Family
- •The monarchy
- •I. Great Britain is a monarchy. Find out from your partner: what is the role of the monarch in a highly developed modern country?
- •II. Choose the correct equivalent for the word:
- •V. Say if you agree or .Disagree with the following and explain why:
- •VII. Express your opinion on the following:
- •Adapt or die?
- •I. Find out the following.
- •II. Make sure you understand the following words and expressions:
- •III. Match the words on the left with their definitions in the right-hand column:
- •IV. Fill in the gaps with the prepositions:
- •In groups and pairs discuss:
- •Republicans owe Sophie a debt of thanks
- •Banish minor royals from public life, say No 10 aides
- •The speaker we need
- •An open letter to her majesty queen elizabeth II
- •I remain,
- •III. Choose the right preposition:
- •IV. Fill in the gaps where necessary with suitable notional or functional words, using your active vocabulary:
- •V. Translate from Russian into English, using your active vocabulary:
Banish minor royals from public life, say No 10 aides
By Colin Brown, Political Editor
15 April 2001
The Countess of Wessex and Princess Michael of Kent should be barred from public engagements because of their private careers, according to some of Tony Blair's closest advisers.
The Prime Minister's aides are advising Mr Blair that, after the row over Sophie's covertly taped remarks to a Sunday newspaper, an internal review by Buckingham Palace must make radical changes in the way minor royals are allowed to carry out public engagements. It has been reported that the review by Lord Luce, the Lord Chamberlain, and senior palace officials, would recommend curbs on the careers of minor royals to avoid conflicts of interests with their public duties.
However, there are growing signals from the palace and Downing Street that instead their public engagements may be curbed to allow the pursuit of private careers. A palace source emphasised that the Queen made clear in a statement last week that she believes that, in a modern world, minor royals should continue to have careers. A senior adviser to Mr Blair said the Countess had "disqualified herself from public engagements by attacking Mr Blair for being "ignorant" about the countryside and claiming that Cherie Blair was "keeping her hand in" at the bar in case Labour lost the election.
"People like the Countess of Wessex and Princess Michael of Kent have got to make a choice of whether to continue doing what they want to do as individuals when it is incompatible with their public position," said one of Mr Blair's chief advisers. "The Countess of Wessex needs to make the choice between carrying on with their PR career and playing a full part in the royal firm.
"Her privately expressed comments about the Government have disqualified her from a public role. Her very raw and crude, inappropriate political comments show that she would be better to stick with her PR career."
Demands for reform of the monarchy have grown in the wake of the "Sophie tapes" and claims that the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent are cashing in on their royal status with 24 free trips overseas in 15 months. Downing Street has avoided becoming entangled in the row. However, the ministerial put-down of the Countess's unguarded remarks was sanctioned by Alastair Campbell.
The Prime Minister and his wife turned down an invitation from the Queen to a dinner last week at Windsor Castle to be attended by the Count and Countess of Wessex. The Conservative leader William Hague and his wife, Ffion, have accepted the Queen's invitation to another "dine and sleep" party at Windsor later this month. It is not clear , whether the countess will be there.
Prince Edward, Sophie's husband, may also be asked to choose between the trappings of his royal status - including £141,000 from the Queen for public engagements - and his commercial film company, Ardent.
Princess Michael of Kent