Тексты для индивидуальной работы - 10 класс

Animals in Great Britain

People in Great Britain like animals. There are even special hospitals, which help wild animals. There are a lot of television films about wildlife. They are very popular with children and grown ups. A lot of British families have 'bird tables' in their gardens. Birds can eat from them during the winter months. The 'bird table' should be high because cats can eat birds.

The British often think their animals are like people. For example in Britain animals can have jobs like people. British Rail has cats and pays them for their work. Their job is to catch mice. There is usually one cat per station. They get food and free medical help. The cats don't catch a lot of mice but they are very popular with the British Rail staff and travellers.

Traditions and customs

Every nation and every country has its own traditions and customs. In Britain traditions play a more important role in the life of people than in other countries. They say British people are very conservative . They are proud of their traditions  and carefully keep them up. But when we speak about British traditions we always remember that there are four parts in Britain — England,  Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Traditions are different in these parts of the country.

You already know some of the English traditions and holidays. We hope you remember St. Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween which have also become traditional American holidays. Here are some more facts about old English traditions.

    One of the old English legends  says that London can be the capital of the country, rich and great until twelve black ravens live in the Tower of London. Each has got its name and the keepers carefully look after them. If one of the birds dies, another younger raven takes its place. Londoners believe this legend and always bring some food to give to the birds when they come to the Tower. The keepers cut the birds' wings a bit as they are afraid that they may fly away.

Another old English tradition is Guy Fawkes Day. Children go out into the streets on the 5th of November with figures  like scarecrows. They stand in the streets and squares asking for the usual "Penny for the Guy". Then with the money they have collected they buy fireworks and burn the guy (the figure like a scarecrow) on their bonfire.

People watch fireworks and some people go to parties in the evening.

 Though different countries have different traditions and holidays people all over the world know some of them. They are — Easter, Christmas and New Year.

I.     True  or  False.

1. Every country has its own traditions and customs.

2. There are no common traditions all over the world.

3. English people celebrate Maslenitsa.

4. There are some common holidays in  England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

5. London  can  be  great  until   10  black  ravens  live in the Tower.

6. English people celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on the 5th of November.

II. Choose the best title for the text.   

     1. BRITISH ARE JUST TRADITIONS CRAZY!

     2. MORE ABOUT BRITISH TRADITIONS.

     3.  GUY FAWKES DAY.

 III.  Match the words from the left column with their Russian equivalents from the right column.

1. look after                         a.   фейерверк                                          

2. scarecrow                        b.   обычай

3. firework                           c.   заботиться

4. custom                             d.   костер

5. bonfire                             e.   чучело

Tea

Everybody knows that Britain is a tea-drinking nation. Tea is more than just a drink to the British –  it is a way of life. Many people drink it first with breakfast, then mid-morning, with lunch, at tea-time (around 5 o’clock), with dinner and finally just before bed. As a nation, they go through 185 million cups per day! No less than 77% of British people are regular tea drinkers; they drink more than twice as much tea as coffee.

A legend says that tea was discovered in China in the third millennium BC. When a Chinese Emperor was having breakfast in his garden, a tea leaf fell into his cup with hot water. The water became coloured and the Emperor was delighted with the taste of the new drink. To Britain, tea came much later. It happened in the 17^th century, when the British ships landed on the shore of China and came back with a load of tea.

Tea drinking became fashionable in England after Charles II married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza. She adored tea, and introduced it to the royal court. Just as people today will copy celebrities, people in the 17th and 18th centuries copied the royal family. Tea drinking spread like wildfire, starting first among the nobles and then spreading to wealthy businessmen who liked to sit down for a nice “cuppa” in coffee houses. Tea was an expensive product. It was only for the rich and often kept under lock and key.

In the 17^th century the British really had two daily meals –  breakfast and dinner. Dinner was the heaviest meal of the day, and was usually served in the afternoon. The custom of eating a regular “afternoon tea” began during the 1700’s, as people began serving dinner later and later in the evening. For the aristocracy, or at least for the Duchess Anna Maria of Bedford, 6 hours between meals was simply too long. She began to ask for a cup of tea and light snacks to be served around 5 pm, and then began to invite guests to join her. The custom of “afternoon tea” was born, and it spread among the upper classes and then among the workers, for whom this late afternoon meal became the main of the day.

The first tea shop for ladies was opened by Thomas Twining in 1717 and slowly tea shops began to appear throughout England making the drinking of tea available to everyone. The British appreciated the new drink for its taste. It was also believed that tea cured lots of diseases. However, the most important thing was that drinking tea prevented lots of diseases –  to make the drink people used boiled water and drank less raw water.

Tea has worked its way into language too. Nowadays people have tea breaks at work. Many people call the main evening meal tea, even if they drink beer with it. When there is a lot of trouble about something very unimportant, it is called a storm in a tea cup. When someone is upset or depressed, people say they need tea and sympathy. In fact, tea is the best treatment for all sorts of problems and troubles.

1. Why is tea considered to be a way of life for an Englishman?

2. Who brought tea to Britain first?

3. Why was tea often kept under lock and key?

4. How could tea prevent diseases in the past?

5. What does it mean “a storm in a tea cup”?