A HOLIDAY IN GREAT BRITAIN

A man was spending his holidays in England and one day he was invited for tea with an English family. He found that his tea was not sweet enough, and he told the hostess about it. The latter pointed to the sugar bowl and said – “Help yourself”.

Then the man went to Wales. He happened to be at a tea party with a Welsh family and found his tea was not sweet enough. When he remarked on this to the hostess she thought for a moment and then said – “Could you please pass me your cup and I’ll sweeten it for you.”

Towards the end of his holiday the fellow went to Scotland and one day he happened to be having tea at the house of a Scottish friend of his, and, what a funny coincidence! Again his tea was not sweet enough. He addressed Mrs Mc Something-or-other in the following way –“Excuse me, my tea isn’t sweet enough”. – The hostess looked at him suspiciously and asked – “Are you sure you’ve stirred your tea properly?”

About one in nine people identified themselves as something other than ‘white British’. The largest category is ‘white other’, these people are from a variety of places and they do not form a single identifiable community. By far the largest recognizable ethnic grouping was formed by people whose ethnic roots are in the Indian subcontinent (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi), together they made up more then two million people. The other established, recognizable ethnic group in Britain is black Caribbeans (a little over half a million people). In the years 2004-2007 between three quarters of a million and one million people came to Britain from Eastern Europe (especially Poland). Their numbers represent the largest single wave of immigration to Britain in more than 300 years.

QUESTIONS

1. What are the names the country is referred to?
2. People of what nations are living on the islands?
3. What are the symbols and tokens of the nationalities, living in Britain?
4. What stereotypes of national character are known in Britain?
5. What culture is dominant in Britain?
6. What are some of the differences in culture and lifestyle across Britain? What is their origin?

UNIT TWO

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1104