Билет 25. The rock fish (Leam O’Flaherty) – short story

1) dominating prose systems and their significance

2) popular Br/Am. pastimes that you associate with different social groups.

Popular pastimes in the UK, US

Britain.

The weekends are a time for families in Britain. Often the parents are not at work having worked a five day week from Monday to Friday. Saturdays are a busy time for many families going shopping. Sundays used to be a very special day of the week in Britain. It was the one day of the week for 'worship and rest'. The shops were closed and most people were at home or at church. Popular leisure activities on Sunday used to be going to church and doing odd jobs around the home such as gardening. Until a few years ago shops were not permitted to open on a Sunday. Sundays today are becoming like any other day other week with shops open. Some families will now spend their time shopping rather than going to church or they will combine the two activities.

Britain is becoming a far less Christian country with fewer people regularly attending Church.Many Christian's believe that Sunday should be kept special, as a time given to worshipping God. They think it is important for Christians to meet together, listen to readings from the Bible and celebrate Holy Communion. Others believe that it is important that families have time to be together. (The shopping hours on a Sunday are less than on any other day of the week.) People enjoy various indoor and outdoor activities in Britain.

A recent Euro survey, the EU's statistical office, discovered that people in Britain spend about 45% of their free time watching television, 24% of their free time socializing, 22-23% on sport and hobbies, and 10% on other activities. Other popular leisure activities are listening to the radio, listening to pre-recorded music, reading, gardening, eating out and going to the cinema.

The most common leisure activity in the UK is watching television.  The average viewing time is 25 hours per person per week. Almost all households have at least one television set.Many television programmes are about wildlife, animals, holidays, cooking and gardening. All these things are much cherished by British people.

The Brits are known as a nation of gardeners. Most people have a garden on their property. Gardening has been a popular pastime since Roman times.Many people in Britain are proud of their houses and gardens. They want their houses and gardens to look nice. Every town in Britain has one or more DIY (Do it Yourself) centres and garden centres. These are like supermarkets for the home and garden. These places are very popular with British home-owners at the weekends.

Sports and physical recreation have always been popular. Local governments provide cheap sport and leisure facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, parks. People go to watch other people play sports like football or take part in sports themselves.

The word pub is short for public house. There are over 60, 000 pubs in the UK. One of the oldest pubs, Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, Herts, is located in a building that dates back to the eleventh century. Pubs are an important part of British life. People talk, eat, drink, meet their friends and relax there.

Pubs often have two bars, one usually quieter than the other, many have a garden where people can sit in the summer. Children can go in pub gardens with their parents.

Groups of friends normally buy 'rounds' of drinks, where the person whose turn it is will buy drinks for all the members of the group. It is sometimes difficult to get served when pubs are busy: people do not queue, but the bar staff will usually try and serve those who have been waiting the longest at the bar first. If you spill a stranger's drink by accident, it is good manners (and prudent) to offer to buy another drink. Most pubs belong to a brewery (a company which makes beer) but sell many different kinds of beer, some on tap (from a big container under the bar) and some in bottles. The most popular kind of British beer is bitter, which is dark and served at room temperature (not hot, not cold). British beer is brewed from malt and hops.

More popular today though is lager, which is lighter in colour and served cold. Guinness, a very dark, creamy kind of beer called a stout, is made in Ireland and is popular all over Britain.

In the West of England, cider made from apples, is very popular. Like wine, it is described as sweet or dry, but is drunk in beer glasses and can be stronger than beer.

Most pubs offer a complete range of beers, local and imported, with German, Belgian and French beers being in demand.

Although most people think pubs are places where people drink alcohol, pubs in fact sell soft drinks (non alcoholic) drinks too. Nearly all pubs sell pub lunches. One of these is the Ploughman's Lunch which is a great wedge of Cheddar cheese, some bread, some pickle, and an onion. Other typical pub foods are scampi (kind of shellfish) and chips (fried potatoes), pie and chips, and chicken and chips. Various games, especially darts, are common features of pubs; many of the old country pubs continue to promote traditional games, such as 'Bat and Trap' (played in Kent) which have been played for hundreds of years.

Licensing Laws

The legal age to purchase alcohol is 18. People aged 16 and 17, with the licensee's permission, may consume only 1 glass of wine, beer or cider with a table meal in specific areas of the premises, providing they're with an adult and the adult orders it (England & Wales only, Scotland no adult required to be present).

It is illegal to sell alcohol to someone who already appears drunk. You may not buy alcohol for a drunk person on licensed premises. All off-sales are advised to ask for photographic ID if the person looks under 21. Purchasing alcohol on behalf of a minor will result in an £ 80 on-the-spot fine.

Fourteen-year-olds may enter a pub unaccompanied by an adult if they order a meal. Children may enter a pub with their parents until 9 p.m., which lets families enjoy reasonably priced pub meals together, and allows pubs to continue in their traditional roles as community centers.

Legal age for drinking alcohol at home

The legal age for drinking in one's home is 5 provided parental consent is given. Children under 5 must not be given alcohol unless under medical supervision in an emergency.

Customs in British pubs differ from those in American bars. In Britain, you must go to the bar to order drinks and food and pay for your purchase immediately, there is no table service. Bartenders are called " landlords" and " barmaids" and they do not expect frequent tipping. To tip a landlord or barmaid, it is customary to tell him to " would you like a drink yourself? "

Sports play an important part in the life in Britain and is a popular leisure activity.

Many of the world's famous sports began in Britain, including cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf and rugby.

Sports for the rich.

Golf is considered a hobby for rich people because when it first started only country clubs were able to afford to keep up with the grass, the golf carts, equipment. A wide range of equipment exists for playing golf, ranging from golf clubs, balls, tees, gloves, and shoes. Scotland is traditionally regarded as the home of golf. There are over 400 golf courses in Scotland alone. The most important golf club in Scotland.

Horseracing, the sport of Kings is a very popular sport with meetings being held every day throughout the year. The Derby originated here, as did The Grand National which is the hardest horse race in the world.

Horse racing and greyhound racing are popular spectator sports. People can place bets on the races at legal off-track betting shops. Some of the best-known horse races are held at Ascot, Newmarket, Goodwood and Epsom.

Ascot, a small town in the south of England, becomes the centre of horse-racing world for one week in June. It's called Royal Ascot because the Queen always goes to Ascot. She has a lot of racehorses and likes to watch racing.

Another equestrian sport is polo, brought to Britain from India in the 19th Century by army officers. It is the fastest ball sport in the world.Polo is played with four men on horses to a team. A ball is hit with a stick towards the goal. Polo clubs can be found throughout the Country. Ascot Park Polo club is the largest polo training centre in the world and arguably has the best international reputation. The club welcomes over 2500 people a year through the gates to come and pick up a polo stick for the first time.

Hunting is also popular with the elite. Traditionally Boxing Day is a day for fox hunting. The huntsmen and huntswomen ride horses. They use dogs too. The dogs (fox hounds) follow the smell of the fox. Then the huntsmen and huntswomen follow the hounds.

Before a Boxing Day hunt, the huntsmen and huntswomen drink hot wine. But the tradition of the December 26th is changing. Now, some people want to stop Boxing Day hunts (and other hunts too) They don't like fox hunting. For them it is not a sport - it is cruel.

Про американское времяпрепровождение ничего не нашла. Но я думаю, про телек, шоппинг и вечеринки - это всё к ним тоже относится… богатые также играют в гольф и поло (это из своих фоновых знаний).

Думаю можно добавить про yacht racing. (it might also refer to the British Establishment)

These days, yacht racing is common participant sports around the developed world, particularly where favourable wind conditions and access to reasonably sized bodies of water are available. Most yachting is conducted in salt water, but smaller craft can be - and are - raced on lakes and even large rivers.

Whilst there are many different types of racing vessels, they can generally be separated into the larger yachts, which are larger and contain facilities for extended voyages, and smaller harbour racing craft such as dinghies and skiffs.

Larger yachts are also raced on harbours, but the most prestigious yacht races are point-to-point long distance races on the open ocean. Bad weather makes such races a considerable test of equipment and willpower just to finish, and from time to time boats and sailors are lost at sea. The longest such events are " round-the-world" races which can take months to complete, but better-known are events such as the Fastnet race in the United Kingdom and the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race along the east coast of Australia. As well as a first-past-the-post trophy (called " line honours" ), boats may race under a handicap system that adjusts finishing times for the relative speeds of the boats' design, theoretically offering each entrant an equal chance.

Cruising - yachting as a lifestyle

Cruising involves traveling on a boat. It could be a trip to the other side of the bay or across the oceans to the islands of the South Pacific. Safe cruising across long distances requires a degree of self sufficiency and a wide range of skills beyond handling the boat. Knowledge of navigation, meteorology, mechanical and electrical systems, radio, first aid, sea survival, nutrition and more are needed and can be life saving when cruising to distant shores. In the UK a system of certification is run by the Royal Yachting Association which includes a range of courses, both theoretical and practical, covering these areas.

⇐ Предыдущая 1 2 3 456 7 Следующая ⇒