Here are some common ideas that people have about the weather in Britain. Are they true?

Britain has a variable climate. The weather changes so frequently that it is difficult to forecast. It is not unusual for people to complain that the weathermen were wrong. Fortunately, as Britain does not experience extreme weather conditions, it is never very cold or very hot. The temperature rarely rises above 32 C in summer or falls below -14 C in winter.

Summers are generally cool, but due to global warming they are starting to get drier and hotter. Newspapers during a hot spell talk of «heatwaves and an Indian summer» (dry, hot weather in September or October). Hot weather causes terrible congestion on the roads as Britons rush to the coastal resorts.

Winters are generally mild, with the most frequent and prolonged snowfalls in the Scottish Highlands, where it is possible to go skiing. If it does snow heavily in other parts of Britain, the country often comes to a standstill. Trains, buses and planes are late. People enjoy discussing the snow, complaining about the cold and comparing the weather conditions with previous winters.

Contrary to popular opinion, it does not rain all the time, but the months from September to January are the wettest. Thanks to the rain Britain has a richly fertile countryside which is famous for its deep green colour.

Since the 1950s, most British cities have introduced clean air zones. Factories and houses cannot burn coal and must use smokeless fuel. The dirt caused by smoke causes terrible fogs, particularly in London. Londoners used to call their fogs «London Particulars» or «peasoupers» (as thick as pea soup) and you could not see your hand in front of you. Such fogs are now a thing of the past, but you can still see them in old films where they add mystery and atmosphere to murder stories and thrillers.

 

Vocabulary:

variable - непостоянный, изменчивый

frequently (ant. rarely) - часто (ант. редко)

to forecast - предсказывать (в т.ч. погоду)

to complain - жаловаться, сетовать

weathermen - синоптики

to be wrong - ошибаться

fortunately - к счастью

due to = thanks to - ввиду, благодаря

to experience - испытывать (на себе)

global warming - глобальное потепление

a hot spell - короткий жаркий период времени

to cause - вызывать, быть причиной

congestion - скопление машин на дорогах, «пробки»

coastal resorts - прибрежные курорты

mild - мягкий

previous - предыдущий

contrary to - в противоположность

richly fertile - весьма плодородные (почвы)

famous - знаменитый, известный

to introduce - вводить

thriller - триллер

Round Britain Quiz

Which sea separates England from Ireland?

A. the North Sea b. the Atlantic Ocean c. the Irish Sea

How many countries make up Great Britain?

A. four b. three c. five

What nationality are the people of the Northern Ireland?

A. English b. Irish c. British

In which country is the Lake District?

A. Scotland b. England c. Wales

Where are Britain’s ski resorts?

A. the Pennines b. the Cheviots c. the Scottish Highlands

What is the climate in Britain like?

A. tropical b. changeable c. Arctic

Which of these countries has road signs in two languages?

A. England b. Scotland c. Wales

Rainfall in Britain is the heaviest in

A. autumn and winter b. winter and spring c. spring and summer

Text 4. Customs and habits

Visitors to Britain are often surprised by the strange behaviour of the inhabitants. One of the worst mistakes is to get on a bus without waiting your turn in the queue. The other people in the queue will probably complain loudly! Drivers in cars can become quite aggressive if they think you are jumping the queue in a traffic jam. People respond to queue jumping in an emotional way. Newspapers headlines describe anger at people who pay to bypass a hospital waiting list to get an operation more quickly. Queuing is a national habit and it is considered polite or good manners to wait your turn.

In recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer British people now smoke. Many companies have banned smoking from their offices and canteens. It is becoming less and less acceptable to smoke in a public place. Smoking is now banned on the London Underground, in cinemas and most buses, and there are special smokers` carriages on trains. It is considered rude – or bad manners – to smoke in someone`s house without asking «Do you mind if I smoke? ». Public minds are reflected in «Lonely Hearts`» columns, where people advertise for non-smoking partners, and in advertisements for flats or houses to rent.

On the other hand, in some countries it is considered bad manners to eat in the street, whereas in Britain it is common to see people having a snack whilst walking down the road, especially at lunchtime. Britons may be surprised to see young children in restaurants in the evenings because children are not usually taken out to restaurants late at night and, if they make a noise in public or in a restaurant, it is considered very rude. In Victorian times it used to be said that «Children should be seen and not heard», since children did not participate at all in public life. In recent years children are playing a more active role and they are now accepted in many pubs and restaurants.

Good and bad manners make up the social rules of a country and are not always easy to learn because they are often not written down in books. These rules may also change as the society develops; for example, women did not go into pubs at the beginning of the twentieth century because it was not considered respectable behaviour for a woman. Now women are fully integrated into public life.

We may think that someone from a different country is being rude when their behaviour would perfectly innocent in their own country. Social rules are an important part of our culture as they are passed down through history. The British have an expression for following these «unwritten rules»: «When in Rome, do as the Romans do». Do we have a similar expression in this country?

 

Грамматическое задание: обратите внимание на выделенные слова. Какой частью речи они являются? Чем отличаются их формы? Воспользуйтесь грамматическим справочником по английскому языку.

 

Vocabulary:

behaviour - поведение

inhabitant - житель

turn - черед

queue - очередь

to jump the queue - не соблюдать очередь

to complain - жаловаться

to bypass a waiting list - пройти вне очереди

to receive bad publicity - получить отрицательную огласку

public minds - (зд.) настроение общества

on the other hand - с другой стороны

it is considered bad manners - считается дурным тоном

whilst walking down the road - идя, прогуливаясь по улице

it used to be said - когда-то говорили

to participate - принимать участие

to accept - допускать, впускать, принимать

respectable - приличный, уважаемый

perfectly innocent - совершенно нормально, прилично

Some more facts about the UK:

 

The name Great Britain has been used since 1707 to denote the political union of England, Scotland, and Wales. Great Britain includes the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, as well as the province of Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is a monarchy but the powers of the king (now queen Elizabeth II) are limited by the British Parliament. In Britain they look at the Queen not only as their head of state, but also as the «symbol of their nation`s unity». The royal title in the UK is: «Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realm and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith».

The British Parliament consists of two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Everything in the country officially is done in the name of the Queen but the Prime Minister is responsible for the policy conducted by Parliament. The Prime Minister lives and works in the official residence №. 10 Downing Street, London.

 

Area: 244, 046 square km

Population: 56 mln people

Capital: London

London, Birmingham and Glasgow are the major cities.

 

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