Exercise 5. Tell your group-mates what other interesting facts you know about Australia.

TEXT A

So many countries so many customs, an English proverb says. The combination of the words tradition & custom means a usual manner of doing something, a belief of principal of conduct passed on from generation to generation. English traditions can be subdivided into the traditions dealing with private life of the English national & religious holidays, public celebrations, traditional ceremonies & traditional sporting events. A great number of customs traditions date back to the early days of GB & we can justly say that they are the reflection of the country's history & the people's psychology. To know the customs & traditions means to understand the people, their art & culture better. In the matter of holidays the British are less well off than other Europeans.

The British have many traditions, manners & customs of which they can be proud. England has preserved its old ceremonies & traditions to a greater extend than any other country in the world. Most of these traditions have been kept up without interruption since the thirteenth century. Foreigners coming to England are impressed by a great number of ceremonies which seem to be incompatible with the modern traffic & technical conditions of a highly developed country.

Some British customs and traditions are famous all over the world. Bowler hats, tea and talking about the weather, for example. There are a lot of others that we are going to tell you about.

From Scotland to Cornwall, Britain is full of customs and traditions. A lot of them have very long histories. Some are funny and some are strange. But they're all interesting. There are all the traditions of British sport and music. There's the long menu of traditional British food. There are many royal occasions. There are songs, sayings and superstitions. They are all part of the British way of life.

Vocabulary:

conduct - поведение

generation - поколение

date back – относиться (к прошлому), брать начало

well off – обеспеченный, хорошо снабженный

keep up – сохранять, поддерживать

to a greater extend – в большей мере

incompatible with – несравнимый с

bowler hats – шляпа-котелок

royal occasions – королевские церемонии, традиции

superstitions – суеверия, предрассудки

Questions to the text

1. What does the English proverb say about traditions?

2. What does the combination of words tradition a custom mean?

3. How can English traditions be subdivided?

4. Why do we get acquainted with customs and traditions?

5. How old are most of the English traditions?

6. What are the most famous English customs and traditions?

7. What is considered part of the British way of life?

Ex. 1. Give the English equivalents from the text:

- передаваемые от поколения к поколению

- отражение истории страны

- которыми они могут гордиться

- высокоразвитая страна

- длинное меню традиционных британских блюд

- часть британского образа жизни