III. Comprehension questions:

1. What free time and holidays do people in Britain have?

2. Why has sport become more popular?

3. How has cinema-going changed in recent years? What has helped to cause these changes?

4. What are the most popular leisure activities in Britain?

5. Which are the most popular destinations for British people going abroad on holiday?

How people relax

1. Read the texts and see if the statements are correct:

1. Gambling is an awfully popular activity in Britain.

2. Everyone is welcome to pubs;

3. Pubs remain very conservative nowadays;

4. Despite all the educating programs about the danger of drinking the British drink as much as they used to.

5. The majority of British prefer popular reading.

2. Scan the texts for:

1. types of gambling ;

2. types of beer;

3. pub attractions;

4. types of books;

1. Gambling

Britain introduced a National Lottery in 1994 and this has proved to be extremely popular. An estimated 80 per cent of the adult population play the lottery, each spending a weekly average of £2.50. Horse racing is also one of the biggest attractions, particularly for famous races such as The Grand National and The Derby. Betting shops ('bookmakers') can be found in most high streets. Dog racing is also popular in some parts of the country.

Other forms of gambling include amusement arcades and pub games, casinos, bingo, and the weekly football pools where very large prizes of a million pounds or more can be won. It has been estimated that over 90 per cent of adults gamble at some time or other with about 40 per cent gambling regularly.

2. Pubs and clubs

Going to pubs is a very popular leisure-time activity. In a recent survey seven out of ten adults said they went to pubs, one third of them once a week or more often.

Types of pubs vary considerably from quiet, rural establishments with traditional games, such as skittles and dominoes, to city pubs where different sorts of entertainment such as drama and live music can often be found. The opening hours of pubs, which were previously strictly controlled, have been relaxed and many pubs now serve food as well as drink. Some pubs have become more welcoming to families with younger children than in the past, although children under fourteen are still not allowed in the bar.

British drinking habits have changed with lager and continental beers now more popular than traditional forms of British beer. In cities, wine bars have appeared in competition with pubs. Although, in general, people in Britain now drink more than they used to, new types of drinks such as alcohol-free beer and wine have appeared and there has been a general move to educate people more about the dangers of drinking too much.

3. Reading

Despite the increase in TV watching, reading is still an important leisure activity in Britain and there is a very large number of magazines and books published on a wide variety of subjects. The biggest-selling magazines in Britain (after the TV guides which sell over 3 million copies a week) are women's and pop music publications.

The best-selling books are not great works of literature but stories of mystery and romance which sell in huge quantities (Agatha Christie's novels, for example, have sold more than 300 million copies). It has been estimated that only about 3 per cent of the population read 'classics' such as Charles Dickens or Jane Austen, whereas the figures for popular book sales can be enormous, particularly if the books are connected with TV shows or dramatizations.