The Scots

1. In general the nation of modern Scotland derives from three main racial sources: the Celts, the Scandinavians and the mysterious and shadowy Picts. These Picts were the first inhabitants of what we now call Scotland. They were conquered by the invading Celts from Ireland who, incidentally, were called Scots and from whom the name of the modern nation comes.

2. People who live in Scotland are Scots. They are also called Scottish or Scotsmen. Scotsmen will be rather annoyed if you call them Englishmen.

3. If a man is called Jock MacTarvish, it is clear that he is a Scotsman. A lot of Scottish family names begin with "Mac" or "Mc" – like MacDonald, MacMillian or McHale. And Jock is a popular Scottish name for John or Jack. A lot of people in England call any Scotsman "Jock" even if his name is Peter or David.

4. Every Scotsman belongs to a clan. A clan is a family group. All the people of the same family belong to the same clan. Everybody with the name MacGregor is a member of the MacGregors clan; everybody called Finaly is a member of the Farquharson clan. Sometimes the family name and the name of the clan are different. There are about 300 different clans in Scotland.

5. Each clan has its own special tartan. A tartan may be in different colours. It is used for clothes. By the tartan you can learn which clan the man belongs to. There are more than 300 tartans: some clans have more than one tartan.

6. The Royal Family wore the Stuart tartan because they came from the family of the Stuart kings of Scotland and England. But now, the Queen of Great Britain has another tartan. It is grey with black, red and blue.

7. A Scotsman's traditional clothes are socks, shoes, a kilt, a tie, a jacket and a bonnet. Some people in the north of Scotland wear a kilt every day. But in other parts of the country most Scottish people wear just the same clothes as the English. They put on their traditional clothes only on holidays and wear them with pleasure.

8. Scottish people like to dance very much. They say that they dance better than English people. Glasgow (the biggest city of Scotland) has more dancing schools than any other European city. A lot of people enjoy Scottish dancing. There are dances for groups of people and for one or two people.

9. Scottish people speak English but with their own accent. For example, when a Scotsman uses the word "arm" he says "ar-r-m" so that you can hear the sound.

10. English people say that Scottish people do not like to spend money. Scottish people say that they like spending money on their friends and visitors – not on themselves.

11. People say that Scotsmen work hard: many good doctors and engineers come from Scotland. Scotland is the birthplace of many famous men of literature and science. They are Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Archibald Cronin, James Maxwell, Alexander Fleming.

Comprehension check

17. Answer the following questions:

1. What tribes were the descendants of Scots?

2. Why will Scots be annoyed if you call them Englishmen?

3. What is a clan for every Scotsman?

4. What can you learn by a national dress of a Scotsman?

5. Do the Scottish people enjoy dancing? What kind of dancers do they consider themselves?

18. Find in the text “The Scots” equivalents for the following Russian words and expressions:

происходить из (2); принадлежать; носить килт; тратить деньги; завоевывать (покорять); быть раздраженным (раздосадованным); усердно работать; родина знаменитых людей.

19. Make an outline of the text you have read.

20. Use the outline to summarize the text “The Scots”.

21. Scan the following text and answer the question:

How do you understand the headline of the text “Typically Britain”?