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foundation to Alfred the Great, who was interested in education and supported it.

The University of those days was very different from the Oxford of today. The centre of University life was the church of St. Mary. In old times its bell day by day brought the students to their duties and also on the occasion of disturbances between the men of Oxford (the “town”) and the students of the University (the “gown” — as they wore and still wear black gowns). So during “town and gown” disturbances the bell of St. Mary’s church collected the members of the University and the bell St. Martin’s church gathered the townmen. In the 14th century there were a great number of quarrels and conflicts between the “town” and the “gown”. The biggest quarrel broke out in 1354 on St. Scholastica’s Day (10th Feb). It turned into a three-day fight. King Edward III was nearby at that time. He ordered the Mayor of Oxford and the chief citizens of the town to attend St. Mary’s church every St. Scholastica’s Day to honour the memory of the students who had been killed during the fight. The Mayor and the chief citizens were also ordered to pay forty pence every year, which was big money those days. The custom was ended five hundred years later, in 1826.

The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the oldest seats of learning in Great Britain, have laid the foundation of the system of higher education in the country.

* * *

Nowadays school leavers with good “A” Level results can go to University. However good exam passes alone are not enough. Universities choose their students after interviews and competition for places at university is fierce.

For all British citizens a place at a university brings with it a grant from their Local Education authority. The grants cover tuition fees and some of the living expenses. The amount depends on the parents’ income.

First year university students (undergraduates or “freshers”) have to learn both a new way of living and studying. They can live in a hall of residence on campus or in a rented room to share it with another student. They attend lectures and seminars, write essays and projects, attend tutorials. The latter means that they see their tutor alone to discuss their work and their progress. After three or four years students take their finals and a degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science.

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Sports in Great Britain

The English are lovers of competitive sports, such as cricket, football, rugby, tennis, golf, horse-racing, rowing etc. Many of them are associated with Great Britain. Cricket is usually played between club teams on Saturday afternoon. Nearby every village has its own cricket club. The match lasts three days with six hours’ play on each day. The game is very slow. Cricket is making no progress in popularity so some people sadly admit that if cricket expresses the spirit of England, then England is losing its spirit.

Another very popular spectator sport is football (soccer). There is a great number of amateur football clubs. British fans of a particular team travel from one end of the country to the other to support their favourites. Professional football is a big business. There is at least one professional football club in every large city. But players sometimes don’t have any personal connection with the town they play for. They are bought and sold between the clubs which is in fact an international practice. The game played with an oval ball which may be carried and thrown but not forward is called rugby.

Next to football in popularity is horse-racing. It is sometimes called “the sport of kings” as it’s an expensive hobby to own a race-horse. But interest in racing is not restricted to the rich. After An Act of Parliament was passed in 1960 betting on horse racing and greyhound racing became legal with lots of betting shops everywhere.

Rowing is especially popular among schoolchildren and university students. Several regattas held mainly in summer are great social occasions which are watched from the river banks by crowds of spectators.

* * *

Britain is actually four countries — England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales — each of them with their own distinctive countryside, customs, history and, in some way, language. For those, who are fond of sports, the countryside walking, cycling or exploring, there are various areas of Britain to enjoy activities in the open air.

If you are walking enthusiasts, you can go to the Lake District or North Wales or the Scottish Highlands. Keen horse or pony riders can go to the magnificent mountains and hills of Wales and Scotland. Those who are interested in water sport and boat racing should go to the Lake of Windermere and Conistone in the Lake District. Boating fans can explore Britain’s inland waterways and canals. Sailing enthusiasts can head for the picturesque harbours and sail Britain’s

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coast. Some people prefer a floating holiday in traditional gaily-painted narrow boats. Rock climbers can head for the rocks and cliffs of Cornwall, whose coast waters give a good chance for windsurfing.

British Geography

The Isle of Wight is situated in the south of Southampton off the southern English coast and is washed by the English Channel. It is separated from the Land by a narrow strait known as the Solent. The shores of the island are deeply indented by bays and the place is open to south-west winds.

The sea climate of the island with its advantages and disadvantages is called both “relaxing” and “rheumatic”. The total area is 155 sq miles and the population is 133.000 people, the main city is Newport.

The landscape of the island is remarkably diverse and it is often called “England in miniature” or “the area of outstanding natural beauty”. The island is divided into two nearly equal parts by a range of chalk hills, or downs, running from north-east to west.

The tourist who has climbed Ben Nevis (Scotland) or Snowdon (Wales) may laugh at the highest peak of the Isle of Wight with its 787 feet, but the average stay-at-home citizen with a short annual holiday will find the hills rather challenging to climb. Many of them give a splendid panorama of warm and sheltered valleys with carefully trimmed hedges, neat farmhouses, pastures with flocks of sheep wondering about and in addition to it, through the gaps of the hills, a glimpse of the sea… The wild life of the island is represented by red squirrel, the dormouse and rare bats and butterflies.

* * *

The fertile land of the Isle of Wight gives an opportunity for sheep dairy farming, arable and salad crops. The island’s economy has always been connected with maritime industry: making sailcloth, boats, flying boats, light island aircraft. But today the major manufacturing activity on the island is in materials for wind turbine blades. But a main contribution to the local economy comes from tourism. Such traditional events as Garlic Festival, the international sailing regatta, rock festivals as well as the best and safest bathing in the British Isles attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from home and abroad. Historically the Isle of Wight is also interesting for explorers. Its name is a corruption of the Celtic “gwyth” (channel), so originally the name of the island was the Isle of the Channel. One can find

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here the traces of the Roman dominion, the Anglo-Saxon period, the Norman Conquest and the events of later history. The Isle of Wight with its wealth of natural and historical interest has developed with the times but it still remains a popular holiday resort. Perhaps while staying on the island, some people recollect Sir Walter Scott’s impressions of this place: “That beautiful Island which he who once sees never forgets, through whatever part of the world his future path may lead him…”

* * *

Manchester is often called the second city of the United Kingdom. It is situated within a bowl-shaped land area, bordered to the north and east by the Pennine heather-covered moors. The River Mersey and a few more flow through the city. Much of the inner city, especially in the south, is flat, offering extensive views of the heather moors from the floors of many tall buildings. Such geographic features as its proximity to Liverpool, a big seaport on the western coast, the cheap water power from its rivers and its nearby coal reserves of the Black Country facilitated the early development of Manchester as the world’s first industrial city.

Manchester started as a Celtic settlement known to the Romans as Mamucium, meaning the fort near the breast-shaped hill. In the 12th century the place received the status of a Market Town and in the 18th century it developed into a big industrial town with new cotton mills, a cotton exchange, roads, canals, steam engine railroads which increased the manufacture of textile — all that earned Manchester its nicknames “Cottonopolis”, where “King Cotton ruled”. But in the 1950s owing to the cheaper imports, the decline of cotton industry took place in Manchester. Now it still remains a very important centre for manufacturing industries including electrical and heavy engineering, the production of computers, electronic equipment, petrochemicals, dye-stuffs, pharmaceuticals and new technologies.

A visitor to Manchester may be surprised at the number of canals most of which are used for recreation. The museums of Manchester also welcome people of all ages. For example, in the Museum of Science you can get your hands on the exhibitions, find out about the world’s first industrial city and see the planes that made flying history. The Urbis is a new kind of museum exploring life in different cities of the world.

Sport and especially football is an important part of Manchester culture. The largest football club “Manchester United” is known to

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football fans all over the world. The city with its history, its opportunities for work, travel, education and entertainment attracts visitors from home and abroad.

Travelling Britain

The majority of Britishers take their holiday between June and September. Many people go on a package holiday in southern Europe. This is a very convenient way of traveling when you pay a travel agent a sum of money and he arranges a flight, hotel, food and entertainment. Some people stay in boarding houses or go caravanning, others go to a holiday camp or take a boating or walking holiday.

Thousands of people have holidays in their caravan (trailer) pulling it behind their car and moving from place to place. It is a relatively cheap holiday. You can stay for a day or more in a lovely spot overlooking gentle hills and wooded valleys. On an organized caravan site there are all necessary conveniences (water supplies, toilet and kitchen facilities).

The ideal holiday for others is a week or a fortnight at a holiday camp with comfortable houses, good restaurants, a swimming pool, cinema and a dance hall, children’s playground etc. Holiday camps vary in size and quality. They offer a reasonably restful and not very expensive holiday with special advantages to families with children and people who like company. There are many enthusiasts of a walking holiday too. Those who can do with minimum of comfort will head for the picturesque natural beauty of Scotland, the Lake District, Wales, Devon and other places of the British Isles.

* * *

Those who wish to travel, either for pleasure or on business, can use various means of transport. There is, for example, the inexpensive bicycle. Then there is the bike with which you can travel quickly and cheaply, but for long journeys it’s rather tiring. With a car, one can travel comfortably for long distances without getting too tired. With big ocean-going steamers you can cross seas from one continent to another. Planes can carry passengers to various parts of the world and save their time. But you can enjoy both ways on condition that you are neither seasick nor airsick.

Many people use trains and the sight of a busy railway station is quite usual for them. A train is standing at one of the platforms ready to leave. Some of the passengers are looking out of the window and watching the late-comers. The engine is ready to draw the train out

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References

1.Dictionary of Proverbs. Penguin Books. L., 1999.

2.Dictionary of English Language and Culture. Longman. L., 1993.

3.Przybyla J. London, Warsaw and Elsewhere. Warsaw, 1970.

4.Каминская Л.И. What to say and how to behave in Great Britain. M., 1998.

5.www.london.walks. The Original London Walks.com

6.Sightseeing Tours by London Taxi. www.tourism-uk.com

7.Surrey Museums. Cook, Hammond and Ke // Ltd.

В. В. Попова, Е. С. Каширина

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