- •Britis values and assumptions. Monarchy
- •Tasks for the video lesson 1. The island people (I)
- •Lesson 2. The island people (II)
- •Task 3. After watching. Sailing to britain...
- •As others see us
- •0 Wad1 come Pow'r the giftie2 gie3 us
- •It wad frae5 mony6 a blander free us
- •Views of britain. The official view
- •Тhe people's view
- •British society a changing world
- •Attitudes
- •Stereotypes and change
- •English versus british
- •Multiculturalism
- •Conservatism
- •Being different
- •The love of nature
- •The national trust
- •The love of animals
- •Formality and informality
- •The scruffy british
- •Public spiritedness and amateurism
- •I. Mark the following areas of activity as 'professional' or 'amateur / voluntary':
- •II. Sort out the following as positively or negatively viewed by the British:
- •Privacy and sex
- •Lovely weather we're having
- •I. Turn the following noun phrases into the corresponding verbal ones. Make the necessary changes.
- •II. Match the nouns with the adjectives they collocate with:
- •What is england?
- •I. Which of the following proverbs best reflect, to your thinking, the peculiarities of the English national character?
- •II. Explain the meaning of the following:
- •III. Match the adjectives with the nouns they collocate with:
- •IV. Explain the use of articles with the word England:
- •I. Fill in the grid:
- •II. Sort out the details for each "stereotype" of the English person
- •III. Answer the questions:
- •IV. Do you agree that
- •No longer an island
- •Have the english finally left their
- •Island mentality behind?
- •Cast in the same mould
- •Change of direction
- •I. Match the following proper names with relevant characteristics:
- •I. In groups and pairs discuss:
- •Vigdis Vad Milsen: a foreigner's point of view
- •Interview people who had contacts with the British or Americans. Ask about their impressions and discuss the results of your research in class. О национальном характере англичан.
- •Monarchy
- •Vocabulary
- •The royal family
- •The Sovereign
- •The Royal Family
- •The monarchy
- •I. Great Britain is a monarchy. Find out from your partner: what is the role of the monarch in a highly developed modern country?
- •II. Choose the correct equivalent for the word:
- •V. Say if you agree or .Disagree with the following and explain why:
- •VII. Express your opinion on the following:
- •Adapt or die?
- •I. Find out the following.
- •II. Make sure you understand the following words and expressions:
- •III. Match the words on the left with their definitions in the right-hand column:
- •IV. Fill in the gaps with the prepositions:
- •In groups and pairs discuss:
- •Republicans owe Sophie a debt of thanks
- •Banish minor royals from public life, say No 10 aides
- •The speaker we need
- •An open letter to her majesty queen elizabeth II
- •I remain,
- •III. Choose the right preposition:
- •IV. Fill in the gaps where necessary with suitable notional or functional words, using your active vocabulary:
- •V. Translate from Russian into English, using your active vocabulary:
The scruffy british
The British are comparatively uninterested in clothes. They spend a lower proportion of their income on clothing than people in most other European countries do. Many people buy second-hand clothes and are not at all embarrassed to admit this. If you are somewhere in a Mediterranean holiday area it is usually possible to identify the British tourist - he or she is the one who looks so badly dressed!
Choose the proper alternative:
In their general behaviour, the British (are rather formal / observe certain formalities).
A person has to observe some quite rigid rules when s/he is playing a (public / private) role.
When on duty, a male bank employee is expected to wear (a suit with a tie / an old sweater and jeans).
The British are (tolerant / critical) of 'strange' clothing.
To 'dress down' means to wear (respectable / scruffy) clothes.
II. This difference between formalities and formality is the key to what people from other countries sometimes experience as a coldness among the British. The key is this: being friendly in Britain often involves showing that you are not bothering with the formalities. This means not addressing someone by his or her title (Mr, Mrs, Professor etc), not dressing smartly when entertaining guests, not shaking hands when meeting and not saying 'please' when making a request. When they avoid doing these things with you, the British are not being unfriendly or disrespectful, they are implying that you are in the category 'friend', and so all the rules can be ignored. To address someone by his or her title or to say 'please' is to observe formalities and therefore to put a distance between the people involved. The same is true of shaking hands. Although this sometimes has the reputation of being a very British thing to do, it is actually rather rare. Most people would do it only when being introduced to a stranger or when meeting an acquaintance (but not a friend) after a long time. Similarly, most British people do not feel welcomed if, on being invited to somebody's house, they find the hosts in smart clothes and a grand table set for them.
They do not feel flattered by this, they feel intimidated. It makes them feel they can't relax.
It is probably true that the British, especially the English, are more reserved than the people of many other countries. They find it comparatively difficult to indicate friendship by open displays of affection. For example, it is not the convention to kiss when meeting a friend. Instead, friendship is symbolized by behaving as casually as possible. If you are in a British person's house, and you are told to 'help yourself to something, your host is not being rude or suggesting that you are of no importance — he or she is showing that you are completely accepted and just like 'one of the family'.
In the last decades of the twentieth century, the general amount of informality has been increasing. Buffet-type meals, at which people do not sit down at a table to eat, are a common form of hospitality. At the same time, the traditional reserve has also been breaking down. More groups in society now kiss when meeting each other (women and women, and men and women, but still never men and men!).
Exclude the options that are not true:
1. Being friendly in Britain means
(a) addressing someone by his or her title;
dressing smartly when entertaining guests;
not shaking hands when meeting;
not saying 'please' when making a request.
2. Not bothering with the formalities implies that
the British are unfriendly and disrespectful;
you are in the category 'friend';
there is a distance between the people involved;
the British are more reserved than the people of other countries.
3. Shaking hands
(a) is a very British thing to do;
is actually rather rare;
is appropriate when being introduced to a stranger;
is natural when meeting a friend after a long time.
4. The hosts in smart clothes and a grand table set for them makes British people
feel welcomed;
feel flattered;
feel intimidated;
feel relaxed.
5. It is very British to indicate friendship
(a) by open displays of affection;
by kissiwg when, meeting a friend;
by behaving as casually as possible;
by observing formalities.
6. If in a British person's house you are told to 'help yourself to something, your host
is being rude;
is suggesting that you are of no importance;
is showing that you are completely accepted;
is implying that you are just like 'one of the family'.
7. It is now acceptable to kiss when meeting each other
(a) for women and women;
for men and women;
for men and men;
for friends.