The English. Dislike of Theories

1.Read the text. Explain why it is so easy to lose your way in London.

The visitor is bound to notice that life in England is glorified village life. Even London, with its many small houses with compara­tively large gardens, is not only one of the world's largest towns, it is also its largest village. London was built as a village, or rather as many villages. It was not planned, it grew like a mushroom. Houses were built next to each other, and the result was a number of villages, – these villages grew till they touched each other's fron­tiers, and the result is London. This great city is a jungle and a wilderness; there is no order in its winding, erratic streets and do not try to take shortcuts here, trusting your sense of direction -however reliable it may have proved in the past – because you will lose your way without the slightest hope of finding it again without help. Soho is a particular masterpiece of disorder and chaos. W. S. Gilbert once wrote of a British policeman who lost his way in Soho, then wandered about for twenty years and finally starved to death in that wilderness. This probably never occurred; but as a cautionary tale it is fair and just.

The British hate too much order in their streets, and they hate too much planned order in their thoughts. They dislike theories, systems, and clear-cut divisions. They built up London as a conglo­meration of human dwellings and then they tried to introduce as much order into it as was possible at that late stage. It is the same with all their institutions. The essence of British compromise is the readiness to compromise with the requirements of realities.

2. Make a written translation of 6 lines from the text at your own choice.

Text C

Read the text and name the two most typical British celebrations described there.

Interpret the word “elements” in the first paragraph. Say which of the two celebrations you would more willingly attend, explain why.

Old Cars and Old Customs in the Great Outdoors

The weather may dominate con­versation in Britain, but it rarely succeeds in putting a damper on the British love of tradition, pageantry and outdoor life. Even as late in the year as October and November, people think nothing of lining the streets or standing around in parks, wrapped up against the elements, to gaze at processions of firework displays. The big outdoor events are held in this period. They are the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run and Guy Fawkes Night celebrations.

On the morning of Sunday, No­vember 4, veteran cars – many of them the last remaining examples of their kind in the world – assemble in London's Hyde Park for the drive to Brighton, eighty kilometres away on the south coast.

You don't have to be a car enthusiast to find this colourful event fascinating. Many of the participants dress up in costumes to match the vintage of their vehicles — creating an atmosphere of a bygone age.

For the average Briton, November 5 instantly calls to mind one man, Guy Fawkes. It is a date that people remember long after other memories of schoolday history lessons have dimmed, and there is even a popular verse about it: 'Remember, remem­ber the Fifth of November, Gunpow­der, Treason and Plot.' But do many people remember much about the plot —or the year in question?

Guy Fawkes was one of the group of conspirators who planned to blow up the House of Lords on 5 November 1605. The conspirators were a group of Catholics who had hoped the new king, James I, would put an end to the penal laws. The penal laws punished those, who did not accept the new protestant reli­gion, with fines and imprisonment. At that time it was thought necessary to prevent Catholics from practicing their religion and to keep them out of public office. These penal laws, as they were called, were in existence from the 15th to the 19th centuries.

Guy Fawkes' name is remembered because he was discovered in a cellar full of barrels of gunpowder under the Parliament building. He had intended to put a torch to them when the ceremony began in the House of Lords but one of the conspirators warned a friend not to attend the Opening of Parliament. The cellars were searched and Guy Fawkes was arrested. He and some of the other conspirators were executed outside the building they had planned to blow up. The vaults of the Houses of Parliament are still searched every day in a special ceremony by Yeomen of the Guard wearing traditional uniforms.

November 5 was established by King James I as a day of thanksgiving. Every year it is commemorated in gardens, municipal parks or even football stadiums throughout the country, with firework displays and bonfires. Children make guys – figures representing Guy Fawkes -out of old clothes and masks, and burn them on the bonfires. Many of the public events are free, with a collection for charity, and some­times they take place during the weekend nearest 5 November rather than on the day itself.