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Britain vs America

Themselves

Americans aim to do three things in life: 1. 'Look after Number One', 2. Live forever and look beautiful and young for as long as possible, 3. Make lots of money and/or become famous.

They will do anything to achieve these three goals. The British are very different. They would like to be quite rich, but are happy to accept their lot if they're not. They would never dream of putting themselves before others (which is why they like to queue so much and allow people to go in front of them in races), even if their lives depended on it. They are proud of the class system that divides them.

Food and drink

The Americans love food, in large quantities and endless varieties. Many American meals often don't even fit on the plate. Americans like their food to be wrapped in clingfilm (or shrink-wrap as Americans call it - see what we mean about this language difference thing!) and ready for the microwave. This is true unless of course they are Californians in which case they eat 'raw energy food' known to the rest of the world as salad. The British only eat food to survive and would never dream of enjoying it. They prefer to cook their food for twice as long as necessary just to make sure it's done, and don’t like to have too many choices on menus as they find it impossible to make up their minds.

Children

Both British and American parents are proud of their children, but here the similarity ends. American parents publicly admire their children and like to share their successes with everyone, assuming that everyone else is interested. They change their children if they don't like them the way they are, by, for example, straightening their teeth or boosting their self-confidence by planning extra activities for them. British parents think that too much praise would make their children overconfident. British parents are happy to accept their children as nature intended, even if it means their teeth look terrible.

Weather

In America, 'hot and sunny' means that you should wear factor 20 suncream and you could cook eggs on the sidewalk (or 'pavement' as the Brits would say). In Britain, 'hot and sunny' means it isn't raining so you should expose any white skin in a public place until it goes pink, or it starts to rain.

Television

America has thousands of TV channels because most Americans have a very short attention span. TV and film companies won't film anyone who isn't blonde and beautiful, who is slightly overweight or who does not have perfect teeth, unless they are appearing on a talk show. Britain is well known for its comedy, drama and award-winning commercials (or 'advertisements' as those 'quaint' little Brits would say) and the fact that it has only 5 TV channels. However, as most British people would never want to appear on TV, they don't need more than 5 channels.

Houses

Americans spend thousands of dollars employing decorators to create a perfect home and lifestyle for themselves. They are particularly fond of gadgets, as well as things which are remote-controlled (garage doors and temperature controls), extremely large (fridges) or just for lazy people (ice cube dispensers). Britons are much less vulgar than the Americans. They really like patterned carpets and furniture (as many different patterns as possible in the same room) and are not concerned that they live in freezing conditions indoors as well as outdoors.

From `TIMESAVER READING LESSONS` (MARY GLASGOW MAGAZINES)

Exercises:

Ex.1. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the most important things in the life of an average American? In what way are the British different from Americans from this point of view?

2. What qualities do Americans appreciate in food?

3. Do the British think it necessary for the food to be tasty?

4. Why don't they like their menus to be varied?

5. How do British and American parents bring up their children? Are there any similarities?

6. How can you characterize the differences in climate and weather between the two countries?

7. How many TV channels do they have in Britain and the USA?

8. What kind of TV personalities appear on TV in the USA?

9. Would an average British person like to appear on TV?

10. What kind of TV production is Britain famous for?

11. What are Americans especially keen on as far as their homes are concerned?

12. What do the British like to have in their homes?

Ex.2. The following words are taken from the text, but the letters have been jumbled. Put the letters in the correct order to make the word that is described.

niquate	(adjective) attractively old-fashioned.
rotacored	(noun) someone employed to change the way a room looks by choosing colours and furniture, etc.
filsteely	(noun) the way that you live your life.
tagged	(noun) an object that is interesting for its novelty or cleverness rather than its practical use.
pendisser	(noun) a machine that automatically gives out something.
vargul	(adjective) lacking in sophistication and good taste

Ex.3. Read the sentences about British and American people. For each sentence, choose 'if' or 'unless'

1. British people would like to be rich, but they think they can still be happy if/unless they’re not.

2. The British think that their children will become overconfident if/unless they receive too much praise.

3. If/unless Americans say it’s hot and sunny it means you can cook eggs on the pavement.

4. American houses aren't complete if/unless they have a lot of gadgets.

5. British people don't mind if / unless their houses are cold and their furniture clashes.

6. Americans don't let anyone appear on TV if / unless they are good-looking.

7. British people aren't happy with their food if/unless it has been boiled for twice as long as necessary.

8. Americans eat large quantities of junk food if/unless they come from California.

American trivia

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the passive. In pairs, decide if the information is T (true) or F (false).

1. The American president’s residence, the White House used to be grey. After a battle in 1814, the city of Washington _________ (capture) by the British. It _________ (say) that the White House _________ (paint) white to cover up the smoke stains.

2. It _________ (believe) that the American national sport baseball _________ (base) on an Australian game called 'Hit and Run' which _________ first _________ (play) by prisoners. The expression 'home run' _________ (introduce) because many of these convicts managed to escape while playing the game.

3. Titanic 2 _________ (film) at the moment in Iceland. The story of the survivors in the lifeboats _________ (tell) in the film. Mary Chapin, 102, the only living survivor of the tragedy, _________ (ask) to help with the details of the tragedy.

4. It _________ (say) that the film director Woody Allen has one of the largest collections of matchboxes in the U.S.A. He began collecting at the age of nine when he became fascinated by the variety of matchboxes which _________ (give away). Since this fact became public he _________ (send) hundreds more by fans.

5. All guests entering Microsoft boss Bill Gates’ mansion _________ (make) to wear an electronic badge which says 'Microsoft is King'. In this way guests can easily _________ (detect) when they move round the huge house.

6. It _________ (believe) that Levi jeans _________ originally _________ (call) 'Genes' because the material they _________ (make) from came from Genoa in Italy.

7. One of Carl Lewis' Olympic gold medals _________ (include) in a box of famous American objects which _________ (send) on the spaceship for the next lunar mission. All the objects, which represent great moments in American history, _________ (leave) on the moon.

Answer Key

The Language

Ex. 3. 1. a – UK; b – US

2. a – US; b – UK

3. a – US; b – UK

4. a – UK; b – US

5. a – US; b – UK

6. a – US; b – UK

7. a – UK; b – US

8. a – US; b – UK

9. a – UK; b – US

Supplement

American trivia

1. T

2. F

3. F

4. F

5. F

6. T

7. T

Список использованной литературы

Birnbaum's United States. Boston, 1987

Carratyh J. A short history of the American nation. NY., 1977

World Almanac and Book of Facts. New Jersey, 1995

Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture. L., 2005

Chrystal D. Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2005

Власова Е. Л., Костенко С. М. Focus on the USA. СПб., 1992

Khalilova L. The USA: History and the Present. М., 2001

Томахин Г. Д. Dictionary of USA. М., 2001

Shaw G. B. Aphorisms. СПб., 2003

1 E pluribis unum (Latin) – A single whole from many (Из многих единое)

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