Unwritten Rules of Great Britain

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Good and bad manners make up the social rules of a country. They are not always easy to learn because they are often not written down in books. For example, British women didn't go into pubs at the beginning of this century because it was not considered respectable behaviour for a woman. Now both women and men drink freely is pubs and women are fully integrated into public life. Visitors to Britain are often surprised by the strange behaviour of the inhabitants. One of the worst mistakes is to get on a bus without waiting your turn in the queue. The other people in the queue will probably complain loudly! Queuing is a national habit and it is considered polite or good manners to wait for your turn.

In some countries it is considered bad manners to eat in the street, whereas in Britain it is common to see people having a snack whilst walking down the road, especially at lunchtime. Britons may be surprised to see young children in restaurants in the evening because children are not usually taken out to restaurants late at night. And if they make a noise in public or in a restaurant it is considered very rude. In recent years children are playing a more active role and they are now accepted in many pubs and restaurants.

In recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer British people now smoke. Many companies have banned smoking from their offices and canteens. Smoking is now banned on the London Underground, in cinemas and theaters and most buses. It's becoming less and less acceptable to smoke in a public place. It is considered rude or bad manners to smoke in someone's house without permission. Social rules are an important part of our culture as they passed down through history. The British have an expression for following these "unwritten rules": "When in Rome, do as the Romans do".

Text 4

Task 1. Read and translate the text. Make the vocabulary of unknown words.

Task 2. Make a short annotation to the text.

Holidays in Great Britain

Every country and every nation has own traditions and customs. It's very important to know traditions and customs of other countries. It helps to know more about the history and line of different nations.

English are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. As I know all English people celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December. It's the season of good will. It's the most beautiful time of the year – the time of love, joy and hopes. Christmas Day is a family holiday. All the people look forward to it, expecting something special. It is the time when all the family gets together round the Christmas tree decorated with toys and sweets. Little children believe that when they are asleep Santa Claus comes with a big bag of toys. They often hang up large stockings for the presents. All families have Christmas dinners. They eat traditional dishes – turkey, duck, pudding. On the New Year's Day they watch the old year out and the New Year in.

There are some traditions on New Year's Day. One of them is the old First Footing. The first man to come into the house is very important. The Englishmen believe that he brings luck. This man (not a woman) must be healthy, young, and pretty-looking. He brings presents – bread, a piece of coal or a coin. Another best-loved holiday is St. Valentine's Day on the 14th of February – the holiday of love and affection, the day of sending and giving presents to those you love – Englishmen with these word ask to become friends or companion Valentines often are decorated with symbols of love – red hearts and roses, ribbons and laces. In England tradition of celebrating Easter is deep-rooted in the history of the nation. Easter is a church holiday. There is a popular belief that wearing 3 new things on Easter will bring good luck. Traditionally Easter parades of people in bright new spring clothes are held on this day. Another custom is decorating eggs for children. Eggs are hidden in the yards, little children believe that the Easter rabbit comes and leaves eggs for them. Easter candies are made in the form of eggs, little chickens and rabbits. Halloween is the day or evening before All Saints Day. In Halloween children dress up costumes and masks over their faces. They go out into the streets to beg. People give them sweets, cookies and apples. A favorite Halloween custom is to make a jack-o-lantern (the children scrape out a pumpkin and cut the eyes, nose and mouth). They light a candle inside the pumpkin to scare their friends.

A few words about superstitions in Britain. The people believe that if they put shoes on the table, they will have bad luck. The English won't kill a spider, especially money spiders (small red ones). This is very unlucky. Some animals are also lucky (black cats bring good luck, white horses are also lucky. The most unlucky thing is to break a mirror. This brings 7 years of bad luck. The number 13 is the most unlucky number, especially Combination Friday, the 13th.

According to the Act of Parliament of 1871 there are 4 bank holidays: Easter Monday, whit-Monday, Dec 26th, Boxing Day. Other public holidays are Good Friday, May Day. Also there is a Pancake Day, April's Fool Day, Mother's Day.

Text 5

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