Английский язык. Александрова Г.А. - 67 стр.

Some people like to have the so-called «high tea» when meat, cheese and
fruit may be added to bread and butter, pastries and tea.
       English people show great love for animals. Pet dogs, cats, hens,
canaries and many other animals have a good life in England. «Love me -
love my dog» is the English saying.
       Another English characteristic is the desire to belong to some pri-
vate clubs or societies to which other people are not admitted.
       Such groups have customs of their own which are not changed and
which are supposed to make the members of the group different from the
rest of the world.
       The coast is the most popular place for the annual holiday of En-
glish people and seaside resorts have many hotels. Food in British hotels
and restaurants is reasonably cheap, but rooms are not. Few English peo-
ple rent houses or flats for their holidays, but one of the traditional ways
of spending a summer holiday is in a boarding -house. Some boarding-
house keepers provide all meals for their guests, others provide breakfast
only.
       The discussion of leisure can’t be complete without mentioning
sport. The English are great lovers of sport; and when they are neither
playing nor watching games, they like to talk about them or when they
cannot do that to think about them.
       Much attention is paid to sport at school. Boys must play cricket or
football or some other game on most days of the week. Cricket is the
national game in England. It demands sunny weather, plenty of time to
spare and a comfortable chair for the spectator. The main matches played
between countries last for up to three days, with six hours’ play on each
day. This game was played already in the 16 th century. Football which
began in England in the 19 th century has spread all over the world only in
the next century. For the mass of the British public the eight months of the
football season are more important than the four months of cricket.
       Each college and university has its team for all the main sports.
University rowing races in summer are a great and colourful social occa-
sion.
       The English care strongly about the «sporting spirit», the ability to
play with respect for the rules and the opponents, to win with modesty and
to lose with good temper (that is to be able to be «good losers»).

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