Lifestyle in Britain. Дворжец О.С. - 63 стр.

     Sport probably plays a more important part in people’s lives in Britain than it
does in most other countries. For a very large number and this is especially true for
men, it is their main form of entertainment. Millions take part in some kind of
sport at least once a week. Many millions more are regular spectators and follow
one or more sports.
     Interest in the arts in Britain used to be largely confined to a small elite. Com-
pared with fifty years ago, far more people today read books, visit art galleries, go
to the theatre and attend concerts. Nevertheless, publicly, the arts are accepted and
tolerated but not actively encouraged. As a proportion of its total expenditure, gov-
ernment financial support for the arts is one of the lowest of any western country.
In schools, subjects such as art and music tend to be pushed to the sidelines.
     London has some of the finest collections of painting and sculpture in the
world, but tourist brochures give little space to this aspect of the city. Except for
the most famous, artists themselves have comparatively little public recognition.
Some British artists have international reputations, and yet most people in Britain
don’t even know their names.
     The British are enthusiastic readers. The average British home has 200 books.
One family in ten has more than 500 books. Sixty-six per cent of households have
a dictionary and a Bible. In a recent survey 59% of people said they had read a
book in the last month. Forty per cent of all books bought in Britain are bought for
other people, as Christmas or birthday presents.
     There are free public libraries throughout Britain. Fifty-six per cent of people
hold a current public library ticket.
     The theatre has always been strong in Britain. Its centre is London where suc-
cessful plays can run without a break for many years. Every large town in the
country has its theatres. British theatre is much admired.
     The cinema in Britain is often regarded as not quite part of ‘the arts’ at all – it
is simply entertainment. Although cinema – going is a regular habit for a much lar-
ger number of people than is theatre-going, British film-directors often have to go
to Hollywood because the resources they need are not available in Britain.

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