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• Товарознавство продовольчих товарів

HOW THE BRITISH RELAX

As British people say, ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. Like everybody else, British people like doing things outside work. Gardening is a well-known favourite. As the weather in Britain is relatively mild, British people manage to do gardening almost all the year round. Sometimes this can be just doing a bit of weeding and sometimes, serious vegetable and fruit growing. In fact, regardless of the size of the garden, the British can always find plenty to do in it. Mowing grass is also very important. Every Sunday morning (except for winter) they come out to mow their lawns. To outsiders, it almost seems like an obsession but to a British person it is an important social duty. The British see an unmown lawn, not only as a sign of laziness, but also as disrespect to others (and you can get fined for it as well).

Walking is also very popular. Ask any British person if they have a pair of walking boots and the answer will probably be yes. Except for dry summer days, the beautiful British countryside is pretty muddy, so you need a good pair of walking boots or 'wellies' to enjoy your walk. Walking as a leisure activity has a long tradition in England. You can buy a variety of maps and guides to walking routes. Organised walking is also popular and is a good way to discover local sights of interest with a group of like-minded people and a good guide.

Cycling is another popular activity. Unfortunately, many British roads are very busy and don't have cycling paths, so cycling can be a bit dangerous in Britain, many people find quiet country roads and spend their whole holidays exploring their homeland on their bikes. More extreme sports like rock climbing also attract people. And, of course, the famous British eccentricity is the cause of unusual sports like extreme ironing. Extreme ironing is a serious sport where teams of people compete at who can do their ironing in more extreme conditions. Extreme ironing is now an international sport with serious competitions and organised events.

Of course, not all British people keep fit by engaging in extreme sports. Many go to the gym, swimming pool or fitness classes. However, it has to be said that the British are not the most sporting nation in the world. You see, watching TV often gets in the way. Increasingly, British people spend their free time watching TV. The only comforting thing is that they are not on their own - most of the world seems to be doing the same!

As far as actually going away on holiday, many British people choose to spend their holidays abroad, preferably somewhere warm and dry. Spain, France and Greece are regular destinations, due to convenient location and kind climate, but by far the greatest numbers use the USA, especially Florida and California for their holidays. City breaks are also a good idea for changing the scenery and enjoying new places without too much trouble.

Answer the questions:

1. Can British people be fined for an unmown lawn?

2. What are the most popular recreational activities?

Choose the right answer to the question:

Why can cycling be dangerous in the UK?

a) the cyclists often break traffic rules

b) there are no cycling paths

c) traffic is very heavy in most places and there few cycling paths.

Text 4

Читайте також:

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2. British Customs and Traditions
3. British Universities
4. British-Ukrainian Relationship
5. Class readership of British press
6. E) Relaxing
7. E. Write in words how you would say the numbers in brackets, in British English. The first one is done as an example for you.
8. Fig. 1. The British Class System
9. Geographical position of the British Isles
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11. Read the texts about the British Queen for more information about Great Britain.

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