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They say that the English are very (1) ______. They firmly stick to their customs and traditions. Their theatres are closed on Sundays because of the law, which has been in force since Shakespeare’s times. But cinemas are open because there were no cinemas when the (2) _____ was passed.

An English family prefers a small house with a garden to a flat in a block of flats. However, not all working people can afford a (3) ______. Nevertheless both the rich and the poor have a fire-place by all means. This is their tradition.

All over the country it is the custom to have (4) ________ at regular hours. Usually they have breakfast between 8 and 10 o'clock. Between 12 and 1 o'clock they have lunch. The third meal of the day is 5 o'clock tea. The English know how to make good tea. Seven cups of it in the morning will wake you up; nine cups will put you to sleep at night. If you are hot, tea will (5) ______ you off, and if you are cold, it will (6) ________ you up. They have dinner at 7 o'clock.

There are very beautiful and colourful ceremonies in Great Britain. They are also traditional. The most stirring of all London ceremonies is the Changing of the Guard. The ceremony takes place at Buckingham Palace - the Royal residence. It starts at 11.30 a.m. and lasts about 30 and 40 minutes. It is performed by the Guards who are dressed in their full ceremonial costumes of (7) ______ tunics and bearskin tall hats.

Holidays, festivals and celebrations in Great Britain are also connected with some colourful traditions. So, on Christmas Day in Britain the (8) _____ are decorated with holy and bunches of mistletoe. Christmas (9) ______ are arranged on mantelpieces, shelves, tables, and walls.

Halloween takes place on 31^st October and means a “(10) _____ evening”. It is particularly connected with witches and ghosts. At parties people dress up in strange costumes and pretend they are witches. They cut horrible faces in (11) _____ and put a candle inside, which shines through the eyes. People may play different games such as trying to eat an apple from a bucket of water without using their (12) _______.

The Christian religion gave the world such a wonderful holiday as Easter. But the celebration (13) _____ its name and many of its customs and symbols to a pagan festival called Eostre. The egg, for instance, was a fertility symbol long before the Christian era. The ancient Persians, Greeks, and Chinese (14) ________ eggs at their spring festivals. In Christian times the egg took on a new meaning symbolizing the tomb from which Christ rose. The ancient custom of dying eggs at Easter time is still very popular.

There are a lot of customs and traditions at some colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. If a "fresher" comes late to dinner or (15) ________ one of the unwritten laws of behaviour, a senior student may order him to drink a large silver cup filled with beer. He must drink it in one attempt. If he succeeds, the senior student pays for it. If not, the cup is passed round the table at the expense of the "fresher".

As a rule, the English love and respect their customs and traditions.

1. ___ The English don’t respect their traditions.

2. ___ An English family prefers a small house without a garden to a flat in a block of flats.

3. ___ All over the country it is the custom to have meals at regular hours.

4. ___ Usually they have breakfast in England between 10 and 12 o'clock.

5. ___ There are no beautiful ceremonies in Great Britain.

6. ___ The ceremony of Changing of the Guard takes place at Buckingham Palace.

7. ___ Halloween takes place on 1^st of October.

8. ___ The egg was a symbol of life.

9. ___ The ancient custom of dying eggs at Easter time is still very popular.

10. __ If a "fresher" comes late to dinner or breaks one of the unwritten laws of behaviour, a senior student may order him to sing a song.

Speaking about British traditions, we should distinguish bank or public holidays, annual festivals, celebrations and pageant ceremonies.

The term «bank» holiday dates back to the 19^th century when the Bank Holiday Acts of 1871 and 1875 declared certain days to be bank holidays, that is days on which banks were to be closed. Today, their observance is no longer limited to banks only. Post offices, most factories, and shops are closed too. There are eight bank holidays in Britain. They are: New Year's Day, Good Friday (= Friday before Easter), Easter Monday, May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, August (or Summer) Bank Holiday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. All public holidays, except New Year's Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are movable, that is they do not fall on the same day each year.

Most of bank holidays are of religious meaning. But for the greater part of the population they have long lost their religious significance and are simply days, on which people relax, eat, drink, and make merry.

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Дата добавления: 2014-12-27