Билет № 17

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BRITISH TRADITIONS

Some greetings in England are very informal: a simple «good morn­ing» or a wave of the hand across the street is quite enough. Handshakes are only exchanged on the first introduction or as an agreement or con­gratulation. «Sorry» takes the place of «no», when you cannot do some­thing for a person or give a positive answer in situation like «May I use your pen? » «Do you know the time? » «Pardon» is the polite way of asking somebody to repeat what he has said.

English people do not readily ask each other to do anything; they prefer to wait for a service to be offered before asking for it. If they do ask, then they say something like «I don't really like asking you, but...»

It is considered polite to give up one's seat to a woman who is stand­ing, to open a door for her; carry things for her and so on.

Everybody knows that Englishmen are fond of animals. Animals are protected by law. If a person treats his pet badly, he can be sent to prison.

Most people in Britain work a five-day week. Schools, colleges and universities are also closed on Saturdays and Sundays. As Friday comes along, as people leave work they say to each other, "Have a nice weekend". Then on Monday morning they ask, «Did you have a nice weekend? »

The British people are the world's greatest tea drinkers. They drink a quarter of all the tea grown in the world each year. Many of them drink on at least eight different occasions during the day.

Зав. кафедрой Полушина Л.Н.

Билет № 18

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PETS ARE GOOD FOR US

Perhaps the British are too good to their pets, but more interesting is a recent theory' amongst psychologists that pets are very good for us.

The basic meaning of «pet» is an animal we keep for emotional rather than economic reasons. A pet animal is kept as a companion, and we all need companions to keep us feeling happy. But pets offer us more than mere companionship; they invite us to love and be loved. Many owners feel their pets understand them, for animals are quick to sense anger and sorrow. Often a cat or dog can comfort us at times when human words don't help. We feel loved, too, by the way pets depend on us for a home, for food and drink. Dogs especially look up to their owner, which makes them feel important and needed.

A pet can be something different to each member of the family, an­other baby to the mother, a sister or brother to an only child, a grandchild to the elderly, but for all of us pets provide pleasure and companionship. It has even been suggested that tiny pets should be sent as companions to astronauts on spaceships, to help reduce the stress and loneliness of space flights.

In this Plastic Age, when most of us live in large cities, pets are par­ticularly important for children.

A pet in the family keeps people in touch with the more natural, ani­mal world. Seeing an animal give birth brings understanding of the natu­ralness of childbirth. Learning to care for a pet helps a child to grow up into a loving adult who feels responsible towards those dependent on him. Rightly we teach children to be good to their pets. They should learn, too, that pets are good for us human beings.

Зав. кафедрой Полушина Л.Н.