British Meals
Traditionally English people have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Breakfast is served in the morning. It used to be a large meal with cereal, eggs and bacon, sausages, tomatoes. But such a large breakfast takes a long time to prepare and is not very healthy. Nowadays, Britain’s most popular breakfast consists of cereal, toast with marmalade, juice and yogurt with a cup of tea or coffee.
Lunch is a light meal. Most people have no time to go back home for lunch so they eat at school, cafes, pubs or restaurants.
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Places of Interest in Great Britain
Britain is rich in its historic places which link the present with the past.
The oldest part of London is Lud Hill, where the city is originated. About a mile west of it there is Westminster Palace, where the king lived and the Parliament met, and there is also Westminster Abbey, the coronation church.
Liverpool, the « city of ships », is England’s second greatest port, ranking after London. The most interesting sight in the Liverpool is the docks. They occupy a river frontage of seven miles. The University of Liverpool, established in 1903, is noted for its School of Tropical Medicine. And in the music world Liverpool is a well-known name, for it’s the home town of «The Beatles».
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The British Painters (Joseph Mallord William Turner)
William Turner, a great romantic English landscape painter, was born in Devonshire in 1775. He lived with his uncle in Middlesex, where he began to attend school. His first drawings are dated 1787, when he was only twelve years of age. His childish sketch-books, filled with drawings, are still preserved in the British Museum.
When he was 21, he began to exhibit oil paintings as well as water-colours at the Royal Academy. The first, «Fishermen at Sea» is now in the Gate Gallery.
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British Literature
Great Britain gave the world a lot of talented people. Many famous writers and poets were born and lived in Great Britain.
One of the best known English playwrights was William Shakespeare. He draw ideas for his tragedies and comedies from the history of England and ancient Rome. Many experts consider Shakespeare the greatest writer and the greatest playwright in English language. William Shakespeare wrote 37 plays which may be divided into: comedies (such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream), tragedies (such as Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth) and historical plays (such as Richard II, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Antony and Clepatra).
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Transport in Britain
You can reach England either by plane, by train, by car or by ship. The fastest way is by plane. London has three international airports: Heathrow, the largest, connected to the city by underground; Gatwick, south of London, with a frequent train service; Luton, the smallest, used for charter flights.
If you go to England by train or by car you have to cross the Channel. There is a frequent service of steamers and ferryboats which connect the continent to the south-east of England.
People in Britain drive on the left and generally overtake on the right. The speed limit is 30 miles per hour (50 km/h) in towns and cities and 70 m.p.h. (110 km/h) on motorways.
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Education in Britain
In England and Wales compulsory school begins at the age of five, but before that age children can go to a nursery school, also called play school. School is compulsory till the children are 16 years old.
In Primary School and First School children learn to read and write and the basis of arithmetic. In the higher classes of Primary School (or in Middle School) children learn geography, history, religion and, in some schools, a foreign language. Then children go to the Secondary School.
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British Institutions
Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. Parliament first met in the 13th century. Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. In 1689 Mary II and William П1 became the first constitutional monarchs. They could rule only with the support of the Parliament. Technically Parliament is made up of three parts: The Monarch, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The continuity of the English monarchy has been interrupted only once during the Cromwell republic. Succession to the throne is hereditary but only for Protestants in the direct line of descent. Formally the monarch has a number of roles. The monarch is expected to be politically neutral, and should not make political decisions. Nevertheless, the monarch still performs some important executive and legislative duties including opening and dissolving Parliament, signing bills passed by both Houses and fulfilling international duties as head of state. The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II who was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953.
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