Text 11
Sport
British people are fond a sports, perhaps more fond than any other nation in the world. Almost everybody is actively engaged in this or that kind of sports. Among the most popular sports are football, of course, then cricket, boat racing and horse racing.
Football. Football is a very popular sport in Britain, played between August and May (the football season). Many people support a particular team and often watch the games that their team plays. Professional football is controlled by the Football Association (the FA). Teams play regularly against other teams according to a fixed programme. A very important competition is the FA Cup. The FA Cup is also open to amateur teams that belong to the Football Association. The two teams which are the winners of the FA Cup competition, play in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London. This is a very important national sporting event, and it is always watched by millions of people on TV.
Cricket. Cricket is another very popular sport in Britain, played mainly in summer (May — September). Many people consider cricket to be England's national game and to be typical of the English style of behavior, which includes above all a sense of hon-our and fairness.
The Boat Race. The Boat Race is a rowing race on the River Thames held every year at the end of March or the beginning of April between teams from Oxford University and Cambridge University. It is a popular national event and is shown on TV.
The Henley Regatta. The Henley Regatta is a meeting for races between rowing boats at Henley1, a town on the Thames. It is an important social event for upper-class and fashionable people.
The Derby. The Derby2 is a very important annual horse race held at Epsom3 in England in May or June, on a day which is known as Derby Day.
The Royal Ascot. It is a four-day horse-racing event held at Ascot4, a suburb of London, every June, and is one of the most important race meetings in Britain. It is especially popular with upper-class people. Members of the royal family always attend it. One of the days is called Ladies' Day, and some of the women like to wear very big and unusually looking hats.
QUESTIONS
Which are the most popular sports in Britain?
When is the football season? What organization is professional football controlled by? What teams play at Wembley Stadium?
When is cricket played? What does the English style of behaviour include, according to many people?
What is the Boat Race? When is it held? What teams take part in it?
What is the Henley Regatta?
What is the Derby? Where is it held?
What event is held at Ascot? Why is it called Royal Ascot? What kind of hats do women like to wear at Ascot?
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Henley ['henli] — Хэнли
The Derby ['da:bi] — Дерби
Epsom fepsom] — Эпсом
Aecot f'aeskst] — Эскот
Text 12
Young People's Groups
When the new trend in music, Rock-n-Roll, appeared in the 1950s, it immediately became very popular with the young people. Over the last forty years or so it has had an enormous effect on people's lives, and especially on the kind of clothes they wear.
The first group, which appeared in the late 1950s, was the Teddy Boys. Their clothes were an imitation of the clothes which were worn in Edwardian England — the time of the reign of Edward VII, the beginning of the 20th century (Ted and Teddy are abbreviations of Edward): long jackets with velvet collars, "drainpipe" trousers (so tight that they looked like drainpipes) and brightly coloured socks. Their shoes had very thick rubber soles and their long hair was swept upwards and backwards. This was like a revolution in fashion: before the Teddy Boys came, young people had usually worn the same kind of clothes as their parents. Now they wore what they liked.
In the mid-60s the Mods (so called because of their modern style of dressing) became the new leaders of teenage fashion. Short hair and smart suits were popular again. The Mods rode scooters, which they usually decorated with a lot of lights and mirrors. They often wore long green coats with hoods, called parkas.
The Moids' greatest enemies were the Rockers, who despised the Mods' scooters and smart clothes. Like the Teddy Boys, Rockers listened mainly to rock-n- roll. They rode powerful motor-bikes, had long untidy hair, wore thick leather jackets, and drank alcohol.
Throughout the 1960s, on public holidays during summer, groups of Mods and Rockers used to travel to the sea-side resorts of south-eastern England, where they got into battles with the police and with each other.
Towards the end of the 1960s a new group appeared, whose ideas started in California1 in the USA. This new group was the Hippies. They preached a philosophy of peace and love, wore necklaces of coloured beads, and gave flowers to surprised strangers in the streets. The name Hippies comes from the fact that drug-takers in Asia and in the Far East used to lie on one hip while smoking opium. Hippies did not use opium, but they smoked marijuana and took powerful drugs called LSD. Hippies wore simple clothes, blue jeans and open sandals, and grew their hair very long. They often lived together in large communities, sharing their possessions. It was their protest against the materialism of the 1960s.
The 1970s saw the appearance of the Skinhead,who got their name because they cut their hair extremely short or even shaved it all off. They wore very short trousers, enormous boots and braces. The Skinheads blamed the immigrants for the unemployment in the country. They attacked Asian and black immigrants in the streets and in their homes. Many Skinheads joined the National Front, a political party whose slogan is "Britain for white people only".
Towards the end of the 1970s another style of music and dressing appeared — the Punks, and it is still very popular. The word Punk comes from American English and is used to describe someone who is immoral or worthless. The Punks sing songs about anarchy and destruction and use bad language. Their music is loud, fast and tuneless.
In recent years many new bands have emerged; and some old ones have reappeared. A new trend is New Wave1 music, which totally rejects the ideas of the Skinheads. Many of the bands contain both black and white musicians, and anti-racism concerts have been organized (they are known as Rock against Racism). West Indian music has also played a large part in forming people's musical tastes. Many new British bands combine traditional rock music with West Indian reggae beat2.
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New Wave — Новая волна
reggae beat ['regei'bi:t] — популярная ритмическая музыка из Вест-Индии
Text 13
LONDON
London is a very old city. It began life two thousand years ago as a Roman fortification at a place where it was possible to cross the River Thames. Around the town the Romans built a wall for defence. After the Norman Conquest there was a long period of peace, during which people began building outside the walls. This building continued for a very long time, especially to the west of the city, so that in a few centuries London covered a very large territory. In 1665, during the terrible plague in London, many people left the city and escaped to the villages in the surrounding countryside. In 1666 the Great Fire of London ended the plague, but it also destroyed much of the city. After the plague and the Great Fire London was rebuilt and people returned to it, but never again were there so many Londoners living in the city centre.
Today, also, not many people live in the city centre, but London has spread further outwards into the country, including surrounding villages. Greater London now covers about 1600 square kilometers and the suburbs of London continue even beyond this area. Some people travel over 150 km every day to work in London, while living far away from the city in the country or in other towns.
It is difficult to speak about the centre of London as of one definite place. As a matter of fact, it has a number of centres, each with a distinct Character: the financial and business centre called the City (spelt with a capital C), the shopping and entertainment centre in the West End, the nct Character: the financial and business centre called the City (spelt with a capital C), the shopping and entertainment centre in the West End, the government centre in Westminster. Some places on the outskirts of London have kept their village-like character.
QUESTIONS
1. When did London begin life? Why did the Romans build a wall around the city?
2. Where did people begin building their houses during the long period of peace which followed the Norman Conquest?
3. What great disasters befell London in 1665 and 1666?
4. How large is the territory of Greater London now?
5. Why is it difficult to speak about the centre of London as of one definite place? What is the financial and business centre of London? What is its entertainment centre? Where is the government centre?