характер 1

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Национальный характер народов разных стран
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English national character and some traditions
           Almost every nation has a reputation of some kind. Of course not all the people of one nationality are alike. They are different. And yet we can speak about definite traits and features typical for the English people.
     What is a typical Englishman like?
     Many people, especially foreigners, think they are very conservative. The English love familiar things. They get angry, when somebody wants to change their habits or bring something new and unknown into their lives. For an Englishman the best reason for doing something in a certain way is that it has always been done in that way. On a national scale they also show an example of  conservatism – their country is a monarchy. English kings and queens don’t rule, they only reign, but the English don’t want to change anything.
     Britain is the land of law and order. The English deeply respect law, both written and unwritten, and strictly obey it. They never violate traffic order or game rules. They play fair and prefer to tern any conflict into a compromise. They are prudent and careful about almost everything. Everything is orderly with them: streets and houses, lawns and flower-beds, gardens and parks and they carefully measure drinks and sit only on their seats. Queueing is the national passion. An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms a queue of one. Jumping the queue is very rare.
     The English are very polite and punctual. Most English expect the person in front of them to hold the door open for them. They think you are rude, if you don`t do this. It is considered polite to give up ones seat to woman who is standing or  carry heavy things for her and so on. British people do not ask each other to do anything, they prefer to wait when somebody offers his help. If they ask, they say something like: «I don`t really like asking you, but…» People think it is very rude if you are late.
     The English are very reserved. They control themselves and try not to show their feelings. They never shout in the street. They talk quietly and are never talkative – they respect your right to be silent. If unknown people travel with unknown people by train, they may sit silent in their compartment, even if they have to spend together several hours. English people rarely shake hands expect when they are introduced to somebody for the first time. They even don`t shake hands with their friends, they do it only after a long interval or when they say good-bye before a long journey.
     The British modesty is close to British reserve. Englishman will say «I don`t play too badly», even he is a world tennis champion.
     The English is a nation of stay-at-home. «The Englishman`s home is his castle» is a saying known all over the world. It is true that English people prefer small houses to flats. The fire is the focus of  English homes. Even if they have the central heating at home, they keep it very low. Only on special occasions English people invite somebody to their homes, usually they prefer to spend the free time with their friends in pubs. «Do-it-yourself» is a very popular hobby in Great Britain. The average English is keen on doing different jobs about the house himself.
     Very often foreigners picture the typical Englishman as a gentleman with a look of superiority. «Snob» is an English word. It means a person, who pays too much attention to social class and dislikes or keeps away from people of lower class. Snobbery still exists but it is not so common in England today as it was a century ago.
     The British are community- minded people. The impulse to organize themselves in different groups is a strong British tradition. There are 160000 official organizations and another 200000 voluntary organizations, including sports clubs, trade-unions, protest groups and other societies. At the same time the British are very individualistic. Every school or university, clubs and other institutions have their own uniform and traditions.
     The English are really devoted to animals. Animals are protected by law. An Englishman often shares his pet’s sympathies and antipathies.
The English people are the world`s greatest tea drinkers. They drink a quarter of all the tea grown in the world each year. Many of the British drink tea on at least 8 different occasions during the day: there is the early morning cup of tea, tea at breakfast, tea at 11 o’clock in the morning, tea at lunch, then tea after lunch, tea for tea (famous 5 o’clock tea), tea for supper and then the last thing at night is again tea.
      A typical Englishman is a sportsman. There aren’t many world-famous sportsmen in Great Britain but many English people are sport-lovers. A lot of people go in for sports for pleasure and keep themselves fit. The English are great lovers of competitive sports – like football and rugby which appeared in England. At a football match quiet, reserved English shout as much as any nation.
     Perhaps the main trait that all the English have in common is their sense of humour. It is ironic and may be because of this some foreigners don’t understand it. But for the English it is very important. “He is a man of humour” or “He has no sense of humour” is often heard in Britain – these sayings have definite positive and negative sayings.
English national character and some traditions
           Almost every nation has a reputation of some kind. Of course not all the people of one nationality are alike. They are different. And yet we can speak about definite traits and features typical for the English people.
     What is a typical Englishman like?
     Many people, especially foreigners, think they are very conservative. The English love familiar things. They get angry, when somebody wants to change their habits or bring something new and unknown into their lives. For an Englishman the best reason for doing something in a certain way is that it has always been done in that way. On a national scale they also show an example of  conservatism – their country is a monarchy. English kings and queens don’t rule, they only reign, but the English don’t want to change anything.
     Britain is the land of law and order. The English deeply respect law, both written and unwritten, and strictly obey it. They never violate traffic order or game rules. They play fair and prefer to tern any conflict into a compromise. They are prudent and careful about almost everything. Everything is orderly with them: streets and houses, lawns and flower-beds, gardens and parks and they carefully measure drinks and sit only on their seats. Queueing is the national passion. An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms a queue of one. Jumping the queue is very rare.
     The English are very polite and punctual. Most English expect the person in front of them to hold the door open for them. They think you are rude, if you don`t do this. It is considered polite to give up ones seat to woman who is standing or  carry heavy things for her and so on. British people do not ask each other to do anything, they prefer to wait when somebody offers his help. If they ask, they say something like: «I don`t really like asking you, but…» People think it is very rude if you are late.
     The English are very reserved. They control themselves and try not to show their feelings. They never shout in the street. They talk quietly and are never talkative – they respect your right to be silent. If unknown people travel with unknown people by train, they may sit silent in their compartment, even if they have to spend together several hours. English people rarely shake hands expect when they are introduced to somebody for the first time. They even don`t shake hands with their friends, they do it only after a long interval or when they say good-bye before a long journey.
     The British modesty is close to British reserve. Englishman will say «I don`t play too badly», even he is a world tennis champion.
     The English is a nation of stay-at-home. «The Englishman`s home is his castle» is a saying known all over the world. It is true that English people prefer small houses to flats. The fire is the focus of  English homes. Even if they have the central heating at home, they keep it very low. Only on special occasions English people invite somebody to their homes, usually they prefer to spend the free time with their friends in pubs. «Do-it-yourself» is a very popular hobby in Great Britain. The average English is keen on doing different jobs about the house himself.
     Very often foreigners picture the typical Englishman as a gentleman with a look of superiority. «Snob» is an English word. It means a person, who pays too much attention to social class and dislikes or keeps away from people of lower class. Snobbery still exists but it is not so common in England today as it was a century ago.
     The British are community- minded people. The impulse to organize themselves in different groups is a strong British tradition. There are 160000 official organizations and another 200000 voluntary organizations, including sports clubs, trade-unions, protest groups and other societies. At the same time the British are very individualistic. Every school or university, clubs and other institutions have their own uniform and traditions.
     The English are really devoted to animals. Animals are protected by law. An Englishman often shares his pet’s sympathies and antipathies.
The English people are the world`s greatest tea drinkers. They drink a quarter of all the tea grown in the world each year. Many of the British drink tea on at least 8 different occasions during the day: there is the early morning cup of tea, tea at breakfast, tea at 11 o’clock in the morning, tea at lunch, then tea after lunch, tea for tea (famous 5 o’clock tea), tea for supper and then the last thing at night is again tea.
      A typical Englishman is a sportsman. There aren’t many world-famous sportsmen in Great Britain but many English people are sport-lovers. A lot of people go in for sports for pleasure and keep themselves fit. The English are great lovers of competitive sports – like football and rugby which appeared in England. At a football match quiet, reserved English shout as much as any nation.
     Perhaps the main trait that all the English have in common is their sense of humour. It is ironic and may be because of this some foreigners don’t understand it. But for the English it is very important. “He is a man of humour” or “He has no sense of humour” is often heard in Britain – these sayings have definite positive and negative sayings.
 
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