Extra

REVISION

Tenses. Active Voice

GREAT BRITAIN

Watch the videos, be ready to discuss them

 Introduction to Britain
Multicultural Britain
Food in Britain
British Festivals
Education in Great Britain
Leisure and Entertainment


  

FAMILY

Family Vocabulary

Childcare Vocabulary

Childcare tape 

Comment on the following quotations:

-  «Family is the most important thing in the world». (Princess Diana)

-   «At the end of the day, a loving family should find everything forgivable». (Mark V. Olsen)

-   «Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe and call it a family: whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one». (Jane Howard)

-   «The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family». (Lee Iacocca)

 

 

 The Whole Britain in ABC is here.

Would you like to add or change anything?

   

CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT GREAT BRITAIN

 

1. The Cabbies Are Smarter Than Google Maps

 

London has the most informed cab drivers in the world—and they’ve got the diplomas to prove it. To become a certified taxi operator in London, a driver must first pass “the Knowledge,” an extraordinarily difficult exam that involves the detailed recall of 25,000 streets within a six-mile radius of London’s Charing Cross railway station. But that’s just the beginning. Cabbies must also memorize the locations of clubs, hospitals, hotels, parks, theaters, schools, restaurants, government buildings, and churches. Plus, they have to be fluent in English.

 

2.  The Swans Never Miss a Census

The royal family provides a full range of curiosities beyond extravagant weddings. Consider the tradition of England’s annual swan census. Officially, the Queen owns all of the mute swans along the Thames River. But determining just how many birds are in Her Majesty’s flock takes work. So, every July, the royal family conducts a “Swan Upping,” when an armada of skiffs row up the Thames looking for baby swans. When the rowers spot them, they shout, “All up!” and get into formation surrounding the tiny birds. Then the swans are meticulously examined, weighed, measured, and banded by the Queen’s Swan Warden, a Professor of Ornithology at the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology. Adult swans are examined and counted, too.

The Swan Upping dates back to at least the 12th century, when the Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans on open water. Today, the tradition exists purely for the Crown’s amusement, but the historical justification for the census makes sense. Back in the 1100s, swan meat was considered a delicacy, and it was often served at royal banquets. By keeping strict tabs on the birds, all the king’s henchmen could make sure that no one was poaching from the royal flock.

 

3. The Nannies Are Loaded

In the United Kingdom, nannies can earn higher starting salaries than teachers, policemen, and nurses—if they come with the right credentials. Usually, that means training at England’s most prestigious nanny finishing school, Norland College in Bath. Graduates of the two-year program can look forward to annual starting salaries around $40,000 USD, not to mention expense-paid holidays with their employers to places like Dubai and Val d’Isère. And that’s just fresh out of school. An experienced Norland nanny can earn up to $160,000 USD per year.

For more than a century, England’s rich and famous have relied on Norland nannies to tend to their young. Mick Jagger’s children were raised by Norland nannies, as were Princess Anne’s. Both swear by them.

 

4. The Castles Are Anything But Romantic

England boasts some 1000 castles. Today, most of them operate as hotels and tourist attractions, but in their glory days, castles had a very different purpose—to keep people out. Built on hilltops, castles usually posted guards on their battlements, where they could see invaders coming from miles away. As foreigners advanced, archers would shoot arrows at them through tiny slits in the castle walls that allowed them to see out without letting enemies see in.

Even if trespassers were skilled enough to survive the arrows and the moat surrounding the castle, getting beyond the gate was nearly impossible. Guards posted on the roofs would pour hot oil on invaders’ heads through “murder holes,” small openings in the ceiling just in front of the entrance. But perhaps the sneakiest defense tactic of all was the one that looked the most harmless: the spiral staircase. In castles, staircases ascend clockwise, making it much more difficult for a right-handed intruder to wield a sword and attack. Instead, the intruder’s body was exposed to the right-handed defenders coming down the stairs, rendering invaders completely vulnerable.

Read more here