Lesson4 This Is Britain
"Great Britain" has several different names, "Britain", "United Kingdom", or just the "UK". There are four different countries in the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Everyone from Britain is British, but only people from England are English. People from Scotland are Scottish, people from Wales are Welsh, and people from Northern Ireland are Irish.
Don't call a Scottish or Welsh person English. He won't like it!
Altogether more than 56 million people live in Britain, in big cities like London, Liverpool and Manchester, and in the open country with lovely hills and woods, quiet rivers, lakes and farmlands.
Everyone in Britain speaks English, but in some parts of Scotland and Wales people speak their dialects as well. The Welsh are required by the government to learn Welsh, and you can see road signs in Welsh all over Wales.
Everyone speaks English, but they do not all speak it in the same way. A Scottish person has to listen carefully if he wants to understand a Londoner and when a Welsh person speaks, everyone knows at once where he comes from!
Many people think that the weather is cold and wet in Britain all year round, but it isn't! True, it sometimes rains and even snows for days and days, but every year there are weeks of beautiful sunny weather when the British go out to sunbathe in their bikinis.
Lesson5 A Lawn That Takes a Long Time To Make
Mr. Anderson lives in America, and last year he came to England to visit his father's hometown.
There was a big garden in the town with green grass in the centre. A gardener was watering it, and Mr. Anderson said to him, "Good morning. Is this your garden?"
"No," answered the gardener, "it isn't mine, but I work here."
"How do people get such a beautiful lawn?' Mr. Anderson asked."Ours are never as good as this.'
The gardener stopped his work and looked at Mr. Anderson. Then he said, "You are from America, aren't you?"
Mr. Anderson answered, "Yes, but my father came from here."
"Well,"the gardener said, "it's easy to grow lawns like this.
Let me tell you how."
Mr. Anderson went into the garden. 'My name's Anderson,' he said to the gardener, "What's yours?"
"My name's Gray," the gardener answered, "Now about the lawns.
First we sow our seeds; then when the grass appears, we pull all the weeds out; after that, we cut the grass every week. We water it every day when the weather is very dry."
"Oh," Mr. Anderson answered, "that's very interesting, Gray, and how long does it take before the lawn ends up like this?
The gardener thought for a few moments and then answered, 'Oh, about four hundred years."
Lesson6 Schools
In America, all children from six to sixteen go to school.
They spend six years in 'elementary' school, and four or six years in 'secondary or 'high' school. School education is free. At the end of every school year, the child takes a test.
If he does well, he goes into the next grade. If he doesn't do well, he has to repeat the grade. Some schools have modern teaching equipment, like computers and closed circuit television, but there are also small country schools, with just one classroom. At the end of their time at school, most students get a high school diploma. If they want to go on to college, they take college admission tests.
In Britain, all children from five to sixteen go to school. They spend six years in 'primary' school, and then go on to 'secondary' school. In Britain there are 'state' schools, which are free, and private schools for which parents pay.
Many British private schools are 'boarding' schools. The children stay at school all the time, and only come home in the holidays. They usually wear uniforms at all schools.
Teaching in both countries is usually quite informal. Students often work together in groups, and go to the teacher only when they need help.
Lesson7 Universities
Nearly half of all Americans go on to college when they graduate from high schools. Some colleges are small, with only a few hundred students, but some of the big state universities are huge, with up to 60,000 students. There are more than 2,600 universities in the USA, and nearly all colleges have both men and women students.
You can study many interesting subjects at college, in short or long courses, but if you want to get a degree, you have to study for at least four years. Classes start in September and go on to early June with a break in the middle.
In Britain, you can get a degree at university, or in some of the many colleges of further education. There are 42 universities in Britain. There are also many colleges in Britain that teach English as a foreign language. Some have short courses (a few weeks or months), and some have one- or two-year courses.
University classes start in September and go on until mid-June with two breaks, one at Christmas, and one at Easter. Most degrees take three years, but some take four.