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21.05.2021 01:05 •  Английский язык

Придумать 5 вопросов к тексту United Kingdom. Attractions and traditions.

British nation is considered to be the most conservative in Europe. It is not
a secret that every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions.
In Great Britain people attach greater importance to traditions and customs than
in other European countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and
carefully keep them up. The best examples are their queen, money system, their
weights and measures.
There are many customs and some of them are very old. There is, for
example, the Marble Championship, where the British Champion is crowned; he
wins a silver cup known among folk dancers as Morris Dancing. Morris Dancing

is an event where people, worn in beautiful clothes with ribbons and bells, dance
with handkerchiefs or big sticks in their hands, while traditional music-sounds.
Another example is the Boat Race, which takes place on the river Thames,
often on Easter Sunday. A boat with a team from Oxford University and one
with a team from Cambridge University hold a race.
British people think that the Grand National horse race is the most exciting
horse race in the world. It takes place near Liverpool every year. Sometimes it
happens the same day as the Boat Race takes place, sometimes a week later.
Amateur riders as well as professional jockeys can participate. It is a very famous
event.

There are many celebrations in May, especially in the countryside.
Halloween is a day on which many children dress up in unusual costumes.
In fact, this holiday has a Celtic origin. The day was originally called All
Halloween's Eve, because it happens on October 31, the eve of all Saint's Day.
The name was later shortened to Halloween. The Celts celebrated the coming of
New Year on that day.
Another tradition is the holiday called Bonfire Night.
On November 5,1605, a man called Guy Fawkes planned to blow up the
Houses of Parliament where the king James 1st was to open Parliament on that
day. But Guy Fawkes was unable to realize his plan and was caught and later,
hanged. The British still remember that Guy Fawkes' Night. It is another name
for this holiday. This day one can see children with figures, made of sacks and
straw and dressed in old clothes. On November 5th, children put their figures on
the bonfire, burn them, and light their fireworks.
In the end of the year, there is the most famous New Year celebration. In
London, many people go to Trafalgar Square on New Year's Eve. There is
singing and dancing at 12 o'clock on December 31st.
A popular Scottish event is the Edinburgh Festival of music and drama,
which takes place every year. A truly Welsh event is the Eisteddfod, a national

festival of traditional poetry and music, with a competition for the best new poem
in Welsh.

If we look at English weights and measures, we can be convinced that the
British are very conservative people. They do not use the internationally
accepted measurements. They have conserved their old measures. There are nine
essential measures. For general use, the smallest weight is one ounce, then 16
ounce is equal to a pound. Fourteen pounds is one stone.
The English always give people's weight in pounds and stones. Liquids they
measure in pints, quarts and gallons. There are two pints in a quart and four
quarts or eight pints are in one gallon. For length, they have inches» foot, yards
and miles.

If we have always been used to the metric system therefore the English
monetary system could be found rather difficult for us. They have a pound
sterling, which is divided into twenty shillings, half-crown is cost two shillings
and sixpence, shilling is worth twelve pennies and one penny could be changed
by two halfpennies.