Glossary

event [ɪ 'vent] – событие

involvement [ɪ n'vɔ lvmə nt] – вовлеченность, участие

populous ['pɔ pjə lə s], ['pɔ pjulə s] – густонаселенный

cosmopolitan [kɔ zmə 'pɔ lɪ t(ə)n] – многонациональный

hub [hʌ b] - центр, узел

to come to prominence ['prɔ mɪ nə ns] – приобрести известность, стать выдающимся

proclaim [prə 'kleɪ m] – провозглашать, объявлять

HOW THE BRITISH RELAX

I. Supply Russian equivalents to the following words:

Leisure, spare time, free time activities;

gardening, walking, cycling, rock climbing;

a route, a path, a countryside, sights of interest;

a gym, a swimming pool, fitness classes.

II. Read and translate the text.

How the British Relax

Gardening is a well-known favourite. As the weather in Britain is relatively mild, British people manage to do gardening almost all the year round. Sometimes this can be just doing a bit of weeding and sometimes, serious vegetable, flower and fruit growing. In fact, regardless of the size of the garden, the British can always find plenty to do in it. Mowing grass is also very important. Every Sunday morning (except for winter), they come out to mow their lawns. To outsiders, it almost seems like an obsession but to a British person it is an important social duty. The British see an unmown lawn not only as a sign of laziness, but also as disrespect to others.

Walking is also very popular. Ask any British person if they have a pair of walking boots and the answer will probably be “yes”. Except for dry summer days, the beautiful British countryside is pretty muddy, so you need a good pair of walking boots to enjoy your walk. Walking as a leisure activity has a long tradition in England. You can buy a variety of maps and guides to walking routes. Organized walking is also popular and is a good way to discover local sights of interests with a group of like-minded people and a good guide.

Cycling is another popular activity. Unfortunately, many British roads

are very busy and don’t have cycling paths, so cycling can be a bit dangerous in Britain, many people find quiet country roads and spend their whole holidays exploring their homeland on their bikes. More extreme sports like rock climbing also attract people. But not all British people keep fit by engaging in extreme sports. Many go to the gym, swimming pool or fitness classes.

Many British people choose to spend their holidays abroad, preferably somewhere warm and dry. Spain, Greece, France are regular destinations due to convenient location and good climate.