Pubs can be found in every town or village. Social life for many people has centred on the pub for many years. Opening and closing times are decided by law.
Pubs in England and Wales close at 11 p. m. And ten minutes before closing time, the barman shouts, "Last orders!" When you go into a pub you have to go to the bar, pay for your drink and carry it to your seat.
One of the main attractions of the pub for all regular pub goes is that it offers good company in friendly surroundings. Where else can you appear as a complete stranger and at once be able to join a conversation with a group of people?
People often meet at a pub before going on to another place. Some people do a tour of all the pubs in one area and have a drink in each one. It's usual for each person in a group to take it in turns to buy drinks for everyone and this is called a "round"...
The daily circulation of papers in Britain is just over 14 million copies, which is about 3 papers for every 4 households. All British papers can be classified into two major groups: quality papers and popular papers. Traditionally, 'quality', serious-minded newspapers were referred to as 'Broadsheets' due to their large size. Popular papers were called 'tabloid' newspapers. However, due to considerations of convenience of reading, particularly in cafes and on trains, The Independent and The Times have both switched to a 'compact'-sized format, traditionally used by tabloids. The Guardian has switched to a Berliner format, a bit wider and taller than a compact. Sunday serious-minded newspapers keep the broadsheet format to maintain the same level of content.
Probably in no other country are there such great differences between the daily newspapers.
On the one hand, there are the 'quality' newspapers: The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Financial Times, and The Daily Telegraph. These concern themselves with factual reports of major national and international events in the world of politics and business, art and sport.
On the other hand, there are the 'populars' and 'tabloids', so-called because of their smaller size. The tabloids — the most widely read of them are The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Daily Mirror, The Sun, and The Daily Star — concentrate on more emotive reporting of stories, often feature sex, violence, the Royal family, film and pop stars, and sport. It is often said that the popular press aims to entertain its readers rather than to inform them...
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. It means that the sovereign reigns but does not rule.
Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws.
Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. Technically Parliament is made up of three parts: the Monarch, the House of Lords; and the House of Commons. In reality the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power.
The monarch serves formally as head of state. But the monarch is expected to be politically neutral and should not make political decisions...
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. Britain does not have a written constitution. Parliament is the most important authority in Britain.
The monarch serves formally as head of state. The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II (the second).
The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament. General elections are held every five years. Ail citizens aged 18 have the right to vote.
There are few political parties in Britain. The main ones are: the Conservative Party, the Labour Party.
Each political party puts up one candidate for each constituency. The one who wins the most votes is MP for that area...
England shares with the rest of Britain a diminished range of vegetation and living creatures, partly because the island was separated from the mainland of Europe soon after much of it had been swept bare by the last Ice Age and partly because the land has been so industriously worked.
Woodland covers merely 7 % of England's total land area.
A drastic depletion of mature broad-leaved forests, especially oak, was a result of the overuse of timber in the iron and shipbuilding industries.
A modified pattern of vegetation has now emerged through overgrazing, forest clearance, reclamation and drainage of marshlands, and the introduction of exotic plant species.
Though there are fewer species of plants than in the European mainland.
Tundra survive in parts of the moorland of the northeast.
England has a profusion of summer wildflowers in its fields....
It's the London's largest and most fashionable park. It was once a royal hunting forest. There are restaurants and bars at each end of the Serpentine lake. Hire a boat.
Downing Street
Number 10, Downing Street has been the home of the British Prime Minister since 1735.
Great Britain is rich in world-famous places. Hide Park is the London's largest and most fashionable park. It was once a royal hunting forest. There are restaurants and bars at each end of the Serpentine lake. You can hire a boat there.
Number 10, Downing Street has been the home of the British Prime Minister since 1735.
The official name of the Houses of Parliament is the Palace of Westminster. Most of the building was built in 1840 after the fire of 1834 destroyed the old palace. At the north end of the building, by Westminster Bridge, there is the famous clock tower, Big Ben. In fact Big Ben is really the name of the bell in the tower, not of the clock...
Great Britain is rich in world-famous places. Certainly among them there are famous university cities Oxford and Cambridge, Shakespeare's birthplace — Stratford-upon-Avon, towns of Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow.
Stratford-upon-Avon is a small town with the population about 20 thousand. It is 94 miles northwest of London. Its chief points of interest are associated with the name and life of Shakespeare. In Henley Street stands a one-storeyed wooden house, where the greatest English poet and playwright was born. Now, this house belongs to the British government...
Great Britain is rich in world-famous places. Certainly among them there are famous university cities Oxford and Cambridge, Shakespeare's birthplace — Stratford-upon-Avon, towns of Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Stratford-upon-Avon is a small town. Its chief points of interest are associated with Shakespeare, the greatest English poet and playwright. Shakespeare was buried in the church at Stratford on the banks of the Avon.
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre was opened in Stratford in 1932. Only Shakespeare's plays are performed here.
Those who come to Oxford certainly are interested in its university most of all. It was founded in the 12th century. But there is no "university" as such in Oxford. The component parts of the University of Oxford are the colleges. Each college is practically autonomous. But they do not stand in isolation, they are mixed together with houses, shops and offices...
