учила немецкий английский не знаю. TV Viewing. It has been estimated that the average British person spends 75 hours every week with television, radio, newspapers and magazines. All these sources of information, ideas and entertainment, together with films, video, and advertisements have become a part of daily life.
Watching television is a very popular leisure pastime in Britain. A typical day’s viewing includes films, plays, current affairs, light entertainments, sport and politics. Nature documentaries are very popular. Television is a great information source which offers news and current affairs programmes, and it is used regularly to give information on everything from weather conditions to wildlife.
Lots of people enjoy "soap operas". Coronation Street, Crossroads EastEnders, and Neighbours are among the most popular TV series. They have been running for many years (Coronation Street has been broadcast since 1960, Crossroads- since 1964, EastEnders since 1985) and they all have a large viewing audience.
The growth in use of video-cassette recorders and equipment (including home computers) for playing television games has for many people increased the choice of entertainment available in the home.
Listening to Music. Another favourite is listening to music on radio, records, cassette tapes, and CDs. This has become increasingly in recent years. Enthusiasts of pop music spend millions of pounds a year on records and stereo music systems. They also buy the various music papers and magazines that publish the ‘charts’ – lists of the current best-selling records – as well as details of pop concerts round the country and features on the lives and careers of pop singers and musicians.
There is, too, a considerable audience for classical music. Much of it is listened to at home. Radio devotes a lot of its broadcasting time to serious music.
Gardening. Britain is famous for its gardens and most people like gardening. This is probably one reason why so many people prefer to live in houses rather than in flats.
There are more private gardens in Britain than in any other country and they are looked after with love and enthusiasm. The British are keen gardeners. Every newspaper carries a regular gardening feature, radio and TV broadcast gardening programmes and most towns and villages have gardening clubs. Even in cities most people prefer to live in a house – no matter how small – rather than in an apartment, so that they can have a small patch of ground at the back in which to grow flowers and vegetables. Many people who live in apartments, or who have very small gardens, rent a piece of land from their council where they can cultivate flowers and vegetables. Almost every village and town holds an annual flower show in summer at which local gardeners exhibit fruit, flowers and vegetables and compete with each other for prizes.
Do-It-Yourself. A popular British hobby is to make improvements and additions to houses without the help of professional or skilled workers such as painters, builders and carpenters. This activity of making or repairing things yourself instead of buying things ready made or paying a workman to do the work for you, is called, DIY (do-it-yourself).
People wish to keep their houses looking smart, and do-it-yourself repair and improvement work is widely practiced. There are now many handbooks and magazines devoted to DIY enthusiasts, telling them how to go about repairs and improvements. There are also shops in every town selling or renting equipment and materials for DIY work.
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What is a ‘soap opera’? Can you explain why soap operas are very popular though they are often naïve, silly and primitive?
How do you and your family prefer to listen to music – on radio, records, cassette tapes, CDs, or at concerts?
What do the letters DIY mean?
Is do-it-yourself repair widely practiced in the families of your friends and acquaintances? Are there shops in your city similar to DIY shops?
Comment on the words of Joseph Addison about the pleasure a person can take in Garden. Do you think his words are true?
Once upon a time there was a horse whose name was Reginald.Every morning he was delivering milk, he usually met his friend Blackie, who was a little black dog.
Reginald didn’t want to be a milkman’s horse.He wanted to be a racehorse and win the Derbi. And Blackie, who had rather short legs, wanted to be able to run very fast, like a hound.
One afternoon they were sitting in Reginald’s stable.Suddenly Blackie said that he had, an idea.
«Why do we not eat coal?» — he said. «Trains eat coal a run fast.»
They thought about this for a long time, and at last Reginald said: «Let’s try it,»
So they went down to the coal cellar. They were going to take some some coal, when Mrs Marry, the landlady, came in.
«What! You are stealing my coal!» — she began to cry, and she picked up a piece of coal and threw it at them.They ran away. They had never run so fast in their lives before.
Just then the Mayor was looking out of the window.
«Oh, that horse can run fast I’m sure it can win the Derby, look at the dog; it’s a real hound I’ll give them each a medal.» And he did.