Ex. II Read and translate the text. The population of the United Kingdom in 1990 was more than 57,411 million

The population of the United Kingdom in 1990 was more than 57, 411 million. About 20 per cent of the British people are rural dwellers, but only 10 per cent really live in the country. About 40 per cent of the British people live in urban areas, whose centres are the cities of London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford and Newcastle-on-Tyne.

People often refer to Britain by another name. They call it “England”. But this is not strictly correct, and it can make some people angry. England is only one of the four nations of the British Isles (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland). Their po­litical unification was a gradual process that took several hun­dred years. It was completed in 1800 when the Irish Parlia­ment was joined with the Parliament for England, Scotland and Wales in Westminster, so that the whole of the British Isles became a single state — the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. However, in 1922, most of Ireland became a sep­arate state.

At one time the four nations were distinct from each other in almost every aspect of life. They were different racially. The people in Ireland, Wales and highland Scotland belonged to the Celtic race; those in England and lowland Scotland were main­ly of Germanic origin. This difference was reflected in the lan­guages they spoke. People in the Celtic areas spoke Celtic lan­guages: Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. People in the Germanic areas spoke Germanic dialects (including the one which has developed into modern English).

Today these differences have become blurred. But they have not completely disappeared. Although there is only one govern­ment for the whole Britain, and people have the same passport regardless of where in Britain they live, some aspects of gov­ernment are organized separately in the four parts of the United Kingdom. Moreover, Welsh, Scottish and Irish people feel their identity very strongly.

The British are often viewed as the most boring people in the world. They wear unimaginative­ly formal clothes, eat tasteless food, practise slow sports and have a specific sense of humour which is usually not understood by foreigners. They are also said to be conservative, reserved and cool. Indeed, the British are not very open or spontaneous. They do not kiss or embrace by way of greeting so as not to allow famili­arity. They always keep a certain distance and are not willing to manifest their feelings and emo­tions. They are even accused of being hypocritical because they might think one thing and say another. It is not easy to make friends with them but once you have made a friend, it is a friend for life.

The English are said to be the masters of trivial conversation. Their “small talk” usually deals with the weather or some general questions as it is not accepted to interfere in someone’s private life.

The British are very polite. They always queue when they are waiting for a bus and hold the door open for the person behind them. Also, the British bobbies have a reputation of being the most friendly and helpful police­men in the world. On the other hand, the English football fans are regarded as hooligans and vandals able to tear the stadiums into pieces. Generally speaking, however, the British are well-mannered.

“There is no place like home” — say the British. This adage best expresses an Englishman’s tradi­tional love of his home. About 70 per cent of British people have their own houses. Most homes have a garden in which the Brit­ish spend a lot of time growing flowers and looking after the lawn — a national pride. Many houses, especially the older ones, are surrounded by hedges, which symbolizes the desire of the Brit­ish to protect their privacy. “My house is my castle” — this well- known proverb reminds a visitor that unless he is invited, he may expect to be treated as an in­truder.

The English not only love their homes but also their pets. Many people keep cats, dogs and other animals at home. They are com­pletely crazy about pets. There are more animal rights groups in Britain than anywhere else in the world. Paradoxically, the English still love the hunting of wild ani­mals, such as foxes or hares, with the aim of killing them.

It is not easy to decide on the typically British characteristics. Not all English people are cold, uncommunicative or boring, not all of them are crazy about lawns or animals. Still, there is one thing that is typically British: a strong attachment to tradition and a desire to keep their coun­try’s uniqueness. Some people say that the British live in the past, but they are simply proud of their originality.

It may surprise you to know that until a few centuries ago there were many natives of what we call the British Isles who did not speak English. The Western land of Wales spoke Welsh, in the farthest north and the islands of Scotland the language was Gaelic and a similar language Irish Gaelic was spoken in Ireland, Manx was the language of the Isle of Man, and Cor­nish that of the south-western top of Britain.

We are not talking about dialects (localized versions of a language) which often contain alternative words or phrases for certain things, but which are forms of English. Welsh, Gaelic, Manx and Cornish are complete languages with their own grammar, poetry and stories — all that we call culture.