Unscramble the sentences.

Read the following texts describing the English and American characters. Be ready to answer the after-text questions.

The English characters

Almost every nation has a reputation of some kind. The French are supposed to be amorous, gay, fond of champagne. The Germans are supposed to be dull, formal, punctual, efficient, fond of military uniforms, and parades. The English are reputed to be cold, reserved, rather haughty people who do not yell in the street and do not change their governments as often as they change their underclothes. They are steady, easy-going, and fond of sport.

The English are a nation of stay-at-homes. There is no place like home, they say. " The Englishman's home is his castle", is a saying known all over the world. It is true that English people prefer small houses, built to house one family, perhaps with a small garden.

The fire is the focus of the English home. What do other nations sit round? The answer is they don't. They go out to cafes or sit round the cocktail bar. For the English it is the open fire and even when central heating is installed, it is kept so low in the English home that Americans and Ukrainians get chilblains, as the English get nervous headaches from stuffiness in theirs.

Apart from the conservatism on a grand scale, England is full of small-scale and local conservatism. Regiments in the army, schools and societies have their own private traditions which command strong loyalties. Such groups have customs of their own which they are very reluctant to change, and they like to think of their private customs as differentiating them, as groups, from the rest of the world.

Vocabulary:

amorous – людина, яка часто закохується

efficient – вмілий

to be reputed – мати гарну репутацію

haughty – пихатий

to yell – кричати

steady – постійний

to install – проводити, встановлювати

chilblain – обморожене місце, обмороження

stuffiness – духота; чопорність

apart – окремо

grand – великий

regiment – полк, батальйон

loyalty – вірність, лояльність

reluctant – неохоче

2. Answer the questions:

1. What can you say about the French?

2. What can you say about the Germans?

3. What can you say about the English?

4. Why are the English supposed a nation of stay-at-homes?

5. What is the focus of the English home?

Complete the sentences.

1. Almost every nation has…

2. The English are reputed to be…

3. The fire is …

4. The French are supposed to be ….

5. There is no place …

Unscramble the sentences.

1. his/The/ home/ Englishman's/ is/ castle.

2. people/ is/ English/ prefer/ true/ that/small/ It/ houses.

3. focus/ The/ English/ fire/ the/ of/ is/ home/ the.

4. or/ They/ out/ cafes/ to/ go/ sit/ the/ cocktail/ round/ bar.

5. is/ full/ England/ of/ and/ local/ small-scale /conservatism.