Transcript Document

Cultural monuments
and tradition of British
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Artistic and Cultural Life in Britain
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The Saxon King Alfred encouraged the arts and culture. The chief
debt owed to him by English literature is for his translations of and
commentaries on Latin works. Art, culture and literature flowered
during the Elizabethan age, during the reign of Elizabeth I; it was the
period of English domination of the oceans.
It was at this time that William Shakespeare lived.
The empire, which was very powerful under Queen Victoria, saw
another cultural and artistic hey-day as a result of industrialisation and
the expansion of international trade.
But German air raids caused much damage in the First World War and
then during the Second World War. The madness of the wars briefly
interrupted the development of culture.
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St. Paul’s Cathedral
It is safe to say that the three most
famous buildings in England are
Westminster Abbey, the Tower of
London and St. Paul's Cathedral.
St. Paul's Cathedral is the work of
the famous architect Sir Christopher
Wren. It is said to be one of the
finest pieces of architecture in
Europe. Work on Wren's
masterpiece be¬gan in 1675 after a
Norman church, old St. Paul's, was
de¬stroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.
For 35 years the building of St.
Paul's Cathedral went on, and Wren
was an old mall before it was
finished.
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From far away you can see the
huge dome with a golden ball
and cross on the top. The
interior of the Cathedral is very
beautiful. It is fall of
monuments. The most
important, perhaps, is the one
dedicated to the Duke of
Wellington. After looking round
you can climb 263 steps to the
Whispering Gallery, which runs
round the dome. It is called so,
because if someone whispers
close to the wall on one side, a
person with his ear close to the
wall on the other side can hear
what is said.
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Westminster Abbey is a fine Gothic building,
which stands opposite the Houses of
Parliament. It is the work of many hands and
different ages. The oldest part of the building
dates from the eighth century. It was a
monastery - the West Minster. In the 11th
century Edward the Confessor after years spent
in France founded a great Norman Abbey. In
200 years Henry III decided to pull down the
Norman Abbey and build a more beautiful one
after the style then balling in France. Since then
the Abbey remains the most French of all
English Gothic churches, higher than any other
English church (103 feet) and much narrower.
The towers were built in 1735-1740. One of the
greater glories of the Abbey is the Chapel of
Henry VII, with its delicate fan-vaulting. The
Chapel is of stone and glass, so wonderfully cut
and sculptured that it seems unreal. It contains
an interesting collection of swords and
standards of the ‘Knights of the Bath’. The
Abbey is famous for its stained glass.
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The Tower on the north bank of the Thames
is one of the most ancient buildings of
London. It was founded in the 11th century
by William the Conqueror. But each
monarch left some kind of personal mark on
it. For many centuries the Tower has been a
fortress, a palace, a prison and royal
treasury. It is now a museum of arms and
armour and as one of the strongest fortresses
in Britain, it has the Crown Jewels.
The grey stones of the Tower could tell
terrible stories of violence and injustice.
Many sad and cruel events took place within
the walls of the Tower. It was here that
Thomas More, the great humanist, was
falsely accused and executed. Among
famous prisoners executed at the Tower
were Henry VIII's wives Anne Boleyn and
Catherine Howard.
BRITISH TRADITIONS
Every country has its own traditions
and customs. In Britain traditions
play a very important role in the life
of people. The British are proud of
their traditions and keep them
carefully.
Britain is full of culture
and traditions which
have been around for
hundreds of years.
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It is known that the
English are stay-athome people. “There
is no place like home”,
they say. When they
don't work they like to
spend their days off at
home with their
families.
English people like domestic animals. Every
family has a pet: a dog, a cat or a bird.
Politeness is a characteristic feature of
Englishmen. They often say “Thank you”,
“Sorry”, “Beg your pardon”.
Englishmen's home
People all over the world
know the saying: “The
Englishmen’s home is
his castle”. They like
to live in small houses
with a small garden. A
typical feature of an
English house is a
fireplace, that's why
many of them prefer
the open fire to
central heating.
English meals
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They say that English
people keep to their
traditions even in meals.
They eat eggs and bacon
with toasts for breakfast,
pudding or apple pie for
dessert.
Porridge is the dish
Englishmen are very fond
of. Many of them eat
porridge with milk and
sugar for breakfast.
Tea-drinkers
The English are teadrinkers. They have it
many times a day.
Some Englishmen
have tea for
breakfast, tea in lunch
time, tea after dinner,
tea at tea-time and
tea with supper. Some
English families have
"high tea" or big tea
and no supper. The
Englishmen always
drink tea out of cups,
never out of glasses.
They have also English and British traditions of sport,
music and many royal occasions.
Coronation Day
It marks the
anniversary of the
date when
Elizabeth II
became queen
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The queen's telegram
The Queen “s
telegram is not a
very old custom
but it is for very
old people.
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person gets a
telegram from the
Queen on their
one-hundredth
birthday
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Changing of the Guards
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Changing of the
Guards is a very
beautiful tradition.
Every morning tourists
go to watch the
ceremony at
Buckingham Palace.
At 11.30 the guard
that stands in front of
the palace change.
Pancake Day
Pancake Day is
celebrated on Shrove
Tuesday in spring at
the beginning of Lent.
Lent is a period of 40
days before Easter.
Pancake Day is
traditionally a day of
celebration, the last
day that you can eat
what you want until
Easter.
Well, on this day in England families
usually have pancakes for dinner. At
schools the children and teachers
have pancakes for school dinner, and
in restaurants customers ask for
pancakes, too.
Pancake Day is a funny custom. It is
famous for an unusual race with
frying pans and pancakes.
Guy Fawkes” Night
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Guy Fawkes” Night is
observed on the 5th of
November when
people in Britain light
fireworks and burn a
straw guy on a
bonfire. This
celebration is often
associated with
collecting money for
charity