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l)If you arrive in Great Britain you’ll hear the word «tradition1 everywhere. Englishmen have sentimental love for things and traditions because they are old. They never throw away old things.

2) In many houses of Great Britain they have fire-places and though their bedrooms are awfully cold, the English people don’t want to have central heating because they don’t want to have changes.

3) Therefore the Yeomen-Warders are dressed in medieval clothes and the traditional dress of the Horse Guards regiment has existed since the twelfth century. This dress costs a lot of money and seems very funny nowadays, but Englishmen stand for it because it’s their traditional dress.

4) If you enter the Houses of Parliament you’ll see the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

5) In the House of Lords there are 2 rows of benches for lords and a sack of wool for the Lord Chancellor to sit on it. This is so because in the old times wool made England rich and powerful.

6) In the House of Commons, which is not big and quite simple, you’ll see two rows of benches for the two parties: the government on one side and the opposition — on the other. In front of the benches there is a strip of a carpet and when a member speaking in the House puts his foot beyond that strip, there is a shout «Order!»

7) This dates from the time when the members had swords on them and during the discussion might want to start fighting. The word «order» reminded them that no fighting was allowed in the House.

8 ) Another old custom remains from the time when there was a lot of robbers in London. In those days the shouting «Who goes home?» was often heard in the Houses of Parliament and the members went in groups along the dark narrow streets of the old city.

9) In modern London with its well-lit streets the shouting «Who goes home?» sounds very strange, but it is still heard.

10) These are some of the traditions of which Great Britain has so many.

#1. (…) What does the word «tradition» mean for Englishmen?

#2. (…) What traditional saying connected with the fright of being mugged by robbers in old times is heard today?

#3. (…) What does a sack of wool symbolise?

#4. (…) What do the Houses of Parliament consist of?

#5. (…) What did a step beyond the strip of a carpet in front of the benches in the House of Commons mean?

28.05.2009 Розділ 08 Комментарии отключены admin

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