The United Kingdom（Period 5 Grammar）
the english often happily poke fun at themselves.complain about some aspect of english life that is quite awful and they will gleefully tell stories of trains that never arrive, of bureau-cratic bungling that has driven honest citizens to suicide, or of food so disgusting even a dog wouldn’t eat it.
the english love irony and expect others to appreciate it too.for example, one hill walker to another: “it’s only six miles by the map, yet your navigation made it ten.” yes, but doing it in ten gives one a much greater feeling of accomplishment.”
english homes and gardens
it is largely thanks to the variable climate in england that the english lavish so much attention on their homes and gardens.they employ their leisure hours with an endless cycle of“home improvements”without which no home can ever be considered fully improved.
inside and out they busy themselves installing electronic gadgets, shower, and built-in furniture.
the english man drives his impeccably polished vehicle up on to ramp, which he buys from the diy shop, and tinkers around underneath it for hours on end.
you might think that, with all these self-servicing, self-decorating and improving, english skilled labourers would be out of a job or two.but this is not the case.sooner or later, these experts have to be called in to make good for the damage caused by the amateur.
the english adore animals
it is an english maxim that a person who likes animals cannot be all bad.the english adore animals—all kinds of animals.they keep them, not, as other nations do, primarily to guard their property, for scientific interest or for status, but for company.
animals, especially pets, are vital to english life.they are not always very good at talking to each other, but they excel in conversation with their animal.
pet owners’ homes are shrines to their animals.the best seats, the warmest spots, the choicest morsels are handed over to these household gods as a matter of course.the british spend around 1.7 billion annually on pet food, twice as much as the total market for tea and coffee.
cats and dogs, parrots and guinea pigs are excused behaviour which if seen in the children of the household might well end in assault.they are deemed to be incapable of almost any misdemeanour.so when dog bites man, it is always man’s fault, even if he is just a passer-by.
margaret thatcher
margaret thatcher was britain’s first female prime minister.a graduate of somerville college, oxford, with a master of arts degree from the university of oxford she worked as a research chemist and a barrister, concentrating on tax law, before being elected to the house of commons in 1953.she held several ministerial appointments including education minister (1970-1974). elected leader of her party (the opposition) in 1975, she became prime minister in 1979.known as a strong leader and an“astute parliamentary tactician, she knew how to handle disagreement, no matter from which bench it issued.