Way of Life in the United Kingdom英国的生活方式.doc

Way of Life in the United Kingdom Nowadays, more and more people are enthusiastic about a gentleman sport called SNOOKER. In Shanghai or Nanjing, there are so many billiard parlors. So why does it become more popular in China? We should go back to its origin. Snooker is one of the oldest sports in Britain, which is designed for only nobles or royals. But with time passing by, snooker changed not only its forms but also the people who can play it. Anyway, snooker is invented by British and spread by world. So do the other sports, or rather to say, the way of life in Britain influences the whole world. Whats the most important thing in our daily life? That must be a healthy body. In Britain, people like to do sports, and also invented some sports. Besides snooker, many of the worlds famous sports began in Britain, including cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf and rugby. Englands national sport is cricket although to many people football (soccer) is seen as their national sport. Football is their most popular sport. Some of Englands football teams are world famous, the most famous being Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Cricket is played on village greens and in towns or cities on Sundays from April to August. The rules of cricket became the responsibility of the ball. Football is undoubtedly the most popular sport in England, and has been played for hundreds of years. In the English Football League there are about 92 professional clubs. These are semi-professional, so most players have other full-time jobs. Hundreds of thousands of people also play football in parks and playgrounds just for fun. The highlight of the English football year is the FA (Football Association) Cup Final each May. In fact, we can draw a conclusion that sports are influenced by all kinds of aspects. For example, Britain is a developed country, and also is the richest country in the industrial revolution times, so called “the empire on which the sun never sets”. Due to the economy, British have enough money for fun. As we can see, both snooker and golf are extremely expensive sports. And what other thing is also important to a person? Maybe it is family. But unfortunately in Britain, family relationship is hard to maintain. I dont know why, but I guess may be because the consciousness of marriage has changed. People care more about selves than lovers. So the family in Britain is changing. The once typical British family headed by two parents has undergone substantial changes during the twentieth century. In particular there has been a rise in the number of single-person households, which increased from 18 to 29 per cent of all households between 1971 and 2002. By the year 2020, it is estimated that there will be more single people than married people. Fifty years ago this would have been socially unacceptable in Britain. In the past, people married before they had children, but now about 40% of children in Britain are born to unmarried (cohabiting) parents. In 2000, around a quarter of unmarried people between the ages of 16 and 59 were cohabiting in Great Britain. Cohabiting couples are also starting families without first being married. Several decades ago this was very unusual, but in recent around 23 percent of births in the UK were to cohabiting couples. That is quite unbelievable! People are generally getting married at a later age now and many women do not want to have children immediately. They prefer to concentrate on their jobs and put off having a baby until late thirties. The number of single-parent families is increasing. This is mainly due to more marriages ending in divorce, but some women are also choosing to have children as lone parents without being married. Whats more, more British can accept homosexual, so cause heterosexual is not only participle. While in China, homosexual is not allowed in laws. By the way, one of my friends, who is studying in Britain, once watched a demonstration about “homosexual marriage is legitimate”. Its quite crazy, isnt it? Food and social customs are also can not be ignored in the way of life. British food has traditionally been based on beef, lamb, pork, chicken and fish and generally served with potatoes and one other vegetable. The most common and typical foods eaten in Britain include the sandwich，fish and chips，pies like the Cornish pasty, trifle and roasts dinners. The staple foods of Britain are meat, fish, potatoes, flour, butter and eggs. Many of our dishes are based on these foods. And we can see that, they eat a lot of junk and quick food which contain much calories or fats. Anyway, it is really harmful to their health. That is the reason why British are always fat. This is what we think of food in Britain traditionally. In reality, the high income social class attaches much importance to their health. They will cook by themselves some steaks, salad and other dishes. During their free time, they will pay for their figure in gymnasium, such as yoga. Refer to social customs, they are famous for their politeness, self-discipline and especially for their sense of humor. Basic politeness (please, thank you, excuse me) is expected. For example, how to greet someone? English people are quite reserved when greeting one another. A greeting can be a bright Hello Hi or Good morning, when you arrive at work or at school. And they always give their compliments to others. Its really different between British and Chinese. When two Chinese met, one may say, “Your dress is beautiful”, the other may reply, “No, no, no, your dress is more beautiful than me.” But British are good at accepting the compliments. We should track back to the different cultures. We are reserved and restraining. They are outgoing and frank. And another big difference between Chinese and British is the value of money. In China, so many people are lost in chasing so called “face”. We will buy luxuries even if we dont have enough money. We will spend large amount of money to hold a ceremony, such as birthday party, wedding ceremony and even the funeral. Is it necessary to keep our face in others eyes? Can we save our money to use for some significant things? On the contrary, British always care about whether it is practical or not. I still remember our foreign teacher Keith, who is a real British gentleman. In his class, he often tells us when we buy something we should think about the price and the quality whether suitable or not. If not, do not buy it. I think he can be a representative of British. And as Chinese, we should learn this kind of value of money: say no to vanity. To be honest, I have a strong desire to travel to Britain, because there so many famous and also immemorial structures. The Big Ben is my favorite. The banks of the River Thames is located in the north of the parliament building, stands a tall clock tower, inlaid with large bell. Every one hour, 10 minutes under a heavy sound and sonorous beep, a few miles away can hear the bell reverberated. The big bell is a symbol of London. The tourists to London think of the clock tower all around from the Parliament in London this bridge to enjoy a unique architecture. I am very touched by its history. During the Second World War in 1941, an incendiary bomb destroyed the Commons chamber of the Houses of Parliament, but the clock tower remained intact and Big Ben continued to keep time and strike away the hours, its unique sound was broadcast to the nation and around the world, a welcome reassurance of hope to all who heard it. And there are other famous tourist attractions, such as the Buckingham Palace and the Tower Bridge etc. Whats more, there are a lot ways for British to relax. The UKs libraries help to maintain the wealth of English literature and culture. The British Library, the National Library,