蒙大英语国家-英国概况教案06-1 British Family Life and Welfare (I)

1、PAGE PAGE 5Lecture SixBritish Family Life(By Yang Jian)Warming-Up Questions: What is a permissive society?What is the ploughmans lunch?The family life in Britain can be certainly classified into a variety of groups. Even tow families can never be alike in every way; however, in surveying the very la

2、rge literature on some concrete matters, we can still find some common or general characters of the British. I. HousingA. Housing system1. “Owner-occupation”: most home, around 65% of them, are owned by the people to buy their own home, and there is a sophisticated and accessible system of finance f

3、rom banks to allow them to do sousually through a loan, or “mortgage” paid back over a period of 25 years. Often the loan is made for 95% of the value of the property to be purchased leaving the buyer to provide 5% as a deposit. 1 2. Public housing: owned either by the local (city) government, or by

4、 independent non-profit organizations called housing associations. B. Four main types of home1. “Flats” (or apartments): a. of varying size, often in modern multi-storey purpose-built buildings, though sometimes made by sub-dividing big old houses. b. often publicly owned c. vary a lot in size d. la

5、rge flats in fashionable areas such as central London may be very high status and very expensive“Terraced” houses: a. individual two-storey houses built joining on to each other at each side in a terrace or row (known as “row” houses in the US), often of the “two-up, two-down” variety, meaning they

6、have two rooms downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs, plus a small kitchen and bathroom in a projection at the back (nevertheless, much larger terraced houses do exist: three-storey variants are not unusual). b. only have a small enclosed concrete “yard” at the back, rather then a garden. c. many of

7、this kind of home are 19th century in origin, though modernized, built originally to house factory workers. d. such houses are most common in inner-city areas. The “semi”: a. a house which is “semi-detached”, meaning that it is joined to another house only on ONE side, so that semis stand together i

8、n pairs. b. usually a two storey house with kitchen, living-room and dining room on the ground floor,2 and three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, though larger and smaller versions are not unusual. c. would have a small garden at the front dividing it from the road, and a larger one at the back (tw

9、enty meters by 10 meters might be an average size, though they vary quite a lot), as well as a garage for a car at the side. d. first became popular in the 1920s and 30s, but has continued to be built in much the same layout, though in different styles, ever since. 4. Detached house: a. stands alone

10、 with garden on all sides separating it a little from its neighbour. b. might be a one-storey house (for which British people use the Indian word “bungalow”) or two. Three-storey houses are less usual. c. would tend to be found in suburban areas.C. GardensGardens are important to many British people

11、. Gardening is one of the most popular pastimes, and many unremarkable, even dull-looking, houses from the front might conceal a well-tended, flower-filled back-garden. Often this is not visible form the road, and unlike American homes the garden is often fenced, or marked off with high hedges, maki

12、ng it quite private. This may reflect a greater desire for privacy on the part of the Britishor it may be simply that because Britain is a more densely populated land than America, house are usually closer together in Britain, making privacy more important. MarriageAge for marriageAccording to the E

13、nglish law: Below the age of 16no child can get married. Between 16 and 18the parents consent to the marriage is necessaryOver the age of 18the parents consent is unnecessaryActually, most girls and nearly all men in Britain are well over 18 when they get married. Marriage marks the beginning of a n

14、ew and independent family, which means leaving ones parents and starting ones own life for both the man and the woman.EngagementYoung people of both sexes associate freely. In terms of marriage the young people do not like to have control placed on them by other family members. It is quite normal fo

15、r a girl of 16 to go out with a boyfriend. Kisses and embraces between them are considered quite natural behavior. If they are together for a long time and know each other well, the girl would invite her boyfriend to her house to meet her parents. And the boy would do the same. If they had made priv

16、ate promise to marry, the boy will buy an engagement ring for the girl. The engagement ring is placed on the third finger of the girls left hand, which is simply a public declaration of engagement and a means of discouraging the attentions of other young men. If the girl changes her mind, she usuall

17、y returns the ring. If they continue getting along well, the engagement ring will be replaced by the wedding ring of plain gold.Wedding1. Places to have the ceremony:a. Church: for most British couples, whether religious or notb. registry office: some couples, the ceremony is usually less formal and

18、 more purely legal2. The church ceremony: a. the bride dressed in a long white dress and attended by her close relatives and friends. b. The churchman will ask whether the couples are willing to marry each. If the answer is affirmative, they have also to make promises of loyalty to each other until

19、they die. (Ironically, Britain is actually one of the countries with highest divorce rate in the developed countries. One out of three new marriages is now expected to end in divorce.)III. Meals and DrinksBritish meals mean different things at different times to different people. Breakfast: Traditio

20、nal British breakfast: A hearty meal eaten in many homes throughout the country, particularly at weekend and other nonworking days.Usually a fried or grilled dish consisting of bacon, eggs, and such additional items as sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding, and fried bread or potatoes; in some

21、 households a less substantial dish, such as kippers or boiled eggs, is preferred. It is usually preceded by porridge, fruit juice, or some variety of commercially produced breakfast cereal, and early 20th century innovation of US origin.Breakfast in recent years: A light breakfast, usually called c

22、ontinental breakfast.Has no cooked dish and consists of fruit juice or cereal, rolls or toast and marmalade and office. Lunch:Lunch is a midday meal, usually eaten between 12:00 to 2:00 pm. For those who have supper in the evening, lunch will usually be the main meal of the day.For those who have di

23、nner in the evening as their main meal, lunch will usually be a light meal.Lunch generally consists of meat, potatoes, and other vegetables. The formal mane for lunch is luncheon which is used as printed on an invitation card, a menu, etc. since the early 1970s, the ploughmans lunch has become very

24、popular in Britain. It is a snack lunch of cheese, bread, and butter, usually accompanied by tomatoes, lettuce, celary, or other salad and pickles. Such a meal is served in pubs throughout the country. Based on the medieval farm laborers traditional midday snack of bread and hard cheese, the modern

25、ploughmans lunch may be prepared with any of variety cheeses and sometimes ham, beef, or other cold meats. It appears to satisfy the rustic aspirations of many white-collar workers.The Evening MealThe evening meal varies from family to family. If the dinner is taken in the evening, it is usually sum

26、ptuous. Three courses at least are prepared for the evening dinner.Supper means a light meal taken in the evening. It is less grand and usually cold. Between lunch and evening dinner, there is usually a light meal of afternoon tea in Britain, which is traditionally taken between four or five oclock

27、in the afternoon. The light meal of afternoon tea is known as high tea, which is actually a mixture of tea and supper. High tea is usually prepared with a cooked dish or sandwiches, and accompanied by a pot of tea. It is particularly popular in the north of England and in Scotland. Now tea is also a

28、 working class name given to the evening meal.Drinks:Drinks are various and may be taken at different times. If you are invited to a drinks party, the party will probably be before dinner, 6:00-8:00 pm. If you are invited to someones house for a drink, it will probably be after dinner, about 8:30 pm

29、.On a Sunday, you would be invited for about 12:00 midday, and you might be the only guest, or there might be a small party in progress. You would probably be offered with wine, sherry, gin and/or vermouth, or whisky on all these occasions. If you are invited to have a pint of beer you will almost c

30、ertainly arrange to meet in a particular pub. Tea:Britons are also known as tea drinkers. It is said that Britons drink a quarter of all the tea grown in the world each year. Many of them drink it on at least eight different occasions during the day. They drink it between meals and at meals. They drink early-morning tea in bedsome early-morning tea drinkers have au