ENGLISH CUSTOMS and HABITS

摘 要：學(xué)習(xí)外語(yǔ)的學(xué)生應(yīng)該了解所學(xué)語(yǔ)言國(guó)家的歷史、地理、文化、社會(huì)習(xí)俗和生活方式。缺乏背景知識(shí)會(huì)成為以后學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)道路上的一大障礙，文章對(duì)英語(yǔ)的一些風(fēng)俗文化作一個(gè)小結(jié)，希望對(duì)學(xué)生的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)有所幫助。

關(guān)鍵詞：英國(guó)；風(fēng)俗；習(xí)慣

中圖分類(lèi)號(hào)：G632 文獻(xiàn)標(biāo)識(shí)碼：A 文章編號(hào)：1002-7661（2012）14-217-02

The British people have their own particular customs， particularly the customs associated with the royal family.. Their traditions and habits are quite different from those of the Chinese. Here are some important ones:

一、John Bull

In speaking of John Bull， an image immediately appears in our mind. He is short and fat， with a tall hat on his head and a pair of boots on his foot. It is nickname for Britain， but where does it come from? Originally， JOHN BULL generally Britain or any Englishman in the 17th century， just as Uncle Sam refers to the U.S.A. in the 19th century and became the symbol of America in 1961. In the 18th century， a Scottish writer named John Arbuthnot， who wrote five political pamphlets， collected them in 1721， in a book called “THE HISTORY OF JOHN BULL”， in which he bitterly and vividly depicted the frankness， uneasiness and funniness of a gentleman called John Bull， in order to exemplify the Englishmen in the Spanish War over the succession to the throne. He described him so vivid and with such remarkable truth to life that the nickname spread far and wide， and has become a for Britain which everybody knows. In the 19th century， cartoonists displayed him in. so everyone now has a visual image of him。 二、Talking About the Weather

What do the Englishmen usually talk about in their daily life? The first thing they usually talk about is the weather. When you meet a person and do not know how to start your conversation， you may say， “It’s a nice day， isn’t it?” or “ It looks like rain”， or you might， I hope the rain lets up soon”， or sth like that. So the weather is frequently talked about in Britain. The English people love this subject. But why? Why do Englishmen love to talk about the weather? There are probably two reasons. One is the uncertainty of the weather. In China， the weather can be successfully forecasted. The four seasons are clear and distinct--- warm spring， hot summer， cool autumn and cold winter. The weather does not change much in a week or in a day. But Britain the weather is constantly changing. Some people even say， “ One can experience four seasons in the course of a single day!” So you may laugh when you see in London that the Englishmen are wearing raincoats or carrying umbrellas on a bright sunny day. Another reason is that talking about the weather， unlike discussing politics， seems a way of being friendly， without getting hated. The weather is a subject which is a quite safe to talk about.

三、“Ladies First”

“Ladies First” is also a British custom， though it is less observed today than it used to be. The reason seems to be the fact that women are the equals of men in having the vote， taking paid employment and receiving higher education， but there is still the feeling that they need protection. It is still considered polite to let a woman go first， to protect her from traffic， to help her get on and get off the bus and to do many other things.

四、Three “Don’s”

The British have the habit queuing. If you have watched a T.V. news program about Britain or have seen an English film， you probably know of the people lining up one after another， getting on the bus， getting in the train or buying sth， such as a newspaper. There is seldom any jumping of the queue. If sb jumps the queue， the British people look down upon him or her. They think that he or she is ill breeding(粗野，無(wú)禮)， and take a remarkable dim view of such behaviorIn England， you should never ask a woman her age. Women do not like others to know their ages. They think it is very impolite of you to ask their age.

Don’t try to bargain in Britain when you do the shopping. The British do not expect to welcome bargaining. Sometimes they consider it losing face. If it is a question of some expensive art work or a large quantity of antique furniture or silver， you might try to work out a sensible over-all price with your salesman. The British people seldom bargain， they just buy what they want at what they think a reasonable price， and take such a practice for granted.

五、Three “INGS”

Three “INGS” refer to betting， drinking and tipping， the ending for each of which is ING.

The British people are great lovers of betting. They bet mainly on horse racing and Bingo.

Drinking is a habit of the British people. Most men have the habit of drinking beer， wine and so on. There is another type of drinking， the drinking of tea. British drinking habits are severely regulated. The licensing laws， which came into being at the end of World War I and have continued in existence， govern the operating hours of all cocktail lounges， pubs， inns and off—licenses. Restaurants， too， can sell alcohol only at these hours. The drinking period is usually from 11:30a.m to 3 p.m. and again from 5p.m. to 10:30 p.m.， but the hours vary in different localities and many pubs now stay open all day. The British have also become accustomed to tea—drinking. Every day there are 15 or 20 minutes tea breaks， one in the morning， the other in the afternoon， during which people stop their work and drink tea.

Tipping is a custom which the British have. As elsewhere in the West， the tip depends on the type and extent of the service you have received. In some hotels， a service charge of 10 to 15 percent will be added to your bill. Even so， you might want to give sth extra to the porter who carries your bags， especially in a first—class establishment. The tipping system in Britain or in the West， consists of small extra payment of a tenth or an eighth of the price of bill， given to certain employees， chiefly to waiters， taxi drivers， hotel staff， hairdressers and railway porters.

六、Lavatory（衛(wèi)生間，洗手間）

The word “l(fā)avatory” literally means a place for washing the hands and face in， but it is really a gentle name for the water closet（有水的小房間）， i. e. the “W.C”， a place where you relieve yourself. And the English have some very strange habits connected with this.

The English have evolved the words “ the Ladies’ Room” or “the Ladies”， “the Gentlemen’s Room”， or “ the Gent’s”， or “the Men’s Room”. If you want to go to the lavatory， you may say: I want to go to the “Men’s Room”， or “ Ladies’ Room”. Sometimes you might say “ I want to wash my hands”. When children want to go to the lavatory， they simply say “I want to go somewhere.”