Culture

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Tourist BritainBritain is a very popular place for tourists. Thousands of people come toBritain every year from all over the world. Britain has got lots of touristattractions, but what are the most popular places?

1 T4.20 Ascolta e leggi i testi. Prendi nota dei luoghi più popolari nel Regno Unito. Poi abbina le foto ai testi.

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Edinburgh

London

Cambridge

Bath

Stratford-Upon-Avon

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In gruppi di quattro rispondete alledomande seguenti:• Conosci il nome di quattro

posti / monumenti famosi in Italia?• Dove si trovano?• Che cosa si può vedere?

Ora scrivi un breve paragrafo (25 – 35 parole) e poi riferisci alla classe.

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Cambridge Cambridge is a universitytown. There are 31 colleges in Cambridge. Themost famous are King’s College, MagdaleneCollege and Jesus College. You can hear the King’sCollege Choir every day at 5.30 p.m. You canhave a picnic by the River Cam or try punting too!

EdinburgH Further north, you canvisit the city of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.Edinburgh is famous for its castle and for thearts festival. The castle dates back to the 11thcentury and stands on volcanic rock. From thecastle walls, you can see the whole of the city.Every August, thousands of people come toEdinburgh for its famous arts festival. It is afestival of music, drama, concerts and comedy.

Bath Bath is a Roman town. There areRoman ruins, famous Roman baths and souvenirshops at the Roman museum. Another museum is the Museum of Costume. There is a famousexhibition of fashion here. It displays 400 years of British fashion.

Stratford-upon-Avon This is thehome of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is themost famous playwright in English literature andthe writer of many famous plays: Romeo and Juliet,Macbeth and Hamlet. You can see Shakespeare’shouse and visit the Shakespeare Museum. Youcan even watch a play by the RoyalShakespeare Company.

2 Rileggi il testo e rispondi alle domande.

1 What are three popular places for tourists to visit in London?

2 What is Buckingham Palace? 3 What is Big Ben? 4 Why is Big Ben important on New Year’s Eve? 5 What can you see at the Tower of London? 6 How many colleges are there in Cambridge? 7 What can you see from Edinburgh Castle?8 What is the Edinburgh Festival?9 What are the origins of Bath?

10 Who is the writer of Hamlet?

London London is the number one city for tourists. Here are three popular places in London:

Buckingham Palace The Queenlives in Buckingham Palace when she’s inLondon. The Queen is often at the palace.You know she is there when the royal flag isflying. Tourists can visit parts of BuckinghamPalace. You can also see the Changing ofthe Guard every other day at 11.30 a.m.

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben The Houses of Parliamentare the centre of government. Politiciansmeet here and make important decisionsfor the country. You can go inside and listento the debates. Next to the Houses ofParliament is the famous bell tower andclock, Big Ben. This dates back to the early19th century. On New Year’s Eve, Londonerswait for Big Ben to signal the beginning ofthe New Year.

The Tower of London This Normancastle is one of the oldest in Britain. It datesback to the 11th century. It is an impressivebuilding and home to the famous guards,the Beefeaters. You can also see the Queen’sCrown Jewels here.

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A tale of three citiesLondon is the capital of England, butEdinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are also veryimportant because they are capital cities,too. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland,Cardiff is the capital of Wales, and Belfastis the capital of Northern Ireland. They are all ports. They’ve all got big castles:Edinburgh Castle, Cardiff Castle andStormont Castle (Belfast).

Population

1 Completa le frasi scrivendo i nomi dellecittà e il numero di abitanti in cifre.

Indizio:Cardiff ha più abitanti di Belfast.

Edinburgo ha più abitanti di Cardiff.

a has got three hundred and six thousand inhabitants. ( )

b has got two hundred and eighty thousand inhabitants.( )

c has got four hundred and fifty-four thousand inhabitants. ( )

Three famous authors

2 Leggi le informazioni su questi autorifamosi, poi scrivi il nome delle città capitali di origine.

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1 Roald Dahl is the Welsh author of

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

( )

2 Arthur Conan Doyle is the Scottish

author of the Sherlock Holmes

stories. ( )

3 CS Lewis is the Irish author of

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

( )

306,000Cardiff

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Glossary

EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital of Scotland. It is in thesouth east of Scotland. The city of Edinburgh isdivided into two: the Old Town and the NewTown. The main street in the Old Town is theRoyal Mile. This goes from Edinburgh Castle tothe Palace of Holyroodhouse (one of the Queen’sScottish houses). Edinburgh has also got auniversity and a cathedral (St Giles). There aremodern shops, hotels, bars and cafés in the NewTown. There are also two art galleries: the NationalGallery of Scotland and the Royal ScottishAcademy. Edinburgh Castle is one of the mostfamous castles in Britain. It is over 900 years old.

Cardiff Cardiff is a large city. Its population is about306,000. The city has got two castles and twouniversities. It is also famous for its love of music.The world-famous Welsh National Opera performsfrequently in the Millennium Opera House inCardiff. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hasgot a roof that opens and closes – the only one inthe UK. There are many different events at thestadium: rock concerts, operas and sports events,for example rugby games.

BelfastThere are many beautiful things to see in Belfast.It has got a castle and a university. Most peopledon’t know Belfast for its tourist attractions. It’smore famous for the political troubles between its Protestant and Catholic communities.

Belfast is also famous because it has got the world’s largest docks. The famous ship, theTitanic, was built here.

Belfast

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3 T4.21 Ascolta e leggi le informazioni sulle trecittà a sinistra e poi rispondi alle domande.

1 Where is Edinburgh?2 What is the Palace of Holyroodhouse?3 Where are the modern shops in

Edinburgh?4 What is Cardiff famous for?5 Which ship is Belfast famous for?

4 Leggi le informazioni su questa canzone famosa.

Auld Lang Syne (‘Times Gone By’) is an oldScottish song by the poet Robert Burns.Traditionally, people sing it at midnight on New Year’s Eve in Britain.

5 T4.22 Ascolta la canzone e cantala in coro.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll take the cup of kindness yet, for the sake of auld lang syne.

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Nomina una città italiana che...• è la città natale di un famoso scrittore.

(L’autore si chiama .)• ha un castello famoso.

(Il castello si chiama .)• ha un porto famoso.

(Il porto si chiama .)• ha una zona portuale. • ha una strada famosa.

(La strada si chiama .)• ha un festival famoso della musica.

(Il festival si chiama .)• ha uno stadio famoso.

(Lo stadio si chiama .)

Scegli uno di questi posti turistici e scriviun breve paragrafo (25 – 30 parole).

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Stormont Castle, Belfast

Princes Street, Edinburgh

Welsh National Opera, Cardiff

Edinburgh

Cardiff

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The typical British teenager 1 Pensa a dei ragazzi tipici italiani e discuti con il compagno queste domande.

• What do they like? • Who are their favourite stars? • What do they do in their free time? • How are teenagers the same all over Europe?

2 T4.23 Ora ascolta e leggi le informazioni sui ragazzi tipici inglesi. Poi rispondialle domande su di te.

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And you?� Have you got a TV in your bedroom?� How many hours a week do you watch TV?� Have you got a computer/a games console?� Do you like music?� What kind of music do you like?

Around 50% of teenagers do sports forthree hours a week or more. 75% of Britishboys play a team sport or game. But only40% of girls do any sport. Favourite sportsfor boys are football, cricket, swimming andcycling. Favourite sports for girls are hockey,swimming, dancing and aerobics.

Most teenagers are not very active. Theirfavourite pastime is watching TV. Over60% of British children aged 5–16 havegot a TV in their bedroom. Boys watch TVfor about 20 hours a week. They also likecomputer games. 65% play computergames and use a games console. 11% ofteenagers have got a computer in theirbedroom. Another favourite pastime islistening to music. 78% of teenagers likelistening to music and 54% have radios intheir rooms.

Sport

Leisure time activities

And you? � Do you play a team sport or game?� What sport do you play?� How often do you play it?� Do you watch sport on TV?� What’s your favourite sport?

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3 Osserva queste affermazioni sui ragazziitaliani. In coppie, discutetene e cerchiate larisposta più adatta.

Teenagers in Italy...• often / sometimes / never watch TV.• often / sometimes / never play cricket.• often / sometimes / never listen to music.• often / sometimes / never have lunch

at school.• often / sometimes / never go to ‘clubs’

after school.

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And you? � Do you go to school on Saturdays? � Do you have lunch at school? � Do you wear a uniform? � Has your school got after-school clubs?

Riguarda le domande e le tue rispostedell’es. 2 e prendi appunti. Confronta ituoi appunti con quelli del compagno epoi scrivi un breve profilo di un ragazzotipico italiano (25 – 35 parole).

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We live in a consumer world and today’syoung people have got many things. These are the favourite possessions of British teenagers:

� their mobile phone � their MP3 player� their video games � their trainers

And you? What are your three favourite possessions? ���

British school children usually go to schoolfrom Monday to Friday. Sometimes they goto school on Saturday when they are in aschool sports team. The school day isusually from 9a.m. to 3.30p.m. Schoolchildren often have lunch at school in thecanteen. British school children usuallywear a uniform. Schools sometimes have‘clubs’ after school or during the lunchhour. These are usually music clubs(singing in a choir or playing an instrumentin an orchestra), sports clubs or languageclubs. 90% of British children go to stateschools. Only 9% go to private schools.

Possessions

School

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Food1 T4.24 Ascolta e leggi le informazioni sul cibo inglese e abbina l’immagine

al testo corrispondente.

A short

history ofBritish food

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Pensa all’Italia... Con il tuo compagno prepara una lista delle pietanze tradizionali regionali.

Scrivi un breve paragrafo in cui descrivi lepietanze tipiche regionali (25 – 35 parole).

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2 Rileggi i testi e rispondi alle domande.

1 What food do the Romans introduce to Britain?

2 When do the British first drink tea? 3 What is on Henry VIII’s menu? 4 What is Anglo-Indian cuisine? 5 Why do people have simple diets during

the Second World War?6 Why do people begin to cook foreign

food between the 1960s and 1980s? 7 What is organic food? 8 How many vegetarians are there in the UK?

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The RomansBetween AD 43 – AD 450 the

Romans introduce wine, cabbage,

peas, cherries and olive oil to Britain.

The Age of DiscoveryBritish sailors travel to the East and

in 1290 British people eat oranges

and spices for the first time. In

1563 British people have their first

potatoes from America and in 1650

they drink tea from China for the

first time.

The TudorsIn the 16th century, King Henry

VIII has big parties. Roast swan

is on the menu. Only rich people eat

fruit and vegetables. Their favourite

drink is ale (a type of beer).

The IndustrialRevolutionDuring the Industrial Revolution

(1750 – 1850) people move from the

countryside to towns. Children go to

work in factories. Their diet is not

healthy and their food is not fresh.

They don’t eat much fruit or many

vegetables.

Mid 1800s – 1950In 1858 the first fish-and-chip shop

opens in London and by 1900 there

are 30,000 fish-and-chip shops in

Britain. Between 1860 and 1950,

India is an important part of the

British Empire. British people start

to eat Indian dishes (curry) for the

first time. This creates ‘Anglo-Indian

cuisine’– a mixture of English and

Indian food.

The Second WorldWarDuring World War II (1939 – 1945),

there is food rationing: there isn’t

much sugar, butter, meat or cheese

for families and people queue for

their food. People have a simple

diet. At this time, some people

become vegetarians. At the end of

the war there are about 100,000

vegetarians in the UK. People eat

poor quality food for many years.

They forget how to cook

interesting meals.

The 1960s – 1980sIn the 1960s tourists say “English

food is boring!” People start to eat

international dishes. Around this

time, a lot of ethnic restaurants

open and British people begin to eat

Indian, Chinese, Greek, Italian and

Mexican food. More people go on

holiday to places like France, Spain,

Portugal and Italy. When they

return to England, they want to

cook foreign food. Supermarkets

begin to sell foreign food and

ingredients, like pasta, Indian

sauces and feta cheese.

The 1990s – todayThis is the decade of the British

food crises – mad cow disease and

the foot-and-mouth epidemic. More

people become vegetarians and

more farms begin to sell organic

food (food produced without

chemicals). There are about four

million vegetarians in the UK. You

usually find vegetarian food on

restaurant menus or in supermarkets.

Food becomes important for British

people. There are food programmes

on TV almost every night in the

UK. British restaurants often

receive big international prizes.

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Glossary

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Summer sports1 T4.25 Ascolta e leggi il testo sugli sport estivi. Poi usa le parole nel riquadro

per completare le frasi su questi avvenimenti sportivi famosi dell’estate.

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strawberries white weeksyears famousWimbledon

The All England Tennis and Croquet Club is almost140 1 old. It’s in Wimbledon, in southwest London and it is the home of the famousWimbledon Tennis Tournament each summer. The tournament begins in June and lasts for two2 . The tournament is 130 years old.500,000 people go to the tournament but millionswatch it on TV.

Players from over 60 countries come to Wimbledon.There are 128 male tennis players and 128 femaletennis players in the tournament. There’s a RoyalBox on the Centre Court, the most importantcourt, where members of the royal family and3 people can sit. But the unique thing inWimbledon is that they play tennis on grass and allplayers wear 4 clothes. Traditionallyspectators eat 5 and cream at Wimbledon.

There are two famous sports events on the 1 Thames. The first is the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race in 2 or April. Two boats, one from Oxford University and one from Cambridge 3 , race on the Thames near London. The second is The Henley Regatta in July in a town called Henley-on-Thames,near 4 . The Regatta lasts for 5 days. There are 100 races on the first day of the Regatta.

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2 Rispondi alle domande.

1 How many male and female tennis playersare there in the tennis tournament?

2 What is the Royal Box?3 What do spectators traditionally eat at

Wimbledon?4 What two famous sporting events are on

the River Thames?5 When is the Oxford and Cambridge

University Boat Race?6 How many days is The Henley Regatta?7 What is Royal Ascot?8 What is Ladies’ Day?

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Pensa a un avvenimento sportivoimportante in Italia. Rispondi alledomande con il tuo compagno. Poi usa lerisposte per scrivere un breve paragrafo(25 – 35 parole).

• Come si chiama? • Quando ha luogo?• Dove ha luogo?• Da chi è frequentato?• Da quanto tempo viene organizzato?• Perché è famoso?

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Royal Ascot

Ask people ‘What is Royal Ascot?’ and 90% say ‘Big hats’;

the other 10% say 1 ‘ racing’. Horse racing at

Ascot is almost 300 years old. The most important race

at Ascot is called ‘The Gold Cup’. Ascot lasts 2

days and is very popular. It’s in June each year. All the

women dress in beautiful 3 to watch the races.

Queen horse clothes family five

The third day of the races is called Ladies’ Day and all

the ladies wear big colourful hats. The men wear black

suits and top hats. The royal 4 loves horse

racing. The Queen and her family are often at the

races. Newspapers often show photos of the5 at Ascot.

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