TEST 45
Questions 1-7. Match the following headings (A-H) to the texts (Q1-Q7).
Note: There is one extra heading which you do not need to use.
HEADINGS:
A) Odd Hobby
B) Animal Protection
C) Marriage: Modern View
D) A National Hobby
E) Divorces in Britain
F) Reserved nation?
G) Nation of Animal Lovers
H) Spoil Your Pet
Q1.
The family in Britain is changing. People get married at a later age and many career-oriented women don’t
want to have children immediately. They prefer to do well at their jobs first and put off having a baby until
their late thirties. However, marriage and the family are still popular. Most people in Britain still get
married and stay together until the end of their lives. The majority of divorced
people marry again, and
they sometimes take responsibility for a second family. Relationships within the family are also changing.
Parents treat their children more as equals than they used to.
Q2.
Many visitors who come to Britatin often say that it is very difficult to make friends with British people
because they are cold and reserved. This is not true. What is true is that different cultures have different
ways of showing affection. In many countries (e.g. Spain or Russia) friends often hug and kiss each other
when they get together. In Britain this is not so common. British people are not likely to tell their whole
life story to a complete stranger or even share their problems and worries with a friend.
The reason is that
they don’t want to trouble other people with their problems.
Q3.
From going for picnics in the rain to playing cricket, the British do many things that confuse people from
other countries. However, there are some sports and hobbies that confuse even British people themselves.
Perhaps the strangest of them is train spotting. Basically train spotting is collecting trains.
But a locomotive
won’t fit in your house or garage, will it? So train spotters simply write down the serial number of every
train they see. They stand for hours at major UK stations sipping tea from their
thermos flasks and waiting
for the next train.
Q4.
Like everybody else, British people like doing things outside work. Gardening is a well-known favourite.
As the weather in Britain is relatively mild, British people manage to do gardening
almost all the year
round. Sometimes this can be just doing a bit of weeding, and sometimes serious vegetable and fruit
growing. Mowing grass is also very important. Every Sunday morning (except for winter) people come out
to mow their lawns. The British see an unmown lawn
not only as a sign of laziness, but also as disrespect
to others (and you can get fined for it as well).