5-British houses

-Where do people live in Britain?
-Do they live in houses?
-Do they live in towns or the countriside?

Well, 90% of the population live in towns.

here are also differences in age. Some houses are very modern and some are gundreds of years.There are lots of different kinds of houses. This is the kind of house you find in

British towns. Terraced houses are joined together - sometimes in a long row, but some terraces have only got a few houses.

Houses in different parts of Britain con look very different.
There are lots of regional variations because builders use local materials.

A famus traditional saying is 'An Englishman's home is his castle'.
British people spend a lot of time and money on their homes and gardens, This is called DIY, wisch means Do It Yourself.

6-Animals

People love animals. But some of the world's animals are in danger of extinction. There are several reas

ons of this. But the most serious threat to animals is from man. Shark's fin soup is a favourite in many restaurans. Chimpanzee and whale meat are popular with some people. Another big problem is the destruction of the rainforests. This

Animals born in Britain are now back in the Cong

o and Gavon in Africa. They are surviving and adapting successfully to conditions there.is removing the

habitat of many animals, like t

hese gorillas, birds and plants. The number of animals is some species is now very small and they may not exist at all for much longer.

7-BRITISH SPORTS

At the weekend in Britain, millions of people take part in some kind of sporting activity. Half of all men over 16 regulary participlate in sport.

Even more people spend part of the weekend watching sport - especially football. From August to april fotball is everywhere.

The top level of the game is professional football in the Premiership. We went to a training session with a Premiership team from South East London, Charlton Athletic.

Cricket is played between two teams of 11 people. Te

nni

s is anosther poplular sport, especially in the summ

er after the famous Wimbledon championships.

There are tennis courts all over Britain.

8-READING

British people read a lot. They read books, newspapers and megazine

s. And of course they read text messages on their mobile phones. sixty-five per cent of British people list' reading of pleasure'as a major hobby. In this library you can also buy a cup of coffee, look at an art exhivition, sit in a quiet study area or connect to the internet.

You can also now borrow CDs, videos and DVDs of films and television programmes. There are often reference rooms where you can go to look something up or go to study.

The British Library is one of the world's greatest libraries.

The Queen opened its new building

in 1998. It recives a copy of every book published in Britain and adds · million new items every year.

9-THE WATHER

The weather is a very popular topic of conversation

in Britain. that's because the weather changes a lot. Sixty-five per cent of all the days in Britain are overcast- dull, grey and often cold. That's 260 dull days.

the seasons in Britain are fairly clear. Einter lasts from December to February. It's cold and wet but doesn't often snow. Spring is from March to May.

It's not surprising that Britain has got one of the most importat weather centres in the world. The Met Office employs over a thousand people. They provide weather forecasts for radio, televiso

n and newspapers - and one the Internet.

This is the first one- published in The Times in 1879.