Comparison !!!

There are four main regions in Britain - England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. In Scotland there are lots of golf courses and each year in the Highlands nnorth of Britain and has got a lot of wild, mountainous countryside in the Highlands. It's famous for its lakes which are called lochs in Scotland. Like many parts of Britain, Scotland has got its own traditions. For special occasions some Scottish men wear a kilt rather than trousers. The patterns are called " tartans " and each important family has got its own design. The unusual instrument known as the bagpipes is also a part of Scottish tradition.
Sport is very important in Scotland. There are Highland Games with some familiar events and some unusual ones.

Catalonia is in the north-east of Spain. The capital city is Barcelona. The climate of Catalonia is diverse. The populated areas lying by the coast in Tarragona, Barcelona and Girona feature a Mediterranean climate. In Catalonia you can visit many places, such as the Dalí Museum in Figueres is that the segrada Familia, Park Guell in Barcelona, and others. The correfocs, in which "devils" play with fire close the onlookers, is one of the most striking of the Catalan festive events. The devils are not considered the incarnation of evil; they are sprightly and festive characters, dancing to the sound of drums and the traditional gralla, while they set off their fireworks. Perhaps the most spectacular of the Catalan festivals are those of the colles castelleres, groups of enthusiasts who form impressive human towers (up to ten people high). The sardana is a ciruclar, open dance, that originated in the Empordà region (north of the country by the Mediterranean sea) and the Pyrinees (Catalan Pirineus), and is now danced in many squares and streets all over Catalonia. Sport is very important in Catalonia too. The most famous sport is football. Everyone love football!

Unit 9: British healthcare system !

Most of the time we feel well. We can play sports, ho to work and enjoy our lives. But sometimes we just don't feel well. Some people have medical insurance but most people can't afford it and rely on the National Health Service, the NHS. This is provided by the government in Britain. The NHS has sent everybody in Britain's a Self-Helf Guide. This will help you diagnose what is wrong and find the best treatment. There are lots of medicines you can buy in the chemist but for more powerful ones like antibiotics you need to have a prescription. You can get a prescription from a doctor. Doctors work in surgeries or health centres. The doctor examines you first to find out what's wrong. Then they can write you a prescription for medicine to cure you. If ykou can't get to a doctor, there are two other NHS services you could try. The first is NHS Direct. This is a phone service where a trained nurse will suggest the best way to treat you. For accidents or emergencies you should go to a hospital which has got a specific Accident and Emergencies department. Doctors and medical staff can cure lots of illnesses now using surgery and treatment with drugs. But many people prefer alternative medicine. This can include many kinds of treatment using both very old and very modern techniques. Hopefully these treatments won't be necessary. The best way to avoid getting ill is to have a healthy diet, get lots of exercise and take good care of yourself. You shouldn't then need to use the healthcare system at all!

Unit 8: Computers in our lives !!!

Computers are very important part of our lives. Did you know that 60% of homes in Britain have got a PC (a personal computer)?

For many young people, playing computer games is their favorite way of spending spare time.
The smart home is now a real possibility. It will become very common. A central computer will adjust the temperature, act as a burglar alarm and switch on lights ready for you to come back home.
And of course you will be able to give new instructions to the computer from your mobile phone. So if your plans change, your home will react to match.
Many homes have got lots of televisions and several computers.
Are computers taking over our lives? In survey, 44 per cent of young people between 111 and 16 said their PC was a trusted friend. 20% said they were happier at they computers than spending time with family or friends. Another surveys found that people in Britain spend so much time on the phone, texting and reading e-mails that they no longer have time for conversation. What do you think about that?

Unit 6: Shipping in Britain !!!

The British Navy was the biggest navy in the world at one time. Now it's smaller, but many other ships are still used for importing and exporting goods and for taking people on business or holiday. In Liverpool there is a great museum of maritime history. Inside it shows what it was like to be on some of the ships. Between 1830-1930 more than nine million people from all over Europe left from the port of Liverpool to start a new life in America or Australia. In the early twentieth century there were large numbers of very elegant passenger ships. They crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool or Southampton to New York in five or six days. The most famous ship was probably the Titanic. One of the most famous shipping companies is Cunard. It's got the world's biggest cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, which crosses the Atlantic from Southampton to New York. The majority of people do travel around the world by plane but ships are still very important for moving goods. Here at the Southampton Container Terminal they unload more than one and a half million containers each year. So the sea still plays a very important part in life in Britain.

In England no town is more than 170 kilometers from the sea. So it's no surprise that Britain has a very important history of ships and the sea.

Unit 7: Transport !!!

Exploring Mars are going to be very exciting, but for now, it's easier to explore our own planet! In particular, London.

We're going to follow Freddie as he explores all the different kins of transport in London. He's a television researcher and he's going ti find out about all the different ways of travelling London. 1.8 million people travel into the center of London by train every day.
The next part of Freddie's journey is on another kind of train called Docklands Light Railway. These are computer-controlled trains with no drivers.
London Underground, usually called Tube, was the first in the world when it opened on 1863.
Freddie catches a bus for the last part of his journey.
People use lots of other forms of transport in London. But the car isn't very good transport in London.
The buses and taxis travel more quickly because they have got special lines on the road. Freddie's in a hurry now so he's talking a London taxi to meeting.

Unit 5: British horror stories !!!

People like to be scared.

They love reading horror stories and watching horror movies. Some of the most famous horror stories were written by British writers. The first was published by Mary Shelley in 1818. One of then put two great horror characters together when Frankenstein met Count Dracula. Dracula contra Frankenstein was made by the Spanish director Jesús Franco in 1970. Count Dracula was a vampire created in 1897 by the Irish writer Bram Storker. Since then Dracula has always been in print.

Unit 4: Law !!!

The most famous police station in Britain is the New Scotland Yard in London, but there are police stations all over the country.

For more people the police station are the face of the law. They can arrest people in the street, but they also give information.
There are a new police station in Lewisham, an area in south-east London.
Suspects con be kept in the cells at the police station for several hours. A suspect spent a whole night in the cells.
Next day he went to the court. Here three magistrates listen to evidence from the police and the witness. They decide if the person is guilty or not guilty.
The evidence that the police collect from a crime scene is analysed in in laboratories like this.
The people who work here are called the forensic scientist.
Finger prints are good way of identifying people but DNA is more reliable. A person's identity can be found from a single hair. Each person has got a unique DNA profile.

Supermarkets !!

Supermarkets are an important part of daily life in Britain. In the larger supermarkets you can buy just about anything. Two of them, Asda and Tesco, are also the biggest sellers of clothes in Britain. The very big supermarkets are usually on the edge of towns and most people drive to them. There are many more supermarkets now than 20 years ago. People find it very convenient to do all their shopping in on place. Many supermarkets are open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, so people can shop 24/7. But not on Sundays when shops can only open for five hours. That's enough for most people! But you can still shop online.

Soap operas in Britain !!!

The most popular soap operas in Britain are Eastenders and Coronation Street. These are popular dramas about the lives of ordinary people. There are three to five episodes each week. There are also web sides for all soap operas.

Eastenders us set in the east end of London and has been broadcast since 1985. Coronation Street is based in Manchester and it is the oldest soap. It was first in 1960. Then there's also Emmerdale which takes place in a village in the Yorkshire countryside. It started in 1972 and is on Tv every evening from Monday to Friday.