layed in the streets and churchyards, and strongly disliked by the authorities. Hurling takes place of football in Cornwall. In this extremely popular Cornish game, the ball is about the size of cricket ball, made of light wood or cork, and thinly coated with silver, and it can be carried, tossed, hurled by the players, but never kicked. p> Shrove Tuesday is the one of the traditional days on which in some old-established English schools, the custom of barring-out the schoolmaster can be observed. The children lock the master out of the school, and bargain with him for a holiday that day, or sometimes for a series of holidays in the coming terms. If the master manages to force the entry, the victory is his, and no holiday is granted. But if the children can hold out for the day (or, for three days, in the past), the schoolmaster makes an agreement with them and grants at least some of their demands. p> On Ash Wednesday, Lent begins, and from then on there is no true festival date until Mid-Lent Sunday, the fourth in Lent, also known in Britain as Mothering Sunday. On that day, which is a welcome relaxation in the midst of the long, harsh fast, simnel cakes are customarily baked and eaten. The custom can be traced back to the year 1042, and the name "simnel" is believed to come from the cakes made by Lambert Simnel's father and nicknamed after his son when the latter's rebellion failed. Another version is that the word is derived from the Latin, simila , meaning fine wheaten flour. There are three principal types of simnel cakes, named after the towns which first made them: Shrewsbury, Devizes and the most famous Bury simnel. p> On Palm Sunday, a fortnight later, palms are carried in procession in the churches in memory of Christ's entry into Jerusalem.
On Maundy Thursday, the Queen, or in her absence, the Lord High Almoner acting for her, presents the Royal Maundy gifts to as many poor men and as many poor women as there are years in her age. This distribution usually takes place in Westminster Abbey when the date of the year is even, and in some other great cathedral when it is odd. Originally, Maundy Thursday was the day on which the Last Supper eaten by Christ and his Apostles is commemorated. The modern ceremony consists of a lovely and colorful procession, prayers, hymns and anthems, the distribution of Maundy Money, and the final Blessing and singing of the National Anthem. p> On Good Friday, countrymen plant potatoes and sow parsley, Sussex people skip, the children in Liverpool "burn Judas" (a straw-stuffed effigys), and everyone eats Hot Cross buns, which are small, round, spiced cakes marked with a cross. They appear to be the Christian descendants of the cross-marked wheaten cakes which the pagan Greeks and Romans ate at the Springtime festival of Diana.
Many popular superstitions are associated with Good Friday. Blacksmiths do not shoe horses because of the use to which nails had been put, long ago, on Calvary. Miners do not go down the pit, believing that some disaster occurs if they do. Housewives do not sweep their houses because to do so is to sweep away the life of one of the family ".
8.2. "American English"
The basic idea of this lesson is to introduce main lexical and grammatical differences between the British English language and its American variant.
Lesson topic: "American English"
Lesson goal: study of the basic distinctions between the English language and it's
American dialect, try to apply the knowledge in practice. p> Lesson structure:
1) Lesson organization (2-3 minutes)
2) Particular review of the previous studies (4-5 minutes)
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We accept that the there was a homework related to the given topic; it was based on the analysis of the following text:
" American English
In the early part of the seventeenth century English settlers began to bring their language to America, and another series of changes began to take place. The settlers borrowed words from Indian languages ​​for such strange trees as the hickory and persimmon, such unfamiliar animals as raccoons and woodchucks. Later they borrowed other words from settlers from other countries - for instance, chowder and prairie from the French, scow and sleigh from the Dutch. They made new combinations of English words, such as backwoods and bullfrog , or gave old English words entirely new meanings, such as lumber (which in British English means approximately junk ) and corn (which in British means any grain, especially wheat). Some of the new terms were needed, because there were new and un-English things to talk about. Others can be explained only on the general theory that languages ​​are always changing, and American English is no exception....
