Номер 3, страница 8 - гдз по английскому языку 8 класс учебник Вербицкая, Маккинли

Unit one.

Track four.

Has Britain got an identity crisis?

Now that the United Kingdom's latest population statistics are available, Terry Bleter asks, do the British know who they are?

To the rest of the world, people from the UK are British, but it's surprising to learn that only thirty-one percent of people in the UK say they are just British.

In fact, nearly half the population say their nationality is something else: English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, or perhaps Vietnamese, Indian, or Somali.

Some people, about sixteen percent, even say that they have two nationalities.

They are British, but also Scottish or Chinese. There are hundreds of possibilities.

Are we confused? Is it a problem?

No, it doesn't seem to be.

Britain is changing all the time, and we're not just tolerant of differences, we are proud of them.

We enjoy the diversity that multiculturalism gives us. The ethnic groups that exist in the UK bring with them at least six major religions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Judaism.

Each community contributes its own culture and language. Britain still has two official languages, English and Welsh, but we speak many more, approximately one hundred and fifteen, in fact, from Mandarin Chinese to Urdu.

Many of us are even bilingual.

And then there's the fun stuff that cultural diversity brings in music, food, and the arts.

The days of fish and chips are behind us, as a walk around the capital shows.

Almost every district has Lebanese, Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants.

Thousands of Londoners visit the Notting Hill Carnival every year to dance to steel bands, reggae, soca, calypso, and jazz.

Our cinemas show films from India and South America, and thousands of people fill our pubs and clubs to listen to everything from Irish dance bands to African hip-hop.

Welcome to New Britain.

A confident, tolerant country, which is proud of its many cultures.