единоличница2 все записи автора

вот тут в конкурсе участвую!!может кому интересно будет почитать!!!

What do stereotypes mean? The dictionary gives the following definition “stereotype is a conventional and oversimplified conception opinion or image to charactise a particular person or people of one nation “. Stereotypes can be divided either into positive and negative or true and misleading. Also our thoughts can be real facts or simply prejudices; we can be biased or full of assumption.

 I suppose, people must be free of misleading stereotypes, and, therefore, we need reliable information on nation or people for there are a lot of stereotypes connected with different people and countries.

There are a lot of ways to get such information/ it can be taken from books, magazines, stereotype-free and trustworthy people and, of course,  we can learn a lot by traveling, we can get information straight from the horse’s mouth, I mean, directly from a reliable source or a person that cannot be doubted.

I would like to try to analyze my knowledge about the and decide whether my ideas are real facts or only stereotypes.

 First, I used to think that the main part of all sights in were castles, old and imposing.

Second, the British drink only tea and nothing but tea.

Moreover, the Queen reigns but not rule.

Beside, the weather is rainy and foggy all the year around.

Finally, I used to think that the British are very shy, polite and have a specific sense of humor.

Trying to find out whether I think stereotypically or I’m not a hopeless case. I read a lot of books and spoke to many people.

As for the first image of the , I have read some books and discussed my perception with my English teacher, looked trough a number of magazines and talked to certain people whose opinion I trust.  I found out that this fact isn’t absolutely true. There are a lot of places of interest in the , museums, galleries, threats, etc. The good examples are the Tate Gallery, The British Museum and a lot of other ones which are worth visiting. Thus, it was a mere stereotype of naïve person who lacked knowledge.

As for the second image, having talked to my teacher, I learned that it’s not real fact. I cannot help but agree on the fact that the British are fond of drinking tea and they like it very much. But it doesn’t mean that they drink only it and nothing else. They also drink coffee, juice, lemonade and many other drinks. As for tea, it used to be favorite, but little by little it begins to become less popular. But I suppose it will take tea at least a century or more to be ousted by other drinks. But who could resist a cup of well-brewed English tea? I could not.

I’ve read some articles on monarchy in and tried to learn something about my third image. And I learned that it’s not my stereotype and it’s a real fact. It’s connected with a political system of the country and it proves that relish its traditions.

As for the weather, I have read some magazines and found out that the weather in is changeable, unreliable and unpredictable.

Last but not least, the British are on my list.

Are they shy?

I have a pen friend and she has been to the (she’s from Moscow ) and I ask her to tell me something about people in the country. She told me the following store,” During my first visit to London I remember seeing a man in the underground asking a ticket seller for information. The latter didn’t reply and the man said, very politely “Thank you very much”, and then he turned around and said,”F—k you”.

But we can’t make any conclusion and judge the whole nation by one young man in the Tube. And I want to give another example. When I was in Moscow last time, I met a group of people from the . There was a big crowd and the British risked getting smashed in the crowd, but they kept saying “Excuse me “and “I’m sorry” to everyone. As for Russians, they only shouted at each other, pushing and cursing.

So to judge the nation, you should eat a bushel of salt with them.

Then, I got assured that the British sense of humor is very specific. I have read a book which was entitled “English Jokes”. And after having read it I could make some conclusions and I want to share my thoughts with you. But first I want to give an example of the jokes.

“What is Tube?”

“It’s a place so crowd that even the men can’t all get seats”.

As for conclusions. Fist, I should say that there were a lot of very and funny jokes which gave me a lot of laughter.

Second, I can say that there were some too dry jokes which were too difficult to comprehend and the point was more than vague to Russians people.

To sum up, through some reading and talking to the people, I managed to dispel some o my stereotypes. Of course they were not harmful to anyone. Stop, here I’m wrong. They were harmful to me. The cause of it was my ignorance and a lack of life experience.

Working on this assignment, I managed to get more knowledgeable and expand the boundaries of the familiar word.