The People of Britain
Many foreigners who have not visited Britain call all the inhabitantsinhabitant n.居民，居住者 "English"for they are used to thinking of the British Isles as "English".In fact，the British Isles contain a variety of peoples and only the people of England call themselves English.The others refer to themselves as Welsh，Scottish，or Irish，as the case may be；they are often slightly annoyed at being classified as"English".
Even in England there are many differences in regionalregional adj.整个地区的，地方地，地域性地 character and speech.Thechief division is between southern England and northern England.South of a linegoing from Bristol to Londonpeople speak the type of English usually learnt byforeign students，though there are localvariations.
Further north(roughlyroughly adv.概略地，粗糙地 beyond a line going from Manchester to Hull)regional sparch is usually"broader"than that of southern Britain.Northerners are apt to claimthat they work harder than the Southerners，and are more thorough.They are openhearted and hospitable；foreigners often find that they make friends with them quickly.Northerners generally have hearty appetites：the visitor to Lancashire or Yorkshire，for instance，may look forward toreceiving generous helpings at meal times.
In accent and character the people of the letter"R"is generally a strong sound，and"R"is often pronounced in which it would be silent in southern English.In theHighlands and the Western Isles the ancient Scottish language，Gaelic，is still heard in 1971 some 88，000 people spoke Gaelic.The Scots are said to be a serious，cautious，thrifty people rather inventiveand somewhat mysticalmystical adj.神秘的，奥秘的.All the Celtic peoples of Britain(the Welsh，the Irish，theScots)are frequently described as beingmore "fiery"than the English.They are ofa race that is quite distinct from theEnglish.
The Welsh have preserved their languageto a remarkable extent，as you will see inthe article on "Wales-Land" of Song.The English generally look upon the Welshas an emotionalemotional adj.情绪的，情感的 people who are，however，somewhat reticent and difficult to get toknow easily.
Ireland is divided into two parts.The six counties of Northern Ireland are stillpart of Great Britain，though，in normalcircumpools firms recognise a responsibility towards the winners of large sums and employ experts to give winners advice，if they wish it，on now best to investtheir newlyacquired wealth.Not all of them take such advice，but the majorty do.Most of the big pools wins have gone topeople who are not-very well-off and generally they have used the money wisely，buying themselves a house and a car adding some luxuries to their daily life，butnot throwing the money away on riotousliving.Very many winners have at once spent part of their fortune on helping less fortunate relatives.
不列颠民族
许多没去过英国的外国人把所有的英国人都称作“英格兰”人，因为他们总认为不列颠诸岛就是“英格兰”。事实上，不列颠诸岛上住有很多不同民族的人，而只是住在英格兰的人称他们自己为英格兰人。其他的则根据他们的情况称自己为威尔士人、苏格兰人或爱尔兰人，他们常常为被划归为英格兰人而感到生气。
即使在英格兰，各地区人的性格和语言也有许多差异。主要分为南英格兰和北英格兰，从不列斯托尔到伦敦一线以南，人们说的英语就是通常外国学生学的那种英语，尽管掺有当地的土语。
更北部地区(大致上从曼彻斯特到赫尔一线)言语的变化通常比南部更大。北方人喜欢说他们比南方人工作更努力而且更精益求精。他们心胸开朗、热情好客，外国人通常会感到他们能很快地同北方人交上朋友。北方人待客一般都真心实意，例如到兰开夏或约克夏的游客在吃饭时间都可能受到所期待的盛情款待。
英国中部地区的人，在语言和性格方面则代表了由英国南方逐渐向英国北方的变化。
在苏格兰，字母“R”所表示的音往往读得很重，而在南方英语中不发音的“R”，这里也常是发音的。在苏格兰高山地和西部诸岛上仍可以听到一种古老的苏格兰语言——盖尔语，1971年，大约有88，000人说这种语言。据说苏格兰人是严肃、认真、节俭、相当富有创造力而且还有点神秘的民族。人们常认为英国的所有凯尔特族人(威尔士人、爱尔兰人、苏格兰人)都比英格兰人要“火热”些。他们是与英格兰人截然不同的民族。
威尔士人在很大程度上保留了自己的语言，这一点你可从“威尔士——诗歌之乡”一文中看到。英格兰人一般认为威尔士人是个感情丰富的民族，然而却有些寡言少语，很难与之沟通。
爱尔兰分为两部分，虽然北爱尔兰的六个郡通常都有自己的议会，却仍属大不列颠。大多数北爱尔兰人是新教徒。这个岛上的大部分地区属于一个独立的国家——爱尔兰共和国，它不是英国的一部分。在那里的人们主要都是天主教徒。常称作“欧斯”的爱尔兰语是一种盖尔语，这种语言几乎濒临绝迹，但当爱尔兰共和国独立后，爱尔兰的盖尔语又获复苏，现已成为国家的第一官方语言，英语则退为第二位。爱尔兰人以其姑娘的美丽动人和他们本身的魅力和活泼欢快而着称于世。
London，s Parks
One thing about London which every visitor from abroad admiresadmire v.赞美，钦佩，羡慕 is the large number of parks.These “lungs”lung n.肺，呼吸器，肺脏of London，as they have been called，are like green islands of peace and quiet in the middle of a noisy sea.They play an important part in helping to form the City，s character.
The bestknown parks are，of course，the central ones：St James，s park，Hyde Park，Regent，s Park，and Kensington Gardens.They have many attractions.Hyed Park has the Serpentine-a little lake，where，if one feels inclined，one may take a swim or go for a row，and SpeakersCorner where one may get up and say anything one pleases.In Regent，s Park there are the Zoo and the OpenAir Theatre.Kensington Gardens has the Round Pond where “dry land sailors”of all ages sail every kind of model yacht St James，s Park boasts a truly elegantelegant adj.文雅的，端庄的，雅致的，（口）上品的，第一流的 lake on which lives a great variety of wild duck.And，apart from these individualindividual n.个人，个体adj.个别的，单独的，个人的 attractions，eachpark has a greater or lesser expanse of wellkept grass.Here，in fine weather，can be seen hundreds of lucky people who have escaped for a while from the noise and bustlebustle v.匆匆忙忙 of the town；some sitting on chairs，some lying full length on the ground，some strolling aimlessly around.
But the central parks of London are not necessarily the most popular.Every district of London has its parks，great or small.In the north there is Hampstead Heath，famous for its summer and winter fairs.In the south there is Richmond Park，where deer and sheep still roam and where one can get the impression of being deep in the country.In the south，too，are the Botanical Gardens at Kew，where almost every kind of tree and plant is carefully tended，in large greenhouses or in the open air.Just over Chelse a Bridge，along the south bank of the Thames，is Battersea Park，one of London，s largest，complete with its pleasure gardens and FunFair.In the east，there is the large Victoria Park and a host of smaller ones.