V. Prepare a two-minute talk about stereotypes commonly applied to the British culture.

BREAKING DOWN STEREOTYPES

Before reading the texts discuss the following questions.

ñ Why do people create stereotypes?

ñ Are there any positive sides of stereotypes?

ñ Should people ignore stereotypes?

Reading

Stereotypes (or "characterizations") are generalizations or beliefs about people based on their membership in a particular group.

Stereotypes can be positive, negative, or neutral. Stereotypes based on gender, ethnicity, or occupation are common in many societies, they are often unfair and misleading. In general, stereotypes reduce individuals to a rigid, inflexible image; they do not account for the fact that human beings are complex and multidimensional, with unique attributes. Stereotypes suggest that people or groups of people are the same, when, in fact, they are quite different. Directed at human beings stereotypes can be dangerous and harmful, they tend to dehumanize people, placing all members of a group into one, simple category.

Why do we stereotype?

We stereotype people when we are unable or unwilling to obtain all of the information we need to make a fair judgement about people or situations. In the absence of the so called 'total picture,' to stereotype people in many cases allow us to 'fill in the missing pieces of information." Our society often innocently creates and perpetuates stereotypes, but these stereotypes often lead to false assumptions about people and cause misunderstandings, hostility, abusive behaviors, conflicts, discrimination, and prejudice.

Stereotyping is especially prevalent and problematic in conflicts. Groups tend to define themselves according to who they are and who they are not. And "others," especially "enemies" or "opponents" are often viewed in very negative ways. The opponent is expected to be aggressive, self-serving, and deceitful, for example, while people in one's own group are seen in generally positive ways. Similarly, if problems occur, blame is often placed on "the enemy," while one's own contribution to the problem is ignored. For example, problems may be attributed to the opponent's lack of cooperativeness, not one's own; or the enemy's aggressiveness, not their fear of one's own aggressive stance. Even similarities between parties can be viewed differently: one's own competitiveness may be seen in a positive light as "tough, effective negotiating," while the opponent's competitive actions are seen as "hostile and deceptive."

Such stereotypes tend to be self-perpetuating. If one side assumes the other side is deceitful and aggressive, they will tend to respond deceitfully and aggressively themselves. The opponent will then develop a similar image of the first party and respond deceptively, thus confirming the initial stereotype. The stereotypes may even grow worse, as communication shuts down and escalation heightens emotions and tension.

Functions

Stereotypes have several important functions:

ñ They allow people to quickly process new information about an event or person.

ñ They organize people’s past experiences.

ñ They help people to meaningfully assess differences between individuals and groups.

ñ They help people to make predictions about other people’s behavior.

Stereotypes Can Be Complicated

Stereotypes are complicated when they factor in race and sex, members of the same group may be pegged very differently. Certain stereotypes apply to Asian Americans generally, for example. But when the Asian American population is broken down by sex, one finds that stereotypes of Asian American men and Asian American women differ drastically from each other. Stereotypes involving race and gender may peg the women of a racial group as attractive and desirable and the men as the exact opposite or vice versa.

Even stereotypes applied to a racial group become inconsistent when members of that group are broken down by national origin. A case in point is that stereotypes about black Americans differ from those about blacks from the Caribbean or blacks from African nations. Such discrepancies indicate that stereotypes make little sense and aren’t useful tools by which to judge others based on just a few aspects of their identity.

The Stability of Stereotypes

Stereotypes are not easily changed, for the following reasons:

ñ people’s perceptions are influenced by their expectations, for example: Liz has a stereotype of elderly people as mentally unstable. When she sees an elderly woman sitting on a park bench alone, talking out loud, she thinks that the woman is talking to herself because she is unstable. Liz fails to notice that the woman is actually talking on a cell phone.

ñ People selectively recall instances that confirm their stereotypes and forget about disconfirming instances, for example: Paul has a stereotype of Latin Americans as academically unmotivated. As evidence for his belief, he cites instances when some of his Latin American classmates failed to read required class material. He fails to recall all the times his Latin American classmates did complete their assignments.

Can Stereotypes Ever Be Good?

Both negative and positive stereotypes exist, but even the latter do harm. That’s because all stereotypes are limiting and leave little to no room for individuality. Perhaps a child belongs to a racial group known for being highly intelligent. This particular child, however, suffers from a learning disability and struggles to keep up with his classmates in school. His teacher buys into the stereotype that this child is supposed to excel in class because “his people” are highly intelligent, she might assume that his poor marks are because he’s lazy and never do the investigative work needed to discover his learning disability, saving him from years of struggle in school.

Is There Truth in Stereotypes?

It’s said that stereotypes are based on truth, but is this a valid statement? People who make this argument often want to justify their use of stereotypes. The problem with stereotypes is they suggest that groups of people are inherently prone to certain behaviors. Arabs are naturally one way. Hispanics are naturally another.

The fact is, science doesn’t back up these kinds of assertions. If groups of people have historically excelled at certain activities, social factors no doubt contributed to this phenomenon. Perhaps a society barred a group of people from practicing certain professions but welcomed them in others. Over the years, the group became associated with the professions in which they were allowed to practice. This came about not because of any inherent talent in these fields but because they were the professions that allowed them to pay for food, housing and other necessities. In short, their survival depended on them excelling at the professions in question. Those who spread stereotypes, however, ignore social factors and make links between groups of people and certain skills, activities or behaviors where none inherently exist.

Dangers

Stereotypes can lead to distortions of reality for several reasons:

ñ They cause people to exaggerate differences among groups.

ñ They lead people to focus selectively on information that agrees with the stereotype and ignore information that disagrees with it.

ñ They tend to make people see other groups as overly homogenous, even though people can easily see that the groups they belong to are heterogeneous.

There is a distinction between stereotypes and generalizations. For example, generalizations bring together a series of observations or experiences relating to an area or group in a simplified way. It's a generalization, therefore, to say that most men like professional sports, but this does not imply that all men do. Thus, stereotypes ascribe certain characteristics invariably to an entire group, they lead us to make inappropriate generalizations that miss the mark and misrepresent reality. Because most people are not aware of how their thinking and behavior are automatically influenced by stereotypes, they conclude their perceptions come from objective observations. This is why stereotyping is so difficult to address—all of us do it, but we often don’t realize or believe that we do.

Vocabulary

1. attribute (v) – приписывать, считать неотъемлемым свойством, связывать; attribute smth to smb. - присваивать, относить; attribute importance – придавать значение; be attributed to - быть связанным с чем-либо;

attribute (n) – качество, свойство, признак; quality attribute – показатель качества; defining attribute - характерная(определяющая) черта; indispensable attribute – непременный атрибут;

2. excel (v) – превосходить, быть лучше всех, отличаться; excel in quality – превосходить по качеству; excel smb at smth – превосходить кого-либо в чем-либо; excel yourself – превзойти себя;

excellence (n) – совершенство, высокое качество, превосходство; a high level of excellence – высокий уровень совершенства; attainment of excellence – достижение совершенства; par excellence – преимущественно, главным образом;

3. judge (v) – оценивать, судить, составлять мнение; judge by appearances – судить по внешнему виду; judge smb on his/her merits – оценить кого-либо по достоинству; judge smb by his actions – судить о ком-либо по его делам; judge for yourself – судите сами;

judgement (n) – мнение, суждение, оценка; make a judgement – выносить решение; a man of good judgement – здравомыслящий человек; sound judgement – разумное/здравое суждение; pass judgement on smth – судить/критиковать за что-либо;

4. perpetuate (v) – закрепить, сохранить навсегда, увековечить; perpetuate a stereotype(name) - закрепить стереотип(имя); self-perpetuating – бессменный, нескончаемый; perpetuate race discrimination – сохранять расовую дискриминацию;

perpetuation (n) – увековечение, сохранение навсегда; ensure perpetuation - обеспечить бессмертие; perpetuation of evidence – обеспечение доказательств;

5. respond (v) – отвечать, реагировать; respond to – отзываться на; respond decently - ответить достойно; respond with a blow – нанести ответный удар;

response (n) – ответ, реакция, отклик; in response to - в ответ на; draw a response – вызвать резонанс; give a response – ответить; public response – реакция общественности;

6. tend (v) – заботиться, иметь склонность, тенденцию; - tend to exaggerate - быть склонным преувеличивать; tend to business – вести дела;

tendency (n) – склонность, стремление; dominating tendencies – преобладающие тенденции; pronounced tendency – явная тенденция;

Exercises

I. a) Give synonyms to the words from the text:

Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs

assumptions excel social deceptive

implication assess intelligent selective

behavior respond objective actually

b) Give antonyms to the words from the text:

disability ignore initial differently

escalation complete inherent mentally

conflict misrepresent valid especially

II. Match the following words to make up phrases from the text.

1. self- a. emotions

2. lack of b. from

3. heighten c. reality

4. valid d. serving

5. suffer e. professions

6. be viewed f. statement

7. confirm g. worse

8. misrepresent h. ooperativeness

9. excel at I. stereotypes

10. grow j. differently

III. Match English word-combinations from A with their Russian equivalents from B. Find the phrases in the text.

A. Tend to; be viewed; place blame on; be attributed to; respond deceitfully/deceptively; shut down communication; heighten emotions and tension; focus selectively; justify the use of stereotypes; exaggerate differences; make inappropriate generalizations; over the years; become associated with; excel at the professions; buy into a stereotype; in essence; differ drastically; make little sense;

B. В сущности; с годами/со временем; разжигать страсти и усиливать напряжение; прекратить общение; выборочно заострять внимание; резко/коренным образом отличаться; оправдывать использование стереотипов; видеть мало смысла; быть лучшим по профессии; реагировать обманчиво, вводя в заблуждение; верить/довериться стереотипу; делать неправильные обобщения; возложить вину на; иметь склонность к чему-либо; рассматриваться; ассоциироваться с чем-либо; преувеличивать разногласия; относиться к чему-либо/быть связанным с чем-либо;

IV. Choose the correct word to complete the following sentences.

1. Breaking down stereotypes will …...... individuals from opposing groups together.

A. get B. bring C. make D. introduce

2. Generalizations about people are …....... on inaccurate and incomplete information.

A. come from B. connected C. based D. done

3. …........ tend to be oversimplifications of the groups of people involving gender, race, national origin and other factors.

A. stereotypes B. cultures C. meanings D. communities

4. A general stereotype is that …. are much better at maths than their female colleagues.

A. young people B. men C. women D. adults

5. Typically stereotyping tends to heighten tension and …........ little sense.

A. have B. bring C. involve D. make

6. People who have much in ….... contribute substantially to breaking down negative images.

A. shared B. gen C. common D. everything

7. If you want to break …... stereotypes you should make a fair judgement about people.

A. out B. into C. under D. down

V. Fill in the correct preposition. Choose any five of the phrases and make up sentences using them.

1) be attributed … smth; 2) shut … communication; 3) be based … smth; 4) … essence; 5) back … kinds of assertions; 6) buy … a stereotype; 7) evidence... one's belief, 8) judge smb... his/her merits; 9) contribution... the problem; 10) respond... a blow; 11) … general; 12) be aware … smth; 13) make predictions... people’s behavior; 14) fill... the missing pieces of information.; 15) account... the fact; 16) similarities … parties; 17) suffer … smth;

VI. Match the words with their definitions and make up sentences using these words.

1. opponent a) remember a particular fact, event, or situation from the past

2. respond b) what you think or hope will happen

3. image c) make smth seem better, larger, worse than it really is

4. recall d) the opinion people have of a person, organization

5. exaggerate e) someone who disagrees and wants to try to stop

6. dehumanize f) give an acceptable explanation for smth

7. discrepancy g) make a judgement about smth after thinking carefully about it

8. expectation h)a difference between two amounts,details that should be the same

9. assess I) do smth as a reaction to smth that has been said/done

10. justify j) treat people so badly that they lose their good human qualities

VII. Explain the difference between the words.

Prejudice vs generalization

Lynching vs Holocaust

Bigotry vs Gerrymandering

Ghetto vs Genocide

Apartheid vs Persecution

VIII. List the following words under one or more of these headings.

Lead stereotypes enemy assumptions

members make break down individuals

prejudice teacher opponent characteristics

generalizations person ignore

Concepts/notions	Actions	People

IX. Use the following expressions to complete the sentences.

ascribe negative characteristics disconfirm stereotypes people's perceptions the lack of cooperativeness& self-servng false assumptions a series of observations and experiences

1. Negative stereotypes substantially influence …............... of the surrounding world.

2. …........................ can lead to creating negative stereotypes in our society.

3. …............. carried out by psychologists ….............. related to this ethnic group.

4. How do we cope with the threat of …............ to people?

5. People tend to perform relatively poorly under the influence of stereotypes which are likely to be based on …................

X. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1. В настоящее время для того, чтобы разрушить существующие стереотипы, необходимо создавать больше совместных проектов.

2. Средства массовой информации играют важную роль в создании стереотипов как отрицательных, так и положительных.

3. Стереотипы создаются и сохраняются чаще всего в многонациональных сообществах.

4. Негативная функция стереотипов заключается в том, что они сужают наше восприятие, формируют неточное или даже ложное мнение.

5. Современные стереотипы представляют собой обобщения, которые в ряде случаев не подтверждаются.

6. Стереотипизация оказывает непосредственное влияние на формирование имиджа отдельного человека.

7. В отличие от стереотипов предрассудки бывают только негативными.

Comprehension check

I. Scan the text quickly and find out:

ñ what stereotypes do not account for;

ñ what is suggested by stereotypes;

ñ what tends to dehumanize people;

ñ how opponents are viewed in conflicts;

ñ in what cases stereotypes grow worse;

ñ what reasons are for the stability of stereotypes;

ñ why the group became associated with the professions in which they were allowed to practice;

ñ what dangers are created by stereotypes;

II. Answer the following questions.

1. Do stereotypes account for the fact that human beings are complex and multidimensional?

2. How are people from other groups perceived when problems occur? Why?

3. What are the factors which make stereotypes complicated? Give examples.

4. Why do people believe that stereotypes are based on truth?

5. What do people ignore while spreading stereotypes?

6. What is the difference between stereotypes and generalizations?

7. What are people not aware of while making inappropriate generalizations?

III. Comment on the following statements related to the topic.

ñ Any stereotype is reasonably accurate, so it is useful.

ñ If you want to reverse stereotypes you should contradict them.

ñ Getting to know people personally helps break down negative images.

ñ Stereotypes have a direct impact on motivation and performance.

ñ People see only what fits the stereotype.

ñ Negative stereotypes don't apply to everyone.

ñ Stereotypes are most useful as simplifying tools when they are reasonably accurate.

IV. Give your own example to illustrate each type of stereotypes.

Type	Example
· Gender stereotypes · Different cultures/nations · Groups of individuals · Sexual stereotypes · Age stereotypes

V. Read the following quotations about stereotypes. Discuss them with your partner.

§ Character is the result of a system of stereotyped principals. David Hume

§ Attempting to get at truth means rejecting stereotypes and cliches. Harold Evans

§ I have been a victim of stereotypes. I come from Latin America and to some countries, we are considered 'losers,' drug traffickers, and that is not fair because that is generalizing. Ricky Martin

§ Stereotypes do exist, but we have to walk through them. Forest Whitaker

§ The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Instead of going through the problem of all this great diversity – that it's this or maybe that – you have just one large statement: It is this. Chinua Achebe

Follow up

Here are some links and resources to help you get more information about

stereotypes.

http://www.beyondintractability.org/node/2473

http://eca.state.gov/forum/journal/civ10background.htm

http://racerelations.about.com/od/understandingrac1/a/WhatIsaStereotype.htm

http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/stereotypes.htm

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/stereotypes.html#ixzz1ln1Z51PD

Extensive reading

The United Kingdom

Text A

Stereotypes about British culture – how true are they?

As is the case in most countries, the Britain of today is made up of lots of different people from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds. This is especially true in large towns and cities, which have become really multicultural over the last few decades especially. Some of the more rural parts of Britain are perhaps less so, but in general it’s much harder to define a national ‘culture’ than say, fifty years ago.

That said, there are definitely stereotypes that are commonly applied to the British culture, some of which are fairly close to the truth, and others which aren’t! Many would have been based on the Britain of decades gone by, but there are some which are still relevant today.

Food

There are lots of stereotypes about British food, one of which is that we live on fish and chips and roast beef! Fortunately for our arteries, this is not the case… these dishes are certainly long-standing favourites amongst British people, but these days people have a much more varied, and in general, healthy diet. Most towns will have at least one fish and chip shop, but most people will limit a fish and chip dinner to once or twice a month. Roast dinners are still very popular too, but are restricted in general to Sundays, when it is common for people to go to a local pub for a beef, chicken, pork or lamb roast. Most towns and cities in Britain actually have a huge range of restaurants, which reflects the change of eating habits in Britain – Thai, Chinese, Indian and Italian food in particular are now fully incorporated into the British diet, and in fact will often be eaten much more frequently than traditional British dishes.

Another stereotype that relates to food and drink is that British people drink lots of tea. Whilst coffee and other hot drinks are consumed in Britain, it’s fair to say that tea is probably still the most popular! Tea is commonly drunk in the workplace throughout the day, and often if you want to meet up with a friend or family member you’ll invite them to your house for a ‘cup of tea’ and a chat.

Social customs

In general the British have a reputation for being very polite and quite traditional, and to a certain extent this is quite true. Of course, as in any society there are some people who choose not to be respectful, but in general Brits are fairly polite. It is normal in Britain to hear people saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ a lot, and also to refrain from reacting angrily in situations where people brought up in other cultures might be more ‘forward’ in airing their opinions!

Another aspect of politeness is the way that British people are taught to queue. British people queue for everything in public, and any attempt to ‘queue jump’ will be considered very rude. Any queue jumpers would most likely be asked to move to the back to ‘wait their turn’.

The way that British people speak and the language that we use is also considered quite polite. The language that many people use, including lots of phrases like ‘please’, ‘thank you’, ‘pardon’ or ‘excuse me’ and ‘would you mind…’ certainly back this up, but the stereotype that all British people speak the Queen’s English is most definitely not true! There are some people who use Received Pronunciation (the accent of Standard English in England), but the majority of people around the country speak with a regional accent and use a dialect that wouldn’t be considered as ‘Queen’s English’. Over the last couple of decades there have been sustained efforts to promote the use of regional accents in the British media, specifically to try to reflect a more accurate picture of the Britain of today. The BBC, one of Britain’s oldest and most renowned establishments, now has presenters who originate from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as people who come from areas like Yorkshire and the North East who speak with very specific regional accents.

Although in general the British are portrayed as quite a polite and traditional race, they are also famed for their sense of humour. It’s true that humour is a really important part of the British culture, and comedy shows and acts in Britain are very popular. It’s a specific type of humour that British people appreciate though, which is usually based on sarcasm and irony. This is quite different to the humour in other cultures and can sometimes take a while for foreigners to appreciate!

Free time

The British ‘local’ pub is famous the world over, and today it still plays an important role in small communities especially. Often, villagers or townspeople will have one favourite pub where they go regularly to socialise with friends and neighbours, and it is normal at the weekends or in the evenings for people to go to the pub for a drink or two. In general, British people do drink quite a lot of alcohol in comparison to other European cultures, where the consumption of alcohol is perhaps more common as an accompaniment to a meal than as a stand-alone activity.

Another stereotype about British culture is that we all love football and cricket. It’s definitely true that both of these sports are really popular in terms of both playing and spectating, but it’s not exclusively these which are followed. Rugby is also very popular in Britain, as are tennis, horse racing and Formula 1 motor racing. Lots of sport is shown on British TV, especially at the weekends, and many people attend sporting events on a regular basis too. Sport is definitely an important part of British culture, and will often form the basis of conversations between new acquaintances – especially amongst men. One of the first questions you may be asked is ‘what football team you support’, so make sure you have your answer ready!

http://www.your-study-abroad.com/2011/04/stereotypes-about-british-culture-%E2%80%93-how-true-are-they/

Exercises

I. Find each of these words in the text and work out their meanings and part of speech.

§ rural

§ backgrounds

§ decades

§ sustained

§ queue

§ accompaniment

§ spectating

§ relevant

II. Which words from the box will you use to describe British culture. Make up a short

Story.

  Multicultural be respectful lazy sarcasm and irony go to the pub for a drink queue jumpers reacting angrily the change of eating habits consumption of alcohol is more common comedy hot drinks hostility snobs emotional speak with a regional accent have a huge range of restaurants giving orders roast dinners attend sporting events

III. Fill in the correct preposition.

1) Be based … 8) … terms of

2) socialise … friends 9) … public

3) originate … 10) back this …

4) move … the back 11) refrain …

5) meet … with a friend 12) be common … people

6) be made … of 13) relates … food

7) … particular 14) live … fish and chips

IV. Find words in the text that mean the following.

1. The kind of food that a person or animal eats each day.

2. The ability or tendency to think that things are funny, or funny things you say that show you have this ability.

3. Something that is provided or used with something else.

4. The opinion that people have about someone or something because of what has happened in the past.

5. An organization or institution, especially a business, shop.

6. A building in Britain where alcohol can be bought and drunk, and where are meals are often served.

7. The way someone pronounces the words of a language, showing which country or which part of a country they come from.

V. Prepare a two-minute talk about stereotypes commonly applied to the British culture.

Text B

British stereotypes: do mention the war, please!

Brits are portrayed as class-conscious binge-drinkers utterly obsessed with the war. It's a thumbnail sketch, not the whole picture, writes Jonathan Freedland.

The stereotype is itself a stereotype. The European image of the Brit – either pukingly drunk football fan or snooty City gent, both living off past imperial glories, sullenly resenting being in Europe rather than ruling the world – is itself a cliche. Just as Brits know that every good Frenchman wears a striped shirt and beret, and that ruddy-faced Germans subsist on a diet of beer and sausage, so we know precisely what all those Europeans think of us.

And, sure enough, drink, class and the second world war all crop up in the thumbnail sketch of the British (Europeans tend to use "British" as a synonym for "English", rather forgetting the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish)provided by our colleagues across the Channel. It would be nice to say that our neighbours have us all wrong – but, sadly, cliches only become cliches if they are built on a foundation of truth.

Start with the bottle. Sure, we can cling to the statistics that show we are far from Europe's heaviest drinkers. In fact, the last round of OECD figures ranked us 11th in Europe for alcohol consumption, far behind France in first place, followed by Portugal and Austria. But while the French, German, Spanish and Italians are drinking much less than they did in 1980, Britons are drinking 9% more.

Still, it's not the volume of pints (or litres) consumed that has led to our boozy reputation. It's the way we drink that's the problem. The French figure may be high, but that's driven up by a lot of people drinking moderately: the glass or two of red at dinner. The British disease has even entered the French language: le binge drinking is the preferred phrase for vast, rapid consumption aimed solely at getting hammered. It's this falling-over, vomiting brand of drunkenness, visible in most city centres on a Friday night, that has become part of our national image. One study found that 54% of British 15- and 16-year-olds admit to binge drinking, compared to a European average of 43%. In other words, there is more than a little reality behind the image.

Class conscious?

What, though, of this description of us as "awfully class conscious"? It's tempting to say that that's out of date, that most Britons now belong in the vast, sprawling middle class. But the figures are much less comforting. The OECD put Britain at the bottom of the social mobility league table, finding that children born into poor families here have a lower chance of getting on than they do in Italy, France, Spain or Germany.

Even if the figures were not against us, we could hardly complain if our fellow Europeans think we have a hang-up about class. What message do we Brits think we send when our signature cultural export of 2011 was Downton Abbey, a show entirely about the intricacies of class and which apparently longs for a return to Edwardian notions of hierarchy? The smash West End play One Man, Two Guvnors similarly revolves around class. Unfortunately, it's not just a foreigners' myth that in Britain how one speaks and what school one attended still counts.

Second world war obsession?

Nor can we easily deny our obsession with the last war. When David Cameron wielded his veto at the December save-the-euro summit, the speed with which he was compared to the British Tommy in the legendary 1940 cartoon – stoically declaring, "Very well, alone" – testified to a nation that still views Europe through a wartime lens.

For reasons that are not all bad, we have turned 1939-45 into a kind of creation myth, the noble story of modern Britain's birth. We vote for Churchill as our Greatest Briton and revere the Queen in part because she is a direct link to that chapter in our history, the moment when we were unambiguously on the side of good.

That, of course, is a key difference between us and our fellow Europeans, for whom that period is anything but simple or unambiguous.

And yet no Brit could accept the caricature of us without some dissent. For one thing, it's contradictory. How can Britons simultaneously be both self-controlled and prone to rip our clothes off in a drunken haze? (One answer might be that we're repressed and need alcohol to loosen up, but then go too far.) But it is also incomplete.

More tolerant?

For the stereotype captures much of what we were and still are – but misses out who we have become. We are now a much more diverse and varied society, especially in our big cities, than the hooligan/City gent image allows.

There is a vibrancy to modern British life that eludes the cliche's grasp. There's a hint of it in that Polish suggestion that the Brits are "kind and friendly to immigrants".

Compared with other European countries, it's probably true that Britain is, generally, more tolerant. Some of our public services – the NHS, the BBC – are still cherished. We are not merely a mini-America of let-it-rip free-marketism.

Despite everything, Britain is not broken. And if that's hard for some of our European neighbours to accept, then they should hear what we say about them.

The Guardian

Thursday 26 January 2012

Exercises

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