15 Flashcards
What are the British known for and what do they say about work?
Their lack of enthusiasm for work
If you have to work, the less it looks like work the better
Explain arbitration
Both sides let an independent investigator settle the dispute for them
Collecting taxes
What government organization is responsible for collecting taxes in Britain?
The Inland Revenue
- tax is deducted from employees‘ pay cheques, system known as PAYE (pay as you earn)
What institution is The old lady of Threadneedle Street and where is it located?
Nickname of the Bank of England (which controls the supply of money and decides on the official interest rate)
Located in the „square mile“
What are the high street banks?
-Banks which have a branch in almost every town of Britain are: Lloyds TSB, HSBC, Barclays Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland
What is the currency of Britain?
Currency of Britain is the pound sterling, symbol always written before an amount
What weight system is used while shopping?
Kilos and grams, but most British people use pounds (written as „lbs“) and ounces (written as „oz“)
What is the concentration of local shops in a town called?
Area in town where the local shops are concentrated is known as the „high street“
What is the view on open shops on Sunday?
A debate if shops should be open on Sundays or not, large shops can be open for a maximum of six hours, small shops for as long as they want
Name a few well-known stores
- Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose
- clothes – MaS
- Woolworths
- chemists – Boots and Superdrug
- newsagents – W.H. Smith
What is the normal retiring age?
Usually the age of 65
At what time does the working day start and how long are the holidays?
Working day starts rather late (8 for manual workers and 9 for non-manual workers)
Annual holidays are comparatively short
What are the shop opening hours?
9 a.m.
When do supermarkets close?
When do small shops close?
Large supermarkets are open until about 8 p.m. (some 24 hours)
5.30 p.m.
What is the “early closing day”
A tradition, when shops shut at midday and did not open again, it has disappeared by time.
