Listening Practice. Listen to the text and answer the questions to follow:

Listen to the text and answer the questions to follow:

1. What is the status of a pet in an English home?

2. How different is the attitude of the English to their pets from how Americans treat domestic animals?

3. Do the English treat pets like people?

Pet Rules and 'Petiquette'

Keeping pets, for the English, is not so much a leisure activity as an entire way of life. In fact, 'keeping pets' is an inaccurate and inadequate expression - it does not begin to convey the exalted status of our animals. An Englishman's home may be his castle, but his dog is the real king. People in other countries may buy luxurious five-star kennels and silk-lined baskets for their pets, but the English let them take over the whole business. The unwritten rules allow our dogs and cats to sprawl all over our sofas and chairs, always hogging the best places in front of the fire or television. They get far more attention and affection, appreciation, encouragement and 'quality time' than our children, and often better food. Imagine the most over-indulged, fetted, adored bambino in Italy, and you will get a rough idea of the status of the average English pet. We had the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals long before the establishment of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which appears to have been founded as a somewhat derivative afterthought.

Why is this? What is it about the English and animals? Yes, many other cultures have pets, and some, particularly our colonial descendants, are in their own ways as soppy about them as we are, but the English inordinate love of animals is still one of the characteristics for which we are renowned, and which many foreigners still find baffling. The Americans may outdo us in gushy sentimentality and extravagant expenditure on pets - all those cheesy, tear-jerker films, elaborate pet cemeteries, luxury toys and dogs got up in ludicrous designer costumes. But they always outdo us in gushiness and conspicuous consumption.

The English relationship with animals is different: our pets are more than status indicators (although they do serve this purpose) and our affinity with them goes well beyond sentimentality. It is often said that we treat them like people, but this is not true. Have you seen the way we treat people? It would be unthinkable to be so cold and unfriendly to an animal. OK, I'm exaggerating - a bit. But the fact is that we tend to be far more open, easy, communicative and demonstrative in our relationships with our animals than with each other.

The average Englishman will assiduously avoid social interaction with his fellow human, and will generally become either awkward or aggressive when obliged to communicate with them, unless certain props and facilitators are available to help the process along. He will have no difficulty at all, however, in engaging in lively, amicable conversation with a dog. Even a strange dog, to whom he has not been introduced.

You see, the English really are capable of Latin-Mediterranean warmth, enthusiasm and hospitality; we can be just as direct and approachable and emotive and tactile as any of the so-called 'contact cultures'. It is just that these qualities are only consistently expressed in our interactions with animals.

K. Fox. Watching the English

Поиск по сайту: