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A cup of tea is almost a symbol of British culture. As a nation, we are well-known for our strong liking for this particular hot drink, especially if it is accompanied by some cake or biscuits. Here are some facts about tea drinking habits in the UK:
1)There is no real tea time
All around the world, everyone thinks that British people drink tea every day at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. In reality, we drink tea at every hour of the day, from the minute we get up to the last thing before going to bed. Of course it’s quite likely that a British person will drink tea around the middle of the afternoon, but it’s also common to drink it with breakfast.
2)The perfect partner; scones
Scones are a simple kind of cake, slightly sweet and usually served with jam and cream. They are excellent with tea. In fact, if you order a “cream tea“ in the UK, you’ll get a teapot accompanied by a plateful of these little treats. Delicious!
3)Milk in tea
British people nearly always put milk in their tea. This seems strange to people from other European countries, who would rather drink their tea without adding anything to it. In Britain, people add a certain quantity of milk depending on taste and the tea ends up being opaque(不透明)and brown instead of clear.
People are always shocked when I say that I prefer coffee to tea. Tea really is part of our cultural identity, whether we like it or not!
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Many people start relationships because of loneliness. Loneliness and being alone are not synonymous. Loneliness is a state of painful isolation, of feeling cut off from friends and family. Being alone, a state of solitude(独处), can be quite desirable most of the time, since it allows us to work, study, live, or reflect on the world around us. Solitude is usually a matter of choice; loneliness is not.
Lonely people tend to spend a lot of time by themselves, eat dinner alone, spend weekends alone, and participate in few if any social activities. They are unlikely to date. Some lonely people report having many friends, but a closer look suggests that these “ friendships“ are shallow. Lonely people are unlikely to share confidences. Loneliness tends to peak during adolescence(青春期). This is when most young people begin to replace family ties with peer relationships. Loneliness is quite often connected with feelings of depression and with a feeling of being “ sick at heart. “
Loneliness is even reported among some married people. In one of the recent studies, lonely wives tended to feel less liking and love for their partners and expressed less satisfaction with their married life. Lonely husbands reported less liking for their wives and less intimacy in their relationships.
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Now, our biggest summertime question has been answered: Why do people look so much better in sunglasses? Vanessa Brown, a senior lecturer of art and design at Nottingham Trent University, gave an inside look into the connection between shades and sex appeal.
According to Brown, sunglasses do a wide variety of positive things. They make up for any asymmetries(不对称), which relates directly to research proving that symmetrical faces are the most attractive ones. If you put on a pair of sunglasses, the lenses will instantly create a perfectly symmetrical face. Sunglasses also create the appearance of a defined bone structure on top of a relatively softer face.
Additionally, people often form quick judgments about others by looking into their eyes. Through eye contact, we can determine someone’s confidence, sincerity and intelligence. If those eyes are shielded, though, a person is automatically unreadable.
We take them for granted today, but sunglasses are a relatively modem everyday accessory(饰件). Sales started to pick up in the 1920s, but they didn’t become commonplace until about two decades after that. In their early days sunglasses were primarily used during risky water and snow sports, and were also associated with new technologies like airplane travel, which made them seem “ daring and thoroughly modem. “
Later, Hollywood stars of the 1950s and 60s started wearing sunglasses to defend themselves from being recognized by the public or harassed by paparazzi(狗仔队).
Movie stars’ adoption of the accessory strengthened the link between sunglasses and appeal.
