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EXEMPLARY WORK: BOOK REVIEW By Alex Bobrova, 10c

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Review of The How To Be British Collection
Written by Alex Bobrova, 10c

I have recently read the book under the title The How To Be British Collection, written by Martyn Ford and Peter Legon. The book consists of humorous short guides about living in England. Every guide is a separate chapter that reviews one popular stereotype in an instructive manner. In addition, every story is followed by a hilarious little comic or caricature. As for me, I especially loved the chapters that completely match with my ordinary everyday behavior.

Let`s begin with the chapter Terms of Endearment, that I considered to be one of my own shtick. It tells about one curious Britain feature – giving people pet names. The authors present it as something that tourist shouldn`t be surprised of, although they advise reader not to come up with their nickname ideas for others, as it can be offensive. So the tip is clear - your response to such peculiarity must be a friendly smile. In my case, I have been calling my friends “darlings” as long as I remember myself, and giving them their own funny pet names. I think they`re okay with that. I want to believe that.

The second chapter that describes me is about pets. It tells about all attention and love that Brits pay to their animals. Pets there have great privilege above humans, cool pet-shops and rights to be protected. Everyone who knows me is very surprised about my attitude to my dog Lucky. He always gets what he wants: different sauses to his boiled meat, new toy or favorite meal every time we go near pet-shops, if he wants to sit on my hands when we go for a walk, he`ll get it, and it`s worth mentioning to say that he sleeps only with me.

And finally, chapter The Mighty Spud, that is written about Brits main course. It appears that it`s a potato in all its forms. I liked the way the authors compared potato and a Brit, which gave me a good laugh. Also this chapter contains a very interesting and extraordinary scientific fact, which is indecent to mention in this type of essay. “Why did you like that chapter?” you will ask. Everything is easy. I would sell my soul to the devil for a single potato, that says it all.

All in all, I liked the book very much. It`s easily written, you can feel through the pages that authors treat their readers like old friends. Moreover, I learned many idioms and some of colloquial English, which are very useful for me. However I didn`t take authors` tips seriously, they seemed very strange to me, and quite racist? (For example they strongly advise foreign people not to drink coffee. I still can`t understand why I shouldn’t drink coffee in Britain. What if I didn`t sleep all night and I am in need of caffeine to become alive again? I am very confused.)

In general I liked the book and I can say with confidence, that the book is the best summer homework I`ve ever had!