Who this book is for This book is for learners of English as a fore n lang. age, at any level of proficiency from intermediate upwards, who need to know mor out Britain. It will be invaluable to students on British Studies as part of a at courses and to those who are studying Britis! 1 people w surse. It is for general English aw ledge of British life is necessary to improve their understanding and use of the English language as it is spoken in Britain. How many times have you not fully understoad a phrase in a British text and found that the dictionary did f times have you understood every word that a British perse but not understood what he or she meant? In any society, writ ? How many speakers leave some things unsaid or unexplained because they ume that their readers and listeners are equipped with the basic knowledge which comes from sharing the same cultural background. You may have reached a high level of proficiency in English, but fin ¢ you lack this background British people hard to understand becau knowledge, This book aims to fill in the gaps so that, when you closer to being in the encounter British writers and speakers, you ar same position as an averagely educated British persc Of course, it is impossible for you to put yourself in exactly the same position as natives of Britain. They have been sharing many, distinctly British, experiences and influences ever since they were born. Therefore, this book also looks behind the facts and figure: life in so that you can begin to understand the British approach t< general. What this book is about This book contains all the basic information you need about the structure of the British political system and other aspects of public life. But it has more than that. Throughout the book, particular atten- tion is paid to the attitudes of British people. Knowledge of these is very important because they are what ‘colour’ the language used by British people. For example, to understand the Word ‘Catholic’ as used in Britain, it is not enough to know the legal position of Catholi- cism and how many Catholics there are; you also have to know some- thing about the general place of religion in British people’s mir and how different religious groups in the country feel about each other (see chapter 13). Because attitudes are so important, there