UNIT 7: TRANSPORT IN BRITAIN

Exploring Mars are going to be very exciting, but for now, it's easier to explore our own planet! In particular, London. We're going to follow Freddie as he explores all the different kins of transport in London. He's a television researcher and he's going it find out about all the different ways of traveling London. 1.8 million people travel into the center of London by train every day. The next part of Freddie's journey is an another kind of train called Docklands Light Railway. These are computer-controlled trains with no drivers. London Underground, usually called Tube, was the first in the world when it opened on 1863. Freddie catches a bus for the last part of his journey. People use lots of other forms of transport in London. But the car isn't very good transport in London. The buses and taxis travel more quickly because they have got special lines on the road. Freddie's in a hurry now so he's talking a London taxi to meeting.

UNIT 9: BRITISH HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

Most of the time we fell well. We can play sports, go to work and enjoy our lives. But sometimes we just don't feel well. What happens then?
Some people have medical insurance but mot people can't afford it and rely on the National Health Service, the NHS. This is provided by the government in Britain.
The NHS has sent everybody in Britain a Self-Help Guide. This will help you diagnose what is wrong and find the best treatment. It covers things like headaches, coughs and colds, having a temperature or a stomach ache. For many people it could be all they need.
There are lots of medicines you can buy in the chemist but for more powerful ones like antibiotics you need to have a prescription.

If you can't get to a doctor, there are two other NHS services you could try. The first is NHS Direct. This is a phone service where a trained nourse will suggest the best way to treat you.
The NHS also provides Walk-in Centres in more than 60 locations in Britain. You don't need an appointment - you can just go in and wait until a doctor is available the treat you. Walk-in Centres treat minor illnesses like colds and flu, cuts and sprains.
Doctors and medical staff can cure lots of illnesses now using surgery and treatment with drugs.

But many people prefer alternative medicine. This can include many kinds of treatment using both very old and very modern techniques. One of the most common alternative treatments is the use of Chinese herbs - these are completely natural medicine. Acupuncture - a Chinese technique using needles placed carefully in the body - is also popular. Osteopathy - where the doctor manipulates bones and muscles - is another popular treatment.
The best way to avoid getting ill is to have a healthy diet, get lots of exercise and take good care of yourself.

Unit 8: COMPUTERS IN OUR LIVES

Computers are a very important part of our lives. They tell us about delays to transport. They drive trains, analyse evidence and control buildings. Did you know that 60% of homes in Britain have got a PC (a personal computer)?

Computers are a very important of most areas of life in Britain- libraries, the police and in school. But they are becoming more important in our homes as well. The smart home is now a real possibility. It will become very common. A central computer will adjust the temperature. And of course you will be able to give new instructions to the computer from your mobile phone. So if your plans change, your home will react to match. If the temperature outside changes, the smart home will adjust temperature levels inside. The computer will also close the blinds when it gets dark or to stop too much sun from entering a room. In a survey, 44 per cent of young people between 11 and 16 said their PC was a trusted friend. Twenty per cent said they were happier at their computer than spending time with family or friends. Another survey found that people in Britain spend so much time on the phone, texting and reading e-mails that they no longer have time for conversation.

Unit 6: SHIPPING IN BRITAIN

In England no town is more than 170 kilometres from the sea. So it's no surprise that Britain has a very important history of ships and the sea.
The British Navy was the biggest navy in the world at one time. Now it's smaller, but many other ships are still used for importing and exporting goods and for taking people on business or holiday.
In Liverpool there is a great museum of maritime history. It's got several ships in the docks outside. In side it shows what it was like to be on some of the ships.

Between 1830 and 1930 more than nine million people from all over Europe left from the port of Liverpool to start a new life in America or Australia.
In the early twentieth century there were large numbers of very elegant passenger ships.
They crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool or Southampton to New York in five or six days.
The most famous ship was probably the Titanic. It sank in 1912 and over 1,500 people drowned. It was the worst disaster in maritime history. You probably know about if from one of the most expensive films ever made -Titanic!

One of the most famous shipping companies is Cunard. It's got the world's biggest cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, which crosses the Atlantic from Southampton to New York.
The majority of people do travel around the world by plane but ships are still very important for moving goods.
These metal boxes, or cantainers, are packed with clothes, television sets, computers, furniture and toys.
The Southampton Container Terminal the unload more than one and a half milion containers each year.
So the sea still plays a very important part in life in Britain.

Unit 5: BRITISH HORROR STORIES

People like to be scared. They love reading horror stories and watching horror movies. Some of the most famous horror stories were written by British writers. The first was published by Mary Shelly in 1818 - Frankenstein. Many films have featured Frankenstein over the years.

One of them put two great horror characters together when Frankenstein met Count Dracula. Dracula contra Frankenstein was made by the Spanish director Jesús Franco in 1970. Count Dracula was a vampire created in 1897 by the Irish writer Bram Stoker.
Since then Dracula has always been in print.

Bram Stoker got the idea for Dracula while he was sitting in Highgate Cemetery in North London. Sunlight fell on a crack in the lid of a tomb. Stoker wondered what would happen if the light woke up the dead body in the tomb. Count Dracula the vampire was created.
Dracula is so popular that visitors to London can go on a guided Dracula tour.
The tours usually take place just when it's getting dark ...

The bedroom window was wide open and moonlight was shining into the room. Mina was on the balcony and a dark shape was leaning over her. It was Count Dracula!
Dracula was holding Mina's face to a long cut on his chest. He was making her drink his blood!
The vampire turned his head. His eyes burned with a terrible red light. Blood was dripping form his red lips and long white teeth.
We do like to be frightened, don't we?

Unit 4: LAW

The most famous police station in Britain is New Scotland Yard in London, but there are police stations all over the country. For most people the police are the face of the law. They can arrest people in the street, but they also give information. We visited a new police station in Lewisham, an area in south-east London. This is the custody room of the police station. A suspected criminal is being charged with a crime. He must hand over everything he's carrying or has got in his pockets. Next they take fingerprints to check the person's identity. This machine scans fingerprints electronically and compares them with the national police database. They also take mouth swabas for analysis of DNA. Next day he went to court. Here three magistrates listen to evidence from the police and witnesses. They then decide if the person is guilty or not guilty. The evidence that the police collect form a crime scene is analysed in laboratories like this. The people who work here are called forensic scientists. They can examine and analyse material form the crime scene to find out exactly what happened. Fingerprints are a good way of identifying people but DNA is more reliable. The police are the most obvious part of the law in Britain. Their job is to make sure that people don't break the law and to catch them when they do.

Unit 3: SUPERMARKETS

Supermarkets are an important part of daily life in Britain.

The five biggest supermarkets sell 80 % of all groceries - that's food an drink. Tesco is the biggest. It's got nearly 2,000 shops in Britain and is the third biggest supermarket in the world.
Two of them, Asda and Tesco, are also the biggest sellers of clothes in Britain.

In the larger supermarkets you can buy just about anything. The very big supermarkets are usually on the edge of towns and most people drive to them.
There are many more supermarkets now than 20 years ago. People find it very convenient to do all their shopping in one place.

Small shops in towns and villages are closing because supermarkets can sell the same things cheaper. The big supermarkets have started to open small shops in town and city centres.
Many supermarkets are open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, so people can shop 24/7. But not on Sundays when shops can only open for five hours.
BUT YOU CAN STILL SHOP ONLINE.