Unit 9: British healthcare system

Most of time we feel 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 most people can't afford it and rely on the National Health Service, the NHS. this i provided by the government in Britain. The NHS has sent everybody in Britain a Self-Help guide. This will help you diagnose whatis wrong and find the best treatment. it convers things like headaches, coughs and colds, having a temperature or a stomach ache. For many people it could be all they need.

There lots of medicines you can buy in the chemist buyt for more powerful ones like antibiotics you need to have a prescription.

You can get a prescritption from a doctor. Doctors work in surgeries or health centres. The doctor examines you first to find out what's wrong. Then they can write you a prescription for medicine to cure you.

If you can't get to a doctor, there are two other NHS service you could try. The first i s NHS Direct. This i a phone service where a trained nurse will suggest the best way to treat you.

For accidents or emergencies, you should go to a hospital wich has got a specific Accident and Emergencies departament.

But many people prefer alternative medicine. This can include many kinds of treatment using both very old and very modern techiniques. One of the most common alternative treatments i sthe use of Chinese herbs - these are completely natural medicine. Acupuncure - a Chinese techinique using needles placed carefully in the body - is also popular. Osteopathy - where the doctor manipulates bones and muscles - i another popular treatment.

Unit 8: Computers in our lives

Computers are a very important part of our lives. For many young people, playing computer games is their favourite way of speding spare time.

Computers are a very important part of most areas of life in Britain.

The smart home is now a real possibility. It will become very common.
A central computer will adjust the temperature, act as a burglar alarm and swich on lights ready for you to come back home.

Many homes have got lost of televisions and several computers. The smart home will provide TV and Internet sockets in every room so you'll be able to do what you want wherever you want.

If the temperature outside changes, the smart home will ajust temperature levels inside. The computer will also close the blinds when it gets dark or to stop too much sun from entering a room. And if you wnat to eat when you get home, the computer will turn the oven on for you!

Unit 7: Transport

Exploring mars i going to be very exiting, but for now it's easier to explorer to our own planet!

Trains travel into London from all over the country.

They are very important for people who lives in the suburbs or outside London and travel into London for work. 1,8 million people travel into the center of London by train every day. For many people, the journey by train takes to a convenient Underground station.
To sum up the transports are very important for London.

People use lots of other forms of transport in London. Some people use boats on the River thames to go to work.

Unit 6:Shipping in Britain

Britain once had the biggest Navy in the world. Even today, many ships are used for exporting and importing goods in containers. Some people also travel by ship to go on holiday or for business.

The Queen Mary 2 is a very big sailing ship. It sails from Southampton to New York.
You can visit a museum of maritime history in Liverpol. Outside the museum, there are ships in the docks.
Inside you can find out about life on sailing ships. Young men had to climb the rigging to put up the sails. This was a dangerous job.

Unit 5: Horros Stories

People like to be scared. They love reading horros stories and watching horror movies. Some of the most famous horror stories were written by British writers. The first was published by Mary Shelley in 1818. One of then put two great horror characters together when Frankenstein met count Dracula. Dracula contra Frankenstein was made by the Spanish director Jesús Franco in 1970.

Dracula's history:

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! Te vampire was not drinking Mina's blood.

No, it was more terrible than that. 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 from his red lips and long white teeth. The vampire had already taken his meal of blood! ony and a dark shape was leaning over her. It was Count Dracula!

Te vampire was not drinking Mina's blood. No, it was more terrible than that. Dracula was holding Mina's face to a long cut on his chest.

He was making her drink his blood!

Unit 4: Law

The most famous police station in Britain is the New Scotland Yard in London, but there are police stations all over the country.
For more people the police station are the face of the law. They can arrest people in the street, but they also give information.
There are a new police station in Lewisham, an area in south-east London.
Suspects con be kept in the cells at the police station for several hours. A suspect spent a whole night in the cells.
Next day he went to the court. Here three magistrates listen to evidence from the police and the witness. They decide if the person is guilty or not guilty.
The evidence that the police collect from a crime scene is analysed in in laboratories like this.
The people who work here are called the forensic scientist.
Finger prints are good way of identifying people but DNA is more reliable. A person's identity can be found from a single hair. Each person has got a unique DNA profile.

Unit 3: Supermarkets

Supermarkets are an important part of daily life in Britain. In the larger supermarkets you can buy just about anything. Two of them, Asda and Tesco, are also the biggest sellers of clothes in Britain. 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 on place. 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. That's enough for most people! But you can still shop online.