English culture
1. Different social attitudes: The british are, in some ways, less conservative than Americans – the drinking age is 18, not 21, homosexual civil unions are legal, and abortion hasn’t been a serious political issue in years. Mixing religion and politics is extremely rare in the UK. On the other hand, there are stricter controls on some things – it’s much harder to get a driving licence, and the age requirement is higher than in most states, there are speed cameras everywhere, CCTV cameras in many public places (although they may or may not be working), and carrying weapons or other objects for “self defence” is illegal (in particular, note that pepper spray is illegal).
Getting into a debate about the right to bear arms will be very time consuming, and may also lead people to think that you’re a gun-nut before they’ve got to know you properly.
Smoking in enclosed public places is illegal – that includes pubs, the underground, train stations… more or less any non-residential building actually… (similar to New York, so not so much of a cultural difference there).
2. The British apparently have a wider vocabulary of swear words than Americans. While most Britons will use them fairly freely in a social setting, things are a lot more reserved in formal settings & talking to strangers.
3. Pubs. I’ve not yet encountered an American “pub” which bears more than a passing resemblance to a typical British pub. People might go to a pub just to drink and socialise, have a pub lunch, or as part of an attempt to get alchohol poisioning (otherwise know as a “pub crawl”), as well as to watch sporting fixtures (which seems to be the main purpose in America). Going to the pub does not usually imply getting drunk. Although the drinking age is 18, bartenders are supposed to ID anyone who looks under 21.
4. Roads. Though I doubt your friend will do much driving, he should be aware of the following things: Most cars in the UK have manual transmission. Cars are smaller and more efficient, petrol is more expensive. Speed limits are higher, but enforced more rigourously. Driving in London is not worth it. Central London has a congestion charge, and is very congested, and the major motorways around London are thick with traffic at peak times. Roundabouts (“traffic circles”) are very common and are used at motorway junctions. In rural areas, it’s not uncommon to drive down narrow single track roads with tall hedges on either side.
5. Educational stuff: The UK education system works differently, as he’s probably aware. Asking people about their “High School” “GPA” “Major” or “Minor” will make people think he assumes that things work the same in the UK as in the US. In the UK, “High School” is roughly equivalent to secondary school and college (college is not used to mean university). Important exams are GCSEs and A levels, which are graded with letters and related to specific subjects. There are no majors and minors in the UK university system – there’s just whatever degree you’re studying.
英国文化
不同的社会态度：在某些方面，英国人不像美国人那么保守-饮酒年龄是18岁，而不是21岁，同性恋的民事结合是合法的，堕胎并不严重。 多年来的政治问题。在英国，将宗教和政治混为一谈是非常罕见的。另一方面，在某些事情上有更严格的控制-获得驾驶执照要困难得多，而且年龄是r 这种要求比大多数州都要高，到处都有速度摄像机，许多公共场所都有闭路电视摄像机(尽管它们可能工作，也可能不起作用)，以及携带武器或其他物品。 精灵防御“是非法的(特别是，请注意胡椒喷雾是非法的)。就携带武器的权利展开辩论是很费时的，也可能会导致人们认为你是 他们还没来得及真正了解你，就把你当回事了。在封闭的公共场所吸烟是违法的，包括酒吧，地下，火车站…或多或少任何非住宅建筑法。 (类似于纽约，所以这里的文化差异不大)。2.显然，英国人的脏话词汇量比美国人要广。而大多数英国人会公平地使用它们 在社交场合，事情在正式场合更保守&与陌生人交谈。3.酒吧。我还没有遇到过一家美国的“酒吧”，它与美国的“酒吧”有很大的相似之处。 典型的英国酒吧。人们去一家酒吧只是为了喝酒和社交，吃一顿酒吧午餐，或者是想要喝点酒(否则被称为“酒吧爬行”)，也可能是为了挥霍无度。 CH运动装置(这似乎是美国的主要目的)。去酒吧通常并不意味着喝醉了。虽然酒保的年龄是18岁，但酒保应该能认出谁是我的。 21岁以下。4。道路。虽然我怀疑你的朋友会做很多驾驶，他应该知道以下事情：英国的大多数汽车都有手动变速器。汽车体积更小，效率更高， 汽油更贵。速度限制更高，但执行更严格。在伦敦开车不值得。伦敦市中心有拥堵费，而且非常拥挤，而且是主要的发动机。 在繁忙时间，伦敦周围的道路交通繁忙。环形交叉路口(“交通圈”)非常常见，在高速公路交叉口使用。在农村地区，开车走走高歌并不少见。 在两边都有高高的树篱。5.教育内容：正如他所知，英国教育系统的运作方式不同。询问人们他们的“高中”、“GPA”、“专业”或“辅修” “这会让人们认为他认为英国的情况和美国的情况是一样的。在英国，“高中”大致相当于中学和大学(大学并不是指大学)。 大学)。重要的考试是普通中等教育证书和A级考试，这些考试都有字母评分，并与特定科目有关。在英国大学体系中没有专业和未成年人-不管是什么学位 你在学习。
