As regards social conventions
-
As regards social conventions, we must say
a word about the well-known English class
system.
『
This is
an embarrassing subject for English people, and
one they tend to be
ashamed of, though
during the present century class-consciousness has
grown less and
less, and the class
system less rigid.
』①
But it still exists below the surface.
Broadly
speaking, it means there are
two classes, the “middle class” and the “working
class”. (We
shall ignore for a moment
the old “upper class”, including the hereditary
arist
ocracy, since
it is
extremely small in numbers; but some of its
members have the right to sit in the
House of Lords, and some newspapers
take a surprising interest in their private life.)
The
middle class consists chiefly of
well-to-do businessmen and professional people of
all
kinds. The working class consists
chiefly of manual and unskilled workers.
The most
obvious difference between them is in their
accent. Middle-class people use
slightly varying kinds of “received
pronunciation” which is the kind of English spoken
by
BBC announcers and taught to
overseas pupils. Typical working-class people
speak in
many different local accents
which are generally felt to be rather ugly and
uneducated.
One of the biggest barriers
of social equality in England is the two-class
education system.
To have been to a
so-
called “public school” immediately
marks you out
as one of the
middle class. The middle classes tend
to live a more formal life than working-class
people,
and are usually more cultured.
Their midday meal is “lunch” and they have a
rather formal
evening meal called
“dinner”, whereas the working man’s
dinn
er, if his working hours
permit, is at midday, and his smaller,
late-evening meal is called supper.
As we have
said, however, the class system is much less rigid
than it was, and for a long
time it has
been government policy to reduce class
distinctions.
『
Working-class
students
very commonly receive a
university education and enter the professions,
and
working-class incomes have grown so
much recently that the distinctions between the
two
classes are becoming less and less
clear.
』②
However, regardless
of one’s social status,
certain standards of politeness are
expected of everybody, and a well-bred person is
polite to everyone he meets, and treats
a labourer with the same respect he gives an
important businessman. Servility
inspires both embarrassment and dislike. Even the
word
“sir”, except in school and in
certain occupations (e.g. commerce, the army etc.)
sounds
too servile to be commonly used.
1
、
The
middle class mainly refers to people .
A. who were
born as aristocrat
B. who have the right to
sit in the House of Lords
C. who speak in many
different local accents
D. who are prosperous businessmen or
who work in some professions
2. The
most obvious difference between the working class
and the middle class in English
is
their .
A. dress
B. work
C.
accent
D. meal
3. Why isn’t the word “sir” commonly
used in Britain?
A. Because it
sounds too servile and is likely to cause
embarrassment. B. Because it can
only
be used in some certain occupations.
C. Because it is an impolite word.
D. Because it shows that the speaker is
not a well-bred person.
4. The “upper class” in England today
.