英美文化背景知识5

Paid Holiday

People in the US get 2 weeks a year paid vacation (holiday) form their job. Most British people have four or five weeks paid holiday a year. Americans often complain that tow weeks is not enough holiday, especially when they hear about the longer holidays that Europeans get. In addition, there are 8 days in each country, which are public holidays (the British call Bank Holiday) and many of these fall on a Monday giving people a long weekend. In Britain, so many people drive to another part of the country, especially the coast, on Bank Holiday weekends that there are serious traffic jams, which may stretch(长达) for many miles.

Popular Holiday Places

With the US, outdoor vacations are popular, for example at the Grand Canyon or Yosemite or Yellowstone or the national parks or forests. Yong people may go walking or camping in the mountains. Many people have capers or small trailer(拖车) in which to travel, or if they are in a car, they may stay at Motels on the journey Disneyland and Disneyworld are also popular and people can to skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.

It is also very common to use vacations to visit relatives who may live in states a long distance away. Some children go to summer camp for a holiday during the summer vacation form school, where they do special activities, such as sports or crafts.

When Americans want a holiday for sun and rest, they usually go to Florida, Hawaii, Mexico or the Caribbean. They may go to Europe for culture, for example, to see art, plays, and places of historic interest.

In Britain, many people like to go to the seaside for holidays. There are places near the sea, such as Blackpool, Scarborough and Bournemouth, where there is plenty to do even if it rains. In a traditional British seaside holiday, the children can watch a Punch and Judy Show, eat candy floss and rock (=sweet) and make sandcastles, while older people can hire a deckchair to sit on the beach. People also like to go to go the country, especially to walk, in places like Scotland, Wales and the Lake District.

When the British go abroad they usually want to go somewhere warm. Spain and 'Spanish islands of Majorca and Ibiza are popular as are other places in southern Europe. For skiing, people often go to the Alps.