| Synopsis: |
19 chapters give a detailed account of a broad range of aspects of UK life for the Chinese visitor, from arriving at the airport and looking for a room to descriptions of typical British food, pub life, local travel, making banking arrangements, taking out a mobile phone contract and registering with a GP. The book is written in Mandarin Chinese. Each chapter contains key English vocabulary items for the Chinese visitor, facts, figures and useful websites. Some chapters also feature dialogues, written in both English and Chinese, which illustrate typical situations that the Chinese visitor will encounter. Over 200 illustrations, both colour photographs and black and white drawings, show the reader typical UK scenes: street scenes, country pubs, college quads, joggers, Boris Johnson on his bike, Yorkshire puddings, bangers and mash, chicken tikka massala and Oyster Cards. Some chapters are highly practical with information and tips about tenancy agreements, council tax, registering with the police and opening a bank account. Some chapters talk about conventions: when and who to tip or not to tip, what the rules of queuing are.Some chapters look at the stereotyped Chinese image of the British and contrast this with modern reality. And there are chapters on spoken English, punning and some common language pitfalls for Chinese speakers. Student life and the differences between Chinese-style university education and British-style education are explored in some detail. The author has combined general practical information with accounts of personal experience to make this a fascinating new type of guidebook. As the Chinese title says: UK, here I come! |