Britain is not just one country and one people, even if some of its inhabitants think

so.Britain is, in fact, a nation which can be divided into several separate parts, each part being an individual country with its own language, character and cultural traditions.Thus Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales (and even Cornwall perhaps) do not claim to belong to “England” because their inhabitants are not strictly “English”.They are Scottish, Irish, Welsh (or Cornish) and many of them prefer to speak their own native tongue which in turn is incomprehensible(不可理解的) to the others.

These cultural minorities have been Britain's original inhabitants.In varying degrees they have managed to preserve their national identity, their particular customs and way of life.This is probably even more true of the remoter areas where traditional life has not been so affected by the growth of industrialism(工业化) as the border areas have been.The Celtic (凯尔特人) races are said to be more emotional by nature than the English.

An Irish temper is legendary.The Scots would rather forget about their reputation for excessive thrift (节俭) and prefer to be remembered for their ballads and dances, while the Welsh are famous for their singing.The Celtic temperament as a whole produces numerous writers and artists, such as the Irish Bernard Shaw, the Scottish Robert Burns, and Welsh Dylan Thomas, to mention but a few.

36.Some British people regard Britain as().

A.a single, unified country

C.a wholly Celtic country

B.a country of foreign cultures

D.an individualistic unit

37.“Their own native tongue” means().

A.the language of a foreign country

B.the language of their own country

C.the British way of speaking

D.a secret language

38.“A cultural minority” could be described as().

A.educated people who are few in number