Households
Car ownership :Over 66% of
households in Britain have the use of at least one car or van.
Just over 20% have two more cars. Home ownership: About 67% of
householders in Britain own their home. Most people buying a home
take out a loan which they repay over a period of years (usually
25).The property they are buying is used as security against the
loan. The property they are buying is used as security against the
loan. Consumption: Not surprisingly British people spend more on
housing than on most other items, including food and fuel.
Welfare.
On an average British men live
for 73 years and women for 78 years. People rev now living longer
because of a better diet , improvements in medical care, and
better working and living conditions. A state retirement pension
is payable to woman at the age of 60 and to men at the
Age of 65.However ,under a law
passed in 1986 men and woman doing similar work have the right to
retire at the same age. Just under 10 million people receive state
retirement pensions .Almost 33% of all public money is spent on
social welfare for the elderly ,sick ,disabled , unemployed and
parents on low incomes .
Health.
Britain’s National Health
Service ,which is available free to all, started in 1948.Both
Papworth Hospital in Cambridge and Harefield Hospital in London
are famous for transplant surgery , the former having carried out
the first combined heart ,lung and liver transplant in 1986.The
world’s first “test-tube” baby was born in Britain in
1978.There is a growing emphasis on the prevention of illness
through health education programmes. Statistics for 1972 show that
52% of men and 41% of women smoked cigarettes. By 1990 these
figures had fallen to 31% for men and 28% for women
British
Nobel Prize Winners
Nobel Prize for the scientists
have been won by some 70 British citizens ,more than any other
country except the USA. Some of the best known winners are: Sir
Alexander Fleming(1945) for discovering penicillin; Francis Crick
,James Watson and Maurice Wilkins(1962) for the discovery of the
structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid); and Sir Aaron Klug
(1982) for work on viruses and genetics. Nine Noble Prizes for
literature have been won by Britons including Rudyard
Kipling(1907) , T.S.Eliot (1948) and William Golding (1983).
Sport.
About 29 million people over the
age of 16 regularly take part in sport or exercise. Walking is the
most popular activity. Football is the largest spectator sport.
The four nations which make up Britain usually enter separate
teams in international sports competitions. Major British sporting
events include The Football Association Cup final ,The Wimbledon
tennis tournament, The Open Golf championship and the Five Nations
rugby union tournament (involving England, Scotland, Wales,
Ireland and France). Cricket has strong following in Britain. The
Olympics were last held here in 1948
