2.Meals and Drinks

English Breakfast

British meals mean different things at different times to different people.The first meal of the day is breakfast which is now often hurried and informal.Traditionally it is a hearty meal eaten in many homes throughout the country，particularly at weekends and other nonworking days.The central feature of the traditional English breakfast is a fried or grilled dish consisting of bacon，eggs，and such additional items as sausage，mushrooms，tomatoes，black pudding¹，and fried bread or potatoes；in some households a less substantial dish，such as kippers or boiled eggs，is preferred.It is usually preceded by porridge，fruit juice，or some variety of commercially produced breakfast cereal，an early 20th century innovation of US origin.In recent years a light breakfast，usually called continental breakfast，has become increasingly popular in Britain.A light breakfast usually has no cooked dish and consists of fruit juice or cereal，rolls or toast and marmalade and coffee.

Lunch is a midday meal，usually eaten between 12：00and 2：00pm.For those who have supper in the evening，it will usually be the main meal of the day；for those who have dinner in the evening as their main meal，it will usually be a light meal.So dinner，the main meal of the day，is sometimes as alternative name for lunch.Dinner for lunch generally consists of meat，potatoes，and other vegetables.The formal name for lunch is luncheon which is used as printed on an invitation card，a menu，etc.since the early 1970s，the ploughman’s lunch has become very popular in Britain.It is a snack lunch of cheese，bread and butter，usually accompanied by tomatoes，lettuce，celery，or other salad and pickles.Such a meal is served in pubs throughout the country.Based on the medieval farm laborer’s traditional midday snack of bread and hard cheese，the modern ploughman’s lunch may be prepared with any of variety cheeses and sometimes ham，beef，or other cold meats.It appears to satisfy the rustic aspirations of many white-collar workers.

The evening meal varies from family to family.If the dinner is taken in the evening，it is usually sumptuous.Three courses at least are prepared for the evening dinner.Supper means a light meal taken in the evening.It is less grand and usually cold.Between lunch and evening dinner，there is usually a light meal of afternoon tea in Britain，which is traditionally taken between four or five o’clock in the afternoon.The light meal of afternoon tea is known as high tea，which is actually a mixture of tea and supper.High tea is usually prepared with a cooked dish or sandwiches，and accompanied by apot of tea.It is particularly popular in the north of England and in Scotland.Now tea is also a working class name given to the evening meal.

Drinks are various and may be taken at different times.If you are invited to a drinks party，the party will probably be before dinner，6：00—8：00pm.If you are invited to someone’s house for a drink，it will probably be after dinner，about 8：30pm.On a Sunday，you would be invited for about 12：00 midday，and you might be the only guest，or there might be a small party in progress.You would probably be offered wine，sherry，gin and／or vermouth，or whisky on all these occasions.If you are invited to have a pint of beer you will almost certainly arrange to meet in a particular pub.

Besides，Britons are also known as tea drinkers.It is said that Britons drink a quarter of all the tea grown in the world each year.Many of them drink it on at least eight different occasions during the day.They drink it between meals and at meals.They drink early morning tea in bed—some early morning tea drinkers have automatic tea-making machines connected to their alarm clocks.