While I was studying in London as a visiting scholar， I came to know more of the British culture and customs. During one year's study， I noticed that the British behaved quite differently in many ways compared to the Chinese.
British people tend to be rather conservative. The conservative1 attitude is only to accept things familiar to them and to be suspicious2 of anything that is strange or foreign. They like antiques3 so much that they never hesitate to spend money buying them even if they are useless. A lot of British people remain strongly attached to4 coal or wood fireplaces， although it causes a great deal of work and adds to the pollution of the air. Some of them liked to spend a great deal of money and trouble in putting in dummy5 fireplace， which would never be used； they thought a living room without a fireplace would be a room without basic characteristic of cosiness6. Many rooms are in fact heated by gas or electric fires， but they are usually placed in front of old style fireplaces， and many people choose electric fires designed so as to look like coal fires， with imitation7 pieces of coal which are lit when the current8 is turned on9.
To other Europeans， the best-known quality of the British， and in particular of the English， is ' reserve10' . A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers， does not show much emotion， and seldom gets excited. It is difficult to get to know a reserved person； he never tells you about anything of himself， and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives， how many children he has， and what his interests are. English people tend to be like that. When starting a conversation， one can never ask questions like " How old are you？ What is your salary？ Where did you buy your watch？ " etc. Similarly， conversation in Britain is general quiet and restrained11. Loud speech is considered ill-bred12. The reluctance to communicate with each other is an unfortunate13 quality in some way since it tends to give the impression of coldness， and it is true that the English are not noted for their generosity14 and hospitality15. On the other hand， they are perfectly human behind their barrier of reserve and may be quite pleased when a friendly stranger or foreigner succeeds for a time in breaking the barrier down. Closely related to English reserve is English modesty16. Within their heart， the English are perhaps no less conceited17 than anybody else， but in their relations with others， they value， at least， a show of modesty. Self-praise is felt to be ill- bred. If a person who is very good at table tennis is asked if he is a good player， he will seldom reply ' Yes' ， because people will think him conceited. He will probably give an answer like， ' I am not bad.' or ' I am very keen on18 it.' Also the English are famous for sense of humour. Its starting point is self depreciation19； they like laughing at their own faults， failures and embarrassments， even at their ideals. But they never laugh at a disabled person or a madman. Sympathy is felt to be stronger than laughter.
The British people are known for their politeness， but nowadays their habits of politeness are not as formal as before. The greetings such as ' Good morning' or ' Hello' are enough for each other when people meet. If they happen to see each other in the distance， a cheery20 wave of the hand is quite satisfactory. Handshakes are only exchanged on a first introduction， special occasions， or as a token21 of agreement or congratulation. But they do embrace or kiss a lot whenever or wherever they meet if they are friends.
British people do not readily ask each other to do anything that would involve real inconvenience. They prefer to wait for such service to be offered rather than ask for it. It is often polite to refuse an offer of service. In the same way， British people sometimes make offers purely out of politeness， not really expecting them to be accepted， and offers like those are usually refused with corresponding politeness.
If you are invited to a person's home on a social occasion， it is not very common nor polite to arrive early as the hostess will be preparing for you， and will feel embarrassed if you arrive before she is quite ready. Ten minutes late is excellent for such an occasion. The British are rather particular about table manners. If you do not know much of it， just sit up straight and copy everyone else， asking what to do if you are not sure. The British like to have conversations during meals so it is pleasing to keep the conversation going. There are no rules about what time to leave after the dinner， but it is not polite to stay too late as it implies a lack of consideration for your hosts. As for presents， the best things to choose are a bunch of flowers， a bottle of wine， a packet of chocolates or some other small things. If you are invited to a birthday party， it is also good to add a card or a book to the present. It is not popular to give each other expensive things as presents.
作为一名访问学者，在伦敦学习的一年时间里，我对英国的文化与习俗开始有了更多的了解，注意到英国人在许多方面与我们中国人的表现大不相同。
英国人一般相当保守。他们保守的态度表现在他们只接受他们熟悉的东西，而对任何外来的或陌生的东西持怀疑态度。他们非常喜欢古董，以至对那些即使没什么用处的东西，也会毫不犹豫地买回来。现在，尽管使用煤或木头的壁炉很麻烦，而且会增加空气污染，但是仍有许多英国人家非常喜欢使用。他们有些人会不惜花钱和费事，给房间安装上一个从不使用的假壁炉。他们认为，居室里如果没有壁炉就失去了让人感觉舒适惬意的基本特点。许多房间实际上是用煤气或电炉取暖的，但取暖器通常放在老式壁炉前面。许多英国人喜欢选择外观设计像烧煤的壁炉式的电暖气，当电源接通时，里面的假煤块就会发出红光。
与其他欧洲人相比，英国人，尤其是英格兰人，最显著的特点就是"矜持".一个矜持的人不大愿意与陌生人交谈，不大受情绪影响，也很少激动。要了解生性矜持的人很困难，因为他从来不告诉别人有关他自己的事。你可能与他共事多年却不知道他住在哪儿，有几个孩子，也不知道他对什么感兴趣。英国人往往就是这个样子。互相攀谈时，绝不会有人问起"你多大了？"，"你挣多少钱？"或"你的手表在哪里买的？"这样的问题。同样，英国人谈话时声音很轻，并能克制住自己，大声讲话被看作为缺乏教养。从某些方面来讲，这种不愿与他人交往的特点是令人遗憾的，因为这会给人一种冷漠的印象。的确，英国人并非以豪爽与好客著称。但是，尽管他们矜持，却还是非常富有人情味的；一旦一个友好的陌生人或外国人能打破这种障碍，英国人也会十分高兴。与英国人的矜持密切相关的是他们的谦逊。与他人相比，英国人在内心深处也许不乏自负，但是在与他人的交往中，至少他们很注重要表现出谦逊的样子。自夸被认为是没有教养的。假如你问一个很会打乒乓球的人他是否是个好选手时，他很少会说"是的"，因为这样一来别人会认为他很自傲。他很可能回答说，"还可以"，或说"我很喜欢这项运动".英国人还以幽默而出名。它以自我贬低为起点，喜欢嘲笑自己的缺点、失败、窘境乃至自己的幻想。但他们从不嘲笑残疾人或疯子，同情被认为比嘲笑更有力量。
英国人以文明礼貌而著称，但是，现在他们以礼相待的习惯已不像以前那么正规了。早上见面时，一声"早上好"或者"你好"就足够了。如果他们恰巧大老远地相互遇见，亲切地招一下手就足以了。人们只有在初次相见，或是在特殊的场合，以及在表示赞同和祝贺时才握手。但是，如果朋友相见，无论何时何地他们都常常拥抱，亲吻。
英国人对可能会给别人添麻烦的事从不轻易开口，他们宁可等待别人主动提出帮忙而自己却不先求助。拒绝别人的主动帮忙是一件礼貌的行为。同样地，英国人有时主动提出帮忙大多是出于礼貌，并不期望别人来接受它，而人们也同样地以十分礼貌的方式谢绝这种帮助。
如果你被邀请到某个英国人家做客，在这种社交场合早到是不常见的，也是不礼貌的，因为女主人正在做准备。她还没准备好你就到了，会使她感到非常尴尬。这种情况下，晚到十分钟最佳。英国人对进餐时的举止也是十分讲究的。如果你不太懂得他们的礼节，就坐直了，学别人的样子，并可以随时向别人请教。英国人喜欢吃饭时和别人交谈，所以这时候使谈话保持下去是令人愉快的。餐后何时离去并没有一定的规定，不过，在主人家呆得太晚是不礼貌的，表明你不为主人着想。至于礼品问题，最好是一束花、一瓶酒、一盒巧克力或是其他小东西。如果你被邀请去参加生日聚会，还可以加上一张卡片或一本书。一般不互赠昂贵的礼品。
注释：
1.conservative adj.保守的
2.suspicious s]adj.可疑的，猜疑的
3.antique n.古董
4.attach to 喜爱 ，依恋
5.dummy n.仿制品 ，仿造物
6.cosiness n.暖和舒适
7.imitation n.仿制品
8.current n.电流
9.turn on 开动
10.reserve n.矜持，拘谨
11.restrained adj.克制的，拘谨的
12.ill-bred adj.教养不好的，无礼的
13.unfortunate adj.令人遗憾的
14.generosity n.豪爽，宽宏大量
15.hospitality n.好客，殷勤
16.modesty n.谦虚，谦逊
17.conceited adj.自负的
18.be keen on 热衷于，对…着迷
19.self-depreciation n.自我贬低
20.cheery adj.兴高采烈的
21.token n.表示，标志