Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Going Shopping in Britain

Do you like window shopping [1]? I do! I love going window shopping and then buying things. Most shops in Britain open at 9 a.m. and close at 5:30 p.m. Most towns also have a market day when you can buy clothes, food or flowers from stalls [2] in the street. London also has specialised markets in Portobello Road and Petticoat Lane where you can often find bargains [3].

Most towns in Britain have a High Street [4], which is where lots of the shops are located. You will find lots of world famous shops there – Marks and Spencer’s, Boot’s the chemist’s, W.H. Smith’s the newsagent’s [5] or Virgin, the record [6] shop. Apart from those famous shops, there are other traditional shops where you can buy food or other goods [7]. For example, if you need meat, you have to go to the butcher’s [8], but if you want fish, you have to go to the fishmonger’s [9]. And where would you buy vegetables and fruit? In the greengrocer’s [10], that’s right. You can buy stamps at the tobacconist’s, or buy a lottery ticket at the Post Office [11]! The British lottery is on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

In many British town centres, the shopping area is pedestrianized.[12] But if you have to cross a road, pay attention: in Britain, and in other countries like Ireland, Australia and India which were once British colonies, people drive on the left, so when you cross the road you have to look right first!


[1] ir de escaparates, [2] tenderete, [3] ganga, [4] calle mayor, [5] quiosco, [6] disco, [7] artículo, [8] carnicería, [9] pescadería, [10] verdulería, frutería, [11] correos, [12] convertir en zona peatonal

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