Tareas

The changing face of the UK.
Let’s start with some good news – people live longer nowdays. The bad news for the government is that it has to pay out more pensions.  On average, people live for 78years (75 for men and 80 for women) – in 1911 it was only 52! Is it because we have a healthy lifestyle? Maybe. More people see smoking as a healt hazard; only a quarter of the population smokescompared to half 30 years ago. People eat more fruit and less fat but about three- quarters of men and two- thirds of women between 55 and 64 are seriously overweight.
More people work than ever before –79% of men and 69% of women have jobs. And people earn three times more in real terms thant 50 years ago- but the difference between rich and poor people is bigger. The most important growth area jobsis in computers. Young people certainly see qualifications as important to get a good job. The percentage of 16 – 18 years – olds in education went up from 5% to 55% in the 1990s. And did you know, theBritish work the longest hours per week in Europe? That’s an average of 45.7 hours for men and 40.7 hours for women.
Traditional family and home life is changing. In fact, nearly a third of thepopulation lives alone and there are fewer marriages nowdays. Each year, almost a quarter of million babies are born in England and Wales to parents who are not married to each other – that’s 40% of thetotal. Women are having children later and 29 is now the average age for having a baby. Young people are staying with their parents longer than before, mainly because it is expensive to get a place tolive.
The proverb “Early to bed, early to rise” seems a good description of the British lifestyle. On weekdays, most people get up before 8 a.m/(77%) and go to bed before midnight (81%). Main mealtimes are from 8a.m. to 9a.m. (breakfast), at 1p.m. (lunch) and between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. (dinner).
What do people do in the evenings? Are the Brits a nation of couch potatoes? On average, they...