Actually, I think passion - intensity of feeling, action and expression - has always been an essential part of the national character on this island.

BBC: British sangfroid: An outdated stereotype

Activities are numerous and well organized--I shot clays and joined a low-intensity, three-hour Cascades Gorge hike with the hilarious guide Brian LaFountain.

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"The game was so far off Test-match intensity that I found it hard, " he said.

BBC: O'Gara angered by Kings tactics

"I think that's the thing people don't understand -- the heightened intensity does damage to your body, immune system, energy levels, on the fitness of your muscles, ligaments, tendons, " Gimelstob said.

CNN: Should tennis be worried about the 'kissing disease'?

When I got to the office, my face was scrutinized by my co-workers with the intensity of an appraiser checking the foundation of a 150-year-old house.

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