Read and translate the text “ London”.

A famous English politician once said about the English capital: “It’s a nation, not a city”. And it’s really true, as one can see all the history of the nation through the history of London.

London is 2000 years old and had been founded many years before the first Roman invasion. The first name of the city was Londinium. It was founded on the river Thames, the location of the city being very comfortable and in the course of time a small village turned into a big important city.

Two great misfortunes in the 17^th century changed the image of London completely: the Great Plague (1665) killed about 1/5 of the population, and the Great Fire (1666) destroyed 3000 houses and almost all the churches.

Modern London was founded on the place of two ancient cities London and Westminster. Now the territory of the English capital is about 5 thousand square kilometers with the population of more than 8 million people. Traditionally London is divided into three parts: The City, the West End and the East End.

The City is the financial and business centre of London and occupies the territory of about 2.6 square kilometers. Less than 6000 people live there but about half a million people come to work there every morning. Numerous banks and big companies have their head offices there. You can also find the Stock Exchange, the Bank of England, the Old Bailey and the Mansion House there.

The West End is the richest and the most beautiful part of London. The best shops, hotels, restaurants, clubs and department stores are situated there. There are a lot of museums, galleries, concert halls, cinemas and theatres. In the West End you can find wonderful parks and squares. It is in the West End where the University of London is located with Bloomsbury as a students quarter.

The East End is a poorer district but it is developing fast. There are a lot of factories, plants and docks there. It is a working part of London but it is becoming the leading international financial centre with its high quality modern offices, shops, restaurants, hotels, sports and exhibition centres.

If you come to London for the first time and don’t know where to go, any guide would recommend you to begin with the heart of the capital – the City and Westminster. Let’s start with the Tower of London, which is situated there. This is the most ancient building in London. It was founded in the 11^th century by William the Conqueror, who was French and built the White Tower to live in and defend himself and his people from the English. Over the centuries the Tower of London has been a fortress, a royal palace, an observatory, an arsenal and a state prison. Now it is a museum. It is a home of the Crown Jewels, which are used by the Queen and her family today. The ravens are one of the most famous sights of the Tower of London. According to the legend if the ravens leave the Tower, the monarchy will fall. That’s why for over 900 years these birds have been guarding the Tower of London. All the ravens have names and the Raven Master gives them food.

To the east of the Tower you can see a bridge over the Thames. It’s a Tower Bridge. We should say that the river Thames has always been the part of London’s history. Londoners call this river Father of London. There are about 30 bridges across the Thames, but Tower Bridge is the biggest and the most beautiful.

No tourist would like to leave London without visiting Westminster Abbey. It is one of the most remarkable examples of the early English Gothic Style. It is impressive in appearance and size. The Abbey is famous for the Poets’ Corner with the tombs and memorials of many British poets and writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, Dickens, Kipling and others. Such great scientists as Darwin, Faraday and Newton are also buried there. Westminster Abbey is associated with the history of not only London but of all the British Isles.

The Houses of Parliament is the seat of the British government. The Clock Tower, which is called Big Ben after Sir Benjamin Hall, is known for its clock. It’s one of the finest timekeepers in the world. Big Ben has become the symbol of London.

London is known as the home of the oldest monarchy in Europe. Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British royal family in London. When the flag is on the top of the Palace it means that the Queen is at home. Every day at 11.30 you can see the beautiful ceremony of the Changing of the Guard. In front of Buckingham Palace there is Queen Victoria Memorial. Her reign was the longest in British history. The Palace is very big, there are about 600 rooms in it.

Not far from Buckingham Palace there is Trafalgar Square. The highest point here is the column with a statue of Admiral Lord Nelson. Four bronze lions look at the square and two fountains make the square especially beautiful.

Behind Trafalgar Square there’s the National Portrait Gallery, which has portraits of almost every famous British man or woman – artists, writers, inventors, politicians. Next to it there is the National Gallery. It contains more than 2200 masterpieces from the 13^th to 20^thcentury. These pictures belong to the public and admission is free.

As any other old city London has got many churches. One of the most famous and absolutely unique is St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is a masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren. He built it after the Great Fire, which completely destroyed it. It took Christopher Wren 35 years to reconstruct this fine building. St. Paul’s is one of the largest Cathedrals in the world.

If you love visiting museums, London is the right place to go. The most outstanding one is the British Museum. Here you can see the works of man from prehistory to the present day. Sherlock Holmes Museum attracts both children and adults. It is situated in famous Baker Street. Another interesting museum, which is also at Baker Street, is Madam Tussaud’s. It has life-size wax figures of famous people, both living and dead.

The British capital is the center of theatres and concert halls. There are a lot of them in London: the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, etc.

Londoners enjoy their parks and gardens, as London is very rich in them. Maybe the most famous one is Hyde Park, which used to be a royal hunting garden and now is the best place to have rest, walk or listen to the orators at the Speaker’s Corner. Among the other famous parks one can mention St. James’s Park, Kensington Gardens and of course Regent’s Park with the London Zoo.

So, London is an unusual city, where the great and the small, the old and the new are side by side. And there is always something new to be discovered, some curious piece of the history to be investigated.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is London?

2. When was London founded?

3. Where is London situated?

4. What is the population of London?

5. What is the most ancient building of the City?

6. How old is it? What is it famous for?

7. What are the most famous sights of London?

8. How many bridges are there across the Thames?

9. What is the seat of the British government?

10. Where does the Royal Family live?

11. What ceremony can we see in front of Buckingham Palace?

12. What is the heart of London?

13. What galleries and museums of London do you know?

14. Who was the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral?

Ask your neighbour:

1) where London is situated;

2) when it was founded;

3) how old it is;

4) what center it is;

5) what sights there are in London;

6) if it is situated on the river Thames;

7) how many bridges there are across the Thames;

8) if he knows the legend of the ravens;

9) how the main timekeeper of the country is called;

10) where the column of Admiral Lord Nelson is;

11) what galleries and museums there are in London;

12) if the British capital is the center of theatres and concert halls;

13) if Hyde Park is the best place to have rest.

Exercises

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
What languages are spoken in the UK?	\|	Read the texts and speak about some London sights.

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