A Glimpse of London

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 1157.

Listen, read and practise.

London is the capital of Great Britain. It is situated on both sides of the Thames and stretches for nearly 30 miles from east to west and for nearly 30 miles from north to south. London is one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is more than eight million.

London is a very old city. It is more than 20 centuries old. The histo­ry of London goes back to Roman times. Traditionally London is divid­ed into several parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End. They are very different from each other.

The heart of London is the City — its commercial and business cen­tre. The Stock Exchange, the Royal Exchange, and the Bank of England are all there. The centre of the country's judicial system — the Old Bailey is also in the City. Few people live in the City, but over a million, come to work here.

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Two famous historic buildings are located in the City — the Tower of Lon­don and St Paul's Cathedral. The Tower of London was built in the 11-th century. It was used as a fortress, a royal residence and a prison. Now it is a museum of armour and also the place where Crown Jewels are kept.

A twenty minutes' walk from the Tower will take you to another historic building — St Paul's Cathedral. It was built in the 17th century by the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren. Wellington, Nelson and other great men of England are buried in the Cathedral.

Westminster is the centre of government and justice. Here we can see the Houses of Parliament with the famous clock 'Big Ben' on one of the towers. All government offices are in Whitehall. The official resi­dence of the Queen is Buckingham Palace. The residence of the Prime Minister is at 10 Downing Street.

Opposite the Houses of Parliament stands Westminster Abbey. From Norman times British monarchs have been crowned here and since the 13th century they have been buried here. Many other famous people are also buried in Westminster Abbey including statesmen, musicians and writers.

The West End is the name given to the area of Central London north from The Mall to Oxford Street. It includes Trafalgar Square, the main shopping areas of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, and the entertainment centres of Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Shaftesbury Avenue. Its name is associated with glamour and bright lights.

Trafalgar Square was built early in the last century to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. Admiral lord Nelson's statue stands on top of a column in the middle of Trafalgar Square. The square makes a good place for people to meet — coaches pick up parties of visitors, marchers unite for protest meetings, and at Christmas time carol singers gather round a huge Christmas tree which is sent to Britain from Norway every year. Behind Nelson's Column is the National Gallery, an art gallery in which you can find many old masters. Not far from the National Gallery is the British Museum. It contains a priceless collection of different things (ancient manuscripts, coins, sculptures, etc.) The British Muse­um is famous for its library — one of the richest in the world.

Most of London's big department stores are in Oxford Street and Regent Street. Piccadilly Circus is the centre of nightlife in the West End. To the north of Piccadilly Circus is Soho, which has been the for­eign quarter of London since the 17th century. Now it has restaurants offering food from a variety of different countries, as well as 'adult' entertainment.

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London is famous for its live theatre, and there are over thirty the­atres within a square mile. Naturally there is a great variety of shows to choose from: opera, musicals, drama and so on. If you want to know what is on in London, the best place to look is in a newspaper.

The East End is an industrial district of London. It is especially fa­mous as the centre of the clothing industry. The Port of London is also in the East End.

A. Questions.

1. What is the population of London? 2. What is the City? 3. When was the Tower of London built? What was it used for? 4. When was St Paul's Cathedral built? 5. What famous men are buried in the Cathedral? 6. In what district of London are most of the Government buildings located? 7. What is Big Ben? 8. What famous building stands opposite the Hous­es of Parliament? 9. In whose memory was the monument in the middle of Trafalgar Square set up? 10. What kind of museum is the British Museum? 11. Where are most of London's big department stores locat­ed? 12. In what part of London is the Port located?

B. Speak about London, the capital of Great Britain.

C. Have you ever been to London? Did you go sightseeing? What places
of interest did you see? Did you like the city?

D. Practice.

1. Choose the correct item. Retell the text.

After Laura had been living in London (since, before, for) several months, she realised that there were many things she hadn't seen. (Even though, Despite, In spite of) she had plenty of free time, she hadn't even been to (a, the, -). Vatican or the Coliseum, and she wished she (sees, would see, had seen) more. People had told her that the Villa Borghese was worth (see, to see, seeing), so she got up early one Saturday so that she (could spend, spent, will spend) the day there. She considered taking her um­brella in case it (would rain, rained, could rain). The morning was (such, such a, so) lovely though, she decided it probably wouldn't, so she left it behind. When she got there she had her picture taken (with, by, from) a man who told her he (will send, sent, would send) her copies of it (if, when, by) she gave him her address. In fact he kept (ask, to ask, asking) her questions about herself (by the time, if, until) she became suspi-

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cious. She knew she (shouldn't, couldn't, mustn't) have given him her address at all, but it was (much, such, too) late. An hour or so later it started to rain so she decided to go home at once. When she got there, she (found, had found, finds) the door open; her house (was burgled, had been burgled, had been stolen). The 'photographer' had told her he would send her the pictures, but he hadn't (said, asked, told) her that he would ring his friends and have them rob her house (while, as soon as, until) she was out. If only she (were, had been, would be) more careful, none of this would have happened.

2. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct passive form.

There is an old castle in Norwich which (believe) to (haunt). It (call) North Castle and it (say) that ghosts can (see) there at night. The castle (build) 400 years ago, and (own) by two old ladies who (believe) to be witches. One day, long ago, they both disappeared and they (never/see) again. In 1985 the castle (buy) by a businessman and (convert) into a luxurious hotel. The castle (visit) by quite a few guests every year and special groups (organise) to watch for ghosts. It has been a long time since any ghosts (see), but one night a trick (play) on some visitors by a local couple, who dressed up as the two 'witches'. They (see) by a guest, who said she (frighten) to death. The couple apologised the next day, and (tell) never to visit the castle again, certainly not in the middle of the night dressed up as witches.

3. Fill in 'the' where necessary.

... last summer we went to stay in ... village where my grandmother was born. I had never been there before, so when we arrived at... station I was surprised to see how small it was. As in ... many villages in ... north of... England, all ... houses are built of... same stone. Running through ... village is ... River Tyne. The village has a church which was built in ... Middle Ages. Although ... population is only about 500 peo­ple, this village has... best cricket team in ... county, and many people play .... rugby as well. Apart from ... sport, though, so little happens there that many of... people still remember... time ... Queen visited their village in ... 1955.