Read the texts and speak about some British sights.

A.There are some unusual places in Great Britain. Let’s take the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland for example. The Causeway is a mass of stone columns standing very near together. The tops of the columns form stepping stones leading from the cliff foot and disappearing under the sea. There are about 40,000 of these stone columns. The tallest are about 42 feet (13 m) high. Visitors in modern times are told that it is the result of volcanic action, but the legend says it is a giant’s work. The ancient Irish knew that there lived the giant Finn McCool, the Ulster soldier, who was extremely strong. He fell in love with a lady giant that lived on an island in Scotland, and so he began to build this causeway to bring her to Ulster.

B. Stonehenge is perhaps the most famous, as well as the most mysterious, of all prehistoric engineering monuments. There is nothing else like it anywhere in the world. Started 5,000 years ago, it was remodeled several times in the centuries that followed. Yet, why it was built is remaining a mystery. Stonehenge consists of two circles of huge stone blocks. Inside these are two groups of stones in the shape of a horseshoe. On June the 21^st , the longest day of the year, the rising sun faces the open part of the horseshoe and shines on the centre stone. At one time, people thought that Stonehenge was a Druid temple (храм друидов, жрецов древних кельтов), where they honoured the sun god but we shall never know precisely how it was used or what religious beliefs were celebrated there.

C.Stratford-on-Avon is the place where the greatest dramatist and poet of the English literature William Shakespeare was born and died (1564-1616). April 23^rd is the day on which Shakespeare was born and also the day when he died. Stratford is a very interesting town in the centre of England. There are beautiful woods, green fields, a quiet river Avon and lovely country houses. The main centres of interest include the Birthplace itself, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage (the home of Shakespeare’s wife), foundations and gardens of New Place (where he died), Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and the beautiful Holy Trinity Church (Shakespeare’s burial place).

LONDON

Learn the following words and expressions:

a politician – политик

an invasion – вторжение, завоевание

to turn – повернуть

a misfortune – несчастье

to change – изменять

an image – образ

to destroy – разрушать

a church – церковь

ancient – древний

a guide – гид

a tower – башня

to defend – защищать

a fortress – крепость

a palace – дворец

an observatory – обсерватория

an arsenal – арсенал

a prison – тюрьма

a raven – ворон

a sight = a place of interest –достопримечательность

to leave – оставлять, покидать

a monarchy – монархия

to guard – охранять

remarkable – удивительный

impressive – производящий впечатление

a tomb – надгробный камень

to bury – хоронить

a time-keeper – часы ( куранты)

royal – королевский

to reign – царствовать

a column – колонна

a statue – статуя

a fountain – фонтан

an inventor – изобретатель

to contain – содержать

a masterpiece – шедевр

an admission – вход, доступ

unique – уникальный

wax – воск

to enjoy – наслаждаться

to discover – открывать

curious – редкий, любопытный

a piece – часть, кусок

to investigate – исследовать

architecture – архитектура

plague – чума

a master – хозяин

a crown – корона

a jewel – сокровище

Mind some proper names:

Roman – римский

Londinium – древнее название Лондона

Westminster – Вестминстер

The City – Сити (исторический центр Лондона)

Stock Exchange – Лондонская фондовая биржа

The Old Bailey – Центральный уголовный суд

Mansion House –резиденция мэра Лондона

Tower of London – Лондонский Тауэр

William the Conqueror – Вильгельм Завоеватель

The White Tower – Белая башня (самая старая часть Тауэра)

London Bridge – Лондонский мост

Westminster Abbey – Вестминстерское Аббатство

The Poets’ Corner – Уголок поэтов

Gothic – готический

the Houses of Parliament – здание парламента

Big Ben – Биг Бен (колокол часов-курантов)

Buckingham Palace – Букингемский дворец

Changing of the Guard – смена караула

Queen Victoria Memorial – мемориал королеве Виктории

Trafalgar Square – Трафальгарская площадь

the National Portrait Gallery – национальная портретная галерея

the National Gallery – национальная галерея

St. Paul’s Cathedral – Собор Святого Павла

the British Museum –Британский музей

the Royal Opera House –королевская Опера

Royal Albert Hall – королевский концертный зал

Hyde Park – Гайд парк

the Speaker’s Corner – Уголок оратора

Kensington Gardens – Кенсингтон-Гарденз

St. James’s Park – Сент-Джеймс парк

Regent’s Park – Риджентс парк

Geoffrey Chaucer ['tSLsə]

William Shakespeare ['Seikspiə]

Robert Burns [bWnz]

George Gordon Byron

Charles Dickens

Rudyard Kipling

Charles Robert Darwin

Michael Faraday

Isaac Newton ['aizək 'njHtn]

Sir Benjamin Hall

Admiral Lord Nelson

Sir Christopher Wren ['sW 'kristəfə 'ren]

Madam Tussaud’s ['mædəm 'tjHsou]

Practice the pronunciation of the following words:

politician ["pOli'tiSn], misfortune [mis'fLtSən], century ['sentSəry], changed [tSeinGd], image ['imiG], plague [pleig], church [tSWtS], ancient ['einSənt], recommend ["rekə'mend], heart [hRt], conqueror ['kOŋkərə], jewel ['GHəl], monarchy ['mOnəki], guard [gRd], tomb [tHm], buried ['berid], isles [ailz], reign, [rein] highest ['haiist], column ['kOləm], statue ['stætjH], fountain ['fauntin], portrait ['pLtrit], masterpiece ['mRstəpJs], unique [ju'nJk], adult ['ædəlt], museum [mjH'ziəm].

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^th century. 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