Text 1 London: a City with Difference

With its unrivalled range of museums and galle­ries, theatres and concert halls, world-famous sights and daily displays of pomp and page­antry, London is on of the most exciting capitals in the world and demands to be explored.

«When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life: for there is in London all that life can afford», wrote Samuel Johnson in 1777. He would still recognize the great sights on both sides of the Thames, winding its way downstream from the Houses of Parliament to St, Paul's, London Bridge and the Tower, down to Greenwich and the sea.

When H.G. Wells wrote in 1911 that "London is the most interesting, beautiful and won­derful city in the world to me," horse drawn carriages and Edwardian splendour were on their way out. The 20^th century was about to enforce dramatic changes on the London sky-line - skyscrapers in the city, the Post Office Tower and Docklands, the business centre for the 21^st century.

Yet London, the world's capital, has kept its heart. Johnson would still be able to drink coffee in Covent Garden or meander thorough the City's narrow streets with echoes of Me­dieval days. H.G. Wells might, today, listen to debates in the Houses of Parliament, attend a concert in the Albert Hall or listen to a military band in a royal park.

Today London is a sprawling cosmopolitan metropolis, an exciting world which many visitors from abroad see first from the sky. Down there seven million people are at home, not in anonymous suburbs but in the Cities of London and Westminster and in districts which have remnants of their countrified past, with their own high streets and historic monuments remembering famous men and women who built a London which each genera­tion discovers anew.

Ex.1 Answer the questions.

1 What is meant by a cosmopolitan metropolis?

2 Find a word meaning to walk in a slow relaxed way.

3 What is a high street?

4 Find a word meaning spreading over a wide area in an untidy or unattractive way.

5 Find a synonym to the words magnificence, grandeur.

6 From the list of synonyms choose the one (s) that is / are closest in meaning to the word dramatic as used in the text: striking, vivid, effective, breathtaking, powerful, excit­ing, sensational, melodramatic, sudden, startling. What is its opposite?

7 What is meant by remnants of the past?

8 Find a phrase meaning to disappear.

9 Find a synonym to the word to impose.

10 Find the opposite of the word to deny in the text.

Ex.2 Without looking back at the text, try to supply the missing word that com­pletes these expressions.

- to wind its _____;

- _____ carriages;

- military _____;

- remnants of the _____;

- many visitors _____abroad

Ex.3 Complete the sentences using the words from the text. To help you, the first letter of each word is given.

1 An industrial estate s_____across the valley.

2 He m _____ aimlessly along the lanes.

3 The r_____ of a meal stood on the table.

4 Highway 99 w _____ its way along the coast.

5 There has been a d _____ rise in the number of unemployed.

6 Blackheath is a s _____ of London.

7 Only seven people a_____ the meeting.

Ex.4 Answer the questions.

1 Has London changed much since the 18^th century?

2 Can you agree with the statement that London has kept its heart?

3 Why is London described as a sprawling cosmopolitan metropolis?

4 What is meant by a countrified past of London's suburbs?

 

 

Text 2

Ex.1 Translate the following words and word expressions.

Roman invaders, a small Celtic settlement, sizable, to enclose, one in seven, commerce and finance, to explore, built-up area, to stretch, a small side-street, unimpressive, money matters, royal, to sail a boat, an open-air theatre, a tide, a flood, to increase, to sink, a disaster, to lessen, a flood barrier, striking, the Underground railway, a rush hour.

Ex.2 Read the text.

London

London is an ancient city. It grew up around the first point where the Roman invaders found the Thames narrow enough to build a bridge. They found a small Celtic settlement then known as Londinium and by 300 A. D. they had turned into a sizable port and an important trading centre with a wall which enclosed the homes of about 50 000 people.

One in seven of the population of the United Kingdom is a Londoner. About 7 million people live in London. London dominates British life. It’s the home of the nation’s commerce and finance, the main centre of its legal system and the press. It has the largest university and the greatest possibilities for entertainment and for sport in the country. London is one of the famous capital cities of the world, and every year attracts crowds of visitors from home and abroad. They come to explore its historic buildings, to see its museums and galleries, its streets and parks, and its people.

The built-up area of London stretches 50 kilometres from east to west and many of its districts are linked with particular activities, for example, parliamentary and government activity centres on Parliament Square of Westminster and Whitehall. Just as «Westminster» stands for Parliament so «Whitehall» is often used as the name for central Government. Off Whitehall in a small side-street Downing Street – is a quiet, unimpressive house - № 10 – the official home of Prime Minister.

Just as Wall Street in New York is the centre of commerce and finance so the City of London, sometimes called «the square mile», is the centre of money matters. Fleet Street near St. Paul’s Cathedral used to be a busy street full of London, provincial and foreign newspaper offices such as «The Daily Express», «The Daily Telegraph». Fleet Street is still used to describe the newspaper industry.

London is full of parks and green spaces. Hyde Park, originally a royal hunting forest, is the largest park in London. Beyond Hyde Park lies another royal park, Kensington Gardens. Children gather by the statue of Peter Pan, James Barrie’s well-known book character, or sail their model boats on the Round Pond. In the north of London is Regent’s Park with a zoo and an open-air theatre.

Like many capital cities, London grew up along a major river. The Thames divides London sharply in two. Most of central London is on the north bank of the river. The Thames at London is tidal and there have been several serious floods. The risk of this is increasing as southern England is sinking in relation to sea level. Threat of disaster, however, has been lessened by the construction of a flood barrier.

It is always interesting for tourists to take a trip along the Thames in a boat as it gives a striking panorama of London. The best way to see the city quickly is from the top of London red double-decker buses. Special tourist buses go on two-hour circular tours. The other quick and easy way of getting around London is by «tube» – the Underground railway. During the «rush hours», when office workers hurry to and from work, the tube train doors can hardly close behind the crushed crowd.

Ex.3 Answer the questions.

1. What was Londinium? 2. How did the Roman invaders influence the development of London? 3. How many people live in London? 4. What is the role of London in British life? 5. Why is London popular with tourists? 6. What is the size of London? 7. What are Westminster and Whitehall? 8. What is the official home of Prime Minister? 9. What is “the square mile”? 10. What is Fleet Street famous for? 11. What are the main parks in London? 12. What parks are mostly popular with children? 13. What role does the Thames play in London? 14. What are the best ways for tourists to see London?