Retell the text using the plan as hints

Write an assay about the work of the British Parliament.

UNIT 13

LONDON

Words to be remembered.

1. tribe – племя

2. to settle – обосновываться, поселяться

3. to destroy – разрушать

4. underground – метро

5. the Stock Exchange – биржа

6. the Royal Courts of Justice – Королевский суд

7. Guild [gild] – ратуша

8. to design – проектировать, предназначать

9. a whisper – шепот

10. to bury [beri] – хоронить

11. to depend on – зависеть от

12. fortress – крепость

13. mint – монетный двор

14. fascinating – очаровательный

15. to attract – привлекать

16. duke – герцог

Exercises (Pre-reading tasks).

Practise the pronunciation of the words from the text. When in doubt refer to the transcription below.

celtic, plague, height, financial, courts Renaissance, Stock Exchange, Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Harley Street, Bloomsbury, St.James’s Park, conqueror, tomb, observatory, Yeomen Warders, Eros, fascinating.

[keltIk], [pleIg], [haIt], [faInæn∫l], [k:ts], [re'neIsns], ['stk Iks't∫eInd¯], ['bΛkIŋ¶m 'pælIs], ['daunIŋ strI:t], ['ha:lI stri:t], ['blu:msb¶rI], [snt 'd¯eImzIz 'pa:k],['k:ŋk¶r¶], [tu:m], [b'z¶:v¶trI], ['j¶um¶n], ['w:d¶z], ['I¶r¶s], ['fæsIneItIŋ].

Read and guess the meaning of the following words.

political, economic, commercial, centre, catastrophe, architecture, construction, financial, business, million, royal, monument, Renaissance, opposite, gallery, Gothic, style, mausoleum, memorial, park, residence, royal, battle, statue, tourist, collection, historic, catastrophy.

Define to which part of speech these words belong.

Great est, citi es, settle ment, destroy ed, traditional ly, design ed, clear ly, bright er, direct ly, commemor ate, statesmen, musi cian, official ly, extreme ly, occurr ed, stand ing, whisper ing, conquer or, proper ty, willing ly, fascinat ing, prosper ous, good s.

London

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and commercial centre. It is one of the greatest cities of the world. Its population is about 9 mln. people.

The origin of the city may be dated as the beginning of the 1^st century AD, when a tribe of the Celtic family settled near the Thames. Later the Romans founded a settlement on the River Thames. They called it Londinium. The city became extremely prosperous during the 16^th century. Then in 1665 and 1666 two catastrophes occurred: the first was epidemic of plague (чума), and the second was the Great Fire that destroyed the City.

London is a real museum of architecture. Most of the finest buildings date from the second half of the 17^th century. At the beginning of the 19^th century England was at the height of her power. During Queen Victoria’s long reign (1837-1901) the construction of the Underground began.

Traditionally London is divided into the City, the West End, Westminster and the East End.

The City is the heart of London, its financial and business centre. The City is about one square mile in area and few people live there, but over a million come here to work. Here there is the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange, the Royal Courts of Justice and Guild Hall (ратуша).

The City’s greatest monument and one of the finest Renaissance cathedrals in Europe is St.Paul’s Cathedral. It was designed by Christopher Wren, a famous English architect. It took him nearly 35 years to build it. The Cathedral was finished in 1710. Running round the interior of the dome is famous Whispering Gallery. It is called so because you can clearly hear a whisper made by someone who is standing on the opposite side of the gallery.

Westminster is another part of London. This is the most famous historic area in London as it contains both the seat of the Government and the crowning place of kings and queens. The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey face each other across Parliament Square. Westminster Abbey is a beautiful Gothic building. In the 11^th century Edward the Confessor founded a great Norman Abbey. But nothing is left of this church. Henry III wanted a brighter and bigger building. Almost all the monarchs since William the Conqueror have been crowned in Westminster Abbey and many are buried there. The Abbey is sometimes compared with a mausoleum, because there are tombs and memorials of almost all English monarchs, statesmen, scientists, writers and musicians. Westminster Abbey is a royal property. It is dependent directly on the monarch.

The Houses of Parliament – the seat of British Parliament, is officially known as the Palace of Westminster.

The West End is the centre of London. There are historical places, museums, beautiful parks, large department stores, hotels, restaurants, theaters and concert halls in this part of London. One of the most beautiful palaces is Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the Queen. The Palace takes its name from Buckingham House, which was built in 1703 as the home of Duke of Buckingham and then bought by George III in 1762. Today the Queen lives at the Palace for only part of the year and when she is in her residence the Royal Standard is flown.

The oldest of all the royal residences in London is the Tower of London. It was founded by William the Conqueror in 1078.For many centuries the Tower has been a fortress, the Royal residence, the Royal Mint, the first Royal Observatory. But it is perhaps most famous for being a prison. Now it is a museum and the Yeomen Warders willingly show visitors the main places of interest.

Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus are world famous. Trafalgar Square was laid out to commemorate Nelson’s great victory of 1805 in Trafalgar battle. Piccadilly is a fashionable shopping centre. Its fountain with a statue of Eros, the Greek god of love attracts crowds of tourists.

There are many parks in London: Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Kensington Gardens to name only a few. Hyde Park is Londoners’ favourite resting place, where crowds of people can be seen in the “Speaker’s corner” listening to Hyde Park speakers. Kengsington Gardens is a favourite playground of children. They enjoy sailing model boats on the Round Pond here.

Regent’s park with its zoo has a fascinating collection of different animals, birds and reptiles.

Cultural life of London would be impossible without the Tale and National Galeries, the Royal Albert Hall, the national Theatre, the British Museum, Natural History Museum and others.

The best-known streets in London are Whitehall with important Government offices, Downing Street, the London residence of the Prime Minister and the place where the Cabinet meets, Fleet Street where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street where the highest-paid doctors live and some others.

It is in the West End that the University of London is centred with Bloomsbury as London’s student quarter.

The East End is an industrial part of London. The Port of London is also in the East End.

If the City is the money of London and the West End is the “goods” of London, then the East End is the “hands” of London.

Exercises.

1. Suggest the Russian for:

May be dated, extremely prosperous, a tribe of the Celtic family, at the height of her power, most of the finest buildings, the second half of the 17^th century, the heart of London, to be designed, to hear a whisper made by someone, both the seat of the Government and the crowning place of kings, face each other, a royal property, to take its name from, the Royal standard is flown, fashionable centre, to name only a few, the goods of London.

2. Suggest the English for:

основали селение, римляне, эпидемия чумы, Великий пожар, в расцвете могущества, долгое царствование, строительство метро, ратуша, королевский суд, фондовая биржа, внутренняя часть купола, «галерея шепота», ничего не осталось от, место работы Британского парламента, герцог Букингемский, часть года, Вильгельм Завоеватель, Королевский монетный двор, английский дворцовый страж, в ознаменование победы, любимые места отдыха, «Уголок оратора».