Материал: London книга для чтения по страноведению

The East End greatly suffered during World

War II as it

was

heavily

bombed.

South

London

South London is a multi-cultural area of nearly 2 million people. It

includes the historic towns of Greenwich and Wimbledon.

Greenwich is on the bank

of the Thames. It is a historic

neighbourhood and boasts a fine park

and

the

Royal

Greenwich

Observatory — the

home

of

Greenwich

Mean Time and the Prime

Meridian of the world, making the

official starting point for each new

day, year and millennium. It is

also the home of London's only

planetarium and

the

28-inch

telescope, the largest in the UK.

North

London

North London includes suburbs such

as Hampstead

and

Highgate

which retain a village atmosphere.

It is more hilly than the south, and

many of the hills give excellent views across the city.

Hampstead is a favourite tourist destination attracting visitors by its

parks such as Hampstead Heath with

its

Parliament Hill noted for the

fine views over the city and the Hampstead bathing ponds.

Comprehension

Check

Are thefollowing

statements true or false?

1. There

are

a

lot of

docks,

wharfs

and

warehouses

in

the

West

End.

2.

The famous

Petticoat

Lane

Market

takes

place every

Sunday in

the East

End.

3.

There are very few shops in

the West End.

4.

The language of cockneys can hardly be understood by other

Londoners.

5.

Glamorous

entertaining

centres

are

generally

located

in

the

West

End.

6.

The British Prime Minister lives

in

one of London's

suburbs.

7.

Big Ben is the name of the

bell not of the tower.

8.

The City of London does not have

many

residents.

9.

There

are no

attractions in South London.

WHAT TO SEE IN LONDON

London

attracts very large numbers of visitors and tourists. Though

tourist

attractions are mainly in

Central London, some can be

found

in

other

parts of the city.

So you

should plan your day well and

study

the

Tube

map to

work out

how to

travel to the places of interest.

London

is

attractions because sometimes queues can take hours.

There are places which are extremely popular

with lots

of

people.

Here is the list of London's top ten most

favourite

activities

and

attractions:

1. To

take a ride on the London Eye.

The big wheel gives you a panoramic view of London. It is the

world's highest

observation

wheel (135 metres) which

stands

on the

south

bank of the Thames not far from Westminster.

2. To

see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

3. To

see a musical as they are amazing.

4. To

visit the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

5. To

go to Hamleys — the world's biggest

toy

shop.

6. To

go shopping at Picadilly Circus.

7. To

visit museums

and

art galleries,

for

example,

the

British

Museum,

the

National Gallery

and Madam

Tussaud's

Wax

Model

Museum.

Trafalgar

Square

The location of Trafalgar Square makes it the geographical centre of

London. It was built in the Victorian

times, in the 1830s, and named in

honour of the British victory, led by

Admiral

Lord Nelson

at the

battle

of Trafalgar in 1805. It was designed by John Nash.

Dominating the square is the 56 metre

column, Nelson's

Column,

with the 5.5 metre statue of Nelson

on top. The column is guarded by

four huge bronze lions made out of the metal

taken from old battleships.

In the centre of the square there

are

also

fountains

looking

very

refreshing on warm summer days.

The square makes a good place

for

people to meet — coaches

pick

up groups 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.

On the north side of the square

is the National

Gallery, founded

in

picture

collections in the

world and is rich in works of old masters.

Buckingham

Palace

Buckingham

Palace

is the Queen's

official

and main

London home.

It has

been the

official

London

residence of

Britain's monarchy

since

1837. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live there.

Buckingham Palace is not only the home of the Queen and her

husband, Prince Philip, but also

of their children — Prince

Andrew

and

Prince

Edward and his family.

Buckingham

Palace

was

originally

a grand house

built by

the Duke

of Buckingham for his wife.

It is like a

small

town,

with a

police station,

two post

offices, a

A familiar sight at Buckingham Palace is

the

Changing

of

the

Guard ceremony that

takes place in the forecourt

each

morning

at

11.30

am in summer and every other morning in winter.

Five regiments

of Foot Guards guard the

Palace. They

wear

red

Royal Standard. It is split

into

four quadrants. The first and

fourth

quadrants represent England

and

contain three gold lions walking

on a

representing Ireland has the gold Coat

of Arms

of Ireland

on

a

blue

field. In the Flag Protocol, the Royal Standard

is supreme. It must be

flown from buildings where the Queen is present.

It

flies

above

the

British Union Flag (Union Jack).

Every year more than 50,000 people come

to

the

Palace

as

guests

to banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and Royal Garden Parties.

The

Tower of

London

For over 900 years, the

Tower of

London

has

been standing

over

arsenal, Royal Mint, royal zoo and jewel house,

it has

witnessed

many

great events in the history

of Britain.

It was

originally built by

William

the Conqueror, following his successful invasion of England in 1066.

The Tower of London is, perhaps, better known as a prison. The

prisoners were brought via the river

from Westminster

where

they

had

been tried, and crowds of people were waiting

on the river bank to find

out the verdict. The executioner, with his long sharp axe, was

standing

behind the accused on the boat. If the accused

was guilty he would point

his axe towards the victim and if not guilty

he

would

point

it

away.

People knew that if found guilty there would

be

a public

execution

48

hours later.

Many people were locked in the Tower for religious beliefs or

suspected treason. Famous prisoners include Anne Boleyn

(Henry VIII's

wife) and Elizabeth I who

was held prisoner in

the Tower for two months

by the order of her half

sister, Queen Mary.

Mary felt

that her

throne

The responsibility for looking after the prisoners was given to the

Yeomen Warders or

Beefeaters. Nowadays you can still see them guard

the

Tower in

their

black and

red everyday uniform or a ceremonial red

and

gold dress

worn

on state

occasions.

In the

centre of the

Tower of London is the famous White

Tower.

It is the oldest part of the fortress.

Ravens have lived in the Tower for hundreds of years. There is a

legend

that

if the ravens

ever

leave the Tower of London, the

White

Tower will fall and a great disaster will befall England.

Today

the Tower houses

arms and armour and the Crown

Jewels

and is

open

to the public

as a

museum.

675.

The present

St. Paul's Cathedral is

the

work of the famous architect

Sir Christopher Wren. It is said to be

one

of the finest pieces of

architecture in Europe. The construction of

the

Cathedral

began

in

1675

and took 35

years.

From far away you can see the huge dome with a golden ball and

cross on top. The dome of St. Paul's

Cathedral

is the

second

biggest

dome in the

world after

St. Peter's

Cathedral

in

Rome.

The interior of the Cathedral is marvellous. There are a lot of

monuments.

The

most

important,

perhaps,

is

the

one dedicated

to

the

someone whispers close to

the wall on one side, a person with his

ear

close to the wall on the

other side can hear what is said. But if

you

want to reach the ball, you will have to climb 637 steps.

Christopher Wren, who is now known as «the architect of London»,

was buried in the Cathedral.

Comprehension

Check

What places

of

interest do

the following refer to? Furnish each topic

with

details:

Royal

Standard

Beefeaters

National

Gallery

Foot Guards

Ravens

Whispering Gallery

Huge

bronze lions