Some Glimpses of London

London is one of the biggest and most interesting cities in the world.

Traditionally it is divided into the West End and the East End. The West End is famous for its beautiful avenues lined with plane trees, big stores, rich mansions, expensive restaurants, hotels, theatres and night clubs. The East End used to be a poor area filled with warehouses, factories, slums and miserable houses. Quite a lot of people lived from hand to mouth here. For the recent years this area including dockland has turned into a new housing development.

The heart of London is the City – its commercial and business centre. Here is situated the Tower of London that comes first among the historic buildings of the city. If you want to get some glimpses of London it’s just from here that you had better start sightseeing.

The Tower of London was founded by Julius Caesar and in 1066 rebuilt by William the Conqueror. It was used as a fortress, a royal residence and a prison. Now it is a museum of armour and also the place where the Crown Jewels are kept. In present days, just as many centuries ago, the Ceremony of the Keys takes place at its gates. Every night when the guard is changed at each gate there is the cry: “Halt! Who goes there?” Then the guard replies: “The Keys.” “Whose Keys?” “Queen Elizabeth’s Keys!” “Pass, Queen Elizabeth’s Keys! All’s well.” And so the Tower of London is safely closed for the night.

A twenty minutes’ walk from the Tower will take you to another historic building – St. Paul’s Cathedral, the greatest of English churches. It was built by a famous English architect, Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723). St. Paul’s Cathedral with its huge dome and rows of columns is considered to be a fine specimen of Renaissance architecture. In one of its towers hangs one of the largest bells in the world, Great Paul, weighing about 17.5 tons. Wellington, Nelson and other great men of England are buried in the Cathedral.

Nor far away, in Westminster, where most of the Government buildings are situated, is Westminster Abbey. Many English sovereigns, outstanding statesmen, painters and poets (Newton, Darwin, and Tennyson among them) are buried here.

Across the road from Westminster Abbey is Westminster Palace, the seat of the British Parliament. Its two graceful towers stand high above the city. The higher of the two contains the largest clock in the country and the famous bell Big Ben that strikes every quarter of the hour.

If now we walk along Whitehall, we shall soon come to Trafalgar Square. It was so named in memory of the victory in the battle of Trafalgar, where on October 21, 1805 the English fleet under Nelson’s command defeated the combined fleet of France and Spain. The victory was won at the cost of Nelson’s life. In the middle of Trafalgar Square stands Nelson’s monument – a tall column with the figure of Nelson at its top. The column is guarded by four bronze lions.

The fine building facing the square is the National Gallery and adjoining it (but just round the corner) is the Portrait Gallery.

Not far away is the British Museum – the biggest Museum in London. 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.

And now, even if you have almost no time left for further sightseeing, you cannot leave the city without visiting Hyde Park or “the Park” as Londoners call it. When you are walking along its shady avenues, sitting on the grass, admiring its beautiful flower-beds or watching swans and ducks floating on the ponds, it seems almost unbelievable that all around there is a large city with its heavy traffic and smoke.

Assignments after the text:

I

1. Say everything you know about

a) the East End, the West End, the City, Westminster

b) the Tower

c) St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey

d) Westminster, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square

e) the British Museum and Hyde Park

2. Speak about London and its places of interest.

II

I know you have never been to London but you would like to go there

1. Say

a) what places of interest you will see when you have a chance to visit London

b) what you would see if you were in London now.

Exercise 2.

Sightseeing

— Is it possible to see anything of London in one or two days?

— Well, yes, but, of course, not half enough.

— What do you think I ought to see first?

— Well, if you are interested in churches and historic places you should go to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul’s and the Tower. Do you like art galleries?

— Rather!

— Then why not go to the National Gallery and the Tate?

— I’m told one ought to see the British Museum. Do you think I shall have time for that?

— Well, you might, but if I were you, I should leave that for some other day. You could spend a whole day there. It’s much too big to be seen in an hour or so.

— I suppose it is. What about going to the Zoo?

— That’s not a bad idea. You could spend a couple of hours there comfortably, or even a whole afternoon, watching the wild animals, birds and reptiles. You could have tea there too.

— I’ll do that, then. How do I get there?

— Let me see. I think your best way from here is to walk across Regent’s park.

— Is it much of a walk?

— Oh, no, a quarter of an hour or so, but, if you are in a hurry, why not take a taxi?

— I think I will. Ah, here’s one coming. Taxi! The Zoo, please.

(From “The Linguaphone English Course”)

Assignments after the text:

This is a talk between Jan, a foreign student at London University and Mr. Priestley, a teacher of English. Jan wants to know what are the places of interest in London which are worth seeing.

I

Say

a) what Jan is interested in

b) what Mr. Priestley tells him about

c) what a foreigner should see (visit) in London, if he doesn’t have much time

II

1. Learn the dialogue by heart and recite it.

2. How would the dialogue sound if Mr. Priestley were interested in Jan’s life experience and wanted to know if Jan has been to this or that place, or has heard something about them? Keep in mind that Jan has studied English before and has learned something about London and its places of interest. Enlarge the conversation.

Exercise 3.

Learn some more facts about the history of London

The Great Fire

In 1666 there was the Great Fire in London. A young and careless baker left a bundle of wood at night near a very hot oven. In a few hours big flames were seen along the narrow street. All the houses made of wood, soon were burning like paper. Small shops on the riverside caught fire at once, and from there – on to the houses of London bridge. The fire on the bridge destroyed the water wheel, so there was no more water to put the fire out and soon 3000 houses were in flames.

The rich were running away and trying to take their goods to the Thames. They threw them on the boats, some fell in the water. Poor people stayed in their houses until the fire touched them, then they ran to the river trying only to save their lives. The king ordered the houses around the fire to be pulled down. Many hundreds of houses were destroyed. Soon the wind changed, then stopped blowing, then a heavy rain fell. London—what was left of it – was saved.

The fire was so very important for Modern London, it cleared away the old and dirty houses. It cleared away the Plague for ever. And a new London, a London of stone, with wider streets and better houses was built.

London

A. In London today, there still stand numerous landmarks that remind us of the town as it was five or six hundred years ago. The old town that stood until the Great Fire of 1666 was surrounded by a wall. Inside the wall were streets lined with wooden houses. The houses were mostly one storey high. The houses had no numbers but signs to distinguish them from each other. The streets were roughly paved with stones. There was a ditch running down the centre to carry off the rain and the rubbish, that people were simply throwing out of the windows. Almost the whole of the town was contained in what is still known as the City.

B. Londoners like vegetation. Kew Gardens are famous Botanic Gardens and one of the loveliest places near London. They contain a rare collection of plants from all parts of the world. Some of them were brought to England by Captain Cook. He was a famous English traveller of the XVIII century. The museums, hot houses and numerous flower-beds are objects of great interest; the most important is the great Palm House containing a splendid collection of plants. Thousands of visitors go to Kew on bank holidays (general holidays on which all English banks are closed).

Exercise 4.

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