TEXT 3. From the History of the Capital of Great Britain

 

Here are some words about the capital of England’s past. In 55 B.C. (Before Christ – до нашей эры) the Romans under Julius Caesar came to the British Isles and found a Celtic village Llyn-din on the bank of the river Thames.

The Romans started calling Llyn-din in their own way – Londinium. The greater part of goods that were sent to Rome from Britain went through Londinium. Because of its good position for navigation and defence Londinium became a rich city and the main trade centre of the country. The City, the business centre of modern London, is situated in the very place where Londinium had been.

The Romans stayed in Britain for four hundred years. After they left it in the fifth century, other people came from the continent. They were the Angles and Saxons.

The Angles and Saxons managed to occupy that part of the island which was the nearest to the continent and drove the Britons away to the north and to the west of the island. In time people started calling the southern part of the island England that means the land of the Angles.

In 1066, the Normans came from the north of France. They were met near Hastings [ ] by the Anglo-Saxons who fought bravely against the newcomers, but lost. The country was occupied by the Normans; and the life of the English people became rather hard. To guard themselves, since they were afraid of the Anglo-Saxons the Norman kings built a large fortress on the banks of the Thames - the Tower. Now it is a museum. If you go to London, you will see the famous Tower of London, which is by now almost nine hundred years old.

As time went on London developed into an important industrial and trading centre and one of the largest cities of the world. Today one of the most famous buildings in London is the Houses of Parliament. It is an impressive building with two tall towers, one of which is a clock tower with a bell called Big Ben. The clock in the Houses of Parliament tower is the main clock of Great Britain.

Among the squares the best known ones are Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. With its tall column to Admiral Nelson rising high above it, the Trafalgar Square has become the place where meetings the British workers, the fighters for peace are held, while the busiest square in London is the

Piccadilly Circus with the statue of Eros, the god of love, in the middle. It is interesting to note that the statue of Eros was made of aluminium when aluminium was thought to be a rare metal.

There are many interesting places in England and in London, its capital, but it is impossible to speak about them all. I think that some day you will read more about them or maybe even enjoy seeing them yourselves.

 

Переведите предложения, обращая внимание на выделенные предлоги

 

1 The Romans started calling Llyn-din in their own way. 2 The Tower is by now almost 900 years old. 3 The greater part of goods that were sent to Rome from Britain went through Londinium. 4 The statue is made of aluminium. 5 The tall column to Admiral Nelson is in Trafalgar Square. 6 The Romans stayed in Britain for four hundred years. 7 They left it in the fifth century.

 

Скажите, соответствуют ли данные утверждения действительности, употребив модели

 

This statement is right (wrong); I can’t agree with this;

 

1 The Norman Kings built a large fortress – the Tower because they loved Anglo-Saxons. 2 The Romans started calling Llyn-din in their own way – Londinium. 3 The Angles and the Saxons drove the Britons away to the south of the continent. 4 In 1066 the Normans came from Russia. 5 The Anglo-Saxons won the victory near Hastings. 6 The Tower of London is by now about four hundred years old. 7 Trafalgar Square has become the place where meeting of the English workers are held.

 

Прочтите и переведите предложения

 

1 Occupying Great Britain, the Romans started calling Llyn-din Londinium. 2 The building of the Tower took many years. 3 Men guarding the Tower nowadays are called beefeaters (лейбгвардеец; страж в Тауэре). 4 He followed us driving his own car. 5 I don’t like dealing with people who like directing but not working. 6 We are certain of reach the place in time.

 

Прочтите предложения, выберите подходящее по смыслу слово и переведите предложения

 

1 Great Britain was (discovered, explored, searching, occupied) by the Romans in the first-century AD (Anno Domini [ ] – лат. нашей эры). 2 The little village was changed into a rich city because of its (excellent, opposite, good, mysterious) position. 3 The Britons were (pushed, pulled, driven, mentioned) away to the north by the Anglo-Saxons. 4 The fight was lost by the

Anglo-Saxons, and now everything (passed, belonged, reasoned, rose) to the Normans. 5 The meeting of workers are usually held in this (useful, heavy, spacious, rare) square.

 

1.17 Прочтите текст 4 “London”

 

a a) Скажите, о каких достопримечательностях говорится в тексте.

b) Выпишите их названия.

 

Text 4. London

 

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and commercial centre. It is one of the biggest and busiest ports of Great Britain. It is situated on both sides of the Thames, which is navigable, all the years round.

London is a very old city. It is more than twenty centuries old. London consists of many parts and they are very different from each other. They seem to belong to different towns and epochs.

The West End is a symbol of wealth and luxury. The best and the most expensive hotels, restaurants, clubs, theatres, cinemas, and the richest shops are there. There are beautiful houses and lovely gardens there belonging to wealthy people.

Trafalgar Square is in the geographical centre of London. It was so named to commemorate Admiral Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. The monument in the centre of the square is surmounted with a statue of Nelson. Its pedestal is decorated with bas-reliefs of famous naval battles. At the base of Nelson’s column are four great lions. The large platform at the foot is often used by the orators when there are large meetings and demonstrations.

On the north side of Trafalgar Square is the National Gallery, an art gallery housing the national collection of pictures, and the National Portrait Gallery housing the national collection of portraits, a great number of them being rather of historical interest than of genuine artistic value.

Whitehall, which leads out of the Square to the South, is the site of many Government offices, the Foreign Office, the War Office, and the Treasury.

A small, rather dull-looking street with ordinary houses branches of Whitehall. It is Downing Street where for the last 200 years at Number 10 each Prime Minister has lived.

At the end of Whitehall is Parliament Square with the Houses of Parliament on the left and Westminster Abbey half right (on the right).

Big Ben is the name given to the clock and bell of the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament.

Westminster Abbey is famous for its architecture, for its historic associations. Westminster Abbey has its world famous Poet’s Corner where many of the greatest English Writers are buried: Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Tennyson, Thomas Hardy and Rudyard Kipling. Here, too, are memorials to Shakespeare,

Burns, Byron, Walter Scott, and Thackeray and to the great American poet Longfellow.

The City is the oldest part of London. It covers only about a square mile and few people live there, but over a million people enter the City in the day-time to work.

At the end of the day the businessmen, clerks and secretaries go home and the City becomes silent and empty. The City is the financial and business part of London. Numerous banks, officers and trusts are concentrated in this part. There are some famous ancient buildings with in the City, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, Wren’s masterpiece, and the Tower of London which was built nine centuries ago and used as a royal place, a fortress and a political prison. Now it is a museum.

The East End is the poorest district of London. There are many factories, workshops and docks there. The streets are narrow, the houses are poor. It is a densely populated district where working-class families live.

London is the centre of Britain’s cultural life. There are many museums and art galleries in London: The National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the Natural History Museum and many others. The British Museum is well-known as one of the largest museums in the world. It is really a history museum in the world. It is really a history museum. One can see there Egyptian statues, sphinxes, mummies, Roman sculpture, drawings and paintings. The museum has a rich library with copies of rare manuscripts.

Near the British Museum you can see the tall, handsome building of the University of London. It is the main building of the University. London University is divided into a number of colleges and schools scattered about in different parts of London. London University is the principal centre of post-graduate studies and research work.