1. Learn new words.

to adjoin	[ə′džoin]	межувати
to arrange	[ə′reindž]	організовувати
cannon	[′kænən]	гармата
climax	[′klaimæks]	кульмінація
to commemorate	[kə′meməreit]	святкувати, відзначати
commissioned	[kə′miÐənd]	підготовлений
desirability	[di,zaiərəbiliti]	бажання
to encourage	[in′kšridž]	заохочувати
equestrian	[i′kwestriən]	кінний
hazard	[′hæzəd]	ризик, небезпека
insufficient	[,insə′fiÐənt]	недостатній
to intend	[in′tend]	призначати
pigeon	[′pidžin]	голуб
plinth	[plinθ]	постамент
to recycle	[′ri:′saikl]	переробити
spot	[spot]	місце
stunt	[stšnt]	виступ
to surround	[sə′raund]	оточувати

2. Listen to the text, read, translate and retell it. Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is a square in central London that commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been “King William the Fourth’s Square”, but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name “Trafalgar Square”.

The square consists of a large central area surrounded by roadways on three sides, and stairs leading to the National Gallery on the other.

Nelson’s Column is in the centre of the square, surrounded by fountains designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1939 and four huge bronze lions sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer; the metal used is said to have been recycled from the cannon of the French fleet. The column is topped by a statue of Lord Nelson, the admiral who commanded the British Fleet at Trafalgar.

On the north side of the square is the National Gallery and to its east the St Martin’s-in-the-Fields church. The square adjoins the Mall via Admiralty Arch to the southwest. To the south is Whitehall, to the east Strand and South Africa House, to the north Charing Cross Road and on the west side is Canada House.

At the corners of the square are four plinths; the two northern ones were intended to be used for equestrian statues, and thus are wider than the two southern. Three of them hold statues: George IV, Henry Havelock, and Sir Charles James Napier.

The fourth plinth

The fourth plinth on the northwest corner was intended to hold a statue of William IV, but remained empty due to insufficient funds. Later, agreement could not be reached over which monarch or military hero to place there. The best use of the fourth plinth remains the subject of debate.

Various companies have used the plinth (often without permission) as a platform for publicity stunts, including a model of David Beckham by Madame Tussauds.

The new Greater London Authority recommended that the plinth should be used for an ongoing series of temporary works of art commissioned from leading national and international artists.