London книга для чтения по страноведению

QUICK FACTS ABOUT

LONDON

• London

is

located in

the south-east

of England on

the

banks

of

the river Thames.

• London

is

the biggest city in Britain and Europe

and

also

the

world's ninth-largest city.

• London

occupies over 620 square miles.

• London

has a population of 7,556,900.

• About

12 per

cent of Britain's

overall

population live

in

London.

• London has the highest population density in Britain, with 4,699

people per square

kilometre.

• London

is the seat of the central government in Britain.

• London

was

the

first

city in

the

world to

have an underground

railway known

as

the

Tube.

• The tallest

building in

London

is

the

Canary

Wharf

Tower which

is part of the London Docklands. It is

244 metres high.

• There are

100 theatres in London, including 50 in the West End.

THE

POPULATION

OF LONDON

London is the world's ninth-largest growing city with over 7 million

residents known as Londoners. It comprises 32 boroughs, of

which 13

are

«swallowing» many

villages

and

towns

in the

south-east of England.

Because of this, the

population

of

London

greatly

varies.

population

of

8,505,000.

The

age

structure

of people

living in

London

is not typical of

England

as

a

whole.

There is a

greater

proportion

of people aged

Almost

one

third(32%)

of Londoners

were born outside

the

UK. It

is around 2.3 million people.

People have come from all parts of the world to live in the British

capital.

They

have brought

with

them

different ways

of

living and

cultures.

There are more than 270 nationalities living in London. Many have

family

roots

in

Africa and

India,

formerly governed

by

the

British

Empire. This

gives

London

the largest non-white population of any

European city

and makes it so cosmopolitan.

Over 250 languages are spoken in London making it the most

linguistically diverse

city in the

world.

7. What makes London a

cosmopolitan city?

8. How many languages are spoken in the British capital?

THE HISTORY OF LONDON

The

Romans

London's history spans

nearly

2,000

years,

beginning

with

the

arrival of the Romans soon

after their invasion of Britain

in AD 43,

though people have lived in the London area

for more than 5,000 years,

but there used to be forests and marshes instead of a city.

London itself was begun by the Romans in AD 43. They called it

Londinium. First, the

Romans

landed in the area of Kent, made

their way

to the river Thames

and sailed up

it. They

knew

it was important

to

settlement

on the north bank. They chose

a spot in two small hills and

where

the

river became narrower, built a

bridge over the Thames, and

there

has

been London Bridge in the same

area ever since.

The

Romans laid out

buildings, streets and a

port. Very

soon the

settlement

of Londinium became the capital of Roman Britain. The

population of Roman

London

was between 12,000 and 20,000.

In AD 61 one

of the

native tribes rose up

against the

Romans.

around the city to protect it from

further invasion.

The Romans

ruled

Britain until AD 410.

The

Saxons and

the Vikings

Later, in the 5th

century,

the Anglo-Saxons settled west of

Londinium

and set

up

the

town of

Lundenwic.

Saxon London consisted

of many wooden huts with thatched roofs.

A disaster struck London in 842 when the Danish Vikings looted

London. They returned in 851 and

this time burnt

a large

part

of the

town.

The Saxon King, Alfred the

Great, totally defeated the Danes in

878 and they divided the country

between them. Alfred took the south

and the west while

the

Danes took

eastern England including

London.

The

Vikings

and

the

Saxons ruled England

jointly until

1042,

when

Edward

the Confessor became King of both the Vikings and the Saxons.

Edward the Confessor built a wooden palace at Westminster which

became

the

seat

of the

country's

government

not the city

of

London

itself. Edward also built Westminster Abbey.

The Norman Period of London

After Edward the Confessor's death in 1066 England

was conquered

by the

Normans.

The Norman

army

was led

by

William,

Duke

of

Normandy, who

then

became

King

of England, known as William the Conqueror. He ruled

the

country

until

1100 and was the

first to

be

crowned

in

Westminster

Abbey.

William granted the citizens of

London

special

privileges,

but built

the Tower of London to

keep them under control. He

began

the

building

of the

Palace of

Westminster. Westminster became the seat of the royal

court and government while the City

of

London

was

the

centre

of trade

and

commerce. In

1100 the population

of

London

was

around

18,000.

Tudor London

London grew in importance under the Tudor rule (1485-1603).

Henry

VII and Henry VIII were the first Tudor kings.

Tudor

was

their family name.

London

became the centre of trade and government

and

by the

end

of the Tudor era there were about 200,000 people living there.

King Henry VIII created palaces such as St. James's. He

is

also

famous for closing the city monasteries in 1536.

During

the reign of his daughter, Elizabeth I,

London

was a

wealthy

and

successful city. Theatre became popular, helped by

the

arrival

of William Shakespeare. The most famous theatre in London,

the

Globe,

was set up by him.

The river Thames was very important in the

Tudor

times

as

Britain's

navy

was

expanded. Dockyards were built and

the

ships were

sent to

explore

the

world.

The

first

Stuart King, James I came

to the throne in 1603. He was

already King

James VI of

Scotland.

He

united the

two countries under

one king.

In

1625

Charles II came to the throne.

In 1635 he opened Hyde

Park to the public and in 1637 created Richmond Park for hunting.

London

suffered two

disasters

in

later

Stuart

years. In 1665 the

Great Plague killed about 70,000 people.

The

bubonic

plague was brought

people lived in

very close quarters and hygiene standards were

very low.

In 1666

the Great

Fire

of London destroyed two thirds of the City.

The fire could be seen

from

forty miles

round the capital. It started as a

small fire and raged for

four days as an

enormous fire.

To prevent such a

disaster happening again King Charles

II ordered

Georgian

London

(1714—1837)

In

1714,

George I became king. He began the line of kings and

queens called the Hanovers who ruled Britain until 1837.

London

quickly grew

in size and population during the Georgian

era. In

1801

the population

reached

about one million. Merchants and

In 1837, Victoria became Queen at

the age of 18.

The

time

when

she was Queen is called the Victorian era.

London was busy with trade and industry and it grew fast. Better

lighting,

water supply and

transport developed too. By the time

Victoria

died in

1901, London was a very different city.

During the reign of Victoria London expanded enormously. Many of

the

buildings

today

were

built in the Victorian

times. The most

famous

is

probably

the Houses

of

Parliament

built

in

1834

after

fire

had

destroyed the

original

buildings.

By the 1840's gas lights were used to light streets all over London.

There

were

also horse-drawn buses and then horse-drawn trams. The

world's

first

underground

railway, the Tube, opened in 1862.

At

first

carriages

were

pulled

by steam

trains. The

system

was

electrified

in

1890 —

1905.

DISTRICTS OF LONDON

Now London

consists of several parts. But

originally

it was made

up of two ancient cities joined

together: the

City

of

London

and the

City

of Westminster.

The

City

of

London

The City

of

London,

known

simply as «the

City»,

is

the

business

and

financial

heart

of the United Kingdom. It

is

also

known

as

the

Square Mile because it occupies the territory equal

to one square mile. It

was

the

original

Roman

settlement — ancient

Londinium.

The City

of

London

is

one

of

the

major

banking

centres

of

the

world

and

banks

of

many

nations

can

be

found

in

the

famous

Threadneedle

Street

and the surrounding area. Here, too, you will find the

Bank of England and the Stock Exchange.

The centre of the country's judicial system

is

to be

found in

the

western

part

of

the

City.

Fleet

Street

is famous as

the home of the nation's newspapers but,

in fact, only two of them -

«The Daily Express» and «The Daily

Telegraph»

- are still

in

Fleet

Street.

However,

people

still

say

«Fleet

Street» to mean «the press».

Hundreds

of

thousands of

people work in the City's offices by day,

but it is almost deserted at night.

There

are

some

historic

buildings

in the

City.

St. Paul's

Cathedral

and the

Tower

of

London are

the most famous of them.

The City of

Westminster

Westminster

is

associated

with

Parliament

and

government

as

the

British Parliament and most of

the government offices are located there.

It was King Edward the

Confessor who first decided to build a

palace,

later known

as

the

Palace of Westminster, beside the river

Thames

in

the

11th century. His

successors extended the palace

and

made

it their

main

residence.

Gradually,

Westminster

became

the

centre

of

flying over it whenever Parliament is in

session.

In the north rises the

famous Clock Tower, called Big Ben.

In fact,

this name

does not

originally refer to the Clock Tower, but to

the big clock bell inside. The

clock

is so

huge

that its

hands are

as tall

as a double-decker bus and it

is still wound by hand. The House of

Lords sits to the side of the

Victoria Tower, while the House of Commons — to the side of

the

Clock

Tower.

Opposite the Houses of Parliament

there

is

Westminster

Abbey.

Since the Norman times British monarchs

have been crowned there and

since

the 13th century they

have

been buried there

too. Many

famous

people

are

also

buried

in

Westminster

Abbey

including

statesmen,

found

statues and

tombs

of poets including Geoffrey Chaucer, Robert

Burns, Lord Byron, George Eliot, Rudyard Kipling, William Wordsworth,

Charles

Dickens and

many

others.

the front of Buckingham Palace

is the Mall, a wide tree-lined avenue

designed for royal processions on

different important occasions.

The street called Whitehall stretches from Parliament Square

to

Trafalgar Square. In Whitehall there are all the important ministries:

the

Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office

and

the

Treasury.

Off

Whitehall there is

a small side street, Downing

Street,

which

is

the home

of the

Prime

Minister, who lives in

House Number 10.

The

West End

The

West

End is

the

name

given to

the area of

central

London

shopping

areas

of

Oxford

Street, Regent

Street

and

Bond Street. Also

there are entertainment centres of Soho, Picadilly

Circus,

Leicester

Square

and Covent Garden.

Soho and Covent Garden are lively areas

with

a

huge variety of

shops, restaurants,

cafes, bars.

Further west there are residential districts broken by spots of green

parkland,

such

as

Hyde

Park, Kensington

Gardens

and

Regent's

Park.

Kensington,

Knightsbridge

and Chelsea are the

most expensive

places to live in

the country. In

the area of Kensington

and Knightsbridge

People say you

can buy anything in Harrods, including wild animals —

they even have a zoo which will sell you

lion cubs as well as more

common pets, such

as dogs, cats or parrots.

Once, Harrods succeeded in

matches take place there too.

London's three very interesting

museums — the

Victoria

and

Albert,

the Science Museum and the Natural

History Museum — are

also

in

this

district.

Most of London's major theatres are located

in the West

End

as

well.

The East

End

The

East End was formerly the

centre of London's heavy industry

and

docks. It grew with the spread of

industries to the east of the City.

It

covers

a wide area. There are

kilometres of docks, wharfs and

popular among Londoners and tourists as a thriving and

vibrant area with

a wide range of shops, restaurants, pubs and wine bars.

The East End is not attractive in appearance, but very

important for

the country's commerce. Moreover, it is one of those

areas of

London

where people from abroad come to find work. Some

of

these

people

brought new skills and started new industries. Now one

of

the industries

bells of the Church of St. Mary Le Bow.

Cockneys have a specific East

London language whose vocabulary and

pronunciation are unlike any

replaced by a phrase or a person's name which

rhymes

with

it. For

example, instead of

saying, «I don't believe it» a

cockney person

might

say, «I don't Adam and Eve it».

Here are some more examples of rhyming slang:

wife — trouble

and

strife

stairs — apples

and

pears

head — loaf of

bread

house — Mickey Mouse

mum — finger and

thumb

bread — Uncle

Ned

wine — rise and shine

water — fisherman's

daughter

The cockney language

can be

traced back to

the early

19th century.

It was used to hide

the true

meaning

of discussions

from the

police.