Proper Names

The Strand

Trafalgar Square

Whitehall

Westminster Abbey

Picadilly

Houses of Parliament

Big Ben

Pitt Square

London

It was a fine afternoon and it was the last week in September. Rose turned into the Strand and walked slowly toward Trafalgar Square, where the crimson buses went roaring round and round the immense column. After waiting for a break in the traffic she slipped across and made for Whitehall. A lot of importance in weathered grey stone all down there. Prime Ministers and all that. Rose didn’t care about them much. Politics were still to her something men argued about.

She wandered on. There was the river, very broad, an oily look about it. Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey. Quite empty little streets and places round there. The buildings of Whitehall which she had just seen suddenly appeared in the smoky-gold distance like white fairy palaces. She came to some broad roads where cars were hurrying along negotiated the crossings carefully and landed herself in another park. At the top of this park was an important, crowded, gear-grinding street. Piccadilly – fancy! And there almost at once as if by magic she found a familiar bus, Number 19, which would take her quite close to Pitt Square.

(From: The Walk in the City by J. B. Priestly. Adapted)

3. Find in the text English equivalents:

Ярко-красные автобусы; дождавшись, когда поток машин остановится; потемневший от времени и непогоды серый камень; там была река, казавшаяся очень широкой, с пятнами бензина; неожиданно появились вдали в золотистой дымке, как белые сказочные дворцы; оказалась в другом парке; большая многолюдная улица.

4. Complete these sentences. Refer to the text if necessary.

1. Rose … into the Strand and walked slowly … Trafalgar Square, where the crimson buses went … and … the immense … .

2. She did not … about them much. Politics were still to her something … … … .

3. There was the river very … an oily look … … .

4. And the buildings of Whitehall which she had just seen, suddenly appeared in the smoky-gold distance like white … .

5. At the top of this park was an important … … street.

5. a) Remember what nouns these adjectives describe in the text:

fine immense oily crimson

weathered smoke-gold gear-grinding familiar

broad fairy crowded

b) Make a brief description of any place using adjectives above.

6. Match the words with their definitions:

crimson huge, very big;

immense marked by the weather;

weathered deep red colour;

negotiate to overcome difficulties.

7. Match the place names with their definitions:

The Strand Trafalgar Square Houses of Parliament Whitehall Big Ben Westminster Abbey Piccadilly

the memorial to the dead of the two world wars in London; a well-known street in central London; the seat of the British government; a church in London founded in 1065; a square in London containing a monument to Admiral Nelson; the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London; a main thoroughfare in Central London.

8. a) Read the definitions of the words town and city.

City (n)

1. Large and important town; given special rights in self-government; the York.

2. City – the oldest part of London, now the commercial and financial centre.

3. People living in a city.

Town (n)

1. Centre of population larger than a village, esp. one that has not been created a city ( and often used in contrast to country).

2. The business, shopping, etc. part of a town (contrasted with the suburbs, etc.).

3. The chief city or town in the neighborhood (esp. in London).

4. The people of a town.

b) Fill in the blanks with town or city. Note that in a few cases both words are possible.

1. What … do you come from?

2. There was no doctor in the village, so he had to cycle to the nearest … .

3. Most banks have their head offices in the … (of London).

4. St. Petersburg is a very beautiful … .

5. We had lunch in … and then went to the cinema.

6. We went on a tour of the old … .

7. Will we go to … tomorrow?

8. Do they live in New York …?

9. Vienna is the capital … of Austria.

10. We visited the ancient … of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.

9. Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions about Rose and her walk in London your partner.

Model: When Rose came to London. – When did Rose come to London?

1. If it was the last week in September;

2. What places in London she saw;

3. What Whitehall is famous for;

4. Where she found a familiar bus;

5. Where Rose stayed at London.

10. Here are ten of the places most popular with foreign visitors to London. Read the information about them. And now you have to choose only three places because you haven’t got much time for sightseeing. What is your choice and why?

• Tower of London: famous for the Crown Jewels (crowns, diamonds, etc. of the Royal Family), prisons, arms (guns, swords, etc.) and the “Beefeaters” – the guards of the Tower.

• Wesminster Abbey: church where Elizabeth II and those before her became kings and queens of England – many famous people are buried there.

• Houses of Parliament: centre of British government – famous clock “Big Ben”.

• St. Paul’s Cathedral: Christopher Wren’s great church.

• Trafalgar Square: famous meeting place for crowds at the time of important national events, on the last day of the year – and to feed the birds.

• Piccadilly Circus: centre of one of London’s busiest districts for shopping, theatres and cinemas.

• National Gallery: more than 2,000 British and European paintings, mainly from the 15^th to 19^th centuries.

• Buckingham Palace: home of the Royal Family – visitors can watch the Changing of the Guard in front.

11. Do you know what museums you can visit in York? What can you see in the newest of York’s museums? Which is the most important church in the North of England? Read the text to find the answers.