Answer the questions.

1. What part does London play in the life of the United Kingdom?

2. What are the most famous ancient buildings of London?

3. What are different districts of London famous for?

4. Why do some districts of London stay alive at night?

5. What does London have except concrete buildings?

6. Where do many people live?

7. When was London found?

8. What was its ancient name?

9. What are the main parts of London?

10. How do Londoners call the underground?

Exercise 1. Choose the necessary words from the box and put them in the sentences below:

Roman town, to stay alive, night clubs, the West End, ports, to be full of, office buildings, cities, pubs, the East End, suburbs, restaurants, the Tower of London.

1. London is one of the most important … and one of the largest … in the world.

2. One of the most famous of ancient buildings is … .

3. Once London was a small … on the north bank of the Thames.

4. … is a rich man's world of shops, offices and theatres.

5. … is the district where mostly working people live.

6. There are now new … in Docklands.

7. The West End …, because this is where Londoners come to enjoy themselves.

8. In nearby Soho the …, … and … are busy half the night.

9. London also has many big parks, … trees, flowers and grass.

10. Many people live outside the centre of London in the … .

Exercise 2. Are the following sentences true or false? Give your arguments.

1. London is the capital of the United States.

2. London has a population of about 11 million people.

3. London is one of the largest city in the world.

4. Most visitors want to see the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace.

5. Once London was a small Roman town on the north bank of the Mississippi.

6. The City of London isn’t the district where most offices and banks are concentrated.

7. The new port area is now called “Docklands”.

8. London has only streets and concrete buildings.

9. There are two opera houses, several concert halls and many theatres in the East End.

10. Many people live outside the centre of London in the suburbs, and they travel to work in shops and offices by cars.

Exercise 3. Finish the following sentences.

1. London has the population of …

2. London is situated on …

3. As result of its long history, London offers ...

4. London consists of …

5. The business and commercial heart of London is …

6. In the centre of the City there is …

7. The finest part of London is …

8. Now London is one …. …. …. .

9. In A.D. 43 the town’s name … … .

10. The official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II is … … .

Exercise 4. Put special questions to the following sentences.

1. It has the population of about 12 million people.

2. The City is about one square mile in area.

3. The finest part of London is the West End.

4. In the evening before Christmas people like to come to Trafalgar Square to look at the tree.

5. The British Museum is one of the largest museums in the world.

6. The official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II is Buckingham Palace.

Exercise 5. Use the articles where necessary.

1. London is…capital…of England and…United Kingdom.

2. London is situated on…Thames.

3. London consists of…West End,…City and…East End.

4. London became…prosperous trading centre during…Middle Ages.

5. …Hyde Park is really…National London Park.

6. Every year there is…very big Christmas tree in…Trafalgar Square.

7. There is…wonderful art gallery in…British Museum.

8. …Union flag is flown when… Queen is away from home.

Exercise 6. Translate the sentences from Russian into English.

1. Лондон - экономический, политический и культурный центр, один из крупнейших портов страны и один из крупнейших городов в мире.

2. Самые знаменитые древние здания - Лондонский Тауер, Вестмин­стерское аббатство, собор Святого Павла, Парламент, Букингемский дворец.

3. Лондон был небольшим римским городом.

4. Вест-Энд - район магазинов, офисов и театров, район богатых людей.

5. В Сити сконцентрированы банки, офисы, в том числе Лондонская биржа и Банк Англии.

6. В Ист-Энде живут рабочие.

7. В Докланде, бывшем районе портов, сейчас много новых офисов.

8. В Вест-Энд лондонцы приезжают развлекаться.

9. В соседнем Сохо жизнь идет и ночью.

10. В древние времена Лондон назывался Лондиниум.

Exercise 7. Discuss the following problems in the group.

1. Traffic jam in London’s City is a real problem.

2. Smart Londoner doesn’t feed pigeons. Why?

Exercise 8. Speak on the topic “London is the capital of the UK”.

Exercise 9. Learn the following words and word combinations and use them in your dialogues.

What happened?	Что случилось?
ticket	билет
sight	достопримечательность
Trafalgar Square	Трафальгарская площадь
Albert Memorial	Мемориал принца Альберта
Royal Albert Hall	Лондонский королевский зал искусств и наук имени Альберта
National Gallery	Национальная галерея
Kensington Gardens	Кенсингтонский сад
Regent's Park	Риджентс-парк
at the western edge	на западной окраине
something special	что-нибудь особенное
London Aquarium	Лондонский аквариум
The London Eye	Колесо обозрения
above the ground	над землей
number one visitor attraction	самое привлекательное место
double-decker buses	двухэтажные автобусы
fortress ['fo:trıs]	крепость
prison	тюрьма
gallows ['gælouz]	виселица
Dear me!	Боже мой!
Just think!	Только подумайте!
to be jealous of	завидовать кому-либо
It’s common knowledge	Это общеизвестно
a weird legend	таинственная легенда
unique item	что-то особенное
six ravens	шесть во́ронов

Exercise 10. Read, translate and dramatize the dialogues.

Dialogue 1

A: Hello, my friend! How are you?

B: I'm great!

A: Really? What happened?

B: I decided to visit London!

A: Oh, my God! It's cool! I know that it's city of your blue dream!

B: Yes. I'm so happy. My parents bought tickets for me and my brother.

A: You are a lucky girl.

B: I know. It is the largest and most populated city in the United Kingdom and the European Union.

A: What sights do you want to see?

B: Trafalgar Square, Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall, the National Gallery and others.

A: I know that there are many parks in this city.

B: Yes! The largest parks in the central area of London are the Royal Parks or Hyde Park, its neighbor Kensington Gardens at the western edge of central London and Regent's Park on the northern edge.

A: I'm so happy for you! You should take many photos!

B: Yes. I will buy something special for you in London!

A: Thanks! Good luck!

Dialogue 2

A: Hi, John! How are you? What are you doing now?

B: Hi! I dream about my trip to London. It is my favorite city!

A: WOW! Why do you like this city?

B: Oh, Michael, how can’t like it? It is wonderful city! There is amazing place, interesting people, nice weather and beautiful nature.

A: Can you tell me about some interesting places?

B: I want to tell you about London Aquarium. There are more than 100 types of fish. Visitors can even touch crabs and sea stars.

A: What is your favorite place?

B: My favorite place is The London Eye. It is Ferris Wheel. It is the tallest wheel in the world. When you are there you can see great landscape, because it is 135 meters above the ground.

A: Have you been there? Is it London’s number one visitor attraction?

B: Yes, I have been there. I go to London every year.

Dialogue 3

A: You’re going to London for the first time?

B: Yes, I always wanted to visit this city.

A: I think there’s a lot of interest.

B: Of course. I hope I’ll see all I’ve read and heard about London.

A: What do you want to visit in London?

B: There are so many places I’d like to see! But I’d like to start with the Tower of London.

A: Why so?

B: I’ve heard it’s a great story. Over the years it has been fortress-stronghold, royal residence and, most famously, prison and gallows.

A: Prisons and gallows? Dear me!

B: That isn’t all! … I’ve heard a weird legend about six ravens living in the Tower.

A: As for me I’ve heard today the Tower of London houses the crown jewels.

B: Surely! It’s common knowledge! They say the Tower is home to six ravens. It is said that if the ravens leave the Tower, the Kingdom will fall…

A: Just think! It’s a really a weird legend!

B: And what unusual thing can you see in London?

A: Of course red booths and double-decker buses are the unique London items. I’m going on a trip on a double-decker bus and I hope I’ll see great deal of sights from its top.

B: Wow! I’m a little bit jealous of you! But I think you’ll get a lot of pleasure! Good luck!

Exercise 11. Read, memorize, and act out the dialogues with your partner.