I. Consult a dictionary, transcribe and give the Ukrainian equivalents of the following words:

a) pay attention to the reading rules of qu:

equal, acquaint, quite, quiet, quickly, quarter, square, question, quake, quest;

b) three forms of the irregular verb:

a) to strike, to stick, to sleep, to spread, to sing;

II. Match synonyms from 1) and 2):

1. a memorial, to stroll, a sight, a tour, to take part, ordinary, to guard, distinguished, willingly, to design, prosperous, to be surprised, a short way from, royal, fascinating;

2. to participate, to project, with pleasure, to walk, an attraction, common, successful, not far from, to protect, to be amazed, sovereign, a trip, a monument, well-known, enchanting.

III. A) Read the text “London – the Capital of the United Kingdom” and translate it into Ukrainian;

b) learn the topical vocabulary:

a prosperous trading centre – процвітаючий торговий центр

fascinating buildings – чарівні, чудові будівлі

a glimpse of the sights – короткий погляд, дещо про визначні місця

to commemorate the victory – ознаменувати, увіковічнити перемогу

to be fatally wounded – бути смертельно пораненим

the middle of the road – на півдорозі

Cenotaph – меморіал загиблим воїнам

to have a sitting – засідати

the most colourful and stirring ceremony – найбільш яскрава та хвилююча церемонія

headquarters – штаб-квартира

to be designed – бути спроектованим

to guard the approaches – охороняти підступи

London – the Capital of the United Kingdom

As well as being the capital of England, London is the capital and the main centre of communication of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In the eighteenth century, Dr. Samuel Johnson, a great man of letters, said: «A man who is tired of London is tired of life». This sentence is still true. It has the population of about 9 million and is one of the world's three largest cities (after Tokyo and New York). London is a great political centre, a great commercial centre, a paradise for theatre goers and shoppers, but it is also a very quiet place with its parks and its ancient buildings, and a capital of culture with its museums and libraries.

2,000 years ago the Romans founded a settlement on the River Thames. They called it Londinium. London became a prosperous trading centre during Middle Ages. Since that time it has continued to grow in size and prosperity. As a result of its long and exciting history, London offers its guests a rich store of fascinating buildings, streets, monuments and unique ceremonies.

Let us stroll through London and get a glimpse of its sights. We will start our tour from Trafalgar square, London's geographical centre. It was established in the early 19^th century to commemorate the naval victory of Britain, in which Admiral Lord Nelson took part and was fatally wounded. The Nelson Column with the statue of Admiral Nelson on the top is 185 ft high. At the base of it you can see four bronze lions which are guarding the Column. In the north of Trafalgar Square, there is the National Gallery which exhibits all schools of European painting from the 13^th to the 19^th century and includes works by Van Dyck, Rubens, Leonardo da Vinci, Goya, El Greco, and Rembrandt.

Not far from Trafalgar Square, there is a quiet little street with quite ordinary houses. So you may be surprised to see a policeman who is standing at one of the houses. It is Downing Street and for the last 200 years at Number 10 each Prime Minister of England has lived there.

Downing Street leads to Whitehall. There was a palace here once, where from the 12^th to the 16^th century the English kings and queens resided. Now it is just a street of governmental offices. Here, in the middle of the road, there is simple but impressive Cenotaph, the memorial to the men who died in the two World Wars.

Walking a little further we come to Parliament Square; Westminster Abbey is on one side, the Houses of Parlia­ment on the other.

The building of the Houses of Parliament is not old; it dates only from the 19^th century, and is in the Gothic style. When the Parliament has a sitting a flag flies from the Victoria Tower. It is Union Jack — the national flag of the United Kingdom. Another tower, the Clock Tower, is famous for the hour bell and the clock named “Big Ben”.

Not far from the Houses of Parliament, there is one of the most beautiful and distinguished of all English buildings - Westminster Аbbey, founded in the 11^th century. There are many tombstones, monuments and statues here. For nearly 1,000 years all the kings and queens of England — 41 in all - have been crowned here and many of them are buried here too. Here is the Poets’ Corner where many of Britain's greatest poets and writers are buried: Chaucer, Johnson, Dickens, Hardy, Kipling etc. You can see memorials to Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, Walter Scott and Thackeray as well.

From Westminster Abbey we can walk along one side of St. James Park to Buckingham Palace — the Royal residence. The vast house is comparatively new, has no style and quite uninteresting. However, great importance is still attached by the British to this place. Here we can see one of the most colourful and stirring of all London ceremonies, the Changing of the Guard. The ceremony starts at 11.30 a.m. and lasts nearly 30 minutes. It is performed by the Guards who guard the Palace. They are dressed in their full ceremonial costumes of scarlet tunics and tall bearskin hats.

All the principal streets of London lead to the heart of the City, the financial and business centre of Great Britain. The City is about one square mile in area and only a few thousand people live there. But by day many people swarm its streets and offices. There is the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and the headquarters of many of the richest companies and corporations in the world.

The City's greatest monument and one of the finest Renaissance cathedrals in Europe is St. Paul's Cathedral. It was designed by Christopher Wren, a famous English architect, and took nearly thirty-five years to build, being finished in 1710. Running round the interior of the dome is the famous Whispering Gallery. It is called so because you can clearly hear a whisper made by someone who is standing on the opposite side of the gallery.

The Tower of London does not belong to the City, though it stood there for almost nine hundred years. It is more connected with the royal dynasties, than with the world of business. It was originally built as a fortress to guard the river approaches to London. Later it served as a palace, a prison, a treasury and an observatory. Now it is a museum, and the Yeomen Warders who are ex-servicemen willingly show visitors the main places of interest.

Here in the City we will finish our tour of London though there are many other places also worth visiting.

Exercises to the topic.