8. Listen to the text, divide it into communicative blocks, entitle them. After listening to the text twice answer the question: ‘Do the English Speak English?’ Additional Training

1. A). Listen to the text “a street in London” (l.L.C. 29). Practise reading it imitating the speaker’s intonation

A street in London

We're now in Oxford Circus, half-way along Oxford Street, one of the busiest streets in the West End of London, and that street over there is Regent Street, famous all over the world for its splendid shops. Near one of the street-corners you can see an entrance to the subway leading to the Underground Railway, or "Tube", as we call it. On both sides of the street there are shops, banks and restaurants. In the roadway there's a constant stream of cars, taxis, buses and lorries. In some parts of London there are trolley-buses and trams as well. The noise is deafening, but one soon gets used to it. The pavements are crowded with people, and it's dangerous to attempt to cross the road until the traffic is stopped, either by a policeman on duty or by the red traffic lights. In any case, before crossing the road, take care to look to your right, and when you reach the middle of the road, look to your left.

At night, the streets are lit by electricity, or in some districts, by gas. You can see the lamp-posts and standards on the pavements, and on the “island” in the middle of the road. The main streets are flooded with light from the brilliant shop-windows and the illuminated signs and advertisements, so that after dark everything looks as bright as in broad daylight.

b). Describe one of London streets. Try to mention its name, places of interest in this street.

c). Describe one of the streets in your native city. Don’t forget to use proper intonation patterns

2. Listen to the text “a Visit to London” (l.L.C. 31), discuss it with your group-mates. A visit to London

If you can stay only a few days in London, you won't have much time for your sightseeing; and how to spend your time to the best advantage is rather a problem. If I were you, I should make up my mind beforehand. It all depends on your tastes. You may, for instance, be interested in shops, or in art-galleries, or in museums, or you might prefer to start with the principal historical buildings and monuments.

In that case. you might begin in the West End and see the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbeys, Whitehall, and Nelson's Column. From there you could go along the Mall to Buckingham Palace and have a look at Queen Victoria's Memorial, facing the Palace. Then stroll up Constitution Hill to Hyde Park Corner and take a walk through the Park and Kensington Gardens to the Albert Memorial, which faces the Albert Hall. That's really more than enough for one day, but still, if you want to see more, you might get on top of a bus going towards the City.

The bus goes along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross, then along the Strand and Fleet Street to Ludgate Circus. There you might as well get off and walk up to St. Paul's Cathedral. After that. you could go further east, to the heart of the City, and see the Bank, the Mansion House and the Royal Exchange and then, if you had time and weren't too tired, you could go to the East End and see the Tower of London, Tower Bridge over the Thames, the Mint and the Monument.