Topical Vocabulary

An economic, political and culture centre - экономический, политический и культурный центр

A suburb - пригород

To have a population of - иметь население (кол-во)

An ancient building - древнее здание

The crown jewels - королевские драгоценности

Changing of the Guards - смена караула

A magnificent museum - великолепный музей

A Roman town - римский город

On the north bank of the Thames - на северном берегу Темзы

One of the world’s major cities - один из крупнейших городов мира

An area of - район чего-либо

A rich man’s world of shops, offices and theatres - мир богатых – мир магазинов, офисов и театров

To be concentrated - быть сконцентрированным

The Royal Exchange - Лондонская биржа

The bank of England - Банк Англии

Working people - рабочий класс

A port area - портовый район

To be quiet and empty - быть тихим и пустынным

To stay alive - быть оживленным

To come to enjoy oneself - риходить отдыхать, развлекаться

An opera house- оперный театр

Nearby - близлежащий

A pub - кабочок, пивная

A concrete building - бетонное здание

To be full of trees, flowers and grass - быть полным деревьев, цветов и травы

To live outside the centre - жить вне центра

To travel to work by train, bus or underground - ездить на работу на поезде автобусе или метро

London's Places of Interest

London is not only the political, economic and cultural centre of the United Kingdom. It is the main tourist attraction of the country. There are a lot of places of interest in London which attract thousands of tourists every year. They usually want to see Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London.

Westminster is now the political centre of London. In the 11th century King Edward the Confessor decided to build a great abbey church there. There are many royal tombs in the Abbey, like the tomb of Edward the Confessor himself, and memorials to famous men and women. The most popular ones are those to writers, poets and musicians in the Poet's Corner. William the Conqueror was crowned there, and since then all the coronations have taken place in the Abbey.

During the reign of Edward the Confessor the Palace of Westminster was built, too. It was the royal residence and also the country's main court. The Parliament met here since the 16th till the 19th century. The present Houses of Parliament were built after the fire in the Palace of Westminster in 1834. There are two houses in the Parliament: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.St. Stephen's Tower of the Houses of Parliament contains the famous Big Ben.

Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official London residence. Londoners usually watch the Changing of the Guards in the forecourt of the palace. It lasts about 30 minutes.

St Paul's Cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece.It was built from 1675 to 1709. It is crowned with a huge dome. Inside the dome there is the famous Whispering Gallery. There are many memorials in the Cathedral, including memorials to Wellington and Nelson.

The Tower of London is associated with many important events in the British history. It used to be a fortress, a palace, a prison, a mint. The Tower of London is famous for its prisoners, like Sir Thomas More and Guy Fawkes. The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror to protect the city. The Tower is guarded by "Beefeaters", the Yeomen Guards.

London is noted for its museums and art galleries. Among them are the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate, the Museum of London, the Museum of Moving Image, Madame Tussaud's Museum and many others.