1.5 Text I Read the text, translate it a Few Facts from the History of Big Cities

London, the capital of Great Britain, is one of the oldest cities in Europe. When Julius Caesar crossed the English Channel and invaded Britain as far as the Thames in the middle of the first century B.C., people had already settled there and were living on both sides of the river.

Like many other very old cities, London was never planned. It grew around two centers – a fort the Romans built on one bank of the Thаmes, and an abbey, founded later on the other bank. As time went by, the place round the Roman fort developed into the City of London the country’s business center, the abbey is now known as Westminster Abbey.

By the middle of the first century A.D. London had already been in existence for about a hundred years. Road leading to other towns had changed into streets market grounds became squares.

At about the same time, in the year 1147, in a part of the world Londoners had never heard of, a town was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky on a site which he chose for its beauty and convenient in the middle of a magnificent forest, on the bank of a river called the Moskva. The river gave its name to the city which later, became the capital of the Russian state. When the first trade contacts were established between England and Russia, the English pronounced the name of the Russian capital their own way Muscovy. From this comes the modern Muscovite, a person living in Moscow.

Like London, Moscow was never planned. It grew up around its center, which had been surrounded by a wooden wall by the first residents. The wooden wall was later replaced by a brick one, and palaces, cathedrals and churches were built inside it, forming what is now known as the Kremlin.

Unlike old cities, such as London or Moscow, that grew by themselves, without any preliminary architectural plans, cities built later were planned by architects before construction started.

The best example of a Russian city built according to a plan is St. Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great. He wanted to found a new capital for his new Russia, and for this purpose chose a territory on the Baltic Sea that had been taken over by Russia after a war with Sweden. It was a swampy land on which it was extremely difficult to build anything, but a convenient place for a port that could give Russia an outlet to the seas and other countries. The city was built in the record time but it required an enormous effort and cost a large number of human lives. The city is famous for its wonderful planning, and its magnificent palaces, monuments, cathedrals, and other places of interest.

1.6 Find English equivalents in the text

в середине первого века до нашей эры;

подобно многим другим очень старым городам;

со временем, с течением времени;

деловой центр страны;

то, что известно сейчас, как…;

к середине первого века нашей эры;

примерно в то же самое время;

выбрал это место за его красоту и удобное расположение;

когда были установлены первые торговые связи;

произносим названия по-своему;

без предварительного плана;

с этой целью;

выход к морям;

в рекордные сроки;

это потребовало больших усилий;

славится замечательной планировкой;