London, the capital of Great Britain

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life: for there is in London all that life can afford” wrote Samuel Johnson in 1777.

Today London is a sprawling, (growing) cosmopolitan metropolis, about 625 square miles, an exciting world that many visitors from abroad see first from the sky, surprised that the ribbon-like Thames is so curvaceous (зігнута) and the score of bridges so decorative.

Down there, seven million people are at home, in the City, which is the financial and business center of London, in Westminster: the government centre, in the West End a fashionable shopping and entertainment centre.

The City is the oldest part of London. Where the City of London stands the Romans formed the settlement nearly 2000 years ago. It is a self-governing region with its own police force. The City of London is one of the major banking centres in the world. Different banks and offices, the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and the head-quarters of very many financial companies and corporations. The centre of the country’s judicial system is to be found in the western part of the City. If one goes sightseeing around the City one can see the Tower of London there. The Tower of London has been “fortress, palace, home of the Crown Jewels and national treasures, arsenal, mint, prison, observatory, zoo and tourists’ attraction” wrote the Duke of Edinburg in the book celebrating the Tower’s 900th anniversary. Now the Tower of London is a popular museum and the houses of Crown Jewels and other treasures.

Many old customs in the Tower have survived. By tradition, there have been ravens at the Tower from the very beginning. Now the only inhabitants of the Tower are ravens. There is a legend that the Tower and the Kingdom will fall if it loses its ravens. Nowadays there are usually six ravens with clipped wings. They are carefully guarded.

Not far from the Tower of London St. Paul’s Cathedral is situated. St. Paul’s Cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and the spiritual centre of the City, is Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece. It took him 35 years to built the Cathedral, which is one of the London’s most popular landmarks.

Westminster is a part of London connected with royalty and government. It includes the Houses of Parliament. Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Abbey, Whitehall.

The Palace of Westminster is one of the world’s most famous buildings, houses the British Parliament. One of the two high towers of Westminster is called the Clock Tower with Big Ben, the bell of which strikes the hours.

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the Queen. At Buckingham Palace visitors like to watch the ceremony of the changing of the guard.

Westminster Abbey is a place where many famous English writers, poets are buried: C. Dickens, T. Hardy, R. Kipling. In the Poets’ Corner there are memorials to W. Shakespeare, R. Burns, A. Byron, W. Scott, W. Thackerey and others,

Nearly all the kings and queens have been crowned in the Abbey.

Speaking about Westminster one should mention such streets as White Hall and Downing Street. The street called Whitehall stretches from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square, It is often used as a name for the government, because it contains many government offices as the Home, the Foreign Office, the Treasury, the Admiralty and the War Office. In the middle of Whitehall stands a simple white monument to the memory of the victims of the two wars. It is called the Cenotaph.

No.10 Downing Street is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Great Britain for more than 250 years.

The West End, a fashionable shopping and entertainment centre is situated to the west of the City. The West End is a symbol of wealth and luxury. The best of most expensive restaurants, clubs, theatres, cinemas and the richest shops are situated there.

Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of London. It is a place of political meetings and demonstrations. Trafalgar Square was built to commemorate the battle of Trafalgar where in 1805 the English under the command of admiral Nelson defeated the fleet of France led by Napoleon. Admiral Nelson’s statue stands on top of a column in the middle of Trafalgar Square. Round the base there four bronze carvings representing scenes from famous naval battles. The column is guarded by a quartet [kwo:tet] of lions modeled by Sir Edwin Landseer in 1867. Trafalgar Square is frequented as much by pigeons as by people.

A Christmas tree is sent as a gift each year from Norway and on New Year’s Eve crowds gather around the tree and the lions to herald in the New Year.

Opposite the Nelson monument is the National Gallery, where great collections of pictures are gathered. Close to the National Gallery is the National Portrait Gallery containing pictures of famous English man or woman: writers, statesman, inventors and artist.

Not far from the National Gallery is the British Museum. It contains a great collection of different things: ancient manuscripts, coins, sculptures, etc. The British Museum is famous for its library, one of the richest in the world.

Piccadilly Circus was formed in 1819 at the intersection of Piccadilly and the fashionable Regent Street. The Circus is a meeting point favoured by Londoners. The place is famous for its brightly lit neon [ni:en] advertisements at night and the little winged statue in the centre known as “Eros” ­ the God of Love.

To the north of Piccadilly Circus is Soho well-known for its foreign restaurants and “adult” entertainment.

Londoners love their capital and they call it “the world’s capital”.

 

 

My Family

Name: first name, second name, middle name, family name, surname, last name, patronymic maiden name, nickname, pet name, namesake, to call smb. by name.

Engagement and marriage:

To be married to smb.

To marry smb.

To get married

To be engaged

Engagement

To court smb.

To make a date with a girl for 7 o’clock

To date smb. (he dated her)

To have a steady girl-friend

Love at first sight

To fall in love with

Declaration of love

To ask for a girl hand

To meet with the refusal

To accept proposal

A love match, they match each other

A marriage of convenience

Wedding

To wed smb.

A married couple

A newly married couple

A bride, fiancée

A bridegroom, fiancé

The Maid of Honour

Bridal shower

They were married in a religious rite, in a civil form of marriage

An illegal marriage

A wedding ring

An Engagement ring

To be single

To be unmarried

To make love to

To court

To divorce

A spinster

She married Nick for love

A bachelor

Newly-weds

Family man

Wedding: silver, golden, diamond

 

Relatives

A great-grandfather

A daughter-in-law

A stepfather, stepson

An adopted child

An orphan

Twins

Descendent

Heir

Ancestors

One’s flash and blood

Cousin

Foster brother, child

Godson, Godfather

Senior, junior

A grown-up, adult

To adopt

To bring up

To raise

Dad, daddy, papa

Half-sister

Parents, old folks [fouks]