London Sights Text a

The heart of London is the City. Today it is well known (0) ..D.. one of the world’s leading financial and commercial centres, where all the major British and foreign banks and finance houses are represented.

The Tower of London comes first among the historic buildings of the City dating from the Norman Conquest. It was (1) … by William the Conqueror. The Tower served as a fortress, a palace and a state prison. Its history is associated with the place of murder and execution. Now it is a museum of (2) … and the place where the Crown Jewels are kept. Large black ravens are associated with the Tower; it is believed that if they ever disappear England will (3) … . The Beefeaters are used as guides to secure this historic building.

A twenty minutes walk from the Tower will (4) … you to St. Paul’s Cathedral, the greatest of English churches. It was built after the Great Fire (in 1666) (5) … a famous English architect Sir Christopher Wren, who spent 35 years of his life supervising every part of (6) … construction. If you climb 263 steps, you’ll get to the Whispering Gallery. It’s called so, because if someone whispers (7) … to the wall on one side, a person on the other side can hear what is said.

Most of the Government buildings are (8) … in Westminster - another important part of London. Westminster Abbey has been the coronation place of all 39 English Kings and Queens (9) … William the Conqueror in 1066. Many outstanding English statesmen, painters and poets with Newton, Darwin and Tennyson among them are buried here.

(10) … the road from Westminster Abbey there is Westminster Palace also known as the Houses of Parliament. Its two graceful towers in neo-gothic style stand high (11) … the city. The higher of the two contains the largest clock in the country and the famous Big Ben. The name actually refers not to the clock tower or the clock itself but to the huge 13,5-ton bell that strikes every (12) … of the hour.

0	A so	Bsuch	Cfor	Das
1	A found	Bfind	Cfounded	Dfinding
2	A armour	Btools	Cart	Dshipbuilding
3	A destroy	Bfall	Cspoil	Dflourish
4	A let	B give	C follow	D take
5	A to	Bwith	C by	Dof
6	A its	Bthose	C him	Dit
7	A close	Bnear	Copposite	Dby the side
8	A fixed	B build	Csituated	Dsuggested
9	A starting	B beginning	Cbefore	Dsince
10	A Through	BAcross	CIn front of	DOpposed
11	A along	Babove	C under	Dto
12	A quarter	Bhalf	Cthird	Dfourth

Text B

If we walk along Whitehall, which is the street (0) ..C.. the chief government offices are to be found, we’ll soon come to Trafalgar Square. It was so named in memory of the victory at the (1) … of Trafalgar, where in 1805 the English fleet under Nelson’s command defeated the fleet of France and Spain. The victory was won at the cost of Nelson’s life. In the middle of Trafalgar Square stands Nelson’s monument – a tall column with the figure of Nelson at its (2) … . It is guarded by four bronze lions. Many pigeons can be found here and can be even fed.

Not far (3) … is the British Museum – the biggest museum in London. It (4) … the priceless collection of different things: ancient manuscripts, coins, sculptures, etc. The British museum is famous for its library – one of the (5) … in the world. Those who adore art can also visit the Tate Gallery. It represents British art from the 16^th century to around 1900 and international modern art.

Buckingham Palace has been the London residence of the Queen since the 18^th century. The Changing of the Guard takes place here every day (6) … 11.30. The clothes of the guards are black and red with a black helmet made of bearskin.

And you cannot leave the city without (7) … one more place of interest – Hyde Park with Kensington Gardens adjoining (8) … . It was originally a hunting forest and is still popular with horseriders. People who enjoy a good argument can go to the Speaker’s Corner, where they can listen to people standing on a box and giving their (9) … on a variety of topics to anyone who will listen. Regent’s park, (10) … was also originally a hunting park, is now the home of London Zoo.

The most famous department store in London is Harrods – the symbol of expensive and high-class living. People say you can buy everything in Harrods, including wild animals. Its 230 (11) … on 5 floors spread over 20 acres where 4,000 staff serve 50,000 customers. The most popular market in London is Covent Garden which was established in 1670.

Fleet street is the former home of the country’s leading newspapers. (12) … the end of the 15^th century the 1^st printing press was established and the “Daily Courant” was the 1^st newspaper.

0	A when	Bwhich	Cwhere	Dthat
1	A war	Bconflict	Cstrike	Dbattle
2	A bottom	Btop	Cheight	Dcrown
3	A away	Balong	Camong	Dabove
4	A consists	B have	C contains	D takes
5	A expensive	Bmost rich	C richest	Dmore expensive
6	A at	Bin	C past	Don
7	A visited	Bvisiting	Cto visit	Dvisit
8	A him	B them	Chis	Dit
9	A thinks	B views	Csights	Dappearance
10	A which	Bwhat	Cwho	Dwhom
11	A markets	Bapartments	C space	Ddepartments
12	A In	BTo	CAt	DOn