Trafalgar Square

If you ever come to London you will surely go to Trafalgar Square. The main feature of the square is Nelson's Column with the figure of the great seaman on the top. Trafalgar square is one of the busiest places in London and a great tourist attraction.

The National Gallery

This building overlooks Trafalgar square, and it houses the national collection of paintings which amounts to more than 2 thousand pictures representing every school. It was opened in 1838 and it excludes the works of living artists: these are to be found at the Tate Gallery.

Mind the following for pronunciation:

St. Stephen's Tower [seInt 'stJvnz 'taVə] – Башня св. Стефана

Westminster Abbey ['westmInstqr 'xbI] – Вестминстерское аббатство

Buckingham Palace ["bAkINqm'pxlqs] – Букенгемский дворец

William the Conqueror ['wIljqm ðə 'kPNkqrq] – Вильгельм Завоеватель

Trafalgar Square [trə'fælgə skweq] – Трафальгарская площадь

I. Study the following words and word combinations:

аncient ['eInSqnt] - древний

to destroy - разрушать

to stand intact [In'txkt] – быть целым, нетронутым

to strike – бить (о часах)

worship ['wE:SIp] – поклонение; богослужение

prayer [preq] - молитва

abbey - аббатство

sacred ['seIkrId] - священный

chapel - часовня

to consecrate ['kPnsIkreIt] - освящать

shrine - гробница

grave - могила

tomb [tHm] – гробница, могила

to defeat [dI'fJt] – потерпеть поражение

castle ['kRsl] - замок

palace - дворец

to erect - сооружать

armour ['Rmq] – вооружение, доспехи

weapon – оружие

coin - монета

realm [relm] - королевство

to mint – чеканить (монету)

private ['praIvqt] - частный

raven - ворон

to keep watch over - охранять

feature ['fJtSq] – особенность, черта

to overlook – выходить на

to exclude – не допускать, исключать

II. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the name of the world's known clock which is housed in St.Stephen's Tower of the Houses of Parliament?

2. Where do coronations and royal weddings take place?

3. What is the most sacred place in the abbey?

4. What is the Poets' Corner?

5. What is the official residence of the Queen?

6. Who was the Tower of London begun by? When was it?

7. What historic event is it associated with?

8. What role did the Tower play in the past?

9. What is it now?

10. What is Trafalgar Square famous for?

11. Where can one see the national collection of paintings?

12. When was it opened?

13. Where can the works of living artists be found?

III. Choose the right answer:

1. Where are Government offices situated?

a. Downing street, b. Trafalgar square, c. Whitehall.

2. What street is the residence of the Prime Minister located in?

a. Strand, b. Oxford street, c. Downing street.

3. What is the official residence of the Queen in London?

a. Windsor Castle, b. Buckingham Palace, c. Westminster Abbey.

4. What is the place of coronations and royal weddings?

a. St.Paul's Cathedral, b. Westminster Abbey, c. Buckingham Palace.

5. Where did Sherlok Holmes live?

a. Piccadilly Circus, b. Baker street, c. Strand.

6. Where is the monument to Nelson?

a. Trafalgar square, b. Hyde Park, c. the Tower

7. Where are all the newspaper offices situated?

a. Oxford Street, b. Fleet Street, c. Baker Street.

8. Where is Big Ben?

a. Westminster Abbey, b. St. Stephen's Tower, c. Buckingham Palace.

9. Where do the Thames flow into?

a. The North Sea, b. the Irish Sea, c. the English Channel.