The sights of London

The National Gallery houses a fine collection of works from the British, French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish schools.

The Tate Gallery was founded as the National gallery of British Painting, Modern Foreign Painting and Modern Sculpture from the collection of Sir Henry Tate whose name it now bears.

The British Museum contains immensely valuable ethnographical, archaeological and other collections. There is a library which is one of the largest libraries in the world.

Fleet Street when used figuratively means “the British press” as it is in this street that the publishing houses of important British newspapers are situated.

Whitehall- the street in which government offices are located ( such as the Home Office and Treasury). Whitehall derives its name from the palace built there by Henry VIII.

The Tower of London dates in part from the Norman Conquest of 1066 and has been at one time or another citadel, palace, prison, treasury, armoury and observatory. At present the Tower is a museum.

Piccadilly Circus. A round square from which the West End best-known streets radiate- Piccadilly, Regent Street, the Haymarket and Shaftesbury Avenue.

Victoria Station- a railway station in London. Among other big stations are Waterloo Station, Euston Station, Paddington Station, Euston Station and others.

Greenwich area is the most famous thing about London Greenwich is the Old Royal Observatory from where time all over the world is measured.

Shakespeare`s Globe Theatre is the biggest crowds currently to be found along Bank side are milling around this place, a spectacular reconstruction of the polygonal playhouse where most of the Bard`s later works were first performed. (The original site of the Globe, marked by a blackened plaque on a brewery wall on Park Street, lies beneath a listed Georgian terrace.) The theatre, which boasts the first thatched roof in London since the Great Fire, uses only natural light and the minimum of scenery, and currently puts on shows from mid-May to mid-September. Also on site are a restaurant, cafe, cinema and, inevitably, a shop selling lots of Bard merchandise.

Royal Festival Hall - The Royal Festival Hall stands at the heart of Southbank Centre complex. Opened in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain, the hall is one of the world’s leading concert venues, presenting concerts by the finest international orchestras, operas, and a wide spread of contemporary music events, from jazz to world, to rock and pop music.

6. Speak about London

Conversational topic: The United States of America

The United States of America is situated in the central part of the North America. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific to the west, Canada to the north and Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. The total area of the USA is 9,364 million sq.km. Its population is more than 250 million people. The capital of the country is Washington. Although there is no official language at the federal level in the United States, English is the de facto national language.

At the beginning of the 17^th century European colonies began to be founded on the territory of the USA. The colonies mostly belonged to Britain. The development of trade, industry and agriculture conflicted with the economic policy of Britain.

The War of Independence of the American began in April 1775.

On July, 4, 1776, the Congress declared the united colonies to be independent of Great Britain. The new state was called the United States of America and July 4 became its national holiday. The Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence proclaiming the equality of all people, their right to “life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness.” George Washington was elected first President of the new republic.

The USA is a bourgeois federative republic.

From 1959 the federation comprises 50 states and District of Columbia. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.

The USA has a federal system of government. It is composed of three co-ordinate branches – the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The President is the head of the executive department. He is also Commander- in- Chief of the Army and Navy of the USA. He is elected for a term of four years. No person can be elected more than twice. The head of the legislative power is the Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each State sends two senators to the Congress. The third branch is judicial. It is represented by the US Supreme Court.

The form of the US government is based on the Constitution of 1787. The philosophy of government proclaims that private property is the backbone of liberty.

The main political parties in the USA are the Democratic (founded in 1783) and the Republican (founded in 1854). There is no principal difference between their political lines.

The flag of the United States is called "Stars and Stripes". The 50 stars — white on a blue field — represent the 50 states, and the 13 stripes represent 13 original English colonies becoming in 1776 free and independent.

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. Large reserves of oil, coal, iron and other minerals are solid base of development of Americans industry. Heavy industry prevails in USA, including such branches as the mining, metallurgical, engineering, chemical and high-tech industries. The economy is dominated by the biggest in the world manufacturing companies: “Standard Oil”, “DuPont”, “General Motors “, “Ford Motor” etc. USA has also well-developed light and food industry, shipbuilding, electronics and many others. The USA is the leading producer of electrical energy, aluminum, copper. Modern means of transportation, communication, and advertising have all combined to create a giant new industry - tourism, which has become one of the features of modern life. Advertising has played a major role in the growth of different industries and trade.

Its agriculture is also highly mechanized and commercialized. The achievements of this sector of the economy are extraordinary. U. S. farmers produce enough food for domestic consumption and still supply 15% of the world's food need.

The USA became the world leading country at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Words to remember

Beginning начало

To belong принадлежать, относиться

Independence [ındı´pendəns] независимость

To declare, to proclaim провозглашать, объявлять

To adopt принимать

Right [raıt] право, привилегия

Equality [i(:)k´wɔlıtı] равенство

Pursuit [pə´sju:t] стремление

To elect [ı´lekt] выбирать, избирать

To comprise [kəm´praız] включать, охватывать

To compose состоять

Difference различие, разногласие

Private property [´praıvıt ´prɔpətı] частная собственность

Backbone [´bᴂkboun] основа

Original [ə´rıdʒənl] первоначальный, исконный

Advertising [´ᴂdvətaızıŋ] реклама

Means of transportation средства сообщения

To create [kri(:)´eıt] создавать

Feature [´fi: tʃə] черта, oособенность

Growth рост

Giant [´dʒaıənt] гигантский, колоссальный

To represent [reprı´zent] представлять

Achievement [ə´tʃi:vmənt] достижение. успех

Consumption [kənsʌm(p)ʃ(ə)n] потребление