London

London is the capital of Great Britain is situated on the Thames River. It is the largest city in Europe with a population of eight and a quarter million. It is divided into four parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End.

The City is the business and commercial heart of London. Many banks, offices and firms are concentrated there. The Tower and St. Paul's Cathedral are in the centre. The Tower is about 900 years old. Many years ago it was a royal residence, then a prison. Now it is a museum. St. Paul's Cathedral is very large and fine. It was completed in 1710. The famous English architect Christopher Wren planned and built St. Paul's Cathedral.

If the City is the business part of London, Westminster is the centre of administration. We can see the Houses of Parliament there. It is a beautiful building with two towers and a very big clock called Big Ben. The Houses of Parliament stand in Parliament Square. Westminster Abbey is opposite the Houses of Parliament. Many great Englishmen were buried in Westminster Abbey. To the west of Westminster Abbey you can see Buckingham Palace. It is a royal residence. The ceremony of the changing of the guards which takes place in front of Buckingham Palace is of great interest to the tourists.

Rich people live in the West End. The best and most expensive clubs, restaurants and theatres, beautiful houses and parks are there.

The East End —the district of plants, factories, slums and docks — is for the working people. London is unlike any other city in the world. It has rather wide streets but low houses. It looks very grey because there is so much rain and fog there. Only buses and pillar-boxes are red. This city has never been planned and it has many parts which are different from each other.

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Great Britain

Great Britain is situated on the British Isles. It consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is surrounded by seas on all sides and is separated from the continent by the North Sea and the English Channel.

There are many rivers in Britain. They are not long but some of them are deep. The longest river is the Severn. There are many mountains in the north of England and in Scotland but they are not very high. The highest mountain in Great Britain is Ben Nevis. There are many lakes in Scotland. The most beautiful is Loch Lomond.

Great Britain has a very good position There are many countries which are connected with Great Britain by sea. Thanks to Gulf Stream the climate of Great Britain is mild. The summer is not very hot and the winter is not very cold.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It lives by manufacture and trade. There half of food has to be imported. Britain is one of the most highly industrialised countries in the world. The main branches of British economy are engineering, mining, ship-building, motor vehicle manufacturing, textile, chemistry, electronics, fishing and food processing. The industrial centres of Great Britain are London, Manchester, Eirmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and others.

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Traditions and holidays in Great Britain

English are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. All English people celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December. It's the most beautiful time of the year - the time of love, joy and hopes. Christmas Day is a family holiday. All the people look forward to it, expecting something special. It is the time when all the family gets together round the Christmas tree decorated with toys and sweets. Little children believe that when they are asleep Santa Claus comes with a big bag of toys. They often hang up large stockings for the presents. All families have Christmas dinners. They eat traditional dishes - turkey, duck, pudding.

Another best-loved holiday is St.Valentine's Day on the 14th of February - the holiday of love and affection, the day of sending and giving presents to those you.

In England tradition of celebrating Easter is deep-rooted in the history of the nation . There is a popular belief that wearing 3 new things on Easter will bring good luck. Another custom is decorating eggs for children. Eggs are hidden in the yards little children believe that the Easter rabbit comes and leaves eggs for them.

Halloween. Children dress up in Halloween costumes and masks over their faces. They go out into the streets to beg. People give them sweets, cookies and apples. They light a candle inside the pumpkin to scare their friends.

A few words about superstitions in Britain. The people believe that if they put shoes on the table, they will have bad luck. The English won't kill a spider, especially money spiders (small red ones). The most unlucky thing is to break a mirror. This brings 7 years of bad luck. The number 13 is the most unlucky number especially Combination Friday, the 13th.