8 London
London is one of the largest cities in the world. More then 10mln people live in London and its suburbs. London is a city of striking contrasts. Here one can come across the past and the present, the old and the modern, live side by side in mutual tolerance and respect.
In London, one can see architecture of different centuries and styles. It is inseparably connected with the history of the city. London survived the Plague and the Great Fire, which followed in 1666. During the Fire all wooden houses were smashed to the ground and a New London, London of stone with bigger houses and wider streets were built. During the World War II, many buildings of great historic value lay in ruins and today the face of London is changed.
Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End.
The heart of London is the City, its financial and business centre. Numerous banks, offices, and firms are situated there. Few people live here, but over a million people come to the City to work.
Westminster is the governmental part of London.
Nearly all English kings and queens have been crowned in Westminster Abbey. Many outstanding statesmen, scientists, writers, poets, and painters are buried here.
The West End is the richest and most beautiful part of London. It is the symbol of wealth and luxury. The best hotels, shops, restaurants, clubs, and theatres are situated there.
I have never been in London, but I think it is an amazing place!
9 Russian Holidays
Every country has customs and traditions. I want to tell you about some holidays and traditions of my country. Russians really love holidays. We usually celebrate them with a lot of food, presents and in big companies of relatives and friends. There are three types of holidays in Russia. They are family holidays, state holidays and religious holidays. Let me tell you about family holidays first. They include birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and others. Each family has its own traditions of celebrating this or that holiday. For example, my family celebrates my birthday for two days. On the first day I celebrate it with my parents, grandparents, my uncle and aunt. The second day of celebration is only for my close friends. They usually come in a big group with a lot of presents. I like my birthday very much. State or public holidays in Russia include Constitution Day, New Year's Day, the International Women's Day, May Day, Victory Day and Russia Day. During these holidays, people do not work. They spend time with their families and friends or go to the centre of big cities to celebrate there. Banks, companies and some shops do not work on these days either. New Year's Day is the major holiday in Russia. We put up a New Year tree and decorate it with colourful toys and glass balls. The main fir-tree of the country is put up in the State Kremlin Palace. Small fir trees are put up in shop windows, in streets and squares, even on roofs of buildings. A lot of people like buying natural fir trees, others prefer plastic ones. Children like the holiday a lot. They can stay up late and then get their presents. At ten minutes to midnight on the 31-st of December families gather in front of the TV-set and watch the president making his traditional speech. After the clock on the main tower of the Kremlin strikes midnight, everybody says Happy New Year and drinks champagne. After that the time for presents comes. Russian children believe that Father Frost brings presents. After all the presents are given out, Russians have fun, drink, eat, and play games all night long. Victory Day is a very important holiday for Russian history. On this day we remember those who protected our country from the German invaders during World War II. A great parade is held on this day in Red Square. Numerous war and patriotic films are shown on television. On this day people congratulate veterans and give them flowers. Nowadays foreign celebrations are becoming more and more popular in Russia. They are Halloween and St. Valentine's Day. On Halloween Day some clubs organize parties and masquerades. St. "Valentine's Day is mostly popular with young people. They usually buy presents for their girlfriends and boyfriends such as chocolate and sweets and make greeting cards in the shape of a heart. I like Russian holidays