Unit 7

The cities the browns and the smiths live in

The Browns have a flat in London. London is a most interesting capital city. It is always busy, full of traffic and people. There are many places of interest and sights to see. It would take more than a week to do everything there is to do in London, and still you would need to go there again. People who live in London are always rushing here and there. Life is very fast there. Traffic is a big problem, so many people travel around London by tube. If, however, you want a rest from the hurly-burly, you can walk in a park. The Browns' favourite park is Hyde Park. They often go there on a sunny afternoon. Mrs. Brown also likes to shop in London. She walks down Oxford street looking for a bargain, but she's lucky if she can find one as London is a very expensive city to live in. If she wants a cheap day out, she visits the National Gallery.

It's free to get in and Ally spends hours looking at its famous paintings. She also enjoys the Imperial War Museum, Madame Tussaud's museum of wax figures and the Tower of London. Ally, though, is rare among Londoners. Most of the people who live there do not visit these famous sights unless they have visitors. Peter, for example, knows Birmingham, a city in which he has only ever been a guest, better than London.

Birmingham is the home of his sister, Helen Smith. It is a large city in the centre of England.

In fact, not far from Birmingham in a village called Meriden, is the spot which marks the very middle of England. Birmingham is the heart of the industrial midlands. A canal links all the main industrial centres in the area. It was in use last century when the area prospered after the Industrial Revolution. In Dudley, not far from Birmingham, there is a museum where people dress up in old-fashioned clothes and perform the tasks of last century's workers. Peter loves this museum as he is interested in the social history of last ceritury. Peter's daughter, Judy, howev­er, prefers a different museum when she visits her cousins in Birmingham. Mary often takes her to a famous chocolatefactory. It has opened its doors to visitors and is very popular, especial­ly with children and chocoholics.

Unit 7

London sightseeing tour

Hello, ladies and gentlemen! We welcome you to London. London is one of the largest cities in the world. About seven million people live here. London is more than two thousand years old. London's most famous sights are Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral. You'll see all these places and much more of London from our red double-decker.

We start from Trafalgar Square, which commemorates Nelson's victory at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 in which he was fatally wounded. Trafalgar Sq uare was designed between 1829 and 1840, with Nelson's Column as a centre-piece. The column is over 170 feet high while the statue of Nelson itself is 17 feet high. Bronze bas-reliefs at the foot of the column, made from the metal of captured French cannon, represent Nelson's four great naval victories. The four bronze lions at the base were added in 1867.

Now we are at the Houses of Parliament. Once a royal palace the Houses of Parliament are now the seat of the Government and the heart of the Commonwealth. This enormous edifice, probably the largest in the world contains over 500 apartments as well as the Central Hall, Clock Tower, and the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Clock Tower, 320 feet high is famous for its immense hour bell, known as "Big Ben". The Houses of Parliament stretch for nearly 1.000 feet along the north bank of the Thames. When the House is in session, a Union Jack flies from the tower by day, and a light burns in the clock tower by night.

Now we are coming to Westminster Abbey. It's a symbol of English tradition at its best. The coronation of nearly all English kings and queens since William the Conqueror has taken place here. Many of them are buried within the Abbey. Beneath the roof of this Gothic building there are also the graves and memorial slabs of statesmen, philosophers, men of letters and other dis­tinguished people.

Now we are crossing Tower Bridge over the river Thames. From here yoJ can see the Tower of London. This massive pile which has been at one time or another citadel, palace, prison, treasury, armoury is perhaps London's most outstanding link in the long chain of its his­tory. Nowadays the Tower is a museum, housing the National Collection of Armour and the Crown Jewels and Royal Regalia.

The City's greatest monument, St.Paul's Cathedral was built by Sir Christopher Wren between 1675 and 1710 . The dome, perhaps, the best known of London's landmarks, is 365 feet high. Ch.Wren is buried there. His tombstone bears a Latin inscription, "Lector, si monurrien­tum requiris" (Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you).

We'll stop at CoventGarden, an area of London once famous for its fruit and vegetable mar­ket, now replaced by expensive but popular shops, eating places. Our tour has finished. I hope that you have enjoyed this tour of London. Thank you and good-bye.

Unit 8