TEXT. INTRODUCING LONDON

London is an ancient city. It grew up around the first point where the Roman invaders found the Thames narrow enough to build a bridge. They found a small Celtic settlement then known as Londinium and by A. D.[21] 300 they had turned it into a sizeable port and an important trading centre with a wall which enclosed the homes of about 50,000 people.

One in seven of the population of the United Kingdom is a Londoner. About 7 million people live in Greater London.[22] London dominates British life. It is the home of the nation's commerce and finance, the main centre of its legal system and the press. It has the largest university and the greatest possibilities for entertainment and for sport in the country. London is one of the famous capital cities of the world, and every year attracts crowds of visitors from home and abroad. They come to explore its historic buildings, to see its museums and galleries, its streets and parks, and its people.

The built-up area of Greater London stretches 50 kilometres from east to west and many of its districts are linked with particular activities, for example, parliamentary and government activity centres on Parliament Square of Westminster and Whitehall. Just as "Westminster" stands for Parliament so "Whitehall" is often used as the name for central Government.

Off Whitehall in a small side-street Downing Street — is a quiet, unimpressive house — No. 10 — the official home of Prime Minister.

Just as Wall Street in New York is the centre of commerce and finance so the City of London, sometimes called "the square mile"[23] is the centre for money matters. Here in Threadneedle Street is the Bank of England — sometimes called "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street" — the central banking institution whose pound[24] notes form the main currency in the country. Fleet Street near St. Paul's Cathedral used to be a busy street full of foreign, provincial and London newspaper offices such as The Daily Express, The Daily Telegraph. [25]

Though most of the British national newspaper offices have moved to Wapping, an area in East London, the name of Fleet Street is still used to describe the newspaper industry.

In South Kensington there are several large museums. The Victoria and Albert Museum with a magnificent collection of fine and applied arts also includes a wide-ranging display of ceramics, metalwork and a selection of Constable's[26] masterpieces which are well worth seeing. The Natural History Museum contains plants, animals and minerals. The Hall of Human Biology enables visitors to learn about their bodies and the way they work. Exhibits in the Science Museum display the discovery and development of such inventions as the steam engine, photography, glass-making, printing and atomic physics. There is a gallery where children can experiment with working models. The Museum of London in the City presents the biography of London, from the founding of London by Romans to the Greater London of today. Within a sguare kilometre or so in London's theatre-land are over thirty theatres, showing a large range of old and modem plays. Smaller "fringe" theatres[27] perform in clubs, pubs and at lunch time.

London is full of parks and green spaces. Hyde Park, originally a royal hunting forest, is the largest park in London. In summer the Serpentine canal which flows through the park is always full of swimmers, rowers and sunbathers. Just south of the Serpentine is. Rotten Row, a fashionable spot for horse-riding, and in one corner, near Marble Arch is Speakers' Comer; where everyone can go and air their views to anyone who will listen. Beyond Hyde Park lies another royal park, Kensington Gardens. Children gather by the statue of Peter Pan, James Barrie's[28] well-known storybook character, or sail their model boats on the Round Pond. In the north of London is Regent's Park with a zoo and an open-air theatre. A trip along Regent's Canal in a riverboat gives a chance to see London Little Venice, a quiet countryside area for rich people only as the land here is very expensive.

Like many capital cities, London grew up along a major river. The Thames divides London sharply in two. Most of central London is on the north bank of the river. The Thames at London is tidal and there have been several serious floods. The risk of this is increasing as southern England is sinking in relation to sea level. Threat of disaster, however, has been lessened by the construction of a flood barrier.

It is always interesting for tourists to take a trip along the Thames in a boat as it gives a striking panorama of London. The best way to see the city quickly is from the top of London red double-decker buses. Special tourist buses go on two-hour circular tours. The other quick and easy way of getting around London is by "tube" — the Underground railway. During the "rash hours", when office workers hurry to and from work, the tube train doors can hardly close behind the crushed crowds.

London is an ancient city. But it is also a living city and like all living cities it is constantly developing.

VOCABULARY NOTES

1. historic adj исторический (имеющий историческое значение, вошедший в историю), е.g. historic place, date, speech, event, battle, etc. 1812 was a historic year for Russian people.

historical adj исторический (связанный с историей, имеющий отношение к истории), е.g. historical materialism, science, principles, method, approach (to); historical novel, picture, play, film; historical department, museum, etc.

history n история, е.g. the history of our country, the history of the language; a history lesson; the History Museum.

Note 1: In names of academic subjects no article is used, е.g. History of the English language is a difficult subject

Note 2: The Russian word история has several English equivalents: а) история (ход развития чего-л.) — history, е.g. This town has an interesting history.; b) рассказ, повествование — story, е.g. Idon't like stories of such kind. He told us the story of his whole life.; с) происшествие — event, е.g. Tell us something about this strange event. But: A funny thing happened to him. (С ним произошла забавная история.) There's a pretty kettle of fish! (Вот так история!)

2. worth n ценность, е.g. It's a discovery of great worth. This information is of no worth.

worth adj predic стоящий; worth smth., е.g. This picture is not worth the money you've paid for it. This problem is not worth our attention. This job is not worth the time we've spent on it.; worth doing smth., е.g. This film is worth seeing. Books of that kind are not worth reading. This problem isn't worth discussing. His illness is hardly worth troubling about.; worth while, е.g. It isn't worth while seeing the film. It isn't worth while sitting here till 5 o'clock. It is worth while trying to catch the train, I think it's worth while speaking to him about it. Cf.: This book is worth reading. — It is worth while reading this book.

worthy adj достойный, е.g. She is a very worthy woman.; to be worthy of smth., smb., е.g. His behaviour is worthy of great praise.

unworthy adj недостойный

3. masterpiece n шедевр

piece n 1. кусок, ps a piece of chalk (wood, paper, etc.)

Syn. lump, slice. A slice is a thin, flat piece cut off from anything, as a slice of bread (cheese, lemon, ham, etc.). A lump is a small specially shaped or shapeless piece, as a lump of sugar (butter, etc.).

to pieces на куски, е.g. The cup fell and was broken to pieces.

2. отдельный предмет, часть, е.g. a piece of furniture; a, piece of poetry (стихотворение); a piece of painting (картина); a piece of advice (совет); apiece of news (новость);

3. монета, е.g. a two-shilling piece, a gold (silver) piece

Syn. coin (used more often than piece)

4. human adj человеческий, свойственный человеку, е.g. a human nature, the human body, human affairs, a human being (человек); hu'mane adj гуманный, человечный

Ant. cruel

inhuman adj бесчеловечный, as inhuman treatment

humanity n (uncountable) 1. человечество, as a crime against humanity

Syn. man'kind n (uncounfable). But 'mankind мужчины, мужской пол

2. гуманность, человечность, as to treat people with humanity

the Humanities гуманитарные науки; syn. the Arts, е.g. Are you interested in the Humanities (the Arts) or in the Exact Sciences (естественные науки)?

5. to strike (struck, struck) υt 1. ударяться, бить; to strike smb., to strike smb. (smth.) on smth. е.g. He struck the boy a violent blow. The man struck Lanny on the face. He struck his fist on the table.

Syn. to hit (hit, hit), е.g. Why did he hit the boy?; to hit one's hand (foot, head, etc.) on smth., е.g. I hit my head on the low shelf.

Note: strike and hit may be used in the same sense — to strike or to hit smb. — but care should be taken to use the proper verb m traditional word combinations such as to strike a match чиркнуть спичкой, e, д. Somebody struck a match so that we couid see each other.

2. бить (о часах), е.g. It has just struck half past four. This tower clock strikes the hours.

3. поражать, удивлять, а д. We were struck by bis strange behaviour. It struck me that he had grown so old. Many things might strike us as unusual in a foreign country.

Syn. to surprise, to astonish, to puzzle

Nоte: to be struck means "to be filled suddenly with a strong feeling of surprise". That distinguishes the verb to strike from its synonyms to astonish and to surprise; to astonish is stronger in meaning than to surprise, е.g. I shouldn't be surprised if it rained. I'm not surprised at seeing you here, I've been told about your arrival. I was astonished at seeing him so changed. I was struck by his sudden death.; to puzzle means "to make a person think hard before finding an answer", e.g. His letter puzzled me. (= I didn't know why he had written it)

striking adj, as striking likeness (news, contrast) stricken pp. terror-stricken; horror-stricken; panic-stricken

Note: the verb to strike has homonyms: a) strike υi бастовать, b) strike n забастовка, е.g. All the railway workers joined the strike.; to go on strike объявлять забастовку

6. circular adj круглый, круговой, е.g. There is a circular railway running round Moscow. A circular staircase led to the top of the tower.

circulate υ 1. циркулировать, е.g. Blood circulates in the body.; 2. передаваться, распространяться, е.g. Bad news circulates quickly.

circulation n 1. циркуляция, е.g. The circulation of air is rather bad here, that's why it is stuffy.; 2. распространение, обращение (денежное), е.g. Only silver and copper coins are in circulation now.

blood-circulation n кровообращение

circle n 1. круг, окружность, е.g. It's almost impossible to draw a circle without a pair of compasses (без циркуля).; 2. группа, круг людей, е.g. Не belonged to the business circle of the town.

NOTES ON HOMONYMS

Homonyms are words that coincide in form, but have different meanings and. may (or may not) belong to different categories or parts of speech. Homonyms may coincide both in phonetic and in graphic form, as ball, n (мяч) and ball, n (бал) or fair, adj (светлый, справедливый и др. знач.) and fair, n (ярмарка). They may coincide only in pronunciation, but have different graphic forms, as sea, n and to see, v. They may coincide in spelling, but be differently pronounced, as lead [led] n (свинец) and to lead [li:d] υ (вести).

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