Text 3. Museums of London

There are many quite different museums in London. The British Museum is the most famous in the world. Its library contains about six million books. The reference section has 30 thousand volumes on open shelves. The museum has a priceless collection of rare books, manuscripts, books printed in the XV century and the earliest editions of Shakespeare. There is a wonderful art gallery. It possesses a unique collection of sculpture, ceramics and paintings from ancient time up today. The most outstanding departments there are: the Assyrian, the Egyptian, the Greek and Roman Antiquities.

One of the newest museums is the Museum of London. Its aim is to show the history of London from the founding by Romans to nowadays.

In South Kensington there are several large museums. The Victoria and Albert Museum with a magnificent collection of fine and applied arts also includes Constable’s masterpieces, which are worth seeing.

The Natural History Museum contains plants, animals and minerals. The Hall of Human Biology tells the visitors everything about their body.

Exhibits in the Science Museum display the discovery and development of such inventions as the steam engine, photography, glass-making and atomic physics. There is a gallery where children can experiment with working models.

The Museum of British Transport tells the story of public transport in Britain.

Realism of figures and accuracy of costumes made the Wax Museum of Madame Tussaud quite famous. You may see here life-size wax portraits of kings, queens, statesmen, well-known writers, singers and even notorious criminals.

Words and phrases to remember:

to contain – содержать, состоять

to possess – обладать, располагать

to display – выставлять

to be worth seeing – быть достойным внимания

a reference book – справочник

a rare book – редкая книга

a priceless collection – бесценная коллекция

a unique exhibit – уникальная выставка

a magnificent masterpiece – великолепный шедевр

a discovery – открытие

an invention – изобретение

an accuracy, accurate – точность, точный

a notorious criminal – знаменитый преступник

Answer the questions:

1. What is the most famous museum in London?

2. What do the visitors can see there?

3. What are the largest museums in South Kensington?

4. What do these museums display in their halls?

5. What is the Wax Museum of Madam Tussaud famous for?

6. What museum would you like to visit, if you were in London?

Ex. 3. Translate from Russian into English.

1. Сигаретный дым содержит много вредных веществ.

2. Он обладал огромной коллекцией редких книг.

3. Музей представил бесценную выставку картин, на которые стоит

посмотреть.

4. Уникальная выставка великолепных шедевров искусства была открыта

вчера.

5. Ученые сделали важное открытие.

6. Изобретение телефона изменило мир.

7. Он дал точное описание преступника.

8. В музее Мадам Тюссо можно увидеть восковые фигуры известных

преступников.

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