THE UNITED KINGDOM (the UK)

MY DAY OFF

On weekdays people must go to work or earn money or to study to have knowledge. When our working week comes to an end we are very happy to meet days off, because it is a good time to have a rest, to communicate with friends and relatives or dedicate this time to yourself.

I usually go to Institute six days a week so Sunday is my only day off. On this day I don’t get up early. I can sleep more than usual because there is no need to hurry anywhere. I get up, have a shower and at ten or eleven o’clock we have a family breakfast. Then I rest for a while, watch TV, read a book or just listen to the radio. When the weather is fine I try to spend my time out-doors. My friends come to me and we can go to the cinema, park, museum. But best of all I like to go to the café. We even have our favorite one. We can sit there for hours, drink coke, eat ice-cream and chat about everything.

I also prefer to go to the sports club or swimming pool. And there I have a rest. Sometimes on Sundays we invite our close friends and relatives for dinner. Then in the morning my father and I go to the supermarket to buy the necessary food and my mother cooks tasty dishes. As a rule on these days my parents with their friends go to the theatre and I have to stay at home with my little sister. But I don’t mind actually. And I should say it is not boring at all. We watch cartoons or play games.

I have got a flat. It is neither big nor small. It is on the fifth floor. The number of it is 59. Our flat has two rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a corridor.

Our living-room is big. It is light, because it has two wide windows. You can see a piano on the left. There is a round stool near the piano. The piano is new and black. The TV set is on the right. You can see an arm-chair and a sofa near the TV set. There is a picture on the wall, above the piano. It is a nice picture.

There is a round table in the middle of the room. You can see four chairs near the table. The sideboard is on the left. There are some pictures of modern painters on the wall.

The carpet hanging on the wall is big and grey. I like our living-room and I often spend my free time watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines in it.

I have my own room. It is small but light. There is enough furniture for the girl: a bed, a sofa, two arm-chairs, a dressing-table with three drawers and a mirror. You can see a small desk at the window. There are two chairs at the desk and a TV set in the corner of the room. The bookcase is near the door. There are many books in it. I have many bookshelves in my room. You can see Russian and English books there. There is a red carpet on the floor. The curtains on the window are also red. I like my room very much. When my friends come to see me I invite them into my room.

It is a pity that we have no balcony.

Our kitchen is big and comfortable. The furniture in the kitchen is not dark, it is light. A new refrigerator stands near the window. We usually have breakfast and supper in the kitchen.

The bathroom is small. We wash ourselves there in the morning and in the evening. You can see a washing-machine near the door. We have a vacuum-cleaner, it is in the bathroom too.

The corridor of our flat is long and narrow. There is a telephone in it.

I like my flat. My friends say that it is a good one.

THE UNITED KINGDOM (the UK)

The official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was formed by the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, but Southern Ireland broke away in 1921. The official name of the country is often abbreviated to the United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain, England or the UK.

Its area is 244,046 square kilometers (94,201 square miles). The capital of the UK is London. The country is located in the north west of Europe. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the North Sea. The warm currents of the Atlantic Ocean influence the climate of Great Britain. Winters are not severely cold and summers are rarely hot. The main rivers of the UK are the Thames, the Tees, the Tweed, the Trent. The geographical position has made the United Kingdom a commercial and maritime power,

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and it is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales became an English principality in 1284, Scotland and England were officially joined as Great Britain in 1707. Each of the four parts of the UK consists of counties.

LONDON

London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. Modern London is not one city that has steadily become larger through the centuries; it is a number of cities, towns, and villages that have, during the past centuries, grown together to make one vast urban area.

London is situated upon both banks of the River Thames. It is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Its population is about 7 million people and one more million travel in each day to work. People who work in London and live in Suburbs are called commuters. They commute by train or bus from the suburbs because it is very expensive to buy a house or a flat neat the centre. In fact more and more people and firms move away from the capital.

London is a cosmopolitan, multicultural city. Every seventh londoner was born outside Britain. London dominates the life of Britain. It is a big port and most important commercial, manufacturing and cultural centre. There is little heavy industry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry in Greater London.

The City extends over an area of about 2.6 square kilometers in the heart of London. About half a million people work in the City but only less than 6,000 live here. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices and the Stock Exchange. But the City is also a market for goods of almost every kind, from all parts of the world.

The West End can be called the centre of London. Here are the historical places as well as the famous parks, Hyde Park with its Speaker's Corner is also here. Among other parks are Kensington Gardens, St Jame's Park. In the West End is the Buckingham Palace which is the Queen's residence, and the Palace of Westminster which is the seat of Parliament. The best-known streets here are Whitehall, Downing Street, Fleet Street, Harley Street. The name “West End” came to be associated with wealth, luxury, and goods of high quality. It is the area of the largest department stores, cinemas and hotels. There are over 40 theatres, several concert halls, many museums including the British Museum, and the best art galleries.

It is in the West End that the University of London is centered with Bloomsbury as London's student quarter.

References:

1. the City – 1) Сити (исторический центр Лондона; один из крупнейших финансовых и коммерческих центров мира) 2) перен. Английский финансовый капитал, финансовая олигархия

2. Greater London – Большой Лондон (административно-территориальная единица, включает сам город и пригороды)

3. Stock Exchange – Лондонская фондовая биржа

4. Speaker's Corner – «Уголок оратора» (место в Гайд-Парке, где по воскресеньям и по субботам с импровизированной трибуны выступают ораторы на различные темы; в настоящее время превратился в одну из туристических достопримечательностей Лондона)

5. Kensington Gardens – Кенсингтон-Гарденз (большой парк в Лондоне, примыкает к Гайд Парку)

6. St. James Park – Сейн-Джеймс -Парк (расположен в центральной части Лондона)

7. Buckingham Palace – Букингемский дворец (главная королевская резиденция в Лондоне с 1837г.)

8. Whitehall – 1) Уайтхолл (улица в центральной части Лондона, на которой находятся важнейшие министерства и др. правительственные учреждения); 2) перен. английское правительство

9. Downing Street – Даунинг-Стрит (небольшая улица в центральной части Лондона, на которой в доме № 10 находится лондонская резиденция премьер-министра); 2) Даунинг-Стрит, английское правительство

10. Fleet Street – 1) Флит-Стрит (улица в Лондоне, на которой до 1980 г. находились редакции большинства крупнейших газет. В настоящее время большинство из них переехало в другие районы города) 2) перен. пресса и мир журналистики

11. Harley Street – 1) Харли-Стрит (улица в Лондоне, находятся приемные ведущих частных врачей-консультантов); 2) перен. Медики, медицинский мир

12. the British Museum – Британский музей (один из крупнейших музеев мира)

13. Bloomsbery – Блумзбери (район в центральной части Лондона, где находится Британский музей и Лондонской университет)

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