Далее: Unit VI. Before reading Вверх: Методические рекомендации Назад: Unit IV. Before reading

Unit V. Before reading the text concentrate on the following points

1. What do you know about the West End?
2. What sights are there?
3. Would you like to visit the West End?

THE WEST END

The West End is the richest and most beautiful part of London. The West End is the name given to the area of central London north from the Mall to Oxford Street. It includes Trafalgar Square, the main shopping areas of Oxford Street and Bond Street, and the entertainment centres of Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Shaftsbury Avenue. Fine buildings, theatres, museums and big shops can be found in the West End. The best streets and parks of the capital are there too. The West End is associated with glamour and bright lights.

Vocabulary Notes

The West End – Вест-Энд

Trafalgar Square – Трафальгарская площадь

Oxford Street – Оксфорд-Стрит

Bond Street – Бонд-Стрит

Soho – Сохо (развлекательный центр)

Piccadilly Circus – цирк Пикадили

Leicester Square – Лестер-Сквер

Shaftsbury Avenue – Шафтсбери-Авеню

TRAFALGAR SQUARE

Trafalgar Square was built in the 19th century to commemorate the battle of Trafalgar. This is one of the nerve-centres of London. It was named Trafalgar Square to commemorate the historical naval victory won on the 21st of October 1805 by the British fleet under the command of Horatio Nelson over the combined French-Spanish fleet commanded by Villeneuve. The battle took place at Cape Trafalgar in the mouth of the Straits of Gibraltar and lasted several hours. Nelson was fatally wounded by a shot which broke his backbone. He died on board his flagship the Victory, but not before being told that he had won the battle.

Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column

Nelson’s Column, with the statue of Admiral Lord Nelson on top, rises in the centre of Trafalgar Square. This most impressive monument is 170 feet (about 52 m) tall. The statue of Nelson itself placed facing towards the sea he loved, measures 17 feet (more than 5 m) in height.

The statue was made by a well-known English sculpture Edward Bailey. Round the base there are four bronze carvings representing scenes from famous naval battles. In 1867 four great lions were placed at the foot of the Nelson’s Column.

Quite often the square becomes the location for meetings and in it crowds of Londoners congregate to celebrate political rallies. So it can be said that Trafalgar Square is the heart from which the beat is emitted to all the Londoners.

There are many pigeons in the square and Londoners like to feed them. Everybody knows that the dove is the symbol of peace all over the world.

Vocabulary Notes

The Mall — Молл (улица в центральной части Лондона; ведет от Трафальгарской площади к Букингемскому дворцу)

Commemorate — чтить память, служить напоминанием

Nelson’s Column – колонна Нельсона

Carving – барельеф

Straits of Gibraltar — Гибралтарский пролив Congregate — собирать (ся), скопляться, сходиться

Rally — массовый митинг, слет

Emit — издавать (крик, звук)

PICCADILLY CIRCUS

Piccadilly Circus is the centre of night life in the West End. This is one of the most popular meeting points of London, probably second only to Trafalgar Square. It is actually quite small, and most people are rather disappointed when they see it for the first time because they had imagined it would be much bigger.

Piccadilly Circus is a dynamic and picturesque place with a happy and lively cosmopolitan atmosphere. There stroll people who come from the most far-flung countries in the world, of all races, dressed in their national clothes. Groups of people like to gather around the foot of the statue of Eros, the god of love, work of Sir Alfred Gilbert. They form a brightly colorful picture. Piccadilly Circus is a West End shopping centre. There are many shops with big advertisements, belonging to different foreign firms there.

Vocabulary Notes

Disappoint — разочаровывать

Far – flung countries — страны, расположенные далеко друг от друга (в разных концах света)

Eros – Эрос (разговорное название памятника известному филантропу графу Шафтсбери в центре Пиккадилли в Лондоне; установлен в 1893)

THE ROYAL ACADEMY

Behind an Augustan facade of London’s Piccadilly lays a treasure-house of beauty and colour. This is Burlington House — the home of the Royal Academy of Arts since 1869, whose exhibitions attract thousands of visitors every year.

The Royal Academy’s services to the arts began nearly 200 years ago. In 1768 a group of leading painters, sculptors and architects presented a memorial to King George II, seeking his interest in promoting an institution dedicated to encouraging art through a school of design and the holding of an annual exhibition of contemporary work.

The Academy’s prime purpose is teaching art to a number of Britain’s most talented students. About 100 students attend the Academy Schools and are trained in the Schools of Painting and Drawing, Sculpture and Architecture. They are selected by compe­titive examination from young men and women who have spent two or more years at London or provincial art schools.

The two principal public attractions of the Royal Academy are the famous series of Winter Exhibitions and the annual Summer Exhibition. From time to time the Academy also organizes special exhibitions in its smaller Diploma Gallery, which takes its name from the “diploma works” which every Royal Academician must present on election.

Vocabulary Notes

The Royal Academy – Королевская академия художеств.

Treasure-house — сокровищница

Royal Academician — академик, член Королевской Академии ис­кусств

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

With its architecturally defined profile, this is one of London’s most popular historical buildings. Buckingham Palace was built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. Later restored by Nash, the present facade was planned by Sir Aston Webb in 1913. At the west end of the Mall, Buckingham Palace is the London residence of the Sovereign. When the Queen is here, the royal standard flut­ters over the palace. The Royal Mews, in Buckingham Palace Road, house the coaches and horses used on all state occasions and are open to the public on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Queen’s Gallery, also in Buckingham Palace Road, has special exhibitions from the Royal collection and may be visited every day except Monday. In its entirety, the Palace and the beautiful gardens which surround it occupy an area of approximately 40 acres. Altogether this is one of the most interesting places in London for the tourist.

The ceremony of the Changing of the Guard that takes place at eleven o’clock in the morning and constitutes one of the pageants that is the main tourists’ attraction. Every day a large crowd of people gather to see this famous and traditional ceremony. It is an event that, in spite of its regularity, appears vested with that solemn classical ritual, of purely British favour, that confers on the protocol surrounding the monarchy of the United Kingdom an appearance which is nobly aristocratic, and yet lively and popular at the same time. It is something typically and intimately part of London’s character.

Vocabulary Notes

Buckingham Palace – Букингемский дворец

Duke — герцог (титул; высшая степень сословия пэров)

Nash — Нэш, английский архитектор (1752 – 1835)

Sovereign – монарх

Royal Mews — «Ройял мьюз», Королевские конюшни

Queen’s Gallery — картинная галерея королевы (со сменной экспозицией)

In its entirety — полностью, в целом

Pageant — пышное зрелище, пышная процессия

Appears vested with that solemn classical ritual — кажется обставленным торжественным классическим ритуалом

Flavour — вкус

Confer — даровать, присваивать

The Changing of the Guard – смена караула

HYDE PARK

London is a city in which green spaces abound. Hyde Park is one of the most popular and most frequented points in London. In one corner is located the old residence of the Duke of Wellington, Apsley House, now Wellington Museum. Along one side of Park runs Park Lane, by which one can arrive at Marble Arch, not far from where is Speaker's Corner, universally renowned as the place where numerous speakers propound the most extraordinary ideas in front of the most heterogeneous public. Hyde Park is the largest park in London: including the adjoining Kensington Gardens, the length and breadth of the Park extend over an area of 636 acres. Hyde Park has a large and most attractive lake called the Serpentine, whose area of 41 acres is used to swim in and to quietly row on in summer.

Another attraction of Hyde Park is the horse-riding lane known as Rotten Row, which is a mile and a half long. The large green expanse of Kensington Gardens with its many trees and flowers, its graceful Round Pond and the lovely statue of Peter Pan, work of Trampton, also constitutes a most attractive spectacle. Other well known and important parks are Regent's Park, Green Park, St. James’s Park and Kennington Park, all of which provide for the Londoners tranquil, relaxing spots in which to stroll or play. There are many swans in London parks and gardens and according to the tradition they are considered to be the property of the Royal family.

Vocabulary Notes

Hyde Park – Гайд -Парк

Abound — изобиловать

Apsley House — Эпсли-Хаус (дом-музей герцога Веллингтона)

Park Lane — Парк Лейн (улица в лондонском Уэст-Энде, известна фе­шенебельными гостиницами и особняками)

Universally renowned — всемирно известный

Propound — предлагать на обсуждение

Heterogeneous — разнородный

Rotten Row — Роттен-Роу (аллея для верховой езды в Гайд-Парке)

Peter Pan — Питер Пэн

Reading Comprehension Exercises

1. Answer the questions.
   1. What part of London is called the West End?
   2. How can you characterize it?
   3. Why was the square in the centre of London named Trafalgar?
   4. When was the historical naval victory won?
   5. Where is Piccadilly Circus situated?
   6. What is it famous for?
   7. What is the prime purpose of the Royal Academy of Arts?
   8. What are the two principal public attractions of the Royal Асаdemy?
   9. What is Buckingham Palace? Whose palace is it? What important buildings are there near it?
   10. What is Hyde Park famous for?
2. Ask your fellow-students the questions to find out:
   1. If he is interested in the West End?
   2. What he can say about the ceremony of Changing of the Guard?
   3. If he would like to visit some sights of the West End?

Grammar Exercises

1. Translate the sentences in Russian and put the verbs in the brackets into the correct tense and voice forms.
   1. School (to close) for a few days because of the storm.
   2. Andrew (to arrest) a few days ago.
   3. British coins (to make) in the Royal Mint.
   4. New Year's Day (to celebrate) on January, 1.
   5. Under safety regulations women (not to allow) to work underground.
   6. The movie (to show) four times in the cinema.
   7. The hikers (to force) to turn back by bad weather.
   8. The letter (to write) by a lefthander. I (to understand) it after I (to read) it several times.
   9. When I (to enter) the classroom, my friend (to examine).
   10. April fool’s Day (to mark) for the last few years in Russia too.
2. Put questions to the underlined words.
   1. Fifty students were admitted to the faculty last August.
   2. I have been woken up by the noise in the street.
   3. He was given a form to fill in.
   4. The tea will not be served till 5 because of the conference.
   5. She was greeted very warmly.
   6. Two men were arrested after the robbery.
   7. My colleague will be sent to London to lecture on Russian history.
   8. Wait a little; your papers are being looked through.
   9. French is spoken in France and Canada.
   10. This television programme is watched mostly by teenagers.
3. Make up sentences using the Present, Past or Future Indefinite Passive.

   Model: The papyrus was invented many centuries ago.

   this book	publish	next month
   his new play	stage	last month
   this film	finish	a year ago
   Exercise 2	write	soon
   this house	do	a week ago
   my watch	repair	before the end of the century
   the students	build	every year
   new discoveries	study	every month
   this work	use	tomorrow
   this news	examine	last century
   our University	invent	on Monday
   this theory	read	yesterday
   English	discuss	many centuries ago
   our plans	teach
   the paper	speak
   	found

4. Put the verbs in the brackets into the correct tense and voice forms
   1. The new theatre (to open) last month.
   2. Three people (to kill) in the car accident.
   3. A cure for cancer (not to find) yet.
   4. The article (to translate) into Russian now, it (to publish) as soon as they (to return) it.
   5. Our office (to decorate) for the celebration and looks cheerful.
   6. When the plane (to take off), the passengers (to show) how to use life jackets.
   7. If you (to offer) a cheap camera, don't buy it, it (not to work).
   8. I (to ask) a lot of questions about my education background when I (to hire).
   9. You (to offer) a new job.
   10. Ann (to attack) last night when she (to walk) home alone.

Lexical Exercises

1. Open the brackets using the correct tense and voice forms. Do you know that?
   1. The oldest dwelling house in Britain (to consider) to be “The Fighting Cocks Inn” which (to build) in the year 800. The inn itself (to open) much later in 1543;
   2. In 1961 The Museum of Art in New York City (to display) Henry Matisse’s “Le Bateau” and it (to take) 47 days before someone (to discover) it (to hang) upside down;
   3. The original building of the famous White House in Washington (to set) on fire by the British during the British-American war when the Americans (to fight) for their independence. Some time later the building (to paint) white to hide the marks on the wall and it (to keep) that colour since that time as a part of American history;
   4. The narrowest street in Britain (to call) Nelson Street and (to situate) in King’s Lynn, near Norfolk. Here you can shake hands through the window with your neighbour living across the street;
   5. The magnificent show “My Fair Lady” (to create) by Frederic Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner in the 50s and first (to present) in New York City on Broadway;
   6. New York (to know) as a “melting pot”, because people of different races and nationalities make up its population of more than 7 million. About 13 of every 100 people in New York (to bear) in another country. More than 80 languages (to speak) throughout the neighbourhood and streets of the city. There are places where the English language hardly ever (to hear).
2. Combine words into sentences and translate them into Russian.
   1. lead, Square, this, will, Trafalgar, to, street, you.
   2. century, the Tower, from, the 11th, London, of, dates.
   3. offers, to, London, many, tourists, attractions.
   4. killed, Cenotaph, the British, in, world, commemorates, the, wars, two, soldiers.
   5. the Tower, you, a, can, boat, a glimpse, from, river, get, of.
   6. in, fascinating, are, many, London, parks, there.
   7. Westminster Abbey, see, to, will, you, memorial, a, Shakespeare, in.
   8. day, they, places, that, only, interest, some, saw, of.
   9. St. Paul's Cathedral, in, designed, the, century, 17th, Christopher Wren.
   10. regiments, by, Buckingham Palace, guarded, is, five.
3. Translate into English.
   1. Вест-Энд – самый богатый и красивый центр Лондона.
   2. Вест-Энд ассоциируется с роскошью и яркими огнями.
   3. Трафальгарская площадь была построена в 19 веке, чтобы увековечить в памяти Трафальгарскую битву.
   4. Колонна Нельсона, со статуей адмирала лорда Нельсона, возвышается в центре Трафальгарской площади.
   5. Цирк Пиккадилли – это центр ночной жизни Вест-Энда.
   6. Королевская академия художеств также расположена в Вест-Энде.
   7. Букингемский дворец был построен в 1703 году для Герцога Букингемского.
   8. Церемония смены караула происходит каждое утро в 11 часов.
   9. Гайд Парк – это самый большой парк в Лондоне.
   10. В лондонских парках и садах много лебедей, которые, согласно традиции, считаются собственностью королевской семьи.

Conversation and Discussion

1. The British fleet under the command of Admiral Nelson won the victory in the battle which lasted only several hours. And in spite of this Admiral Nelson be­came a national hero. What do you think about the battle itself and the way how British people commemorate the histori­cal victory won by Admiral Lord Nelson?
2. You know that most shops in London are situated in the centre of the West End. Can we say that the West End is the goods of London? Prove your opinion.

Далее: Unit VI. Before reading Вверх: Методические рекомендации Назад: Unit IV. Before reading