landmarks of London. Whitehall, which leads out of the square to the south, is the site of many
Government offices including the Prime Minister's residence, Foreign Office, War Office; at the far
end of Whitehall stand, beside the Thames, the Houses of Parliament with the Big Clock Tower, and
Westminster Abbey; to the left Covent Garden fruit market and Covent Garden Opera House, and
beyond the Bank of England; another slight turn left would enable your eye to fall on the British
Museum; further left still we should see theatreland around Piccadilly Circus (it is not at all a circus
but an open space of a circular form) and those expensive shopping promenades — Regent Street,
Oxford Street, Bond Street; a little further, and into view would come Hyde Park in the distance,
with, nearer, Buckingham Palace, and Royal Drive known as the Mall, which leads into Trafalgar
Square.
V. Use Text В to practise similar conversations on Moscow.
VI. Read and retell:
A. The famous square mile of the City of London is administered as an independent unit,
having its own Lord Mayor and Corporation and its own police force. It was here that the Romans
built their walled town of Londinium, a few traces of which remain today, and it was here that the
Medieval guilds established their headquarters. When after the Great Fire of 1666, the City was
rebuilt, stone and brick replaced the many mainly wooden medieval houses and from that time the
City gradually became a financial and commercial centre.
B. One of the special joys of London is the amount of space given over to parks, gardens,
squares and open areas. They provide a welcome visual and physical break from the mass of
buildings and the heavy traffic. Kew Gardens are famous Botanic Gardens on the banks of the
Thames. The gardens and hothouses with rare flowers, trees and shrubs are well worth seeing.
Within a stone's throw of Buckingham Palace are St. James's Park and Green Park. St. James's Park,
the oldest in London, was created by Henry VIII and redesigned by his successors. Green Park, as its
name suggests, mainly consists of lawns and trees.
(From Colourful London. Norwich, 1981)
VII. Make up short situations or dialogues, using tne following words and
phrases:
1. why not..., let me see, to be found, across the road, to have no (time, money) left; 2. in
present days, to live from hand to mouth; 3. under the command of, to be famous for, to defeat, to
win the victory, at the cost of; 4. fortress, armour, in memory of, to contain; 5. swan, lined with trees,