London and the home counties

Being the capital of the country, London was the first city affected by the recent administrative reforms, carried out in Britain. It provided the model later copied by other big cities. In the 1920s the County of London had been created which included the suburbs of the city with a population of 4.5 million people. The London Government Act of 1963 created a new County of Greater London. It included the built-up development around the city with emht,million inhabitants, together with the old county known as “Inner London” (about three million inhabitants). It included parts of the surrounding counties, and the whole county of Middlesex, which ceased to exist as an administrative area. London contains more people than the whole of Scotland and Wales taken together. Still it has not enough people to fill its industrial, com­mercial and government offices. That is why many people who work in London have their homes far away. Usually they go up to London every day by suburban train. In English there is a word to refer to regular travelling between home and work — "to commute". That is why much of the counties situated in the neighbourhood of London in the Thames valley (Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex, Hertford, and Hamp­shire) are often called "Commuter Land". Another term to refer to this area is "Home Counties", which emphasizes their being “homes” for London office workers. And still another term is “the dormitory suburbs of London”, which emphasizes their main function for the people who spend most of the day away from home.

The Home Counties do not have big cities or towns. But some of them are worth mentioning because they are, as English people say, “thick with English history”. Canterbury is famous for its ancient cathedral with Beckefs tomb, Hastings for its associations with the famous battle. On the coast seaside-resort have grown up. Four of these — Brighton, Bournemouth and Southend in the south, and Blackpool in the northwest, have become important towns themselves, with more than 150,000 people each, and there are several smaller seaside towns, which are remarkable for the great number of summer visitors they receive, some to stay for a week, some - for a few hours on the beach before returning home in the evening. The county of Kent, where all these towns are situated, is known as the “Garden of England”. It has a favour­able climate, and, which is more important, a long tradition for gar­dening and fruit growing.

The city of Bath is famous for its hot springs. Their curing effect was discovered by the Romans, who built magnificent baths there. In the picture, behind the baths, you can see the medieval abbey. Bath be­came famous in the 18th century as a fashionable spa, where people used to go “to take waters”. This famous water has a horrible taste, but is good for health.

After World War II, there appeared in the Home Counties many so-called new towns with modern community centres, broad streets and well-planned houses, each with a small garden. Their streets are laid out attractively, in harmony with the relief of the surrounding country. As the new towns grew up, their councils were trying to make life more inter­esting for the local people. The community centres are being improved and developed, the theatrical companies on tour are invited, and so on.

Notes:

being the capital – будучи столицей

surrounding counties – прилегающие графства

to be worth mentioning – следует упомянуть

curing effect – лечебный эффект

medieval abbey – средневековый монастырь

EXERCISES

1. Переведите на русский язык:

the County of Greater London, the Home Counties, the Com­muter Land, Canterbury, the Garden of England, the new towns.

2. Выпишите из текста предложения, содержащие следующие словосочетания и переведите их на русский язык:

to be affected by, in the neighbourhood, seaside-resort towns, hot springs, a spa, to lay out in harmony with the relief.

3. Составьте предложения со следующими словами и словосочетаниями:

the build-up development, the inner London, to commute, dormitory suburbs, “to be thick with history”, summer visitors, gardening, to take waters, a community centre, a theatrical com­pany on tour.

4. Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. What administrative division existed on the territory of London before the reforms of the 1960s? What did it include?

2. What changes were brought about by the recent administrative reform? What does the County of Greater London include?

3. How many people live in London? Why is it necessary for many people who work in London to have their homes far away? Is it only because there are more jobs in London than townspeople?

4. What counties are situated in the Thames valley? What terms are used in the English language to refer to them? What does each of them emphasize?

5. What is interesting about such towns as Canterbury and Hastings?

6. What do you know about Brighton and Blackpool in addition to what was mentioned in the text?

7. What is the chief industry of smaller Kentish towns, additional to gardening and fruit growing? By the way, what is the differ­ence between these occupations?

8. What is the city of Bath famous for? What do the people think about the famous mineral water that comes from that place?

9. What was it in the new towns in which they differed greatly from the "old" ones?

10. What efforts are the town councils making in order to turn them from "dormitory suburbs" into cultural centres?

LONDON

Greater London covers 600 square miles of land. It consists of 32 districts called “boroughs”, some of which had been small towns that were swallowed up by London as it grew in all directions. Among them are Chelsea, Paddington, Greenwich, Battersea and many others.

In the centre of Greater London, there are two small towns from which it has grown up: the City and Westminster. The City covers one square mile on the north bank of the Thames. It contains most of the financial institutions in Britain. It is the Commercial Capital of the country. The last World War seriously affected London's position in the world. Britain had to sell many of its valuable stocks and shares in overseas concerns to help pay for the war, and New York largely succeed­ed London as the financial and commercial centre of the world. Never­theless, London firms still retain a high reputation for good business and fair deal, and there is no sign that London is losing its prosperity.

About half a million people come to work in its offices during the weekdays. On Saturday and Sunday the City is almost deserted, except for the weekend crowds visiting St. PauTs Cathedral, the Tower and other tourist sites. The chief officer of this small but important area is the Lord Mayor of London (new each year, like other mayors). He looks after the needs of 4,000 inhabitants while the Chairman of the Greater London County deals with seven million.

Westminster is not far away from the City. It includes the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace (the residence of the royal family), main government offices in the short street called Whitehall. In addition to these political and royal houses, Westmin­ster contains many institutions im­portant for intellectual and cultur­al life of the country: the Universi­ty of London, the British Museum, the National Gallery, and the Tate Gallery.

Westminster is a part of a larger division of London called the West End. This name is associated with wealth, luxury and goods of high quality. Most of the private houses were built during the Georgian era. For a long time it was once entirely residential, but as it grew up, some of the streets of the West End became associated with particular trades and professions: Fleet Street with journalism, as all English newspapers are printed there, Savile Row with fashionable tailors and dressmakers, Hatton Garden with diamond merchants, Harley Street with medical consultants, Mincing Lane with tea merchants. More and more offices, however, are now being established in the West End, though many of London's leading businesses still have their offices in the City, because they need to be close to the various Exchanges.

The fashionable West End is quite different from the East End, which is situated behind the Port of London — miles upon miles of docks. The East End has also factories producing clothing, shoes, food and drink and other things of importance for such a huge city as London. It is not a very attractive part of London, with poorer houses of the people who work in the docks and factories.

London's size and population, its historical associations, its politi­cal and government offices, its industries and trades make it really one of the greatest cities of the world.

Notes:

to be swallowed up – быть поглощенным

to retain a high reputation – сохранять хорошую репутацию

there is no sign – нет и намека

deserted – пустынный

to be associated with smth – ассоциироваться с чем-то

Georgian era – георгианская эпоха (конец XVIII – начало XIX вв.)

to be printed -печататься

EXERCISES

1. Переведите на русский язык:

a borough, Greater London, the City, the Lord Mayor of Lon­don, Buckingham Palace, Whitehall, the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the West End, the East End.

2. Выпишите из текста предложения, содержащие следующие словосочетания и переведите их на русский язык:

to cover, to affect smb's position, stocks and shares in overseas concerns, a residential district, miles upon miles.

3. Составьте предложения со следующими словами и словосочетаниями:

to be swallowed up by London, to succeed as, fair deal, tourist sites, the Georgian era, tailors and dressmakers, the docks.

4. Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. What term is used to refer to districts within London? Do you know anything about any of the mentioned districts, in addi­tion to what is said in the text? From what two small towns has London actually grown up?

2. How big is the City? What important institutions and show places does it contain? Who is the chief officer of this small but important area? Into what larger administrative unit does it enter? Who is the chief officer of that larger area?

3. What important government and cultural institutions does Westminster contain? Do you know anything about them, in addition to what is mentioned in the text?

4. Into what larger administrative division does Westminster en­ter as its part? What is this area famous for? What are the cultural associations of such streets as Piccadilly, Savile Row, Mincing Lane, Fleet Street, Harley Street?

5. What is the name of the part of the city situated behind the Port of London? In what way does it differ greatly from the West End? What is the chief importance of this area?