London: the сiтy of London

London is traditionally divided into the West End (situated to the west of the City - hence the nаmе) and the East End (running eastwards from the City).

The West End is famous for shopping and entertainment. It includes Mayfair - the upper-middle-class area; Bloomsbury with its literary and cultural traditions.

Piccadilly Circus is situated at the heart of London`s West End. It is really wonderful to come here at night. Piccadilly looks much prettier at night, quite fantastic, the luminous advertisements shooting high into the sky. There is an old saying that if you stand in Piccadilly Circus long enough, you'll see the whole world pass before you, if you stand there for 10 minutes you'll soon understand what it is that makes London famous throughout the world. At night, theatre-land awakens, heralded by many thousands of bright lights.

The best-known parks of West and North West London are Hyde Park, Green Park, and Regent's Park. Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Green Park and St. James's Park are linked together. Hyde Park is the largest park in London, and it is visited by many thousands of Londoners every day. There is boating and swimming on the lake. And an interesting sight here is Speakers` Corner, situated on the edge of Hyde Park. There one can hear the most outlandish ideas and doctrines being preached without anyone ever doing anything to stop it, unless someone starts attacking the royal family, in which case a policeman would step in and tell them they were going too far.

Hyde Park like Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square in front of the Houses of Parliament is often the scene of political demonstrations for peace, for the rights of the working people of the country.

The East End, where working-class London is centered, includes a11 the main dock areas and is heavily industrialized.

London plays a very important role in the industrial development of Great Britain. It is the country's main centre of printing (it has half of all the workers in England and Wales engaged in the printing and bookbinding trades) and of manufacture of clothing, food and many other products. Factories are scattered throughout the older inner city districts, where they are often surrounded by streets of small houses.

Since mid-century there have been considerable changes in industrial location: a number of factories have been encouraged to move out of London, particularly during the last fifteen years.

There are also industrial estates of factories built thirty or forty years ago about 10 miles (about 16 kilometers) from the centre of the city (factory development has often followed new road construction, for example to the west of London, where the factories have good transport facilities).

There is most work for Londoners in offices and shops, though the government has encouraged offices (as well as factories) to move out of London. It has set an example itself by moving government departments such as Tax Offices into the regions. Londoners themselves are looking for better housing, better job opportunities and fresher air to breathe, away from the city.

G.D. Tomakhin, Иностранные языки в школе № I, I988.

Пояснение к тексту

West End - Уэст-Энд /Западная фешенебельная часть Лондона/

East End - Ист-Энд /Промышленный рабочий район Лондона/

Bloomsbury- Блумзбери /район в центральной части Лондона/

Mayfair - Мэйфэр /фешенебельный район Уэст-Энда/

Green Park - Грин Парк /тянется вдоль улицы Пиккадилли/

Regent's Park - Риджентс Парк /бывшее место королевской охоты/

St.James`s Park - Сент-Джеймский парк /в центре Лондона/

Kensington Gardens - Кенсингтон-Гарденз /большой парк в Лондоне/

Piccadilly Circus - Пиккадалли Серкус, площадь Пиккадилли.

Speakers' Corner - Уголок ораторов /место в Гайд-Парке/.

Слова и выражения для активного усвоения

to divide- делить, разделять

entertainment – развлечение

to link – связывать

hunting – охота

outlandish - странный

to preach- проповедовать

to print – печатать

to be engaged - быть занятым

to scatter – разбрасывать

to surround - окружать

considerable - значительный, важный

to follow - следовать

to encourage - поощрять, способствовать

to nova out - выезжать

to look for - искать

opportunity - удобный случай, возможность

Questions to the text.

1. What is the West End of London?

2. What are the best known parks of West find?

3. Who lives in the East End?

4. Does London play a very important role in the industrial development of Great Britain?

T ext 8.