To the east of Westminster is East End, an industrial district of the capital. Most of plants and factories are situated there

LONDON

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and cultural centre. It’s one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is more than 9 million people. London is situated on the river Thames. It was founded more than two thousand years ago.

London is an ancient city. It appeared at the place where the Roman invaders decided to build a bridge over the Thames. There are four parts in London: West End, East End, the City and Westminster.

The City is the oldest part of London, its financial and business centre. There are many offices, companies and banks in this part of the capital. The heart of the City is the Stock Exchange. The Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral are situated in the City.

Westminster is also important part of the capital. It’s the administrative centre of London. The Houses of Parliament, the seat of the British Government, are there. Opposite the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey where kings and queens have been crowned and many famous people were buried. The Houses of Parliament are often referred to as the Palace of Westminster.

The Towers of the Houses of Parliament stand high above the city. On the highest tower there is the largest clock in the country, Big Ben. Big Ben strikes every quarter of an hour.

To the west of Westminster is West End, the richest part of London. It is full of luxury hotels, super-markets, cinemas and concert-halls. In the centre of the West End the Trafalgar Square is situated with the famous statue of Lord Nelson.


¹ To the east of Westminster is East End, an industrial district of the capital. Most of plants and factories are situated there.

The official London residence of the Queen is Buckingham Palace. The palace was built in 1703 by the Duke Buckingham. The daily ceremony of the Changing of the Guard takes place in its courtyard.

There are many museums in London. For example, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum. The British Museum is the biggest museum in London. The museum is famous for its library — one of the richest in the world.

There are many beautiful parks in London. St James’s Park, Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens are linked together and form above 300 hectares of parkland in the heart of London.

1. Work with a partner. Find the answers to these questions about the different UK

countries as quickly as you can.

1. Which UK country has bilingual road signs?

2. What is the name of the architect who designed many famous buildings in Glasgow?

3. In which UK country is there a town with one of the longest place names in the world?

4. What English national icons in Manchester are mentioned?

5. What is ‘great craic’?

6. Which sport is very important in Welsh culture?

7. Which UK country has about 790 islands off its coast?

8. Which UK country has a border with another European country?

9. Who is the patron Saint of England?

10.What national icons of Scotland are mentioned?

11.What are Eisteddfodau?

12.Where are Van Morrison and the band Ash from?

13.What is Wales’ most famous building?

14.Which UK country has the least distinct cultural identity?

15.Where does one of the world’s biggest arts festivals take place?

16.In which UK country are the Mountains of Mourne?

1. Scotland

2. Charles Rennie Macintosh

3. Llanfair PG

4. the motif of the worker bee has been widely used to represent the city as a symbol of industry

6. Rugby

7. Northern Europe, Scotland comprises the northern half of the island of Great Britain as well as as 790 surrounding islands encompassing the major archipelagos of the Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and the Inner and Outer Hebrides.

8. Scotland

9. St George

11. The term "Eisteddfod", which is formed from two Welshmorphemes: eistedd, meaning "sit", and fod, meaning "be".

12. Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison OBE (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer.

13. big ben

15. The world's largest performing arts festival kicks off in Edinburgh, Scotland.

16. In which country in the UK are the Morne Mountains located? Also known as the Mourne or Morne Mountains, it is a granite mountain range in the Downing Mountains in southeastern Northern Ireland.It includes the highest mountains in Northern Ireland.

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