London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is the biggest city in the country. It is situated in the south-east of England on the river Thames.
London is also one of the most important cities in the world. It is a centre for business and for tourism.
London was founded by the Romans in the 1st century. Soon, it became a busy city.
In 1666 there was a big fire which started in a baker´s house in Pudding Lane. Most of London was burnt. After the Great Fire, people started to build their houses of bricks and stone. In the 19th century, there were many factories in London and the city became dirty and dark. There was a lot of smoke everywhere. There were also many poor and homeless people in London.
Today, London is a modern, multicultural city. 7.5 million people live and work there. The real businessand financial centre of London is called the City. There are many offices, banks and shops in the City of London.
There are many interesting places to visit in London. The most of them are situated near the Thames.
The Houses of Parliament in Westminster Palace are the centre of the British government. The most famous part of Westminster Palace is Big Ben – the tower with a bell and a giant clock with four faces measuring over seven metres in diameter. Big Ben chimes midnight on New Year´s Eve and you can hear it on BBC World Service, too.
Whitehall is a street where there are many government buildings. Downing Street is off Whitehall. At 10, Downing Street the British Prime Ministers traditionally live and work.
The British Queen lives in Buckingham Palace. Soldiers guard the palace and at half past eleven in the morning, they change guard. Many tourists watch the ceremony and then they go to see the paintings in the Queen´s Gallery.
The Tower is the old royal castle, which was built by William the Conqueror after 1066. Today, you can see the Crown Jewels in it. And in front of it, you can meet the beefeaters in their traditional costumes –they used to guard the Tower but today, they work as tourist guides.
There are many famous churches in London. One of them is Westminster Abbey. Many English kings and queens were crowned here.
Another great London church is St Paul´s Cathedral. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London. You can climb up to the top of the cathedral and watch the City of London from there.
There are many galleries and museums in London. The most famous gallery is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Another great gallery is the Tate Gallery, where you can se the paintings by great British artists and modern painters like Picasso.
The British Museum is one of the largest museums in the world with many different collections and exhibitions.
There are more than eighty parks in London. The best known parks are Hyde Park – with the Speaker´s Corner where you can make a speech on any topic, Regents´s Park with the London Zoo, or St. James´s Park.
London is a busy place. You can travel around the town by the underground (called The Tube). It´s the world´s oldest underground system consisting of 12 lines. You can take a bus, too. Earlier, the most typical London´s means of transport was the red double-decker, but it became part of history in 2005. You can also go by the Docklands Light Railway. You can travel by boat or take a clipper ( a river-bus).
The typical London cabs are black.
There are over thirty bridges across the river Thames. The most famous of them is Tower Bridge with its two towers. It opens when a large ship is passing under it.
Many people from all over the world come to London to do shopping. London´s main shopping centre is Oxford Street. There are many famous stores there, like Marks and Spencer, Selfridges or Debenhams. But the best-known store is Harrods in Knightsbridge.
There are hundreds of markets in London. They sell many things from food and clothes to antiques and collectors´ items. Famous markets are e.g. Portobello Road or Covent Garden.
There are a lot of opportunities to enjoy nightlife in London. There are more than seven thousand pubs where you can drink and eat with your friends.
If you want to go to the cinema or theatre, you can go to the West End. The most famous London theatres are the National Theatre, the Barbican Centre, or the Globe.
In the West End, there are many nightclubs, ethnic restaurants and cafés. This part of the West End is called Soho.
New York
New York City is the largest and most densely populated city in the United States. Over 8 million people live there. It is situated in the state of New York, in the north-east of the USA. It is an important centre for business and international contacts, culture and entertainment. The nickname of New York City is the Big Apple.
The oldest part of the city is the island of Manhattan. Dutch settlers bought it from the Indians for 24 dollars in 1626 and founded a town there which they called New Amsterdam.
In 1664, the English took over the colony and changed the name to New York, to honor the Duke of York, who later became King of England.
New York quickly grew to become a large and important city. In 1898, Greater New York was formed – it is today´s New York City.
New York is a multicultural city. After the War of Independence, many people came to America to find new opportunities. Many of them were from Ireland or Germany, China or Italy, and they formed communities. Today, New York has an interesting mixture of people, languages and customs.
The city is divided into five major parts called boroughs. They are:
• Manhattan (the real heart of New York City, a long narrow island with many specific neighbourhoods, the Hudson River in the west, the East River in the East and the Harlem River in the north-east)
• Brooklyn
• The Bronx (the largest ZOO in the USA)
• Queens (the John F. Kennedy Airport)
• Staten Island
Getting around New York is easy. There is a rectangular system of streets and avenues which have numbers. Most streets go east and west. Most avenues go north and south. If you want to travel around New York, you can use a means of public transport. The underground in New York is called The New York City Subway. It´s the world´s largest underground system with its 26 lines and many interchange stations. The most important problem of the Subway is its safety and security. Other means of public transport in New York are trains, buses, ferries and a special aerial tramway (lanovka). You can also take a taxi which is traditionally yellow.
There are many places to visit or see in New York.
One of the most famous places in New York is Central Park in Manhattan. You can walk in it, go ice-skating or sailing or you can visit the zoo. There are also concerts or theatre performances there.
There are many museums in New York, e.g. the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Guggenheim Museum, which is a very unusual, round building designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
If you like opera, ballet and concerts , you can go to Lincoln Center. One of the most famous buildings of the center is the Metropolitan Opera House.
Rockefeller Center is situated on Fifth Avenue. It has got 21 buildings. There are offices and music halls there. The best-known of them is Radio City Music Hall.
Carnegie Hall is another famous venue of concerts.
The Statue of Liberty is another icon of New York and the USA. It stands on Liberty Island. The statue was a present from the people of France. It was created in France, then, in pieces, transported across the sea. It was unveiled on Liberty Island in 1886. The statue welcomes the immigrants arriving on ships.
Everyone knows that there are many very high buildings in New York. They are called skyscrapers. One of the most famous is the Empire State Building, which was built in 1931 and has 102 storeys and there is a good view of the whole city from the top. Other famous skyscrapers were the Twins – the World Trade Center. Until 11th September 2001 they were the highest buildings in New York. On that day, they became an icon. Terrorists hijacked two planes and crashed them into the towers, destroyed them and killed hundreds of people in them. The site is called “Ground Zero”.The construction of a new World Trade Center has already begun.
One of the most famous streets is Fifth Avenue with St Patrick´s Cathedral. It is always very busy. It is a shopping street with many stores like Tiffany (the best-known jewellery store). On Easter Sunday, you can see many people walking along Fifth Avenue in their “Sunday best” – it´s the famous Easter Parade.
Broadway is an old Indian trail which runs across all the length of Manhattan. Broadway is famous for its theatres - there are over thirty of them. You can watch many famous performances there, especially successful musicals.
The centre of the theatre disctrict is Times Square. On New Year´s Eve, crowds of people stand in the square to welcome the New Year.
Wall Street in Manhattan is the financial centre of the USA – many banks have their offices here. It is the seat of the world´s most important Stock Exchange.
Chinatown in Manattan is full of Chinese restaurants, markets and little shops.
Little Italy is a center for Italian people in New York.
Harlem, north of Central Park is a place where many black people live. It´s famous for its jazz music.
There are many ethnic restaurants in New York, but the most New Yorkers do not have time for a sit-down meal. They eat in fast foods or buy food from stands.
Speak about one city in any of the English-speaking countries. Use this chart to help you.
Name / Nickname
Introduction / Importance
Location / River / Environs (Surroundings)
Population / Ethnic groups
History
Things to see / Monuments and sights
Transport
Things to do / Entertainment
Shopping
Relaxing / Sports
Everyday life
What do you know about these cities? Fill in the table.
City Country Importance / Fame – 3 sentences
Stratford-upon-Avon
Montreal
Auckland
Sydney
Las Vegas
Manchester
Edinburgh
Liverpool
Memphis
Los Angeles
Chicago
Washington D.C.
Vancouver
Cork
Glasgow
Oxford
Belfast
Boston
Melbourne
Cambridge
Wellington
Alice Springs
Ottawa
Winnipeg
San Francisco
New Orleans
Žádné komentáře:
Okomentovat