3. Learn the key words and expressions.

accuse – обвинять

doom – приговорить к смерти

erection – возведение

execute – казнить

fortress – крепость

inner – внутренний

keep up – хранить

mint – монетный двор

prisoner – заключенный

protection – защита

scaffold – эшафот

store – хранить

thickness – толщина

treasure – сокровище

unjustice – несправедливость

violence – жестокость

4. Check your comprehension.

1. What is the Tower of London? 2. When was it erected? 3. What did this huge fortress serve for during the past centuries? 4. What do you know about the Traitors’ gate? 5. What is the Tower of London now? 6. Who are the Yeomen-Warders?

TEXT 13

1. Read the following proper nouns correctly.

Houses of Parliament ['hauzIz qv 'pRlqmqnt] – здание Парламента

Palace of Westminster ['pxlIs qv 'westmInIstq] – Вестминстерский дворец

Edward the Confessor ['edwqd Dq kqn'fesq] – Эдвард Проповедник

William the Conqueror ['wIljqm Dq 'kONkqrq] – Уильям Завоеватель

St. Stephen’s Tower [snt 'stJvqnz 'tauq] – Башня святого Стефана

Strangers’ Gallery ['streIndZqz 'gxlqrI] – Галерея для публики (посторонних)

Jewel Tower ['dZHql'tauq] – Сокровищница

2. Read and translate the text.

THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT (1, 500)

The Houses of Parliament, called officially the Palace of Westminster, were built during the reign of Edward the Confessor shortly before the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066. The Palace was the royal residence and also the country’s main court. Soon it became the seat of government and until the 16th century it was used both as a royal residence and as a parliament house. After the royal family moved to Whitehall Palace, the Westminster Palace was occupied by the Parliament and became its permanent home. The Parliament met here since the 16th till the 19th century.

The present Houses of Parliament were built after the fire in the Palace of Westminster in 1834. Modern Houses of Parliament, symbol of London, spread magnificently on the north bank of the Thames. This structure is a remarkable example of Gothic architecture. At two corners of the building there are two great towers. One of them, St. Stephen’s Tower, or the clock Tower, contains the famous Big Ben. It is a huge bell known all over the world, called so after the name of the Chief Commissioner of Works Benjamin Hall. Big Ben, the voice of London has been telling the time to the second since 1859. Thirteen and a half ton bell was mounted on the 96 m. clock tower behind the four clock faces, each measures seven metres in diameter.

As is known the Palace of Westminster houses the British Parliament: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Besides, in the Palace one can see St. Stephen’s Hall - a wide corridor with paintings and marble structures, the highly decorated Central and Division Lobbies, the Strangers’ Gallery where people can come and hear debates of the M. Ps, etc. For relaxation, the Members of Parliament have reception rooms which lead into the riverside terrace. In the gardens across the road there is the Jewel Tower, a stone structure built in 1366 as a royal treasure house.

Notes

1) clock face – циферблат;

2) tell the time to the second – говорить время с точностью до секунды.

3. Learn the key words and expressions.

bank – (зд.) берег

bell - колокол

huge – огромный

invasion – нашествие

marble – мрамор

measure – измерять

mount – монтировать, устанавливать

occupy – занимать

permanent – постоянный

reign – правление

royal – королевский

structure – сооружение

4. Check your comprehension.

1. When were the Houses of Parliament first built? 2. What is the official name of the Houses of Parliament? 3. When did the Palace become the permanent Parliament House? 4. What does the Strangers’ gallery serve for?

TEXT 14

1. Read the following proper nouns correctly.

St. Paul’s Cathedral [snt 'pLlz kq'TJdrql] – Собор Святого Павла

Renaissance [rq'neIsqns] – Ренессанс, Возрождение

Whispering Gallery ['wIspqrIN 'gxlqrI] – галерея Шепотов

Joshua Reinolds ['dZOSwq 'reInqlds] – Джошуа Рейнолдс

2. Read and translate the text.

ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL (1, 100)

St. Paul’s Cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and the spiritual centre of the City, is Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, a fine specimen of Renaissance architecture. The work at this one of the finest buildings of architecture in Europe lasted from 1675 until 1709. The Cathedral has the grandeur of scale with a nave 146 metres long and a height of 110 metres from the floor to the top of the cross. It also has artistic sensitivity, from immaculate carvings to frescoes of scenes from the life of St. Paul, painted by Sir James Thornhill on the inner dome. The Cathedral has one of the largest bells in the world, called Great Paul, weighing about 17.5 tons. The interior of the Cathedral, full of memorials, is very beautiful. The most important of them are the monuments dedicated to the Duke of Wellington and to Admiral Nelson.

After looking round one can climb 263 steps to the Whispering Gallery. It is called so, because if someone whispers close to the wall on one side, a person with his ear close to the wall on the other side can hear what has been said.

Christopher Wren, who designed some 50 exquisite churches and who is now known as “the architect of London”, found his fame only after his death. He was buried in the Cathedral with the words on his grave “If you want to see his monument, look around”. St. Paul’s Cathedral is the resting place of Admiral Nelson, the Duke Wellington and Sir Joshua Reinolds, the famous English painter.