XIII. Make up situations based on the text using the following words and word-combinations:

to get on (off) the bus; to catch a bus; to find out; to find; to call; within; traffic; the suburbs.

XIV. Read the text. Answer the questions that follow it. The Tube

You can get to most places in London very quickly if you take the Underground, or "Tube", as it is called. But don't travel between 730 and 9.30 in the morning, or 4.30 and 6.30 in the evening. These are the "rush hours". If you do travel then, you will meet quite a lot of the 2.300 million people who travel by Tube every year!

You have decided where you want to go — so you buy a ticket from the ticket office at the Underground Station, or from an automatic machine. Some stations have automatic gates where you go in with your ticket. Keep your ticket till the end of your journey; that's when the ticket-collector (or machine) takes it from you.

There are eight lines on the London Underground. On an Underground map all the lines are different colour.

Questions:

1. What's the quickest way to get to most places of London?

2. What is the London Underground called?

3. At what time of day is it best not to travel by the Underground? What are these hours called?

4. Where do you buy your tickets?

5. Why must you keep your ticket till the end of your journey?

6. How many lines are there on the London Underground?

7. How many lines are there on the Kyiv Underground?

Behind the Scenes.

How well do you know your own city, town or village? Have you ever stopped and wondered why something was built in a-particular style? Or have you suddenly noticed something which you have passed many times but have never seen before? In a large, bustling city such as London, there is usually very little time to stop and look at things. If you work there most of your time is spent struggling on the Underground or waiting in a bus queue which gets longer and longer. Or if you are a tourist you often see London through the eyes of a guide. You are so busy taking photographs of the usual sights (Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square) that you miss many things that are just waiting quietly to be discovered. Things which have no signs, no flashing lights, no queues or guides; just things which you must make the effort to find.

For example, did you know that Trafalgar Square contains the standard measurements for British units, such as a yard and a foot? Quite apart from Nelson's Column and the fountains, the north wall of the square has brass plaques showing the measurements of a foot and a yard at 62° F (17°C). Older lengths such as rods, poles and perches are also shown, but these are no longer used. For a future historian writing about Britain's odd ways of measuring in the mid-twentieth century there will always be a reference point in Trafalgar Square — at 62°F.

Not far from Trafalgar Square is Piccadilly, a very well known London name, but do you know its origin? Names, such as St.Martin's in the Fields, Moorgate and Plough show their agricultural or country origin, but it is said that Piccadilly was named after Robert Baker, who lived near where Piccadilly is now, towards the end of the sixteenth century. Here he manufactured shirt frills of "pikadills" which earned his house the nickname of "Piccadilly Hall", and in time "Piccadilly" we use to describe the surrounding area.

The statue of "Eros" in the center of Piccadilly Circus also has an interesting history. In fact, the figure is not Eros at all. It was originally erected in 1893 as a memorial in honour of the seventh Earl of Shaftsbury who had greatly helped the poor people in the local area. It was designed by a young artist called Alfred Gilbert who sculpted a naked, winged archer to represent the Christian goodness and kindness of Lord Shaftsbury. Many people were so shocked at the naked memorial of the Earl that Gilbert, who lost his reputation and a fair amount of money, went to live abroad and only returned on a few occasions. One of these was in 1932 when he eventually received a knighthood for his masterpiece, which is now one of the most famous statues in London, although it is wrongly called Eros, the (Greek God of Love.

There are many stories connected with buildings in London, such as the church in Smith Square, built near the Houses of Parliament in 1721-28. It was designed with four sturdy towers so that if it ever sank into the swampy ground it would at least sink in a dignified manner — evenly and upright.

It is amazing the number of things we miss in an area which we think we know very well. Why don't you look at your area closely and try to discover more about it? How, why and when was something built? Is there a story behind it? Was it a mistake? In a world where we are so often pulling down so many buildings and putting up new ones, it can be very interesting and satisfying to discover different aspects of one's environment. But it takes time and patience, to discover the best things. They won't come to you — you have to go to them and find them.