London: places of interest

London is an ancient city, it is more than 2.5 thousand years old. There are a lot of interesting places in London. One of them is, for example, Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the Queen. Tourists always gather there at 10.30 a.m. to see tlie ceremony of the, changing of the guard. Red coats and white trousers of the Guard against the background of the old palace look very picturesque. A quiet little street on the right is the famous Downing Street: for the last 200 years at Number 10 each Prime Minister of England has lived. Next door at Number 11 lives the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Westminster Abbey is beautiful for its architecture and ancient history. It is a burial place of many kings, queens and outstanding people. There is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier who represents a million dead, fallen in the First World War. There, is the Poet's Comer where many prominent writers are buried: Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Tennyson and Rudyard Kipling, to name only a few.

The famous Tower of London stands on the bank of the river Thames. In the past it was a fortress, a royal palace and then a prison. Now the Tower is a museum of arms.

Not far from the Tower of London there is Westminster Palace, or the Houses of Parliament, with the famous Clock Tower Big Ben, the symbol of London. 'Big Ben' is the biggest bell in Britain, which weighs over 13 tons. It strikes every quarter of an hour. The Houses of Parliament is the seat of the British Government. It is called the Houses of Parliament and not the House of Parliament because there are two Chambers in the British Parliament, which are called Houses.

Another famous place is St. Paul's Cathedral, the biggest church in England and one of the finest pieces of architecture in Europe. It took about 35 years to build it.

But London is not only known for its architectural masterpieces, there are also many famous museums and galleries there. For instance, the British Museum, the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery which has portraits of almost ail outstanding English men and women.

London is a noisy and crowded city but one can find quiet parks and green squares there too; some of them are well-known outside England. For example,

Hyde park or Regent's Park, where the London Zoo is situated. Another example is Trafalgar Square, the central square in London, laid out about hundred years ago; it is noted for the tall Nelson's Column, over 60 metres high, with the figure of Nelson on the top.

It is too difficult to describe all the places of interest in London. There is so much to see there that even Londoners can find new sights for themselves.

Церемония смены караула, живописный; канцлер Казначейства; известный; Вестминстерский дворец; знаменитая часовая башня Биг - Бен; колокол; собор Святого Павла; шедевры архитектуры; картинная галерея; Трафальгарская площадь.

BRITAIN'S INDUSTRY AND TRADE

Britain lives by industry and trade. Her 55.5 million people provide one of the world's biggest markets for' food and raw materials. In return, British manufactured goods of every kind are sent all over the world. They make up about an eighth of the world's total exports of manufactures. Invisible exports -shipping, insurance, aviation, tourism, etc. - earn nearly as much as commodity exports.

Just over 200 years ago the first industrial revolution began in Britain with such epoch-making inventions as the steam engine and the first machinery for weaving textiles. Later, British inventors and engineers gave the world the first railways, steamships, pneumatic tyres, miners' safety lamps, mechanical reapers, matches and many other things that are now familiar everywhere.

Today, in a new stage of modem technology, Britain has made important advances in such new industries as electronics and telecommunications equipment, in aircraft and aircraft engines, in plastics and synthetic materials, radio-isotopes and new drugs - all major exports. At the same time Britain has harnessed traditional craftsmanship to modem methods to continue to produce those items for which she is justly famous, such as pottery, glassware, woollen and leather goods.

Engineering industries produce many leading exports: electrical machinery, cars, tractors and commercial vehicles, bicycles and precision instruments of many kinds make up nearly half the goods exported.

Britain is the world's third largest trading nation, accounting for about 11 per cent of international trade in manufactured goods. Over a quarter of total exports go to Commonwealth countries and over a third to Western Europe. The United States, Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand and the Federal Republic of Germany are among Britain's chief trading partners.

Britain's role as a trading nation and as center of the Sterling Area, which holds a quarter of the world's population, includes a vast network of financial

services, centered on the City of London. With its many famous institutions, such as the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and Lloyd's, and its international markets for commodities such as rubber, metals and tea, the City has for over a century held a piace of first importance in world trade.

Транспортировка; страхование; предмет потребления; паровой двигатель; пневматические шины; жатвенная машина; лекарство; применять; мастерство; гончарные изделия; кожаный; машиностроительные отрасли; перевозочное средство; точный; стерлинговая зона, Лондонская фондовая биржа; "Ллойдз" (ассоциация страховщиков); каучук.