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.

The largest cities of the usa

There are very many cities in the USA. One of the largest cities in the world is New York. It is situated at the mouth, of the Hudson River. New York was founded by the Dutch. It's interesting to know that Manhattan Island - the central part of New York was bought from the local Indians for 24 dollars by the Dutch. In the eighteenth century New York grew into the largest city of the United States of America. New York is a great seaport now, the leading textile and the financial centre of the country. Manhattan Island with the Wall Street district is the heart of America's business and culture. New York is the city of sky-scrapers. The highest of them is the 102-storeyed Empire State Building. There are many other places of interest in New York: Central park, Times Square, Rockefeller Centre, the shopping districts and the United Nations Building. In Manhattan at Broadway there is Columbia University, one of the biggest universities of the USA.

Another large city of the USA is Boston, one of the first cities which were built on the Atlantic coast of America. It is an important port and a financial and cultural centre. It has three universities.

Chicago is one of the biggest industrial cities in the USA and the second largest after New York.

Philadelphia, near the east coast, produces agricultural machines and locomotives. Light industry is highly developed here. Philadelphia is an important cultural centre with many fine buildings and a university.

Los Angeles, in California, is the centre, of modem, industries. Not far from Los Angeles is Hollywood, the centre of the US film business.

Устье (реки); голландцы; небоскреб.