London is the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, situated on both sides of the Thames River; it’s the political, financial, commercial, industrial, and cultural centre of Great Britain. It is the largest city in Europe with the total population of about 8 million people (over 12 million with the suburbs). About one fifth of the total population of the UK lives in Greater London, that is in London with its suburbs. London is home for the headquarters of all government departments, Parliament, the monarch and all the major legal institutions. It’s the country’s business and banking centre and the centre of its transport network.
It contains the headquarters of national television networks and of all the national newspapers. The financial services sector is a major source of overall employment in London. Consumer goods, clothing, precision instruments, jewelry, and stationery are produced in London, but manufacturing has lost a number of jobs in the once-dominant textile, furniture, printing, and chemical-processing industries as firms have moved outside the area. Engineering and scientific research are also important to the economy, as is tourism.
The city is a centre for road, rail, and air (its airports include Heathrow and Gatwick), and it is now linked to the Continent by a high-speed rail line under the English Channel. London still remains one of the world’s greatest ports. It exports manufactured goods and imports petroleum, tea, wool, raw sugar, timber, butter, metals, and meat. The original walled city of London (then Londinium) founded by Romans was quite small.
In the Middle Ages it did not contain the Parliament or the royal Court, because it would have interfered with the interests of the merchants and traders living there. It was in Westminster, another city outside London’s walls, that these national institutions met. Today, both ‘cities’ are just two areas
in Central London.
The City is London’s commercial centre; it is also referred to as the “Square Mile of Money’ because of its area. The Bank of England, Lloyd’s, the stock exchange, the Royal Exchange and numerous other banks and investment companies have their headquarters there. The City of Westminster contains London’s most famous tourist attractions: Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and so on.
Other well-known areas of London include the West End and the East End. The former is one of the main tourist attractions of London, where Buckingham Palace and quite a number of world-famous museums are located. It is famous, too, for its theatres, luxurious hotels and restaurants, and expensive shops.
The latter is known as a poorer residential area of London. Central London makes up only a very small part of Greater London. The majority of Londoners live in its suburbs, millions of them commuting into the centre every day to work.
London is a cosmopolitan city. People of several races and many nationalities live there. A survey carried out in the 90s found that 137 different languages were spoken in the homes of just one district of London.
Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Лондон – столица Великобритании и ее политический, финансовый, коммерческий, промышленный и культурный центр. 2. Около одной пятой всего населения Великобритании живет в Большом Лондоне, то есть Лондоне с пригородами. 3. Там находятся все центральные учреждения правительственных организаций, парламент, монарх, основные судебные учреждения, центральные офисы телесетей, он является центром транспортной сети страны. 4. Финансовый сектор – основной источник общей занятости в Лондоне.
5. Многие товары производятся в Лондоне, такие как потребительские товары, одежда, точные приборы, ювелирные изделия и канцелярские принадлежности. 6. Когда-то доминировавшие в Лондоне текстильная промышленность, производство мебели, и переработка химических продуктов были вынесены за границы района, что привело к потере рабочих мест в промышленности. 7. Лондон экспортирует промышленные товары и импортирует нефть, чай, сахар, лес и так далее, значение для экономики также представляют научные исследования. 8. Первоначальный Лондон, окруженный стеной, был основан римлянами, парламент и королевский двор находились не в нем, чтобы не вступать в противоречие с интересами купцов.
9. Финансовый центр Лондона – Сити, который называют “квадратной милей денег”, там находятся банки, фондовая биржа, Королевская биржа и многочисленные инвестиционные компании. 10. К другим известным районам Лондона относятся Вест-Энд и Ист-Энд, первый является основным центром интереса туристов в Лондоне и содержит многочисленные достопримечательности, роскошные отели и рестораны, второй является более бедным районом Лондона.
1. London is the capital of the UK and its political, financial, commercial, industrial and cultural centre. 2. About one fifth of the total population of the UK lives in Greater London, that is London with its suburbs. 3. It is home for the headquarters of all government departments, Parliament, the monarch, the major legal institutions, the headquarters of national television networks and it is the centre of the country’s transport network. 4. The financial services sector is a major source of overall employment in London. 5. Many goods are produced in London, such as consumer goods, clothing, precision instruments, jewelry and stationery.
6. The once dominant in London textile, furniture, printing and chemical processing have moved outside the area, which has led to a loss of a number of manufacturing jobs. 7. London exports manufactured goods and imports petroleum, tea, sugar, timber and so on; engineering and scientific research are also important for the economy. 8. The original walled city of London was founded by the Romans and did not contain the Parliament or the Royal Court, so that they did not interfere with the interests of merchants. 9. The financial centre of London is the City named ‘the square mile of money’, containing banks, the stock exchange, the Royal Exchange and numerous investment companies.
10. Other well-known areas in Central London are the West End and the East End, the former being one of the main tourist attractions of London with its numerous sights and luxurious hotels and restaurants, and the latter being a poorer residential area of London.
Из пособия “ЕГЭ. Английский язык. Устные темы” Занина Е. Л. (2010, 272с.) – Part two.
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