Топик: Темы по английскому
Trafalgar Square
T.S. is London’s geographical center. It was laid out during the early part of the 19th century to commemorate the naval victory of Britain over the French at Trafalgar in 1805, in which Admiral Lord Nelson took part and was fatally wounded. The Nelson column with the statue of Admiral Nelson on top of it is 185 feet (5 metres) high. At the base of the column you can see four bronze lions which are guarding it and were cast from the cannon of battleships. On October 21st there is a service under the column to commemorate Nelson. The east and west sides of the square are gracefully flanked by plane trees. Beyond the terrace above the north side stands the National Gallery; on the lawns in front of the Gallery stands a statue of James II, to the west of the main entrance, and to the east a statue of George Washington. Among other important buildings surrounding the square are the church of St.Martin-in-the-Fields. T.S. has long been the place for political meetings and demonstrations, including those of the Chartists who began their march here in 1848. More recently it has become the terminal point of protest marches. Every year at Christmas time an enormous Christmas tree is erected, the annual gift, since the 2nd World War, of the Norwegian people. On New Year’s Eve T.S.. is always the scene of celebrations. Not far from T.S. there is a quiet little street with very ordinary houses. So you may be surprised to see a policeman who is standing at one of the houses. It is Downing Street and for the last two hundred years at No.10 each Prime Minister of England has been living there. Downing Street leads to Whitehall. There was a palace here once, where from the 12th to the 16th century the English Kings and Queens were living. Now it is just a street of government offices. Here in the middle of the read there is simple but impressive Cenotaph, the Memorial to the men who died in the two World Wars.
Westminster Abbey
W.A was founded in the 11th century. It is a fine Gothic building, which stands opposite the Houses of Parliament. It is the work of many hands and different ages. The oldest part of the building dates from the eights century. It was a monastery – the West Minster. In the 11th century Edward the Confessor founded a great Norman Abbey. One of the greater glories of the Abbey is the Chapel of Henry VII. The Chapel is of stone and glass, so wonderfully cut and sculptured that it seems unreal. There are many tombstones, monuments and statues in the Abbey. For nearly 1000 years all the Kings and Queens of England – 41 in all – have been crowned here. If u go past the magnificent tombstones of kings and queens, some made of gold and precious stones u will come to the Poets’ Corner. There many of the greatest writers were buried. Geoffrey Chauser, Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling. Burns and Byron, Walter Scott and the great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Here in the Abbey there is also the Grave of the Unknown Warrior that commemorate the men who died on the First World War.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The United States of America, popularly called "The States". "U.S.A", "The Land of Liberty" is a vast country stretching across the middle of North America. This country which at one time inhabited by Red Indians, is now the home of "nation of nations". as people from every part of the world have gone to live in this land of wealth and promise. These settlers met, mingled, and worked with great enterprise, and as a result of their efforts, the United States has become one of the most important countries in the world.
In 1620 the; Pilgrim Fathers, a band of Puritans in England who sought freedom of worship, set forth for America in the sailing-ship Mayflower. Three months after leaving Plymouth Harbour, they reached the shores of what is now called new England, and Founded the America township of Plymouth. Although they often had difficult times with the native Red Indian tribes, the colony soon prospered and more and more settlers joined them. The Indians used a new kind of grain, which the settlers called "Indian corn" (now termed maize) and they ate strange birds called turkeys. On the fourth Thursday of November the Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day with a feast of turkey and Indian corn.
A great many emigrants went from European countries to America and thirteen colonies were formed, all of them under English rule. The government in England, however, took little interest in the American colonies, except from the point of view of trade. When certain taxes and laws were ordered by the English Parliament, the colonists opposed them and it gradually led to war. At first the colonists fared badly, but later they rallied and eventually won final victory, under the able leadership of George Washington.
Shortly after the discovery of the New World by Columbus, many Spaniards travelled northward from Mexico and settled along the western coast of America. That is why many places in this area such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Santa Barbara have Spanish names. In 1849 the chance discovery of gold brought many people to California and numerous mining towns sprang up in a very short time. "The Golden Gate" (the channel connecting the harbour of San Francisco with the Pacific Ocean) was so called because many of the seekers of the precious yellow metal passed this way to and from the rich gold-fields.
In American cities, men have built huge buildings (skyscrapers) some as many as fifty flats high. The national capital of the United States is Washington and the White House is the home of the President. The famous Statue of Liberty in New York harbour was a gift from France.
While English is the national language of the country, some immigrants have continued the manners, customs, and even tongue of their homeland, and newspapers, in all languages, may be seen in the book-stalls. Here are some common English words, for which the Americans have different names: sweets-candies, shop-store, motor-car-automobile, pavement-sidewalk, petrol-gas, lift-elevator, dust-bin, garbage-can, holiday-vacation, trousers-pants, waistcoat-vest, a jug-pitcher. There are also differences in the spelling of certain words: colour-color, honour-honor, programme-program.
The national banner of the United States of America, commonly known as "The Starts and Stripes" or "Old Glory", is a flag bearing 50 stars and 13 stripes. Each star represents a present-day state and each stripe stands for one of the original colonies. The national anthem is the "Star Sprangled Banner" and the national emblems are the eagle and the buffalo. The national sport may be said to be baseball.
CLIMATE AND NATURE OF GREAT BRITAIN
CLIMATE
The climate in Great Britain is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The south-western winds carry the warmth and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid.
British people say: "Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather."
The weather in Britain changes very quickly. One day may be fine and the next day may be wet. The morning may be warm and the evening may be cool. Therefore it is natural for the people to use the comparison "as changeable as the weather" of a person who often changes his mood or opinion about something. The weather is the favourite topic of conversation in Britain. When two Englishmen are introduced to each other, if they can't think of any thing else to talk about, they talk about weather. When two people meet in the street they will often say something about weather as they pass, just to show their friendliness.
Every daily paper publishes a weather forecast. Both the radio and television give the weather forecast several times each day.
The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when in rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say "It's raining cats and dogs".
Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year. In the mountains there is heavier rainfall then in the plains of the south and east. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest months are from October to January. The average range of temperature (from winter to summer) is from 15 to 23 degrees above zero. During a normal summer the temperature sometimes rises above 30 degrees in the south. Winter temperatures below 10 degrees are rare. It seldom snows heavily in winter, the frost is rare. January and February are usually the coldest months, July and August the warmest. Still the wind may bring winter cold in spring or summer days. Sometimes it brings the whirlwinds or hurricanes. Droughts are rare.
So, we may say that the British climate has three main features: it is mild, humid and changeable. That means that it is never too hot or too cold. Winters are extremely mild. Snow may come but it melts quickly. In winter the cold is humid cold, not the dry one.
This humid and mild climate is good for plants. The trees and flowers begin to blossom early in spring.
In the British homes there has been no central heating up till recently. The fireplaces are often used. but the coal is not used as it's very expensive. Britain has no good coal now and imports it itself. Many schools and universities have no central heating either, and the floors there are made of stone. The British bedroom is especially cold, sometimes electric blankets or hotwater bottles are used.
LONDON - THE CAPITAL OF GREAT BRITAIN
When we think of Paris, Rome. Madrid, Lisbon and other European capitals, we think of them as "cities'. When we think of the whole of modern London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, that great area covering several hundred square kilometres, we do not think of it as 'a city. not even as a city and its suburbs. Modem London is not one city that has steadily become larger through the centuries; it is a number of cities. towns, and villages that have, during the past centuries, grown together to make one vast urban area.
London is situated upon both banks of the River Thames, it is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Its population is about 7 million people.
London dominates the life of Britain. It is the chief port of the country and the most important commercial, manufacturing and cultural centre. There is little heavy industry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry in Greater London.
London consists of three parts: the City of London, the West End and the East End.
The City extends over an area of about 2.6 square kilometres in the heart of London. About half a million people work in the City but only less than 6000 live here. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices and Stock Exchange. But the City is also a market for goods of almost every kind, from all parts of the world.