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London is the capital of Great Britain, its political,economic and commercial centre.
The heart of London is the City, its nancial and business centre. Numerous banks,of ces and rms are
situated there. There are some famous ancient buildings withinthe City. Perhaps the most striking of them
is St Pauls Cathedral, one of the greatest of
British churches.Westminster is the historic, the government part of London. Westminster Abbeyhas more historic associations
than any other building in Britain. Across the road fromWestminster Abbey is Westminster Palace, or the Houses of
Parliament, the seat of theBritish Parliament. The Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliaments is famous for its big
bell, known as Big Ben. Buckingham Palace is the of cial residence of the Queen.The West End is the
richest and most beautiful part of London: its the symbol of
wealth and luxury. Trafalgar square is the geographical centre of London.
The modern world is becoming smaller all the time.
Every day distances between different countries seem less. For this reason its be
-coming more and more important to know different languages, especially English.One
billion people speak English today. 400 million people speak English as their rst lan
guage. As a second language English is spoken in more than 60 countries.
English is the language of politics and diplomacy, science and thechnology, businessand trade, sport and pop music.To know
English today is absolutely necessary for every educated person , for everygood specialist. Learning a language is not an easy
thing.
The United Kingdom of great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the BritishIsles. The British
Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and above ve thousand small islands.
Shakespeare called Britain a precious stone set in the silversea because of its natural beauty. It has
varied countryside where you can nd moun
tains, plains, valleys and sandy beaches. There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but
they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepestand the most important one.
The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of Gulf Stream in uence the
climate of the British Isles. The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It is knownas one of the largest producers and
exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraftand navigation equipment in the world. One of the chief industries of the
country isshipbuilding.
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British Traditions.
Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britain traditions play a more important part in peoples lives than in other countries. Some cer
emonies are rather formal, such as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace,
Trooping the Colour, the State opening of Parliament.
Traditionally a British family prefers a house with a replace and a garden to a at
in a modern house with central heating. Most British love gardens.The British like animals very much, too. Pet dogs, cats,
horses, ducks, chickens, ca-naries and other friends of man have a much better life in Britain than anywhere
else.Holidays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in Scotland, Ireland,Wales and England.Christmas is a great
English national holiday but in Scotland it is not observed much.
But six days later, on New Years Eve the Scots begin to enjoy themselves. All the shopsand factories
are closed on New Years Day. People invite their friends to their houses.Greetings and presents are
offered.
Some British traditions are strange, some are funny, but they are all interesting