Teacher: Hello! How are you? It’s a nice day today, isn’t it? The holidays are coming. Let’s think how we’ll spend them together. May be, we’ll have an outing? We’ll have one more opportunity to enjoy our peculiar northern beauty!
Student 1: Oh, no! Don’t you want us to suffer from those terrible mosquitoes! I would better stay at home and read my favourite book or practice English.
Student 2: I can’t agree with you. We should spend more time outdoors after this long school year. I suggest taking a trip through our region. We can expand outlook and make new friends.
Student 3: It would be a beautiful idea! But we have been living here for many years. We have been to many of these places several times. It goes without saying, they are beautiful, but my suggestion is visiting Great Britain.
Student 4: It sounds great! We know a lot about Great Britain, but we haven’t ever been there. London...It’s one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world.
Teacher: I see what you mean, we should use this opportunity to learn more about this country, to make new friends, to invite them to our country, to practice English and to have fun, of course. Off we go!
In London
Student 5: Hello, dear guests! Wellcome to our sightseeing tour. First, a few words about Great Britain.
Britain forms the greatest part of the British Isles. Great Britain is separated from the Continent by English Channel. ’’Great Britain’’ is a geographical expression, but ‘’The United Kingdom’’ is a political expression. Great Britain comprises England, Wales and Scotland. It’s in fact the biggest of the group of islands which lies between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The population of the United Kingdom is 60 million people.
Student 6: So, London. London is a very old city. Roman troops conquered south-east England in the summer of AD-43, the Emperor Claudius and his white elephants crossed the Thames at the site of London. They called the place Londinium, and it became the capital of Britain.
Today London is the capital of the country, a huge port, and one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world with a population of over 7 million people. And now we’ve come to Trafalgar Square.
Student 7: On the column there is a statue of Admiral Nelson who defeated the French at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Four bronze lions, which are on the base of the monument symbolize the four countries of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trafalgar Square is one of the busiest places where demonstrations are held. At weekends Londoners love to come to the square to feed the pigeons.
Student 8: And now we are coming to the Buckingham Palace, which is the official London residence of her Majesty the Queen and is one of the best known symbols of the British monarchy.
In some ways the Palace resembles a small town. It has a police station, two post offices, a hospital, a bar, two sports clubs, a disco, a cinema, and a swimming pool. There are 600 rooms and three miles of red carpet. The kitchens sometimes serve up to 600 meals a day. On great occasions it takes 3 days to lay the table and 3 days to do the washing up. The post office deals with over 100,000 items every year. There is a special three-man security team equipped with a fluoroscope, which examines every piece of mail that arrives at the Palace.
Student 9: Our next stop is St. Paul’s Cathedral. It’s the greatest work of the architect Sir Christopher Wren. St. Paul is a patron of London.
St. Paul is a cathedral church, the main church of a diocese. Great Paul is Britain’s heaviest swinging bell. It weighs 17 tonnes and rings daily for five minutes at 1 o’clock.
There is also a library in St. Paul’s. It has remained unchanged since 1709.
Between two or three million visitors a year visit St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Student 10: Now, the Tower of London.
During its long history the Tower has served as a fortress, a palace, a mint, and a state prison. It has the history of a place of murder and execution. A lot of notable and noble persons were executed in the Tower.
The last person to be beheaded in the Tower, as well as in England, was Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat. He was publicly executed on Tower Hill in 1747.
Today the Tower is Britain’s most famous museum, whose working day finishes every night at 10 o’clock with the ancient Ceremony of the Keys.
Student 11: London Museums are another tourist attraction. The most important collection of historical paintings in the United Kingdom is housed at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, which covers all the major European schools since the 13th century.
Student 12: The story of London and its marvellous sights won’t be complete without visiting Winsdor Castle.
The Castle is divided into three Wards: the Lower, Middle and Upper Wards.
Winsdor Castle is an ideal weekend residence for the Queen.
Nowadays the Royal Family come to Winsdor to enjoy outdoor activities, such as riding, carriage-driving, polo, and shooting in the Great Park.
Coming back home in the plane, reading an article
Teacher:Read this article. You’ll find words that don’t belong to the sentences. For example, in this sentence:’’More than two thousand seven hundred so years ago Celts came to Britain from Europe’’, the word ‘’so’’ is out of place.Write out the words in this story that don’t belong there. If you do exercise correctly, the words that you have written out will give you the proverb.
Historical Reference
More than two thousand seven hundred so years ago Celts came to Britain from Europe. They mixed in with the people who were already there. All who lived in Britain were many called Britons. They divided into groups called tribes. Each tribe had its king or queen. The Romans attacked Britain in 55 BC. Consul Julius Caesar countries had brought the army of 10,000 men. The Britons fought desperately, but they were much weaker than the well trained Romans, and soon fled. After the victory Julius so Caesar soon left Britain. The real invasion took place only in AD 43, when the Roman Emperor, Claudius decided to make Britain part of the Roman Empire. An army of 40,000 Roman soldiers landed in Britain (Kent).
Britain became part of a many huge Roman Empire, which stretched from what is now the north of England to the Red Sea. Many Britons had to accept the Roman way of life, though some of them tried to resist the enemies. The fighting continued for almost twenty years customs after the Roman invasion. The Romans won many victories, and it was clear that nothing could stop them.
Conclusion
Teacher: Now, I’d like to say a few words in conclusion. We’ve travelled through London. And I hope you enjoyed a lot. I’m glad that we’ll learned a lot about Great Britain and London. It’s great when people have an opportunity to travel and expand their outlook. Our travelling is over. I hope, we’ll go to America next time. Now, I want you to entertain yourselves, solving this crossword. Good luck!
Questions:
- The longest river in Great Btitain.
- Great Britain is an ....
- The highest mountain in the British Isles.
- William Shakespeare was born in....
- The capital of Great Britain.
- Downing Street is the adress of....
- What colour are taxis in the United Kingdom?
- What is the symbol of England ?
- The London home of the Queen.
- A royal church.
- What river is the capital situated on ?
- The National Hero of Britain.
- The first most terrible prison in Great Britain.
- He was born in 1564. He was a writer and an actor.