THE HISTORY OF LONDON THE ROMANS

4 English Students Book .. , ..

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THE HISTORY OF LONDONS HISTORYTHE ROMANS

The Romans went to England many years ago.

They built a town on the River Thames.

The name of the town was LONDINIUM.

Soon the Romans built a bridge over the River Thames.

Until 1749 there was only one bridge over the river. It looked very strange. There were houses and shops on the bridge.

The Romans built a lot of roads in Londinium.

By the year 400, there were fifty thousand people in Londinium.

Soon after 400, the Romans left Britain.

The River Thames has always been part of Londons history.

In Roman times Londinium was a small town with the Thames in its center.

LETS LEARN TO PRONOUNCE THE WORDS1. century 2. William the Conqueror 3. The Great Fire of London4. a baker 5. to burn (burnt, burnt) 6. to destroy WILLIAM the CONQUERORKING of ENGLAND

WILLIAM the CONQUERORAt the beginning of the 11th century England was already a great country and London was a very important city.

In 1066 William the Conqueror and his people went to England from Normandy in France.

WILLIAM the CONQUEROR became King of England.

William was afraid of the English, of the people of London and he built the WHITE TOWER to live in.

LONDONS HISTORY THE GREAT FIREBy 1600 there were more than two hundred thousand people in London. In those days people usually built houses of wood, and they often were near one another.

Sometimes there were fires in the city, but they were usually very small.

Then came 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London.

On Saturday, On the second of September 1666 there was a strong wind from the river and a big fire began. It started in the house of the kings baker, near London Bridge.

The bakers wife woke up in the middle of the night because the house was on fire. Soon the next house started burning and then the next and the next.

The fire burnt until Thursday. Many houses in London were burnt. The fire burnt for four days and destroyed 80% of the city.

London is the capital of Great Britain. Its the biggest city in England. Its a centre for business and tourism. Its in fact two cities: the City of London and the City of Westminster.

London stands on the River Thames. There are 27 bridges over the River and 8 tunnels under the River.

London is 46 kilometres from north to south and 58 kilometres from east to west.

THE ROYAL OPERA or COVENT GARDENThere are a lot of theatres in London.

THE ODEONYou can see a lot of cinemas in London.

THE BRITISH MUSEUMTourists like to visit different museums.

READING ROOM

ST. PAULS CATHEDRALThere are a lot of old churches in the city.

OXFORD STREETThere are about 10 thousand streets in London.

HYDE PARKYou can find beautiful parks in London.

BLOOMSBURY SQUARE

There are a lot of green squares in London.Learn how to pronounce the new words 1. a fortress 2. a prison 3. square walls 4. a raven 5. to believe 6. while 7. an architect 8. Sir Christopher Wren9. a column 10. a bell - The heart of London is the City. It is the oldest part of London. Many people work in the City but very few live there.

There are a lot of banks and other offices there. You can also visit some interesting places in the City.

One of them is the Tower of London. In former times it was a fortress, a palace, a prison and the Kings Zoo. Now its a museum.

You can see a lot of interesting things in the rooms of the White Tower. Its square walls are white and very tall.

There are always black ravens in the Tower of London. People look after them because they believe that London will be rich while ravens live there.

St. Pauls Cathedral is not far from the Tower of London.

The famous English architect Sir Christopher Wren built it in the 17th century after the Great Fire.

It took him 35 years to build this wonderful cathedral.

It is a beautiful building with many columns and towers. In one of its towers there is one of the largest bells in the world.

LEARN THE NEW WORDS1. Trafalgar Square 2. a monument to -3. Admiral Nelson 4. bronze 5. a fountain 6. the National Gallery 7. a tourist - TRAFALGAR SQUARETrafalgar Square is in the centre of London. In the middle of the square stands a tall column. It is a monument to Admiral Nelson.

Four bronze lions look at the square from the monument.

There are two beautiful fountains in the square.

They are in front of the National Gallery. It is one of the best picture galleries in the world. Every day a lot of tourists visit this fine building with its tall columns.

LEARN THE NEW WORDS1. Westminster2. the political centre3. Whitehall4. the Prime Minister5. Downing Street 106. Parliament Square7. The Houses of Parliament8. Big Ben9. to get a name after - 10. Sir Benjamin Hall11. a nickname - WESTMINSTERThe political centre of London is Westminster. There are a lot of offices in this part of London.

WHITEHALLWhitehall is a wide street. It leads to Parliament Square.

DOWNING STREET 10If you go down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square on the right you will see a small street where the British Prime Minister lives. The place is Downing Street 10.

PARLIAMENT SQUARETHE HOUSES of PARLIAMENTParliament Square is very large. On the left you can see a long grey building with towers. It is the Houses of Parliament.

BIG BENThe large clock in one of the towers is Big Ben. Big Ben is the name of the clock and the bell in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. The bell strikes every hour.

The clock and the bell got their names after Sir Benjamin Hall. He was a tall man. His nickname was Big Ben.

WESTMINSTER BRIDGEThe Thames is behind the Houses of Parliament. The bridge across it is Westminster Bridge.

LEARN THE NEW WORDS1. on the other side 2. Westminster Abbey 3. a statue - 4. are buried 5. Poets Corner 6. Buckingham Palace 7. Queen Victoria Memorial

WESTMINSTER ABBEYOn the other side of Parliament Square is Westminster Abbey. It is one of the most famous and beautiful churches in London. It is more than 900 years old.

There are many monuments and statues there. Many kings and queens are buried there.

POETS CORNERWestminster Abbey is famous for its Poets Corner. Many great poets and writers are buried there: for example Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling.

BUCKINGHAM PALACEThe Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.

The Palace is a wonderful building with a monument in front of it. It is the Queen Victoria Memorial.

THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER PLACES TO SEE IN LONDONGo to this wonderful city and see everything with your own eyes!!!