21. Read and translate the text. London

London is the capital of Great Britain, the cradle of British traditions and cul­ture. It is one of the largest cities in the world. It is situ­ated on the river Thames.

London was founded more than two thousand years ago. The population of London is more than 8 million.

Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the City, the West End, the East End and Westminster.

The City is the oldest part of London, its business and commercial heart. All the main banks and offices are situated in the City.

In the centre of the City there is the Tower of Lon­don and St. Paul's Cathe­dral, the greatest of English Churches.

Tower of London has a very long history, it used to be a fortress, a royal resi­dence, then a prison, and now it is a museum.

St. Paul's Cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece. It was being built from 1675 till 1709. It is crowned with a huge do­me. Inside the dome there is the famous Whispering Gallery. There are many memorials in the Cathedral, including memorials to Wellington and Nelson.

The West End is the most beautiful part of Lon­don. The best hotels, res­taurants, shops, clubs, parks and houses of rich people are situated there. The West End is full of muse­ums, art galleries, the best theatres, cinemas.

Another interesting sight in the West End is Hyde Park. It is the largest of London Parks and is fa­mous for its Speaker's Corner.

The East End is an industrial district of London. There is the Port of London and many factories in the East End. There are the Houses of Parliament there: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

St. Stephen's Tower of the Houses of Parliament contains the famous Big Ben, the symbol of London. Big Ben is really the bell which strikes every quarter of an hour.

The Victoria Tower with the national flag over it is also located here.

Near the Parliament the­re is Westminster Abbey, an old beautiful chapel. Many great Englishmen are buried here: Newton, Darvin and others.

The south side of the Abbey is called the Poet's Corner where famous Bri­tish writers and poets lie: Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Tennyson, Thomas Hardy. The memorials to Shake­speare, Byron, Scott, Burns and Thackeray are also here.

Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official London residence. Londoners usually watch the Changing of the Guards in the forecourt of the palace. It lasts about 30 minutes.

London is rich in brid­ges. London Bridge is the oldest among them. There are many other places of interest in London: Trafal­gar Square, the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, Regent's Park, the British Museum, the Victor and Albert Museum.

Trafalgar Square is the central square of the city. Trafalgar Square contains the famous statue of Lord Nelson commemorating his Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square has a fine collection of European paintings. The Tate Gallery in Westminster also has collection of paintings.

Regent's Park is the home of London Zoo. Lon­don has over 100 street markets.

Londoners go to con­certs to hear classic music at the Royal Albert Hall or the Royal Festival Hall or hear excellent jazz at Ron­nie Scott's Club in Soho.

Soho is known for inter­national restaurants and a lot of entertainments. Lon­don has many excellent restaurants serving food from almost every country in the world.

You may go to Soho or Charlotte Street, try food at Italian, French, Chinese, Indian, Greek restaurants.

The traffic in London is heavy. There are all kinds of vehicles in the streets: double-decker buses, lor­ries, vanes, taxis, private cars. The London oldest underground railway sys­tem called "tube" is still one of the largest in the world. Every year London attracts crowds of visitors from home and abroad.