Автор: Дубасова Галина Владимировна 2006г.

Lets make our sightseeing tour on a double-decker bus

BIG BEN The Houses of Parliament is a very large building which stands near the Thames. There are two tall towers at the corners of the building and one of them is the Clock Tower. It is 320 feet high and is famous for its immense hour bell. The English people built the tower and the clock in The clock has four faces and five big bells. The biggest bell is known as Big Ben. The bell weighs 13 tons. Originally, the man in charge of the building was Sir Benjamin Hall. He was very tall and the workers and his friends called him Big Ben. So they called the bell Big Ben too. Sometimes people call the clock and the Clock Tower Big Ben. The people of London who live near the Houses of Parliament can hear the sounds of the bell every hour. On New Years night people come to the Clock Tower to see in the New Year.

THE TOWER OF LONDON

THE HISTORY OF THE TOWER OF LONDON is a very old building, – nine hundred years old! In the early days of England the English kings lived in the Tower. Then it was a prison where many people died. Black ravens had much food near the walls of the Tower in those days. Now the Tower of London is a museum housing the National Collection of Armour and Royal Regalias, and many tourists from other countries come to see it. They see the dark stone halls with small windows and thick doors. Something that should not be missed is the Crown Jewels, a priceless collection of every jewel known. The Tower is still guarded by the Yeomen Warders, the famous Beefeaters, who wear a traditional sixteen-century uniform.

THE TOWER BRIDGE was opened in It takes its name from the Tower of London. The hydraulic mechanism can raise and lower the bridge in about one and a half minutes. The covered walkway between the two towers is open to the public and offers a spectacular view of London.

TRAFALGAR SQUARE is a very famous square where on New Years Eve people gather to celebrate. At midnight people jump into the fountains fully clothed and enjoy themselves. In the middle of the square there is a very famous statue Nelsons Column which is over 170 feet high. The statue on the top is in memory of Lord Horatio Nelson who won the most famous sea battle at Trafalgar. This column is cleaned once every seven years. It is a very difficult job as they have to climb to the top and clean all the mess the pigeons have made on the statue. Trafalgar Square has become famous as a rallying point for all kinds of demonstrations, marches and political meetings.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

The ceremony which attracts thousands of tourists

CHANGING THE GUARD

ROYAL GUARD

THE ENGLISH QUEEN ELISABETH II Buckingham Palace is the official residence of Her Majesty the Queen and her family. It isnt open to the public. The first monarch who took residence there was Queen Victoria. When Her Majesty is in residence the Royal Standard flies over the east front of Buckingham Palace. It has 600 hundred rooms, a swimming pool, a cinema, a ballroom, a nuclear cellar and a garden, which is like a private park. In summer the Queen gives three garden parties for about 9,000 guests. The ceremony of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is a great tourist attraction. It take place daily in the forecourt at a.m. and lasts half an hour. To the sound of music, the guardsmen in their traditional bearskins arrive and pass the palace keys to another group.

ST.PAULS CATHEDRAL The masterpiece of the famous English architect Sir Christopher Wren

THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

WESTMINSTER ABBEY is a symbol of English tradition at its best. The coronations of nearly all English kings and queens since William the Conqueror have taken place here. Many of them are buried within the Abbey. Beneath the roof of this Gothic building there are also the graves and memorial slabs of statesmen, philosophers, men of letters and other distinguished people. Here you can see memorials to Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Geoffrey Chaucer, Alfred Tennyson, Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy.