Getting about London

At the Customs House

At the Airport

Days, Months, Seasons

There are seven days in a week. They are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

There are twelve months in a year. The names of the months are: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,.October, November, December.

There are 365 days in a year, or 366 in a leap year, which comes every four years.

There are four seasons in a year. They are spring, summer, autumn and winter. Every season is beautiful and pleasant in its own way.

Spring is a wonderful season. The air is fresh and the sun shines brightly. The days are warm and everything is full of life and joy.

Then summer comes. The weather is usually fine in summer. It is much warmer than in spring. The trees are green with leaves and the gardens are gay with flowers. Everybody enjoys summer. A lot of people have a good rest then.

Autumn begins in September. The days become shorter and the nights become longer. It is still warm in September but the weather often changes and it gets colder and colder. The sky is often grey and cloudy. It frequently rains in October and November which makes autumn an unpleasant season, but autumn is harvesting time, the time when grain, fruit and vegetables become ripe.

In winter the sun sets early and rises late. Sometimes it is very cold. It often snows. Everything is covered with snow: the houses and streets, the fields and forests. Every­thing looks so beautiful in its white attire.

I like winter with its frosty sunny days. It is a pleasure to go for a walk then.

Winter is a good time for sport. Little children are fond of playing snowballs and making snowmen, older ones go in for skating and skiing, while grown-ups enjoy all these things even more.

Winter is my favourite season.

Immigration officer*: What's the purpose of your visit to London, sir?

Borisov: It's a business trip.

Immigration officer: How long will you stay here?

Borisov: For a month.

Immigration officer: Your passport is in order. Please go through the customs in the next room.

Borisov: Thank you.

Customs officer**: Is this your luggage, sir? Have you got any things to declare?

Borisov: I've got two blocks of cigarettes. Are they liable to duty?

Customs officer: You can have them duty-free.

Borisov: Shall 1 open my suit-case?¹ I've only got my personal things in it.

Customs officer: No, that won't be necessary, I'll just mark it. Have a nice stay in Great Britain, sir.

* an immigration officer [ımı'greı∫n'ɔfisə] — служащий паспортного контроля

** a customs officer — таможенный чиновник

What is London?

We can say that it is one of the largest cities in the world, that it is one of the world's most important port and that it is the capital of Great Britain.

But all these answers do not give any idea of London.

London is more than two thousand and five hundred years old. About seven million people live there. There are more than 10 thousand streets in London.

Most of the streets are not very wide and most of the buildings are not tall, but multistorey buildings have also appeared in London and almost all of them are hotels and offices.

London Underground (or Tube) is the oldest an longest in Europe. There are eleven different lines wit more than 500 stations.

Although London is a crowded and noisy city you can find many pleasant parks and green squares there.

Regent's Park is the most beautiful park and Hyde Park is the largest, it is one of the most popular place of rest of Londoners on hot summer days.

There are three main parts in London: the City, the West End and the East End.

The oldest part of London is the City, the business centre. But the political centre is Westminster which is in the West End.

The West End is famous for its rich shops, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, museums and other places of interest. Only rich people live there.

The East End is another part of London. Many houses there are poor and many streets are narrow and dirty. The East End is famous for its docks but they have closed. Now people are building houses there.

There is so much to see in London that even Lon­doners can always find new sights. They like to say: "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."

Дата добавления: 2015-05-31