Шпаргалка по "Английскому языку"

1. Sightseeing.Getting around Town

(Lab. Workbook ‘Getting Around Town’, 2003)

London

        The capital city of England and the United Kingdom lies on the River Thames, which winds through the city. Its many bridges are a famous sight. The oldest is London Bridge, originally made of wood but rebuilt in stone in 1217. The most distinctive is Tower Bridge, which was designated to blend in with the nearby Tower of London.

        The Tower, which is guarded by the Yeomen Warders, was built in the 11^th century. In the medieval period London grew rapidly in size and importance. Westminster Abbey and the Guildhall date from this time, and the Palace of Westminster became the meeting place of Parliament. In 1666 many buildings were destroyed in the Fire of London. This provided an opportunity for architects like Christopher Wren to redesign much of the city. As London’s population increased, new streets, squares and parks were added, and many public buildings. London was heavily bombed in World War II, after which a new cycle of rebuilding began.

Culture and Commerce

        London is a busy commercial and cultural center. Many important financial organizations, including the Bank of England and the Stock Exchange, are located in the area called the City. Part of the old port in east London has been redeveloped as a business center, called Docklands. In the West End there are theatres/ cinemas, museums and shops. Many people who work in London commute by train or bus from the suburbs because buying a house or flat near the centre is very expensive. Different parts of the city are linked by the famous red London buses, black taxi cabs and the London Underground, often called the Tube.

        People from all over the world have been attracted to London and it is now a cosmopolitan, multicultural city. People from other parts of Britain sometimes think that it is very noisy and dirty. Many go there only for the bright lights – the theatres round Shaftesbury Avenue or the shops of Oxford Street. Others take their children to see the sights, such as Buckingham Palace, where the Queen lives, and the clock tower from which Big Ben sounds the hours. Young people are attracted to the bars and comedy clubs of Covent Garden, to live music concerts, and to the stalls of Camden market. In the year 2000 many people visited the Millennium Dome.

New York

        There is a great sense of excitement in New York and it has a reputation for being ‘the city that never sleeps’. The ‘Big Apple’, as it sometimes called, feels alive, fast and at the center of everything, with cars hooting, yellow taxis weaving through the traffic, brightly lit theatres, and restaurants busy late into the night.

        Many Americans have never been to New York, but everyone knows something about the city. They are familiar with Times Ssquare with its brightly lit advertisements, Madison Square Gardens, where many sports events take place, Wall Street, its financial heart, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, where many of their ancestors first arrived in the US, and the tall Manhattan skyline.

        After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11^th 2001, in which the Twin Towers were destroyed, the familiar skyline has changed, leaving a feeling of loss and sadness among Americans and visitors to New York.

The Growth of the City

        New York was founded in 1624 by the Dutch, who called it New Amsterdam. Its Dutch origins can be seen in the names of old New York families like Stuyvesant and Vanderbilt, and in place names such as Brooklyn (originally Breukelen) and Harlem. In 1664 the English gained control and changed the name to New York. In 1898 several towns were combined to make Greater New York City, which became the second largest city in the world, after London, though at the time part of it consisted of farms. Soon after, many new buildings were constructed, and in 1904 the New York subway was opened.

        Many immigrants to the US stayed in New York, giving the city the variety of cultures it has today. During the 1920s New York had many speakeasies (=bars serving alcohol), which were illegal but very popular. This was also the time of the Harlem Renaissance, when Harlem became a center of African-American arts and culture. In the latter half of the century wealthier people began moving out to the suburbs. Today there are about 7 million people in the city and 18 million in the area around it.

        New Yorkers speak in a very direct way which can seem rude to people from other parts of the US. Some have little patience with visitors who are not used to the fast pace of the city. But for many visitors, meeting real, rude New Yorkers is part of the attraction of going to the city.

Transport

        Most journeys in Britain and the US are made by road. Some of these are made on public transport (AmE public transportation) but most are by private car. In Britain many people rely on their car for daily local activities, e.g. getting to work, doing the shopping, and visiting friends. People living in urban areas may use buses, trains or, in London, the Underground, to get to city centres, mainly because traffic is often heavy and it is difficult to find anywhere to park a car. Some places in the country may have a bus only two or three times a week so people living there have no choice but to rely on their cars.

        In the US large cities have good public transportation systems. The El railroad in Chicago and the underground systems of New York, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, DC are heavily used. Elsewhere, most Americans prefer to use their cars. Families often have two cars and, outside major cities, have to drive fairly long distances to schools, offices, shops, banks, etc. Many college and even high-school students have their own cars.

        Long-distance travel in Britain is also mainly by road, though railways link most towns and cities. Most places are linked by motorways or other fast roads and many people prefer to drive at their own convenience rather than use a train, even though they may get stuck in a traffic jam. Long-distance coach / bus services are usually a cheaper alternative to trains, but they take longer and may be less comfortable. Some long-distance travel, especially that undertaken for business reasons, may be by air. There are regular flights between regional airports, as well as to and from London. A lot of freight is also distributed by road, though heavier items and raw materials often go by rail.

        In the US much long-distance travel is by air. America has two main long-distance bus companies, Greyhound and Trailways. Amtrak, the national network, provides rail services for passengers. Private railway companies such as Union Pacific now carry only freight, though in fact over 70% of freight goes by road.

        The main problems associated with road transport in both Britain and the US are traffic congestion and pollution. It is predicted that the number of cars on British roads will increase by a third within a few years, making both these problems worse. The British government would like more people to use public transport, but so far they have had little success in persuading people to give up their cars or to share rides with neighbours. Most people say that public transport is simply not good enough. Americans too have resisted government requests to share cars because it is less convenient and restricts their freedom. Petrol/gasolene is relatively cheap in the US and outside the major cities public transport is bad, so they see no reason to use their cars less.

        Despite the use of unleaded petrol/gasolene, exhaust emissions (=gases) from vehicles still cause air pollution which can have serious effects on health. The US was the first nation to require cars to be fitted with catalytic converters (= devices that reduce the amount of dangerous gases given off). Emissions are required to be below a certain level, and devices have been developed to check at the roadside that vehicles meet the requirement. Stricter controls are also being applied to lorries/trucks. Car manufacturers are now developing electric cars which will cause less pollution.

        The cheapest and most environmentally-friendly ways to travel are to walk or ride a bicycle. In Oxford and Cambridge bicycles are common, and many other cities now have special cycle routes or cycle lanes beside the main road. Elsewhere, there are so many cars on the roads that cycling can be dangerous. In the US bicycles are used mostly for fun or sport.