London is the capital of Great Britain. It is a very old city. It is two thousand years old. London is not only the capital of the country but also a huge port. London is situated upon both banks of the Thames. There seventeen bridges across the river. The population of London is about 9 million people. London has three parts: the City of London, the West End and the East End.

The City of London is the oldest part of London. You can see narrow streets and pavements there. There are many offices, firms and banks in this part of London. The City of London is the financial centre of the United Kingdom.

The West End is the centre of London. There are many sights in the West End. They are, for example, the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben. It is interesting that the clock Big Ben came into service in Big Ben is the biggest clock bell in Britain. It weighs 13.5 tons. The other interesting place is West- minster Abbey: Newton, Darwin and others. The official London residence of the Queen is Buckingham Palace. It was built in the 18 th century.

There are many nice squares in London. Trafalgar Square is one of them and it is in the centre of the West End. One can see a statue of Lord Nelson in the middle of this square.

There are many museums, libraries and galleries in London. The Tate Gallery is one of the well-known galleries in London. Henry Tate was a sugar manufacturer. He was fond of paintings and collected many pictures. The British Museum is a very interesting place in London. It was founded in The library of this museum has a lot of books.

The East End of London is the district for working people. There are many factories, workshops and docks there. There many cars and buses in London. There is the Tube (the Underground) in London, too. It is a good one. One say that the City is the money of London, the West End is the goods of London and the East End is the hands of London.

THE LONDON UNDERGROUND

The London Underground is the oldest in the world. The first line was opened It was like a tube, thats why it was called the Tube. English people call the old lines the Tube, the new lines the Underground. One can see the word Underground across a large circle. It shows you where the situation are. When you want to find the metro station in Moscow you look for the letter M.

People talk about the weather every day. They like to talk about the weather in England. English people say they have no climate in England, only weather. England is not a large country. There is no town in England which is very far from the sea. There are no high mountains in England, no long rivers and no large forests. There are many fields and meadows in England

Spring is a very nice season. It is the first warm season. The trees and the grass are green. The sun is warm and the sky is blue. Summer is the warmest season. There some hot days in summer but cool winds often blow from the sea, so the English summer is not always hot. There are a lot of sunny days in summer. Spring and summer are nice seasons, because the sun often shines brightly. Autumn is a nice season too. It is the season of the harvest and the season of apples. Autumn is cool. The sky is grey, the cold wind blows. In autumn the leaves on the trees change their color from green to yellow, brown and red. Winter is not very cold. There is little snow and a lot of rain in England. There are also many fine days in winter, when the sun shines.