Tentative/planned timing

Contents/activities

1

Organizing. Greeting.

5

Warmer up activity

5

Homework checking/Review material of the previous lesson

1. What are the main parts of the British literature?

2. Who was Arthur?

3. What is the best known work of Chaucer?

4. What are Shakespeare’ most famous plays?

5. What do you know about writers/poets of the Modern age?

1

Introducing the topic of the lesson – Today we are going to speak about London.

20

Introducing the new material

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and cultural centre. Its population is more than 11 000 000 people. London is situated on the river Thames. It was founded more than two thousand years ago.

London began life as a Roman fortification at a place where the Thames was narrow enough and it was possible to build the bridge. A wall was built around the town for defence, but during the long period of peace which followed the Norman Conquest, people built outside the walls. This building continued, especially to the west of the city. In 1665 there was a terrible plague in London, so many people left the city and escaped to the villages in the surrounding countryside. In 1666 the Great Fire of London ended the plague, but it also destroyed much of the city. Although people returned to live in the rebuilt city after the plague and the Great Fire, there were never again so many Londoners living in the city centre.

These days not many people live in the city centre. Today the metropolis of Greater London covers some 610 square miles and the suburbs of London continue even beyond this area. The gradual growth of the city helps to explain the fact that London does not have just one centre, it has a number of centres, each with a distinct character: the financial and business centre called, the City, the shopping and entertainment centre in the West End, the East End is an industrial centre and the government centre in Westminster.

The City of London is the oldest part of London. It is one of the major banking centres of the world and you can find banks of many nations in the famous Threadneedle Street and the surrounding area. Here you will find the Bank of England. Nearby is the Stock Exchange which is like a busy market, except that here no food but shares in commercial companies are bought and sold.

The East End covers a wide area to the east of the City. It is an industrial district of London. There are many docks and warehouses there. It is also one of those areas of London where people from abroad have come to find work. The East End is also famous as the centre of the clothing industry in London.

The West End is the name given to the area of central London north from the Mall to Oxford Street. It is the part where rich people live. It is the most beautiful part of London. The best hotels, restaurants, shops, clubs, parks and houses are situated there. It includes Trafalgar Square, the main shopping areas, and the entertainment centres of Soho, Piccadilly Circus and Shaftsbury Avenue. Its name is associated with glamour and bright lights.

Westminster is the centre of the English political life. Most of the government buildings are in this part. It includes Buckingham Palace, where the Queen lives and the House of Parliament.

5

Practising the new material

1. What is the population of London?

2. Where is London situated?

3. When was the city founded?

4. What is the East and the West end?

5. Why people do not live in the city centre?

6. What do you know about the City and Westminster?

1

Evaluating the learners activity and knowledge of the lesson

3

Summarizing the whole material of the lesson

4

Homework giving

End-of-lesson activity