Geographical location

St. James's Park is bounded by Buckingham Palace to the west, The Mall and St. James's Palace to the North, Horse Guards to the east, and Birdcage Walk to the south.

The park has a small lake, St. James's Park Lake, with two islands, West Island, and Duck Island, which is named for the lake's collection of waterfowl. This includes a resident colony of pelicans, which has been a feature of the park since the first gift of the birds from a Russian ambassador in 1664. The Blue Bridge across the lake affords a view west towards Buckingham Palace framed by trees. Looking east the view includes the Swire fountain to the north of Duck Island and, past the lake, the grounds known Horse Guards Parade, with the Horse Guards building, the Old War Office building and Whitehall Court progressively behind. To the south of Duck Island is the Tiffany fountain situated on Pelican Rock and past the lake is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with the London Eye, the Shell Tower and The Shard progressively behind.

The park is the most easterly of a near-continuous chain of parks that also comprise (moving westward) Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The closest London Underground stations are St. James's Park, Victoria, and Westminster.

TASKS

I. Practice the pronunciation of the following proper names:

London, Trafalgar Square, the Strand, the United Kingdom, St Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum, the British Library, Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden, London Eye, London Zoo, the Natural History Museum, the Globe Theatre, the London Bridge Experience, the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, the Royal Courts of Justice, Christ Church, Madame Tussaud´ s Wax Museum, theThames Estuary, Hyde Park, the Crystal Palace, Kensington Gardens, Borough, the Victoria Memorial, The Mall, Bushy Park, Clarence House, Piccadilly, the Isle of Dogs, Regent's Park, the London Zoo, Whipsnade Zoo, Bedfordshire, London Central Mosque, Commonwealth

II. Answer the following questions:

1. Does the Government Office for London state that tourism revenues constitute 10 or 20 per cent of London's gross value added?

2. How much do visitors to London spend each year according to the London Development Agency?

3. Why is he London Underground considered the easiest and quickest way to move around?

4. What does taking the bus require?

5. What types of prepaid tickets are used for various modes of transportation around the city do you know?

6. What manuscripts does the British Library hold?

7. What museum is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects?

8. When are the rooms of Buckingham Palace open to the public?

9. How long will it take to get around the larger museums, such as the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum?

10.What do major shopping destinations in outer London include?

11. Is Buckingham Palace the official London residence or the principal workplace of the British monarch?

12. Is the Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons or the House of Lords?

13. Where and when was the first royal palace built?

14. What has " Westminster" become a metonymy for?

15. What stone is sometimes called the Stone of Brutus?

16. Are there any medieval sources to suggest that the stone had symbolic authority or meaning during the medieval period?

17. What myths about London stone do you know?

18. Where is Madame Tussaud´ s Wax Museum located?

19. What do you know about the river Thames?

20. What do you know about the construction of Tower Bridge?

III. Complete the following sentences:

1. London attracts 15 million international visitors per year, making it …….

2. Although London is a beautiful city with many indoor attractions …….

3. There are many ways to move around the city of London, such as …….

4. There are also open-top tourist buses where you can …….

5. As a general rule, if you make more than two rail trips in a day …….

6. Popular exhibits of the British Museum include …….

7. In Buckingham Palace, visitors (approximately 15 million tourists every year) can witness …….

8. Outer London is very accessible from Central London by …….

9. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building …….

10. The original early 19th-century interior designs of Buckingham Palace, many of which still survive, include …….

11.The name, of the Palace of Westminster which derives from the neighbouring Westminster Abbey, may refer to …….

12. The Elizabeth Tower, in particular, which is often referred to by the name …….

13. London Stone is a historic stone …….

14. Walter George Bell (writing in 1920), noted that " some years ago, " …….

15. Madame Tussaud´ s Wax Museum is o­ne of London's most famous museums. It features figures …….

16. The river Thames gives its name to several geographical and political entities, including …….

17. Victoria Park is very popular with children and …….

18.Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, and …….

19.Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is …….

20. By contrast with its neighbours, Green Park has …….

IV. Explain the meaning of the following word combinations and make up sentences of your own:

Tourism destination, tourist attraction, gross value added, mode of transportation, historical landmark, all-day ticket, prepaid ticket, contactless smartcard, permanent exhibition, shopping destination, original interior design.