Реферат: Рейтинговая работа по английскому языку (вариант 1) Московский университет им. С.Ю.Витте (2020)

Сontents

Introduction. 3

1.   London. 4

2.   Museums and Art Galleries in London. 5

3.   Press in the United Kingdom.. 8

4.   Holidays and celebrations in the UK.. 10

Conclusion. 12

References. 13

Introduction

As we all know, London is the capital of Great Britain, the residence of the royal family and one of the most visited cities in the world. Many of us dream of travelling to London and today we will find some reasons why this city is must visit.

Firstly, London is home to the world’s most famous tourist attractions. They include the London Eye, the Madame Tussaud’s museum, Big Ben, the Buckingham Palace, and many others. It will be amazing to finally see all these and many other famous locations of British capital you have read a lot about.

Secondly, London theatre is a place you should definitely go to! Musicals, classical plays and completely modern extraordinary pieces of art you will be able to see on the same stage. Moreover, some famous actors you have seen only in movies play there, too.

1.   London

London is the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, as well as England. The largest city in the British Isles. London is ranked seventeenth in terms of population worldwide, and second in Europe.

Today London is one of the global cities that has an economic, cultural and political impact on the whole world. It is the history of London that has created such a powerful center. London is on the prime meridian, often called Greenwich because of the name of the Greenwich area that it crosses. The historical district of London is Westminster, the business district is the City, both of these districts have the status of "city". The Southwark area is separated from Westminster and the City by the River Thames, and it was these areas that once shaped London.

London is situated in southeastern England, lying astride the River Thames some 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea. In satellite photographs the metropolis can be seen to sit compactly in a Green Belt of open land, with its principal ring highway (the M25 motorway) threaded around it at a radius of about 20 miles (30 km) from the city centre. The growth of the built-up area was halted by strict town planning controls in the mid-1950s. Its physical limits more or less correspond to the administrative and statistical boundaries separating the metropolitan county of Greater London from the “home counties” of Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire (in clockwise order) to the south of the river and Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex to the north. The historic counties of Kent, Hertfordshire, and Essex extend in area beyond the current administrative counties with the same names to include substantial parts of the metropolitan county of Greater London, which was formed in 1965. Most of Greater London south of the Thames belongs to the historic county of Surrey, while most of Greater London north of the Thames belongs historically to the county of Middlesex. Area Greater London, 607 square miles (1,572 square km). Pop. (2001) Greater London, 7,172,091; (2011 prelim.) Greater London, 8,173,941.

2.   Museums and Art Galleries in London

London is visited by millions of tourists every year. They come there to see the sights of London and to visit London’s museums. There are quite a number of museums and art galleries in London which are world-famous.

Buckingham Palace. The state rooms of the official residence of Elizabeth II - Buckingham Palace - are open to the public in August and September, when the Queen is away. There are 775 rooms in the palace, 19 are opened to the public, which members of the royal family use for meetings and official ceremonies. The chambers are decorated in the style of George IV: there are many interior details from Carlton House, where the monarch lived before his accession to the throne, as well as paintings by Van Dyck and Canaletto, Canova's sculpture, Sevres porcelain and the best examples of English and French furniture.

In addition, The Queen's Gallery is constantly open to the public in the palace, where temporary exhibitions and exhibitions of the royal collection rich in masterpieces of world art are held.

National Gallery. A Mecca for lovers of old masters' art on Trafalgar Square, in terms of attendance, it is comparable to the Louvre, the Hermitage and the Metropolitan. Here you can see a magnificent collection of works of Western European painting from Giotto to Cézanne, including canvases by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bruegel the Elder, Vermeer. The exhibitions are held here appropriate - mostly blockbusters from the works of old masters, which include works from the royal collection.

3.   Press in the United Kingdom

British Press: there is no subscription; broadsheets (popular) papers – “Quality papers”; 1350 regional and local newspapers; 8000 periodical publications (“general”, “specialized”, “trade”, “technical”, “professional”).

The newspapers in Britain are proud of the fact that they are different from each other.

4.   Holidays and celebrations in the UK

There are eight public, or bank holidays in Great Britain, that is, days when banks and offices are closed. They are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Mayday, Spring Bank Holiday and Late Summer Bank Holiday. The observance of these days is no longer limited to banks. All the public holidays, except Christmas Day and Boxing Day observed on the 25 and 26 of December respectively, do not fall on the same day each year. Most of these holidays are of religious origin, though for the greater part of the population they have long lost they religious significance and are simply days on which people relax and make merry. Certain customs and traditions are associated with most bank holidays. The reason is that many of them are part of holiday seasons, like Easter and Christmas seasons. Besides public holidays, there are celebrations, festivals, and simply days, on which certain traditions are observed, but unless they fall on a Sunday, there are ordinary working days.

February, 14 is St. Valentine's Day. It is a day for choosing sweethearts and exchanging love tokens. Generations of young people have considered St. Valentine to be the friend and patron of lovers and have sent gifts and hand-made valentines to their sweethearts. A valentine was a colourful card with a short verse composed by the sender. Now thousands of ready-made valentines are sent through the post every year.

Conclusion

London, the capital of Great Britain, is situated on the Thames River. It is the largest city in Europe with a population of eight and a quarter million. It is divided into four parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End. The City is the business and commercial heart of London. Many banks, offices and firms are concentrated there. The Tower and St. Paul's Cathedral are in the centre.

London is visited by millions of tourists every year. They come there to see the sights of London and to visit London’s museums. There are quite a number of museums and art galleries in London which are world-famous.

 There are a number of museums in London which are neither art museums nor galleries. Nevertheless, they attract tourists from different parts of Great Britain, and of the world. In other words, any visitor can find a museum to his taste in London.

British Press: there is no subscription; broadsheets (popular) papers – “Quality papers”; 1350 regional and local newspapers; 8000 periodical publications (“general”, “specialized”, “trade”, “technical”, “professional”). The newspapers in Britain are proud of the fact that they are different from each other.