Read the following proper nouns correctly

Houses of Parliament ['hauzIz qv 'pRlqmqnt] – здание Парламента

Palace of Westminster ['pxlIs qv 'westmInIstq] – Вестминстерский дворец

Edward the Confessor ['edwqd Dq kqn'fesq] – Эдвард Проповедник

William the Conqueror ['wIljqm Dq 'kONkqrq] – Уильям Завоеватель

St. Stephen’s Tower [snt 'stJvqnz 'tauq] – Башня святого Стефана

Strangers’ Gallery ['streIndZqz 'gxlqrI] – Галерея для публики (посторонних)

Jewel Tower ['dZHql'tauq] – Сокровищница

Read and translate the text.

THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT (1, 500)

The Houses of Parliament, called officially the Palace of Westminster, were built during the reign of Edward the Confessor shortly before the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066. The Palace was the royal residence and also the country’s main court. Soon it became the seat of government and until the 16th century it was used both as a royal residence and as a parliament house. After the royal family moved to Whitehall Palace, the Westminster Palace was occupied by the Parliament and became its permanent home. The Parliament met here since the 16th till the 19th century.

The present Houses of Parliament were built after the fire in the Palace of Westminster in 1834. Modern Houses of Parliament, symbol of London, spread magnificently on the north bank of the Thames. This structure is a remarkable example of Gothic architecture. At two corners of the building there are two great towers. One of them, St. Stephen’s Tower, or the clock Tower, contains the famous Big Ben. It is a huge bell known all over the world, called so after the name of the Chief Commissioner of Works Benjamin Hall. Big Ben, the voice of London has been telling the time to the second since 1859. Thirteen and a half ton bell was mounted on the 96 m. clock tower behind the four clock faces, each measures seven metres in diameter.

As is known the Palace of Westminster houses the British Parliament: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Besides, in the Palace one can see St. Stephen’s Hall - a wide corridor with paintings and marble structures, the highly decorated Central and Division Lobbies, the Strangers’ Gallery where people can come and hear debates of the M. Ps, etc. For relaxation, the Members of Parliament have reception rooms which lead into the riverside terrace. In the gardens across the road there is the Jewel Tower, a stone structure built in 1366 as a royal treasure house.

Notes

1) clock face – циферблат;

2) tell the time to the second – говорить время с точностью до секунды.