Part 1. The City

Tradition. The City is not the whole of central London: it is just a small area east of the centre, the site of the original Roman town, so it is the oldest part of the capital. The City has a long and exciting history, and it is proud of its independence and tra­ditional role as a centre of trade and commerce. The City's administration is headed by the annually elected Lord Mayor, whose official residence is the Mansion House. Once a year, in November, the Lord Mayor’s Show takes place. It is a colourful street parade in which the newly elected Lord Mayor travels along the streets of the City in a golden coach, which is over 200 years old. In the evening a splendid meal I served in the Guildhall, to which the Prime Minister and members of the government are invited.

Commerce and finance. The City of London is one of the biggest banking centres of the world, and you can find the banks of many nations in the famous Threadneedle Street¹ and the surrounding area. Here, too, you will find the Bank of England. Nearby is the Stock Exchange² which is like s busy market, except that here not food but shares³ in commercial com­panies are bought and sold. A little further along, in Leadenhall Street, is Lloyds⁴ the most famous in­surance company⁵ in the world.

The Old Bailey. The Central Criminal Court⁶ of the country is also to be found in the City, in the western part of it. It is called the Old Bailey⁷, after the street in which it is situated. Some of Britain's most famous murder trials have taken place here. Nearby is the area known as the Temple⁸ — a group of buildings where many lawyers have their offices.

The press. Fleet Street⁹ is famous as the home of the nation's newspapers but, in fact, only two of them — The Daily Express and the Daily Telegraph — are still in Fleet Street. However, people still say Fleet Street when they mean the press.

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Threadneedle Street ['Orcdni:dl,stri:tJ — Треднидл Стрит the Stock Exchange [tks't/cindtj] — Фондовая биржа shares [Je:>z] — акции Lloyds [btdzj — Ллойд

insurance company [tn'Juorcns'kAmpnn t] — страховая компания

The Central Criminal Court — Центральный уголовный суд

the Old Bailey ['both] Ш Олд Бейли

the Temple [tempi] — Темпль

Fleet Street ['fli:t.stri:t] — Флит Стрит

QUESTIONS

1. Which is the oldest part of London?

2. Who is the City's administration headed by? What is the official residence of the Lord Mayor? What is the Lord Mayor's Show?

3. What important buildings are located in or near the famous Threadneedle Street?

4. What is the Old Bailey? What is the Temple?

5. What is Fleet Street famous for? Which two groups can British newspapers be divided into?