Edinburgh
When we tell
somebody about Great Britain, we couldn’t help mentioning such its interesting
constituent as Scotland which is considered to be a land of mysterious lakes,
called lochs, fabulous musical instruments, named bagpipes and courageous men,
dressed in checked skirts and berets with feathers called tam-o’-shanter. We
can imagine that the capital of Scotland is distinguished by remarkable places
of interest, exciting history of the past and modern style of life being full of
commercial activity, cultural events and communications of ordinary citizens.
So, Edinburgh is one
of the most distinctive and widely recognized cities in the world. Two things usually
come as a surprise to first time visitors: that the city is situated in three
dimensions because it was built on and around the hills, and that this city has
very compact center which is small enough to be explored on foot.
To begin with the
history of this city it was founded by people called Votadini or Gododdini in
638 AD. That time it was called Din Eldyn. Then the Angles who defeated them
gave this city their own anglicizing name Edinburgh. For more than a thousand
years the city grew around the line of the upper parts of the Royal Mile, its
main street. This resulted in the world’s first high buildings and at the time
its highest population density.
One of the
oldest buildings in Edinburgh is its Castle which occupies the top of volcanic
rock towering 80 meters above the city. It can be visible for ten miles in
every direction. It looks as a fairytale castle growing organically out of the
living rock beneath it. Edinburgh castle started to develop into a royal
fortress during the reign of David I from 1124 to 1153. For some time it served
as a house for the royal family. At the beginning of the 16th
century the Palace of Holyroodhouse was built as a more comfortable palace in
peaceful times. Edinburgh Castle remains a military base today, but it is also
the most popular place of tourist attraction. Its position on a high rock makes
it possible to enjoy the beauty of remarkable views of Edinburgh.
Visitors of Scotland can’t imagine this country without traditional Scottish whisky. Every one has a
chance to appreciate this hot drink visiting the Scotch Whisky Experience, a
visitor’s attraction located not far from Edinburgh Castle. Parts of the
Experience are open without an admission fee to anyone who wants to drop in to
the superb shop on the ground floor, Amber Restaurant, which offers daytime
dinner and coffee shop menus and the bar which offers 300 different types of
Scottish whisky. The Scottish Whisky Experience also has its own Training
School for those involved in the industry, or for anyone else who wants to
expand and deepen their knowledge of Scotch whisky. But the heart of the
Experience is its interactive tour. This starts in the reception area where
visitors are taught how to taste the real whisky and then they are taken
through a series of different aspects of this drink including such things as
the unique flavour, the ingredients and the difference between grain and malt
whisky, the different steps in production process. The highlight of a visit is
the Scotch Whisky Barrel Ride, visitors take the cars with walls formed from
barrels and they are taken through a series of sights, sound and smell that
remind about over 300 years of the history of Scotch whisky. Here you can meet
Robert Burns and a drinking companion; Sir Walter Scott and King George IV who
helped turn Scotch whisky into profitable industry.
Many cities are hilly. But while Edinburgh is not unique in
having hills, there can be very few cities that can boast anything quite as
spectacular as Holyrood Park. Holyrood Park occupies some 650
acres, is roughly circular in shape, and measures about a mile across in any
direction. The origins of Holyrood Park date back some 340 million years to the
early Carboniferous period when a volcano erupted here. Over the following tens
of millions of years the evidence of the eruption was buried in thick layers of
sediment. In 1541, Holyrood Park was enclosed as a Royal Park. Today's Holyrood
Park is looked after as an ancient monument by Historic Scotland. The most
popular spot in the park is the summit of Arthur's Seat. The views from here
are truly magnificent, extending for many miles in every direction.
In the 1970s
dissatisfaction with conditions in the Old Town led to the construction of a
huge extension of the city to the north. So, today the Old Town
is home to many of the historical attraction like the castle or palace. The
Royal Mile is also home to the National War Museum, the Scotch Whisky
Experience and to a range of fascinating pubs, cafes and shops. At the foot of
the Royal Mile is the new Scottish Parliament building. In the new town you can
find most of Edinburgh’s excellent range of shops, the main railway station Waverley, the Royal botanical garden and Edinburgh zoo.
The National
War Museum was established in 1930 to form part of a lasting memorial to the
sacrifice made by so many Scottish people during the World War I. The museum is
divided into a series of thematic sections. The first, “a nation in arms”,
studies the way Scotland’s military experience has helped shape the nation as a
whole. Most attention is paid to the difficult relations between Scotland
and England. “A grand life for Scotsman” tells why so many Scottish became
sailors, soldiers or pilots and the impact they had on the British armed
forces. “Tools of the trade” looks at the clothing and equipment and weapons of
individual servicemen and the way they developed over time.
The Scottish
Parliament building was opened for business and to the public in autumn 2004.
The first session of Scottish Parliament took place on July 1, 1999, almost 290
years after 1707 when Scotland had lost its independence. Now it is open to
visitors 6 days a week almost all year round and admission is free. When there
are no sessions of Parliament it is possible to visit Debating Chamber where
these sessions take place. On business days admission to the public gallery of
debating chamber is by ticket.
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, known locally
as the "Botanics", is an important element of any visit to Edinburgh, whatever the
time of year. The plants grown at the Botanics represent nearly 17,000
different species from all over the world, or about 7% of all known plant
species. And people travel to Scotland from all over the world to see them, to
appreciate them, and to learn about them. The herbarium, a collection of
preserved plants dating back to 1697, contains over two million specimens.
There is also a 100,000 book botanical library on site.
Edinburgh Zoo can be found on the western side of Edinburgh, three miles from
the city centre. Despite its large size, the zoo is very easy to overlook.
Today the zoo plays a significant role in the safeguarding of species
endangered in the wild, and you come away with the sense that although visitors
do have the privilege of looking in on the lives of many of its residents, the
emphasis is on making those lives as pleasant and "wild" as captivity
allows. Penguins first arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in 1914and now you can see them
in the pool, built in 1930. Nearby is the monkey house and, in late 2007, the
temporary home of the chimpanzees.
Part of what
gives Edinburgh such distinctive atmosphere is its large student population. It
is home for four universities: University of Edinburgh, Herriot-Watt University,
Napier University and Queen Margaret University. Besides, there is also a
thriving art college called Edinburgh College of Art.
All in all, Edinburgh is one of the most famous cities in Great Britain, and one of the most popular
places of visiting in the world.
Questions to the text:
1.
What are the main markers of Scotland?
2.
What do you know about the history of Edinburgh?
3.
Why is Edinburgh Castle situated on the highest hill?
4.
Where can you taste famous Scotch whisky?
5.
Whom can you meet while having an excursion to Whisky Experience?
6.
When was Hollyrood Park formed?
7.
What is the most popular place in this park?
8.
Which exhibits can we see in the National War Museum?
9.
When was the new building of Scottish Parliament opened?
10. Is it
possible to visit this building while sessions of the Parliament?
11. How many
plants are represented in Botanical Garden?
12. What role
does the local zoo play in conservation of wild life?
Task to the text:
Try to match the words for making
appropriate phrases and then make a sentence with them:
to be explored, an admission
fee, a lasting memorial, to overlook, in three dimensions, remarkable views, to expand and
deepen, preserved plants, species endangered
Edinburgh
When we tell somebody about Great Britain, we couldn’t
help mentioning such its interesting constituent as Scotland which is
considered to be a land of mysterious lakes, called lochs, fabulous musical
instruments, named bagpipes and courageous men, dressed in checked skirts and
berets with feathers called tam-o’-shanter. We can imagine that the capital of Scotland
is distinguished by remarkable places of interest, exciting history of the past
and modern style of life being full of commercial activity, cultural events and
communications of ordinary citizens.
So,
Edinburgh is one of the most distinctive and widely recognized cities in the
world. Two things usually come as a surprise to first time visitors: that the
city is situated in three dimensions because it was built on and around the
hills, and that this city has very compact center which is small enough to be
explored on foot.
To
begin with the history of this city it was founded by people called Votadini or
Gododdini in 638 AD. That time it was called Din Eldyn. Then the Angles who
defeated them gave this city their own anglicizing name Edinburgh.
One of the oldest buildings in Edinburgh is its Castle
which occupies the top of volcanic rock towering 80
meters above the city. It can be visible for ten miles in every direction. It
looks as a fairytale castle growing organically out of the living rock beneath
it. Edinburgh castle started to develop into a royal fortress during the reign
of David I in the 12th century. For some time it served as a house
for the royal family. At the beginning of the 16th century the Palace
of Holyroodhouse was built as a more comfortable palace in peaceful times. Edinburgh
Castle remains a military base today, but it is also the most popular place of
tourist attraction. Its position on a high rock makes it possible to enjoy the
beauty of remarkable views of Edinburgh.
Visitors of Scotland can’t imagine this country
without traditional Scottish whisky. Every one has a chance to appreciate this
hot drink visiting the Scotch Whisky Experience. Parts of the Experience are
open without an admission fee to anyone who wants to drop in. The Scottish
Whisky Experience also has its own Training School for those involved in the
industry, or for anyone else who wants to expand and deepen their knowledge of
Scotch whisky. But the heart of the Experience is its interactive tour. This
starts in the reception area where visitors are taught how to taste the real
whisky. The highlight of a visit is the Scotch Whisky Barrel Ride, visitors
take the cars with walls formed from barrels and they are taken through a
series of sights, sound and smell that remind about over 300 years of the
history of Scotch whisky. Here you can meet Robert Burns and a drinking
companion; Sir Walter Scott and King George IV who helped turn Scotch whisky
into profitable industry.
Many cities are hilly. But while Edinburgh is not unique in
having hills, there can be very few cities that can boast anything quite as
spectacular as Holyrood Park. Holyrood Park occupies some 650
acres. The origins of Holyrood Park date back some 340 million years ago when
a volcano erupted here. Over the following tens of millions of years the
evidence of the eruption was buried in thick layers of sediment. Today's Holyrood
Park is looked after as an ancient monument by Historic Scotland. The most
popular spot in the park is the summit of Arthur's Seat.
So, today the Old Town is home to many of the
historical attraction like the castle or palace. The Royal Mile is also home to
the National War Museum, the Scotch Whisky Experience and to a range of
fascinating pubs, cafes and shops. At the foot of the Royal Mile is the new
Scottish Parliament building. In the new town that was built to improve housing
conditions of rich Scotsmen, you can find most of Edinburgh’s excellent range
of shops, the Royal botanical garden and Edinburgh zoo.
The National War Museum was established in 1930 to
form part of a lasting memorial to the sacrifice made by so many Scottish
people during the World War I. The museum is divided into a series of thematic
sections such as “a nation in arms”, studying the way Scotland’s military
experience has helped shape the nation as a whole, “A grand life for Scotsman”
telling why so many Scottish became sailors, soldiers or pilots, “Tools of the
trade” looking at the clothing and equipment and weapons of individual servicemen
and the way they developed over time.
The Scottish Parliament building was opened for
business and to the public in autumn 2004. The first session of Scottish
Parliament took place on July 1, 1999, almost 290 years after Scotland
had lost its independence. Now it is open to visitors 6 days a week almost all
year round and admission is free. When there are no sessions of Parliament it
is possible to visit Debating Chamber where these sessions take place.
The Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh,
known locally as the "Botanics", is an important element of any visit
to Edinburgh. The plants grown
at the Botanics represent nearly 17,000 different species from all over the
world. And people travel to Scotland from all over the world to see them, to
appreciate them, and to learn about them. The herbarium, dating back to 1697,
contains over two million specimens. There is also a 100,000 book botanical
library on site.
Edinburgh Zoo can be found on the
western side of Edinburgh. Despite its
large size, the zoo is very easy to overlook. Today the zoo plays a significant
role in the safeguarding of species endangered in the wild. Penguins first
arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in 1914 and now you can see them in the pool, built in
1930. Nearby are the monkey house and, the temporary home of the chimpanzees.
Edinburgh has large
student population. It is home for four universities: University of Edinburgh,
Herriot-Watt University, Napier University and Queen Margaret University. Besides, there is also a thriving art college called Edinburgh College of Art.
All in all, Edinburgh is one of the most famous cities
in Great Britain, and one of the most popular places of visiting in the world.
Remake
the following sentences using Complex subject.
1.
It was announced that the
terrorist had captured several hostages.
2.
It is expected that the exhibition
of modern art will attract a big audience.
3.
It was reported that the President
of Russia had taken part in this Summit.
4.
It is known that Americans are
working over a new cosmic program now.
5.
It is mentioned that a lot of new
computer programs are created in Microsoft Company.
6.
People consider the housing
conditions in this district to be very comfortable.
7.
It is believed that the poem was
written by an unknown ancient poet.
8.
It seemed that the quarrel was
coming to an end.
9.
It appeared that he had lost his
confidence.
10.
It turned out that my proposals
were correct.
11.
It was happened that one day Romeo
saw Juliet and fell in love with her.
12.
It turned out that the translation
of this article was quite easy.
13.
I am not sure that she will change
her opinion.
14.
I’m sure that this course of
treatment will help my granny to recover.
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