GREAT BRITAIN:
England:
Oxford and Cambridge are the old university towns. These towns are sometimes called together Oxbridge. Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare (Henley Street) and the place where his plays are performed at the Royal Shakespeare (or Swan) Theatre. Her is also the grave of Shakespeare, his wife and other members of his family. Brighton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Blackpool, Sunderland and Scarborough are peaceful harbour-town with fishing boats, yachts, cottages and the English like to spend their holidays there.
Southern part of England is full of historical monuments and romantic scenery. Canterbury is city with a magnificent Cathedral (grave of St. Tomas Becket, executed by the King), it is the biggest pilgrimage site in England. It is known also because of Geoffrey Chaucer Canterbury Tales. In Winchester there is another old cathedral and once it was the capital of England.
Salisbury is the seat of the magnificent Cathedral of Saint Mary, which has the highest spire in England. In Salisbury Plain we can see a beautiful historic monument of Stonehenge, which are more than 3000 years old. The ruins stand n the centre of a huge circle 100 m in diameter formed by a bank and a ditch. The ruins consist of two stone circles and two horseshoes. The upright stones in the outer circle were joined by a continuos line of stones, which lay on the top of the uprights to form a circle about 30 m. But most of these have fallen down. Within these circles were two horseshoes arrangements and in the centre of the inner horseshoe there is the Altar Stone. The purpose of these is unknown bur may have been ritual. Stonehenge is only one of a number of prehistoric structures on Salisbury Plain.
The West Country is still unspoiled by industry. The only larger towns here are Bristol, Plymouth, Bath and Exeter (Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks).
On the north is Birmingham it is the second largest city in Britain. We can see Victorian architecture here and the network of canals. Northwest is mainly on industrial area. In Manchester we can visit the Museum of Science and Industry and Space Museum. The other lit cities here are Liverpool (the birthplace of Beatles), Leeds, Sheffield and York. Hastings is world famous place in British history. There took place the Battle of Hastings, where William the Conqueror defeated the Saxon king Harold (1066). Norwich is a market town with long cultural traditions.
Northern England is famous by Cumbria and Northumbria is the country of beautiful nature, many national Parks and cultural traditions, e.g. the city Durham. The Lake District National Park with beautiful Windermere Lake (romantic poets wrote about it). Now it is popular with mountaineers, painters and tourists. The lakes are good for water sports (sailing, canoeing and windsurfing). The other national parks here are Northumberland Park and Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Wales:
The land lot Wales is full of mystery and beauty. There are snow-capped mountains, green valleys, sea resorts, big cities and little seaside towns. Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are the biggest cities here. Sometimes is Wales called the land of castles, the best known is Caernarfon and Harlech, which stand on rocky cliffs overlooking the mountains of Snowdonia National Park.
Scotland:
Scotland is a historically and culturally separate country from England. It is the land of many special traditions - playing the pipes, quality tweeds, woollen and knitwear, wearing kilts, Scotch whisky. The biggest city is Glasgow, on old Victorian town, the culture centre and the heart of the arts in Scotland (festivals the Mayfest and the International Jazz Festival). Edinburgh is dominated by its imposing 12th century castle = Holyroodhouse. The city is full of attractive squares, tree-lined avenues and elegant shopping centres like Princess Street. The north of the country is a large and magnificent lake and mountains area. The biggest lake is Loch Lomond and Loch Ness is famous for its "Loch Ness Monster".
Nature beauties in England are protected by an organisation called The National Trust.
USA:
New York:
New York is the biggest city in the USA. It lies on the east coast at the mouth of the Hudson and East Rivers and covers an area of 780 sq. kms. It has about 118 millions inhabitants (whole metropolitan area, central area 7 Millions). It belongs to the largest in the world. New York has fire major parts: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx. and Staten Island. The black quarter - Harlem - is in northern part of Manhattan. In southern part of Manhattan Island there used to be a wall against Indians, now there is Wall Street - the centre of financial life with the most important stock - exchange in the world.
