Hello!
What do you know about London?
Lots, I'm sure. I want to give you some more ideas on
what to do. There is so much to do in London, that you can end up* not doing
anything at all!
I'm Rick, by the way*, I'm 15 and I'm a Londoner! London is huge*. It has about
7 million
inhabitants*, it covers 620 square miles* and is divided into 6 zones. I live
in Zone 3 in South
East London in an area called Honor Oak Park. It takes me 15 minutes by train
to go to the
centre of London.
The Café
Internet on the Buckingham Palace Road is my favourite hang-out*. It's near
Victoria Station. I'm doing a project at school on Amnesty International and
I can find all the
information I need on the Internet. But I also use the Net to write to my friends
in Australia.
E-mail is the best way to stay in touch*!
How do you think films are made? And how do sports commentators* always give you the right information at the right time during a football match? How are cartoons made?
The BBC Experience at Broadcasting House answers all these questions, plus you can make your own film!
Now here is a place you just have to visit! It's the London Planetarium and I guarantee* you won't be disappointed!
You can explore the interactive Planet Zone and the Space Zone and find out lots about the sky and the universe.
Then the fun really begins: there is a show* where you sit in a big, dark room. Suddenly, you look up and there are stars and planets everywhere.
Did you know that Big Ben was built in 1858? It is named after* Sir Benjamin Hall, the man who hung* the bell in the tower.
You have to go up 374 steps to get to the top! The numbers on the clock face are two feet* high and the pendulum* is thirteen feet long. Big Ben weighs 13.5 tons!
GLOSSARY
by the way: (idiom) you say this when you want to give some extra information
commentators: people who give you information about something while it is happening
end up: (here) find yourself in a situation
feet: (measurement) one foot = 30 cm.
hang-out: (colloq.) a place where you spend a lot of time
huge: very big
hung: past simple of hang
guarantee: (here) promise
inhabitants: people who live in a city or town
miles: one mile is 1600 metres
named after: given somebody's name
pendulum: internal part of a clock's mechanism that swings backwards and forwards
reconstruction: exact model or replica
show: entertainment, like in the theatre
stay in touch: stay in contact