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The London Underground
The first underground railway system in the world was in London. It opened in 1863 and ran 4 miles (6,5 kilometres) from the west of London to the City in the east. The first lines were built close to the surface and used steam trains. Then they built deeper tunnels and the electric underground railway opened in 1890. The system was called the Tube, still the most popular name for the London Underground. One million people commute into central London every day. Sixty per cent of these people use the Tube because the London Underground extends far into the suburbs.
Related topic: “London”
1 What is the London Underground famous for?
2 The London Underground runs to the City. What do you know about the City?
3 What sights can you see in the City of London?
4 What other places of interest in London do you know?
5 Where does the British Parliament work?
6 What do you know about Westminster Abbey?
7 Which London park is famous for its Speakers` Corner?
8 There is a zoo in this park too, isn` t there?
9 Which is the largest and the oldest museum in London?
10 What are the newest landmarks in London?
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A Second Language
In 1887 a Polish linguist L.L.Zamanhof invented what he called a universal second language. This language took the best bits of many European languages to make a new one for everyone to understand. He called it Esperanto. There are a reasonable number of fluent speakers of the language – though nobody is sure how many. Some say 100,000, others – 2,5 million.
But these figures do not compare with the more than one billion people using English as their ‘universal second language’. English may be not as logical as Esperanto but it is the language people choose to communicate with. So, when you are travelling, you don` t need an Esperanto book. English is still the universal language in much of the globe.
Related topic: “Learning Foreign Languages”
1 Do any people in the world speak Esperanto?
2 Is Esperanto easier or more difficult than English?
3 Why do you think people learn foreign languages?
4 Do you think a foreign language is important to you? Why / why not?
5 How long have you been learning English?
6 Is it difficult for you to learn English?
7 Which are the most difficult and the most interesting activities for you at the English lessons?
8 Which of the activities do you think are most useful?
9 Can you say that English helps you in your everyday life? How does it help?
10 Would you like to learn another foreign language? Why? / Why not?
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SURFING
When Captain James Cook landed in Polynesian islands of Hawaii in 1778, he was surprised to find the native men and women, both noble and ordinary citizens, riding waves standing on wooden boards.
In the rest of the world surfing only appeared in 1950s, starting with the southwest coast of the USA. Nowadays surfing is enjoyed by surfers whenever there are waves, in Bali, Australia, Japan, France and even Britain.
One of the main attractions of the sport is its simplicity – all a surfer really needs is a surfboard, a wetsuit and waves.
Related topic: “Sport in your life”
1 Can people enjoy surfing everywhere in the world?
2 Is surfing an extreme sport? What extreme sports do you know?
3 Have you ever tried one of them?
4 Are all sports healthy? Explain.
5 Do you think all people should do sport?
6 What is your favourite sport?
7 Do you like doing this sport or watching it?
8 Have you ever taken part in competitions? Did you win or lose?
9 Do you like your Physical Education lessons at school? Why? / Why not?
10 Do you think there are enough sport facilities in your school, in your area?
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