V ic k y S h ip to n

ON

p e n g u i n r e a d e r s
 London
VICKY SHIPTON

Level 2

Series editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter

 P e a rs o n E d u c a tio n L im ite d
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Contents
page

In tro d u c tio n iv

A G rea t C ity 1

T he Tham es 2

T he S to ry Begins 4

London T h ea tre 7

Kings and Q ueens in London 8

East and W e s t 10

L o n d o n ’s Ups and D ow n s 12

O ld and N e w 14

Shop, Shop, Shop! 16

Museums 18

Black Taxis, Red Buses 20

Londo n betw e en th e Pages 22

S ports 24

A ctivities 25
Introduction
More than 25% o f the people In London were not bom there. People
come to the capital from other areas o f Britain. Many people come
from other countries. . . Today, people from many countries live in
every area o f the city. You can hear more than 250 languages on the
streets o f London, and the city is changing all the time.

W hen somebody says 'London', what do you think of? Old

buildings? The River Thames? Red London buses? Rain? You can
see all o f these things in Britain’s largest city. But London is really a
great city because o f its people. There are more than 7,000,000
Londoners. Some people say that London is ‘the w orld in one
city'.
Read this book and learn about the city’s people and its
buildings, about past times and the city today. This is the story o f
London.

Vicky Shipton was born in the United States. She moved to

Turkey when she was 2 1. Two years later, she moved to Britain.
She loves Britain, but she really loves London. She worked in the
centre o f the city fo r five years, but she didn't live there. Every day,
she to o k a bus o r a train into the great city. Now, after ten years
back in the US, she is in Britain again. She lives in Cambridge, but
goes to London often.
A G re a t C ity
London, in the south-east o f Britain, is one o f the great cities
o f the world. A t more than 1,500 square kilometres, it is the
biggest city in Europe. It is also an old city, with along and
interesting story.
H ow much do you know about this great city? H ow many o f
these questions can you answer?The answers are all in this book.

1 W h a t is th e ta lle s t building in London?

a a church b an office building c a palace
2 W h a t destroyed m o s t o f th e city in 1666?
a a fire b a w ar c strong winds
3 H o w m any bridges are th e re across th e RiverThames?
a eleven b tw enty c th irty-fo ur
4 W h o - o r w h a t - is Big Ben?
a a clock b a bell c a king
5 W h ic h R om an firs t c a m e to th e south o f England?
a Claudius b Julius Caesar c Nero
6 W h o said, ‘W h e n a m an is tire d o f London, he is
tire d o f life’?
a Samuel Johnson b Charles Dickens
c W illiam Shakespeare
7 W h a t is Harrods?
a a restaurant b a park c a shop
2 W h ic h king lost his head in 1649?
a Charles I b Charles II c HenryVIII
9 W h e n did th e c ity ’s firs t m u seu m open?
a 1598 b 1753 c 1820
H H o w m any ro o m s a re th e re in B uckingham Palace?
a 600 b 400 c 200
T h e Tham es
The River Thames runs through the centre o f London from west
to east. Its name comes from an old w ord fo r river. The city is a
great capital city because o f this river In past times, the Thames
was a great road o f water. This ‘road’ brought people to London,
and by the 1700s it brought things from round the w orld - tea,
sugar, w ood and a lot o f money. The Thames was always a busy
river
For 1,700 years, London only had one bridge - London Bridge.
The first London Bridge was wood. Londoners finished a
new, stone London Bridge in 1209. This stood for 622 years.
It was not only a bridge. It had shops, and some people lived
on it. The bridge was very busy.

A long w ay fro m h o m e
The next London Bridge stood fo r 140 years. N o w it is in
Arizona, in the United States! In 1968 people built a new
London Bridge, and the city sold the old bridge to an
American. Robert McCulloch bought it fo r $2,460,000 and
moved it to Arizona. Some Londoners say that McCulloch
bought the wrong bridge. They say that he really wanted
Tower Bridge!

Londoners built a second bridge across the Thames in 1750 at

Westminster. By the year 1819, there were five bridges across
the river They changed life in the city. Before that, not many
people lived south o f the riven but now they could easily go
across the Thames.
Today, there are th irty-fou r bridges. The most famous is east
o f the city centre, near the Tower o f London. W orkers finished

2
Tower Bridge in 1894. The road across the bridge goes up in the
centre when big ships come through. The bridge is one o f the
most famous places in London. You can go on high walkways at
the to p o f the bridge and visit a museum there.
The river helped London in many ways, but it also brought
problems. For years, people threw things into it. The city’s toilets
ran into the river; too. The river was very dirty and its water was
dangerous. By the 1950s, there were no fish. Today, things are
different. The water is cleaner; and fish swim in the Thames again.

1. W e s t m i n s t e r A b b e y
2 . S i P a u l’s C a th e d r a l
3. T he London E ye
4 . S h a k e spe a r e's G lo be T h eatre

East End

H a m m e r s m ith
B r id g e
Ke

Southwark

^ *

The River Thames runs through the centre of the city.

3
T h e S tory Begins
There were people in the area near the River Thames a long
time before the Roman Julius Caesar arrived in Britain in
55 bc*. Caesar and his men fought the people in the south o f
the country, and Caesar said the famous words, Yen/, vidi,
vici.' (‘I came, I saw, I won.’) Some people think that Caesar built
the first bridge across the river
The Romans came to Britain again eighty-eight years later
The River Thames was im portant to them, and they started to
build a tow n there, north o f the river They gave it the name
Londinium. (The name 'London' comes from this Roman name.)
Fifteen years later; Londinium was a busy im portant place.

Queen Boudica

But there were problems. In 60 ad, the Romans started

a fight with the wrong person. A fte r her husband died, Boudica, a
queen in the east o f the country, was angry with the Romans. She
and her followers fought the Romans. They started a great fire
and destroyed most o f Londinium. But the Romans built the city
again and it was bigger and better

* b c /a d : years before/after Christ

4
 By the year 100 ad, London was the capital o f Roman Britain.
A hundred years later; the Romans built thick city walls round
Londinium. Between 20,000 and 50,000 people lived inside these
walls. You can see some o f the stones o f the old Roman walls
today.
W hen the Romans left Britain in 410, the good times ended.
But then Saxons came to Britain from an area in Germany,
and they started living near the river In the early days, the Saxons
did not use the old city, but in 834 Vikings from Scandinavia
started to destroy other towns and cities. In 886, the Saxon king,
Alfred, moved his people inside the old Roman city walls o f
Londinium.

‘London B ridge is Falling D o w n ’

Many British children sing this famous song, but not
everybody knows the story. W hen the Vikings to o k London
in 1013, the English king, Aethelred, asked King O laf o f
Norway fo r help. Olaf's men pulled London Bridge down
when the Vikings were on it. The bridge and the Vikings fell
into the river

In 1050 another king, Edward I, started building a great church,

W estminster Abbey, west o f the city. The king built a palace,
W estminster Palace, between the abbey and the river because he
wanted to watch the builders. W orkers finished the building in
1065, and Edward died days later
In 1066, a new king o f England, W illiam I from France, stood in
W estminster Abbey. W illiam and his son, W illiam Rufus, started
to build fine new buildings in the city. The city was now about
1,000 years old. W ith its new centre in W estminster it was ready
fo r the next 1,000 years.

5
King H e n ry III b u ilt a n e w W e s tm in s te r A b b e y tw o h u n dre d years later. You
can see this g re a t b u ilding in W e s tm in s te r today.
London T h e a tre
London is one o f the theatre capitals o f the world. Most o f the
big theatres are in the 'W est End’. There are more than fifty
theatres in this area. The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie, started in
the W est End in 1952 and you can see the same play today!
A lot o f the big plays in London now have songs and music
in them. Some - The Lion King, M ary Poppins and Billy Elliot - were
films first. One o f the biggest names in London theatre is Andrew
Lloyd Webber. He w rote the music fo r Cats and Evita.
In the 1500s, im portant people in the church did not like the
theatre, so there were no theatres inside London’s city walls.
James Burbage built the first theatre, outside the walls, in 1576.
Twenty-one years later; Peter Smith started building the Globe
Theatre south o f the river; in Southwark. This was the biggest
theatre in London, and a lot o f Londoners saw plays there. The
first play at the Globe was about the Roman Julius Caesar
W illiam Shakespeare ( 15 6 4 -1 6 16) is Britain’s most famous w rite r
He lived in London for most o f his life, and Londoners saw most
o f his thirty-seven plays at the Globe.

Boys and girls

In Shakespeare’s time, women could not be in plays. The
people in the plays were all men. The film Shakespeare in
Love was about this. Men played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
and Ophelia in Hamlet!

The first Globe Theatre closed in 1642, and builders destroyed

it later In the 1970s an American, Sam Wanamaker wanted to
build the theatre again. A fte r th irty years and a lot o f money,
the Globe is now in its old place in Southwark. You to o can see
a Shakespeare play at the Globe!

7
Kings and Queens in London
The story o f London is also the story o f the country's kings and
queens. Some o f the most famous buildings tell this story.

T h e Tow er o f London
In 1066 the new king, W illiam I, built the W hite Tower in the city.
Later kings and queens built more buildings round this tower. The
Tower o f London was a palace, but it was also a prison. Two o f
King Henry VIII’s wives - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard -
lost their heads at the Tower in the 1500s. The Tower was a
prison again in the 1940s: in W orld W a r II, the British government
put German Rudolf Hess there. Today, visitors can walk round
the Tower o f London. The treasures o f many kings and queens are
inside.

H a m p to n C o u rt Palace
Hampton C o u rt Palace was a great house to the south-west o f
the city. It was Thomas Wolsey's house, but King Henry VIII
liked it. Henry was angry with Wolsey. Wolsey gave the house to
the king, but it did not help him. The king to o k the house and
Wolsey went to prison. Henry changed the palace and built new
gardens, kitchens and a church. Twenty-eight people could use
the palace's toilet at the same time!
Later Hampton C o u rt Palace was a prison fo r King Charles I.
In 1649, Oliver C rom w ell’s government cut off the king’s head.

Parks fo r Kings
Many o f London's parks were gardens fo r kings and queens.
Londoners could walk in Hyde Park and St James's Park for
the first time in the 1600s.
 Queen Elizabeth II and her family outside Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace
N o king o r queen built Buckingham Palace. It was a rich person's
house. King George III liked it and he bought it in 1761.
George IV built more and more rooms. Queen Victoria moved
to Buckingham Palace in 1837. N ow Queen Elizabeth II lives in
Buckingham Palace when she is in London. There are 600 rooms.
Visitors can see some o f the rooms fo r one month every year.

Kensington Palace
W illiam III built this beautiful small palace‘in the country' in 1689.
Later Queen Victoria was born there. Today, the palace is in a
park, near the centre o f London. Some people in the Queen's
family have flats in the palace.

9
East and W e s t
London is home to about 7,200,000 people. The same number o f
people lived in the city in 1900. A t that time, it was the biggest
city in the world.
But homes in London are very different. Many o f the city’s
richest areas are in the west o f the city - in Kensington and
Knightsbridge. In 2 0 0 1, somebody sold the most expensive house
in the city, near Kensington. They wanted £85,000,000 fo r it!
O f course, it is very different in other areas o f the city. In the
1700s and 1800s, people built many houses east o f the old city
walls. In this area, the East End, most people did not have much
money. The houses were small, and sometimes more than one
family lived in the same house. They used the same kitchen and
outside toilet.
W orld W a r II destroyed many o f the houses in the East End.
A fter the war, the British government pulled down more o f these
houses. They started building tall buildings fo r the people in the
area.

Listen to th e bells!
Some Londoners are ‘Cockneys’. This is a name for
people from one area o f the East End. Cockneys are born
near the sound o f Bow Bells - the bells o f one church,
St Mary-le-Bow, in Cheapside.

More than 25% o f the people in London were not born there.
People come to the capital from other areas o f Britain. Many
people come from other countries.There are Chinese people in
London’s Chinatown, in the Soho area. People from India, Pakistan
and Bangladesh came to the East End a fte rW o rld W a r II. In the

10
1950s, many people moved from the W est Indies to the area o f
N otting Hill in west London. Every August there is a big street
party in N otting Hill with Caribbean music.
Today, people from many countries live in every area o f the
city. You can hear more than 250 languages on the streets o f
London, and the city is changing all the time. From 1993 to 2002,
726,000 people from other countries moved to London. Today, a
lot o f people come from countries in the east o f Europe. London
really is ‘the w orld in one city’.

C olour on a s u m m e r d a y In the streets o f N o ttin g H ill

London’s Ups and Downs
There were good times and bad times in the long story o f
London.
1348 A very bad illness hit the people o f London. Half o f all
Londoners died.
* 15 5 8 -1 6 0 3 Elizabeth I was queen. A t this time - in 'Elizabethan
England’ - the country’s capital city was rich and strong, with
more and more people and more and more buildings.
^ 1605 Guy Fawkes and his friends did not want James I to
be king, so they tried to destroy the government building at
Westminster. The government caught and killed them. Today
British people remember this day, Novem ber 5th, with parties
and fires in their gardens.
1649 W a r began in 1642. O liver Cromwell and his followers
won, and in 1649 they killed King Charles I. A fte r the King lost his
head, there was no king o r queen from 1649 to 1660.
Hr 1660 W hen O liver Cromwell died, there was a new king.
Charles II was the son o f Charles I. Londoners could dance and
go to the theatre again.
. 1 6 6 5 -6 Illness came to London again. A t the end o f 1665,
80,000 Londoners were dead. The King and many rich people left
the city, so they did not die.
^ 1666 A fire started on a hot September day in a shop near
London Bridge. In six days, the Great Fire o f London destroyed
most o f the old city. W hen it ended, 100,000 Londoners had no
home.
t 1666 A fte r the fire, the people o f London started to build
their city again. Christopher W ren (1632-1723) built some
o f the city’s most beautiful and famous buildings. St Paul's
Cathedral was one o f his buildings.
T f 1851 Queen Victoria was queen from 1837 to 1901. The
w orld changed in the 1800s and Queen Victoria’s London was

12
the w orld’s biggest, richest city. There were big new train stations,
museums and many other fine buildings. In 185 I , there was a
great show at Crystal Palace. It showed the best o f British things.
Queen Victoria and her husband A lb e rt opened the show. They
went fo rty-tw o times! More than 6,000,000 other people went,
too.
^ 1941 W orld W a r II (1939-1945) was a difficult time for
London. The city lost many o f its houses and famous buildings
in the w ar A fte r the w ar London had to start again. But the
people o f London were ready - in 1948, the Olympic Games
came to the city. The Olympics are coming again in 2 0 12.
Today London is changing. People are putting a lot o f money
into areas near the river. O ld buildings are coming down o r
changing. There are new offices, shops, restaurants and flats.

M a n y Londoners lost th e ir hom es a n d shops in W o rld W a r II.

13
O ld and N e w
There are many old buildings in London, but there are new
buildings in London’s story, too.

N e w Buildings
T eleco m T o w er was new in 1965. The to w e r was for television
and radio, but it also had a restaurant at the top. The restaurant
closed in 1970.

C an a d a T o w e r is London’s tallest building. It is also the tallest

office building in Europe. It has a red light at the top, so
aeroplanes can see it.
A meat company, O XO , built the 0 X 0 T o w e r by the river
in 1928. A t that time, companies could not w rite their names
in lights on the city’s buildings. But the builders had an idea.
They w rote the w ord 0 X 0 in the windows at the top o f the
building. Then they put a strong light behind the windows, so
people outside could read the word. Today there is a restaurant
at the to p o f the to w e r

The London Eye is not a building, but it is the fourth tallest

thing in the London sky. From the top o f the London Eye, visitors
can see fo r kilometres across the city. You go up and down again
in tw enty minutes.

O ld Buildings
The Great Fire o f London, in 1666, destroyed the old church o f
St Paul's. The government asked Christopher W ren for a new
church. He started S t Paul’s C a th e d ra l in 1675. In 1707, when
he was seventy-five, tw o towers went on the building. W ith its
round top, St Paul's Cathedral is one o f London’s most beautiful
buildings.
People round the w orld know Big Ben. It stands next to the
British government buildings at Westminster. But Big Ben is not

14
the name o f the clock o r the to w e r It is the name o f the bell
inside St Stephen's Tower Builders finished the bell to w e r in 1858,
but there were problems. A fte r tw o months, Big Ben broke.
Later in 1949, the bell sounded four and a half minutes late
because there were a lot o f birds on the clock. On January I st
1962, the clock was slow again because there was snow on it. It
also stopped in 2005. For British people, the N ew Year starts
when they hear the sound o f Big Ben in the streets o f London o r
on their televisions o r radios.
The British fought Napoleon's ships in 1805 and won. The city
wanted to remember this, so in 18 4 1 they built T ra fa lg a r
Square. Today, you can find a lot o f visitors - and birds! - in the
square.

O ld a n d N e w - the London Eye looks dow n on Big Ben's tower.

15
Shop, Shop, Shop!
People could always buy things in London. Today, there are
about 40,000 shops in the city. Visitors can buy everything
in London. Many o f the city’s most famous shops are in
Knightsbridge o r Regent Street, and some shops in these areas
are very expensive. The city also has a lot o f old shops.

F o rtn u m & Mason W illiam Fortnum and Hugh Mason opened

their shop in 1707. Laten other Fortnums and Masons worked
there. They sold food in Britain and sent it to other countries, too.
N o w the shop sells expensive food, clothes and other things.
Charles Fortnum worked fo r King George III in the 1700s, and
today the Queen is one o f the shop's customers.

H a rro d s This is one o f the most famous shops in the world.

Henry Charles Harrod started selling tea in the 1800s, when
Harrods was a family shop. By 1905, Harrods was in a new
building and it was the biggest shop in Europe. In 1985 the
Egyptian Mohamed Al Fayed bought it. N o w you can buy cakes,
coffee, flowers, games, jackets, jeans, radios, shirts, shoes,
telephones, televisions, vegetables, watches, toilet paper and coats
fo r dogs! Harrods sells everything for everybody.

L ib e rty A rth u r Liberty opened his shop in 1875. He called the

building East India House, and the shop sold beautiful things from
India, Japan and other countries in the East. Liberty moved to a
beautiful new building in the 1920s. N o w the shop is famous for
its clothes.

You can also go shopping outside in London. The city has about
eighty markets.
One o f London’s biggest markets is on P e ttic o a t Lane.
Every Sunday, people sell clothes to shoppers.
 P o rto b e llo Road runs through the middle o f Notting
Hill, in the west o f the city. In 1870, people sold horses on
Portobello Road. N o w more than 2,000 people sell clothes,
music, and fruit and vegetables there.
For 300 years, C o v e n t G a rd e n was a market for fruit,
vegetables and flowers. N ow it is not really a market. It has a
lot o f different shops and restaurants. Visitors can watch street
theatre in the square outside.

W hen Londoners are hungry, and tired o f shopping, they can go

to one o f the I 1,000 eating places in the city. You can eat food
from round the world. You can eat in famous, very expensive
restaurants o r in cheap little cafes. In the afternoon, you can have
‘afternoon tea’ - tea, sandwiches and cake - in one o f the city's
famous hotels.

A child enjoys his visit to Covent Garden.

17
Museums
London has a lot o f museums. There are museums o f money,
animals, time, trains, ships, the River Thames, tea and coffee, art,
famous writers, wan buses and trains, aeroplanes, theatre -
everything! The Museum o f London is a museum about London!
The British Museum was the first museum in the world.
In 1753, when Sir Hans Sloane died, the British government
bought 80,000 o f his books and other things. From 1759,
everybody could go and see them in the new museum.
Today the British Museum has over 4,000,000 things. A visitor
can walk about four kilometres through ninety-four rooms. About
1,200 people w ork in the museum, and every year there are
6,000,000 visitors. W hat can they see there?

• The Lindow Man is about 2,000 years old. They found him
under the ground in the north o f England, in 1984. H ow did he
die? N obody knows.
• The Sutton H oo treasure is the treasure o f an English king o f
about 600 a d . This treasure tells us about life at that time.
• W hen people wanted to understand the old language o f the
Egyptians, the Rosetta Stone helped them.
• One dead cat from Egypt is more than 2,000 years old!
• Stones from the Parthenon, in Athens, came to London in
18 0 1. Many Greek people want to take this art back to Greece.

One o f the most famous areas o f the British Museum is the

Reading Room. A t different times, many famous w riters and
thinkers worked here - Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi, Virginia
W o o lf and Oscar W ilde. Today, you can go to the Reading Room
and learn more about the things in the museum from computers.
O f course, you can see a lot o f art in London. O ne o f the most
famous museums is the Tate. The first Tate building opened in
1897 with art from the 1500s to 1890.

18
 M r T a te
Henry Tate lived in the 1800s. He was not an artist, but
he was a very rich man. He made his money from sugar
Tate loved art, and he really loved British a rt o f that time.

But the old museum building was to o small, so now there are
tw o Tates in London. The new Tate museum opened in the year
2000, by the River Thames. There is art o f the 1900s, with w ork
by Picasso, Matisse and W arhol. The old Tate museum is now
Tate Britain’.

There are m a n y fine treasures in the Victoria a n d A lb e rt M useum .

Some of London’s biggest and best museums are in

Kensington. O ne o f these is the Victoria and A lb e rt Museum. It
opened in 1852 under a different name. Students could come
here and see treasures from different areas o f the world. In 1899,
after her husband died, Queen Victoria gave this museum its new
name. Today, the museum has more than eleven kilometres o f
rooms. In one room you can see hundreds o f dresses from 1600
to today.

19
Black Taxis, Red Buses
London has five airports in o r near the city - Heathrow, Gatwick,
London City A irport, Stansted and Luton. Heathrow is twenty-
four kilometres from the city centre. A bout 1,250 aeroplanes -
2 13,000 people - fly to and from Heathrow every day.
The city has eight big train stations, too. You can catch a train
from London to Paris o r Brussels now. Many people live outside
London and come into the city fo r w o rk every day. Children
know about King’s Cross station because it is the train station in
the Harry Potter books.

TtntdT
I'wlUyNJ

AL0 968B

London is famous for its black taxis and red buses.

20
 There are a lot o f cars in London, and journeys can take a
very long tim e at the wrong tim e o f day. But the city is famous
fo r its black taxis and red buses. You can see some o f London’s
famous red buses today, and there are other buses, too.
London's 21,000 black taxi drivers have to remember 25,000
streets in London. They study maps and drive round the city for
about tw o years. Before they can start driving people, they have
to answer difficult questions about the best ways across London.
You can move across London on the Underground, too.
Londoners also call these underground trains 'the Tube’. The
London Underground is the oldest in the world. People first
used it in 1863. N o w it is about 410 kilometres long. There
are three hundred stations, and some o f them are nearly sixty
metres under the streets. Every day, about 2,500,000 people use
these trains.

T h e M ap M an
In 1931, Henry Beck started working on a new map for
the London Underground. He wanted to make the map
easy for people. The London Underground only made
five hundred o f the maps, but people loved them. The
Underground is bigger today, but the map is not very
different from Beck’s map.

You can, o f course, walk round London! N o cars o r buses

can go across London's newest bridge. The Millennium Bridge
opened in 2000, and many Londoners walk across it every day.
There were some problems with the bridge in the early days.
W hen a lot o f people walked on it, the bridge moved! People felt
ill, so the bridge had to close. Builders did more w o rk on the
bridge, and then it opened again.

21
London betw een th e Pages
London is a great city fo r book-lovers. There are a lot o f
bookshops on Charing Cross Road. Many famous writers lived in
- a n d w rote about - the city

S am uel Pepys (1633-1703) w rote about life in the city in the

1600s. His w o rk tells us about the Great Fire o f London in 1666.

D r S am u el Johnson (1 7 0 9 -8 4 ) w rote about the English

language and many other things. Johnson w rote these famous
words about his home city: ‘W hen a man is tired o f London, he
is tired o f life.’

Jane A u sten ( 17 7 5 -1 8 17) lived in London fo r a short time. She

loved to go shopping in Bond Street.

C h arles Dickens (1812-70 ) was the most famous w rite r in

Victorian England (when Victoria was queen). Many o f his books
are about London. W hen Dickens was a child, his family had no
money. He had to work. Later, he wanted to make the city a
better place. In his book Oliver Twist, young O liver has a very bad
tim e on the streets o f Victorian London.

A r th u r C onan D o yle (1859-1930) w rote the first Sherlock

Holmes story in 18 9 1 and he gave the great detective an address
in the city. There really is a 2 2 1b Baker Street. There is also a
Sherlock Holmes museum in the street.

G e o rg e B ern ard Shaw (1856-1950) lived in a house in

Bloomsbury. Later Virginia W o o lf lived in the same house.
E M Forster and many other w riters met at this house.

G e o rg e O rw e ll (1903-1950) w rote his most famous book,

/ 984, about a London o f the future. Orwell also w rote about
difficult lives in the city in his book Down and Out in London and
Paris.

22
 Sherlock Homes looks up to his old home in Baker Street.

M a rtin A m is (b o m 1949) gives a good picture o f London life in

the 1980s in his book A/lone/. London is im portant in a lot o f his
books.

Z a d ie S m ith (born 1973) w rote about the lives o f British

Asians in London now in her book White Teeth. London is always
changing, and today’s w riters show readers the new faces o f the
city.

Many famous books fo r children are about London. In

J M Barrie’s book, Peter Pan flies over the buildings o f London.
In P LTravers’s book, Mary Poppins also flies over London!

23
Sports

It doesn’t always rain in Britain! W hen the weather is good, what

can Londoners do outside? The city has more than 1,700 parks.
A bout 30% o f the city is parks and green areas. The biggest park
in the centre o f the city is Hyde Park. You can walk round it in
about ninety minutes. You can also take a boat out on the water
You can watch sports in London, too.

• Every June, sports-lovers watch the tennis at W im bledon. This

brings the top tennis players in the w orld to the city.
• In March o r April, boats from Cambridge and O xford
Universities try to be the fastest on the RiverThames. Students
come to London and watch with Londoners.
• Football is the biggest sport in Britain. Arsenal, Chelsea, W est
Ham and Tottenham Hotspur play in London.

London is a city with many faces. It is home to some o f the

w o rld ’s richest people, to kings and queens, and to people with
little o r no money. There are old buildings and new buildings.
You can eat English food all day o r you can eat food from other
countries. There are a lot o f cars, a lot o f shops - and a lot o f
people. Life in London is not always easy, but it is never boring.
D r Johnson was right:'W hen a man is tired o f London, he is tired
o f life.’

24
 ACTIVITIES
Pages 1-7
Before you read
1 W hat do you know about London? W rite the names of:
a tw o buildings c a football ground
b a street d an airport
2 Look at the W ord List at the back o f the book. Then discuss
these questions with another student.
a H ow many kings and queens o f Britain can you name?
b Name a famous w o rk o f art. Do you like it? W hy (not)?
c In your area, are there more new o r old buildings? W hich
do you like more?
d You are in London fo r one day. Are you going to visit a
museum o r see a play? Why?
e W ha t is the capital city o f your country? W hy is that city
the capital?
f Is there a street market near your home? W hat can you
buy there?
While you read
3 Are these questions right (✓ ) o r wrong (X)?
a London is the biggest city in the world. .....
b The RiverThames is north o f London. .....
c People from London are Londonians. .....
d One old London Bridge is in California. .....
e There are no fish in the Thames now. .....
f The Romans went to England. .....
g Vikings built a new London Bridge. .....
h Most o f the big theatres are in the East End. .....
i Early in the 1600s, London theatres were only
outside the city walls...............................................................
j W illiam Shakespeare lived in London. .....

25
After you read
4 Answer these questions.
a H ow many bridges are there in London?
b W hen did the Romans arrive in Britain?
c W hen did they leave?
d W hy did Boudica destroy most o f London?
e W h o built the second W estminster Abbey?
f W h o built the first London theatre?
5 Discuss these questions with another student.
a W hy was the RiverThames im portant to London?
b Was the new Globe Theatre a good idea? W ould you like
to go there? W hy (not)?

Pages 8 - 15
Before you read
6 Discuss these questions.
a W hat do you know about the Queen’s home in London?
b H ow many different languages do you think you can hear
in London? Why?
c Something destroyed most o f London in the 1600s. W hat
do you think it was?
While you read
7 W ho:
a lost their heads in the Tower o f London? ...................
b lost his palace and his life?.......................................................
c lives in Buckingham Palace? ...................
d was born in Kensington Palace? ...................
e are born near the sound o f Bow Bells? ...................
f tried to destroy the government in 1605? ...................
g built St Paul’s Cathedral? ...................
h was Queen Victoria’s husband?........................... ...................
i lost at Trafalgar? ...................

26
After you read
8 Read about one o f the people in 7 (above). Use books o r the
Internet and w rite five interesting sentences. Then tell the
other students about that person.
9 W o rk with another student. Have this conversation. W here
are you going to go? Why?
Student A: It is your last day in London and you want to visit
St Paul's Cathedral. You want your friend to go
with you.
Student 8: You don’t want to visit St Paul's Cathedral. You
want to go on the London Eye. You want your
friend to go with you.

Pages 1 6-24
before you read
10 W h o o r what are these? W hat do you know about them?
a Harrods
b the London Underground
c Charles Dickens
d Mary Poppins
e W im bledon
f Arsenal
While you read
11 W rite the date.
a Fortnum & Mason opened. ............
b Harrods was the biggest shop in Europe. ............
c The British Museum opened. ............
d People found the Lindow Man. ............
e The first Tate museum opened. ............
f People first used the Underground. ............
g Jane Austen died. ............
h Conan Doyle first w rote about Sherlock Holmes...............

27
After you read
12 W ha t did D r Johnson say about London? W hat did he mean?
Can you say the same words about your tow n o r city? W hy
(not)?
13 Look at the questions on page I again. Can you answer all o f
them now?
W r it in g
14 You are going to London fo r tw o days. W hat do you want to
see and do? Make a plan.
15 You are on holiday in London. W rite a postcard to a friend at
home. W hat do you think about the city?
16 The year is 1610. Today, you saw a new play by Shakespeare.
W rite about your day.
17 In a magazine, you read about T he Five Greatest Cities in the
W o rld ’. London is not there. W rite a letter to the magazine
about this.
18 You are a teacher Tell your students, on paper some o f the
story o f London. Use words and pictures.
19 You are making a film about ‘the new face o f London’. W hat
will you show? Make notes for your film.

A G r e a t C ity page I : A nsw ers

lb 2a 3c 4b 5b 6a 7c 8a 9b 10a

Answers for the activities in this book are available from the Penguin R eaders website:
w w w .penguinreaders.com
A free Factsheet for this book is also available from this website.
 W O R D L IS T with example sentences

abbey (n) The Church built abbeys in the country,

area (n) H er house is in a nice area o f the city,
a rt (n) I love the art o f Leonardo da Vinci,
bell (n) Do you hear the church bells on Sunday mornings?
capital (n) Rome is the capital o f Italy,
cathedral (n) Notre-Dam e, in Paris, is a beautiful cathedral.
destroy (v) Fire can destroy a house in minutes,
go vernm ent (n) The government has exciting new plans fo r our
schools and hospitals,
illness (n) People were ill fo r days and many died o f their illness.
king (n) Henry VIII was a famous king o f England,
m a rk e t (n) You can buy nice fruit at the street market near my
house.
m useum (n) A t the museum you can see a lot o f old Roman and
Egyptian things.
palace (n) Elizabeth II lives in Buckingham Palace when she is in
London.
play (n) Romeo and Juliet is a play by W illiam Shakespeare,
prison (n) He killed a man and went to prison fo r a long time,
queen (n) Elizabeth II is the Queen o f Great Britain and N orthern
Ireland.
stone (n) Stone is harder than wood.
to w e r (n) You can see the church tower from kilometres away,
treasure (n) The men were very rich after they found the
treasure.
w a r (n) Many people died in the war between the tw o countries.
Penguin Readers Factsheets

Level 2 - Elementary
Teacher’s Notes

London
By V icky Shipton

London
S tuart London (17th century): B anqueting Hall (W hitehall),
f Su m m ary The M onum ent, St Paul’s Cathedral.
Victorian London (19th century): Regent Street, Piccadilly
L o n d o n g iv e s us a w id e range of interesting fa c ts and details Circus, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, Houses of Parliament,
ab o ut th e history, pe o ple, b u ildin gs a n d cultural activities of Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum.
o ne of th e w orld's m ost fa m o u s cities. This m agazine-style M odern London (20th century): Harrod's, South Bank Arts
Penguin R eader begins w ith a general know ledge test. Then Centre, Dockland, M illennium Dome, Oxo Tower, London Eye.
w e learn ab o ut L ondon’s history: the im portance of the River
Som e im portant da te s in L ondon’s history:
Tham es and its early de velo pm en t from Roman tim es to the
1066: W illiam of N orm a n d y is crow ned W illiam I
eleventh century. Later, there is a brief sum m ary of im portant
of E ngland in W estm inster A b b e y
historical events tha t have affected London positively or
1176: first stone London B ridge
ne g atively o v e r the last 600 years. W e learn ab o u t th e people
1191: first M ayor of London
o f London and h o w the nature o f its population is changing, the
1477: W illiam C axton prints th e first book
im p orta n ce o f its theatres and m useum s a nd ab o u t som e of
1599: The G lo b e Theatre is bu ilt in Southw ark
th e fam o us peo ple w ho have m a d e London their hom e. There
1605: Th e G un pow d e r Plot - G uy Fawke s i s arreste d
are also cha p ters on sh o p p in g a nd fam ous landmarks.
1637: H yde Park op e n s to the p u b lic
D otted throughout th e book are fascinating pieces of 1649: K ing C harles I is exe cu te d . E ngland becom es
m iscellaneous inform ation abo ut London, ranging from facts a R ep u b lic u n d e r O liver C rom w ell until 1660
ab o ut th e C ockneys to the origin s o f the London U nderground 1665: The G reat Plague
m ap. This b oo k will b e of grea t interest no t on ly to students 1666: The G reat Fire
o f English w h o are staying in London, but to all visitors to the 1829: The M etropolitan P olice is fo u n d e d
city, no m atter how sho rt th e stay. H ow ever w ell you think you 1834: The H ouses o f P arliam ent burn dow n
alrea d y know London, you are sure to fin d som ething in this 1836: first railw ay in L ondon (London B ridge
bo o k that w ill surprise, fascina te o r de lig h t you. - G reenw ich)
1863: firs t und e rg ro u n d railw ay (P a d d in g to n -
F arringdon Road)
1904: firs t m o to r bu s service
( B ackgrou nd and th e m e s j
1905: H arrod’s o p e n s in K n ig h tsb rid g e
1906: first und e rg ro u n d e le ctric train
L on do n’s o rig in s: Before 4 3 a d , th ere w as no London. The
1907: Self ridge's o p e n s in O xford Street
R iver Tham es flo w e d through m a rshland a nd m osquitoes
1915: firs t zepp e lin b o m b s fall on L o ndon in W orld W ar I
w ere the m ain inha bita nts of th e site w here London now
1940: a third o f th e c ity is destro ye d by bom bs
sta nd s. T he R om ans bu ilt th e first b rid g e across the
in W orld W ar II
T h am es in 4 3 a d . T his b rid g e p roved a conve n ie n t central
1946: Heathrow Airport opens fo r com m ercial flights
p oint fo r a n e w netw o rk o f roads a nd a tra d in g settlem ent 1956: th e first d o u b le -d e c k e r London bus
d e v e lo p e d on th e north sid e of th e river, w hich th e Romans
(the R outem aster)
c a lle d L on dinium . T h e firs t 'L o n d o n ’ only lasted fo r 18 years.
1972-82: th e Tham es B arrier is built acro ss the
B ou d ica , quee n of th e Iceni tribe , led a rebellion a gainst th e
T ham es to control flo o d in g
R om ans an d b u rn t Lo nd inium to th e g ro u n d . But th e c ity was
2005: th e R outem aster bu s m akes its last com m ercial
q u ic k ly rebuilt, a n d the histo ry o f London had begun.
jo u rn e y along O xford Street
H istorical London Today: In th e hund re d ye a rs after the
The p e o p le o f London: A city is not ju s t ab o u t its build in g s
R om ans arrived , Lo ndon grew . It soon p o ssessed the largest
a nd h istorical dates. The c h a ra cte r and a tm osphere of a city
tow n hall anyw here in E urope w est o f th e Alps. G race ch u rch
d e p e n d on its people. From a popu la tio n o f on ly 18,000 700
Street, in th e C ity o f London, runs through th e m id d le o f the years ago, London no w has o ve r 7 m illion inhabitants. The
o ld R om an tow n hall a n d m arket place. The firs t ‘London
b ig g e s t increase o c c u rre d in th e nineteenth century as a
B rid g e ' (43 a d ) h a s o n ly re cen tly been excavated. It was
result o f the Industrial R evolution, w hen the population rose
fo u n d o nly y ard s aw ay from th e m odern London B ridge.
fro m 1 m illion to o v e r 6 m illion in a hund re d years! A nother
T here are b u ild in g s a n d lan dm arks all o ve r London w hich
interesting a s p e c t o f London is its rich m ix o f cultures and
survive fro m its m an y differe nt p e rio d s o f history:
nationalities. This is reflected in its m any different events and
Rom an Lo n don: Traces o f the o riginal Rom an w all (200 a d )
fe stiva ls (The N otting Hill C arnival at th e e nd of A ugust, fo r
ca n still be seen in a fe w places.
exam ple) a nd its he a d y va rie ty of restaurants a nd shops
M ed ie val Lo ndon ( 1 1th - 15th ce ntury): G uildhall, th e Tower
(C hinatow n, n e a r Leicester Square). There have
of Lo ndon, W e stm in ster A bbey, W estm inster Hall (in the
been several d e fin in g m om ents in th e ch a n g in g
H ouses of Parliam ent).
nature o f L ondon’s population, som e o f w h ich
T udor London (15th - early 17th century): Unfortunately, m ost
include:
T udor bu ildin gs w ere d estroyed in th e G reat Fire o f 1666.

£ © Pearson Education Limited 2006

Penguin Readers Factsheets

Level 2 - Elementary
Teacher’s Notes

1848: A s a result o f th e Irish p o ta to fam ine, o ve r 100,000 Pages 8 -1 5

im po verishe d Irish se ttle d in L ondon. A t o ne tim e, they
1 S tudents cho o se th ree p la ce s from pages 8 -1 5 that they
m ad e u p 2 0 p e r ce n t o f L o n d o n ’s population.
w o u ld like to visit. Put students into pairs, a nd a sk th em
1930s: Large num bers of Jew s em igrated to London, fleeing
to p lan a d a y ou t in London together. T hey m ust agree
p ersecution in Europe. Most of them settled in the West
on the sam e three places.
End.
1946 o nw ard s: T here w a s heavy im m igration from 2 Put students into sm all g ro u p s to d is c u s s these
cou ntrie s o f the o ld British Em pire, settling, fo r exam ple, questions.
in N o ttin g H ill (C a rib be a n), Soho (H ong K ong C hinese), (a) D oes yo u r country have a kin g/queen o r a
Southall (Sikhs) a nd F insbury (C ypriots). president? W h ich is better, d o you think?
(b) P eople fro m m any different countries live in

London
E ntertainm ent a nd spo rts: London is one o f the w orld's
London. D o you have a ny citie s in y o u r c o u n try like
g re a t cultu ral cen tres, w ith m any w orld -fa m o u s theatres (The
this? W hat are the g o o d th in g s ab o u t ha vin g so
O ld Vic, th e N ational, D rury Lane, H aym arket), art galleries
m any different nationalities in one city? W hat are
(th e Tate, th e N ational G allery, th e Tate M odern), m useum s
th e problem s?
a nd c o n c e rt ve n u e s (The Royal A lb e rt Hall, th e B arbican,
(c) T he O lym pic G am es are com ing to London in 2012.
Earl’s C o u rt Arena). T here is a g re a t deal o f developm ent
A re Londoners ha p p y about this? W hy/w hy not?
g o in g o n in th e fie ld of spo rts , w ith a m assive new football
(d) W hat w as the best tim e to live in London? W hat
s ta diu m b e in g bu ilt a t W em bley, a nd the p ro s p e c t o f the
w a s th e w orst? W hy?
O ly m p ic G a m e s c o m in g to L ondon in 2012.
3 Put students into small groups. Ask them to plan a street
party in London to celebrate different things about their
countries. W hat kind of m usic will there be? W hat kind of
[ C o m m u n ica tiv e a c tiv ite s ________ j fo o d / shops / clothes / decorations / gam es fo r children
etc? Each group gives reasons to th e rest o f the class why
The fo llo w in g tea che r-led a c tiv itie s c o v e r th e sam e sections their party w ould b e better than the others. Students from
o f te x t as th e e x e rcise s at th e b a c k of the Reader, and th e other groups ask them questions about their plans.
su p p le m e n t th ose exercises. For supp le m e n ta ry exercises Which things are a good idea, w hich things are not?
c o v e rin g sh o rte r se c tio n s o f th e book, see the p h o to co p ia b le
S tudent's A ctiv itie s p a g e s of th is Factsheet. These are P ages 1 6 -2 4
prim arily fo r use w ith cla s s R eaders but, w ith th e e xception 1 Put students into sm all g ro u p s to d is c u s s these
o f d is cu ssio n an d p air/g rou p w o rk questions, can also be questions.
u se d b y s tu de nts w o rkin g alo ne in a self-a cce ss centre. (a) W hat are th e b ig g e s t shops in y o u r ca p ita l city? Do
yo u like s h o p p in g there? W hy/w hy not?
A C T IV IT IE S B EFO R E R E A D IN G THE B O O K
(b) T he G reek people w ant th e British M useum to return
1 W rite the w o rd L o n d o n on th e board. A sk students to the stones from th e Parthenon. The British M useum
w rite d ow n th e firs t fiv e th in g s they think of w hen they w ants to keep them in London. W ho is right? W hy?
se e th at w ord . Th en pu t s tu dents into pairs. H ave they (c) Look at th e picture o f th e bus and the taxi on page
th o u g h t o f th e sam e fiv e th in g s? D iscuss th e lists w ith 20. T h e y are no w v e ry old-fashioned. S hould they
th e rest o f the class. b e m o d e rn ise d ? W hy/w hy not?
2 Before the lesson, w rite these w ords on a sm all card or (d) Cars have to pay a special tax to drive into London.
p ie ce o f p a p e r (half the phrase on each card): P iccadilly Is this a good w ay to solve traffic problem s in a city?
Circus, B u ckingham Palace, B ig Ben, Leicester Square, Can you think of any better ways?
T he River Tham es, St Paul’s Cathedral, W estm inster 2 Put students into pairs, Ask them to prepare an interview
Abbey, D ow ning Street, T he Houses o f Parliament, The w ith one o f th e p e ople on pa g e s 2 2 -2 3 . W hat questions
Tower of London, W aterloo Station, H yde Park, H am pton w o u ld you like to ask them ?
C ourt. (If you have m ore students, a dd m ore w ords of
y o u r ow n : Q ueen Elizabeth, C ovent G arden, Portobello A C TIV ITIE S A FTE R R EA D IN G THE B O O K
Road, W e m bley Stadium , H eathrow A irport etc.) Give 1 Put students into sm all groups. A sk them to d iscuss
e ach s tudent o ne c a rd /p ie c e o f paper. A sk students to these questions.
sta nd u p a nd w a lk around th e class until they have found (a) W hat w ould they like ab o u t living in London? W hat
th e ir ‘ p artn er’. w o u ld b e the w o rst th in g ab o u t living in London?
(a) H ow c o u ld London b e im proved fo r visitors?
A C T IV IT IE S A FTER R E A D IN G A SECTIO N
2 Put students into pairs. A sk them to plan a po stca rd
Pages 1 -7
o f London. They m ust cho o se fo u r p ictures to put on
1 Put s tud en ts into p airs a nd ask them to m ake a five- th e ir postca rd . W hat are they? W h y have th e y chosen
q ue stion te s t sim ila r to the o n e on p a g e 1. T hey should those thin g s? Finally, e ach p a ir tells th e rest of th e ir class
us e d ifferent inform ation from p a g e s 2 -7 . W hile they are abo u t th e ir postcard.
m aking th e ir tests, th e y sho uld c h e ck that th e ir questions
m ake sense an d c o rre c t any m istakes. W hen everyone
is finis h e d , th e y s w a p tes ts with another pair. A fter doing
th e test, th e y return the ir answ ers to th e oth e r pair fo r
( Word list
corre ction . T he tw o p airs c an d is c u s s q uestions and
an sw e rs afterw ards. It w ill b e useful fo r your students to know the ne w w ords
fo u n d on p a g e 29 o f th e Reader. They are p ra ctise d in the
2 Put s tu d en ts into pairs. A sk th em to h ave this im aginary 'B efore you read' sections a t th e b a ck o f the book. (The
con versation. definitions are base d on those in th e Longm an A ctive Study
S tu de nt A: You are Q ueen B oudica. You think that the Dictionary.)
R om ans sh ou ld leave London. Say why.
S tu de nt B: You are a R om an officer. You think that the
R om ans sh ou ld stay in London. Say why.

£ © Pearson Education Limited 2006 Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by Chris Rice
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Penguin Readers Factsheets

Level 2 - Elementary
By V icky Shipton

London
T h ese ac tiv itie s ca n b e do n e alone o r w ith one o r m ore oth e r (i) A n d re w Lloyd W e b b e r ______________ th e m usic

P h oto co piab le
students. fo r Cats.
(j) L o n d o n e rs _______________ Shakespeare's plays
A C T IV IT IE S B EFO R E R E A D IN G THE B O O K
at th e G lo b e Theatre.
1 R ead th e In troduction. Then a nsw er these questions.
Pages 8 -1 5
W rite the answ ers in w ords.
(a) H ow m a ny pe o p le in L ondon w ere no t b o rn there? 1 A re these sentences right (✓) o r w ro n g (X)?
(b ) H ow m a ny la n g u a g e s ca n you hear on th e streets (a) H enry VIII lived in B uckin g h a m Palace.
o f London? (b ) T here are m ore p e ople in London now than 100
(c ) H ow m a n y p eo p le live in London? years ago.
(c) Kensington is a rich a re a of London.
2 Look at th e W ord list at th e b a c k o f th e book. Then look
(d) G u y Faw kes w a nted Jam es I to be King of
a t th e p ictu re s in th e book. In w h ic h p ictures ca n you
E ngland.
s e e ...
(e) In 1650, E ngland h ad n o kin g o r queen.
(a) a qu een.
(f) C hristopher W ren built St Paul's C athedral a fte r the
(b ) an abbey.
G reat Fire.
(c ) a palace.
(g) V icto ria w as th e first British Q ueen.
(d ) s ho p s in a war.
(h) C a nada Tower is ta lle r than th e London Eye.
(e) a tower.
(i) You can eat a t th e to p o f the Telecom Tower.
(f) a m useum .
(j) Big Ben is th e nam e of a bell.
A C T IV IT IE S W H IL E R EA D IN G TH E B O O K 2 W hich p a rt o f London are th e se sentences about? W rite
P ag es 1 - 7 East (E) o r W est (W ) o r South-W est (SW).
(a) You ca n see H enry VIH’s o ld p a la c e there.
1 W hen d id the se th in g s h a p p e n ? N um ber them 1 -8 and
(b) M any rich p e o p le live there.
w rite th e year.
(c) In th e 1880s p o o r p e o p le lived there.
(a) Tow er B r id g e ______________
(d) T he g overnm ent bu ilt tall b u ild in g s there after
(b ) J ulius C ae sar arrive d in Britain. ______________
W orld W ar II.
(c ) S ha kespeare w a s born . ______________
(e) C ockneys are born there.
(d ) Londo n B ridg e fell d o w n . ______________
(f) P eople fro m India, Pakistan and B angladesh live
(e) th ic k c ity w a lls ______________
there.
(f) The M o u s e tra p started in the W est End.
(g) You can see a big street p a rty th e re every
A ugust.
(g ) The R om ans left Britain. ______________
(h) the firs t W estm in ster A b b e y ______________ 3 W here ...
(a) can you fin d the treasures o f m any kings and
2 C h a n g e th e se w o rd s into th e Past. Put them in th e right
queens?
p laces.
(b) d id H enry VIII send Thom as W olsey?
(c) c o u ld Londoners g o fo r th e firs t tim e in th e 1600s?
b u ild d e s tro y fa ll fig h t g iv e sa y see
(d) d o e s Elizabeth II live?
sta nd take w rite
(e) w a s Q ueen V ictoria born?
(a) C a e s a r ______________ ‘Veni, vidi, v ic i’. (f) is the m ost e xpensive house in London?
(b ) The firs t Lond on b r id g e _______________ fo r 6 22 (g) is C hinatow n?
years. (h) d id m ore than 6 m illion p e ople v isit in 1851?
(c ) The R o m a n s the new tow n the (i) is there a red light fo r aeroplanes?
na m e Londinium . (j) can you see a lot o f birds?
(d ) B o u d ic a ______________ th e Romans.
(e) A g re a t f i r e _______________ m ost o f Londinium .
(f) The V ik in g s ______________ L o ndon in 1013.
(g ) The V ik in g s ______________ into th e river.
(h) E dw ard I ______________ th e firs t W estm inster
Abbey.
Penguin Readers Factsheets

Level 2 - Elementary
Student’s A ctivities

P ages 1 6 -2 4 A C TIV ITIE S A FTE R R EA D IN G THE BO O K

1 W hat is th e righ t answ er? 1 Put students into pairs. A sk them to have this
(a) L ib e rty is fa m o u s fo r its ... conversation.
(1) fru it a n d veg e ta b le s S tudent A: You are a businessm an. You w ant to build
(2) televisio ns a nd radios a b ig hotel in the m id d le o f H yd e Park.
(3) clo th es Say w h y th is is a g o o d id e a fo r London.
S tudent B: You d o not think a hotel in H yd e Park is a
(b ) You ca n w atch stree t th ea tre in ...
g o o d idea. Say why.
(1) P ortob ello Road
(2) C o ven t G arden 2 You are a Londoner in 1941. W rite ab o u t y o u r day.

London
(3) K n ig h ts b rid g e
3 W rite a b o u t the ca p ita l c ity of your c o u n try fo r a
(c ) T h e ... M useum w a s the firs t m useum in th e w orld. student m agazine. W rite about: fam ous b uildings,
(1) V ictoria an d A lbe rt shops, theatres and m useum s, fa m o u s p e o p le and
(2 ) British travelling in th e city.
(3) London

P h oto co piab le
(d ) H enry B e c k w as a ...
(1) w rite r
(2) spo rtsm an
(3) m ap -m ake r

(e) T here are no c ars o r bu ses on ... B ridge

(1) the M illennium
(2) Tow er
(3) London

(f) J M Barrie w rote ...

(1) M ary Poppins
(2) W h ite Teeth
(3) P eter Pan

(g ) S tudents c o m e to L o n do n e ve ry year to w atch

f a s t ...
(1) c ars
(2 ) horses
(3) bo a ts

2 Look at th ese answ ers. W h a t are the questions?

(a) 4 0,000
(b ) 11,000
(c ) 6 m illion
Q.

five
(e) 21,000
(f) 2.5 m illion
(g ) 1949
(h) 1,700

£ © Pearson Education Limited 2006 Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by Chris Rice
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Penguin Readers Answer Key

Level 2 - Elementary
A n sw ers to B o o k A ctivities A nsw ers to Factsheet Activities
1 - 2 O pen answ ers Com m u n icative A ctivities

3 (a) X 1 O p en a nsw ers

(b) X
2 P ic c a d illy C ircu s, B uckingham
(c) X
Palace, B ig B en, Leicester Square,
(d) X
T he R iver Thames, St Paul's
(e) X
C ath ed ral, W estm inster A bbey,
(f) ✓
D ow n in g Street, T he H ouses of
(g) x Parliament, The Tower o f London,
(h) x W aterloo Station, H yde Park,

London
Ham pton C ou rt

Stu d en t’s A ctivities

4 (a) 34
(b) 5 5 bc ACTIVITIES B EFO R E READING THE B OOK
(C) 41 0 AD (a) th e Tower o f London
(d) She w as a n g ry w ith the Romans.
1 (a) m ore than tw en ty-five p e r cen t (b) to prison
(b ) tw o h u nd red a n d fifty (c) H yd e P ark a n d S t Jam es's Park
(e) K in g H en ry III
(c) m ore than seven m illion (d ) B uckingham Palace
(f) J am e s B u rb ag e
2 (a) pa ge s 4, 9 (e) Ke nsin gto n P alace
5 - 6 O pen a n sw ers
(b ) page 6 (f) ne ar Kensington
7 (a) A n ne B oleyn, C ath erine H ow ard (c) page 9 (g) the Soho area
(b) Thom as W olsey (d ) p a g e 13 (h) th e g re at s ho w a t C rystal Palace
(c) Q u ee n E lizabeth II (e) p a g e s 6 , 15, 19 (i) C a n a d a Tower
(d) Q u ee n V icto ria (f) p a g e 19 (j) T rafalgar Square
(e) C ockneys
A C TIVITIE S W H IL E REA D IN G T H E B OOK
(f) G uy Faw kes a n d his friends
(g) C hristop he r Wren P ag es 1 -7 1 (a) cloth es
(h) P rince A lb e rt (b ) C ove nt G arden
(i) N apoleon 1 (a) 7 -1 8 9 4 (c) British
(b) 1 - 5 5 bc (d ) m ap-m aker
8 - 9 O pen answ ers (c) 6 -1 5 6 4 (e) th e M illennium
(d) 4 -1 0 1 3
10 (a) a fam ous s ho p (f) Peter Pan
(e) 2 - 2 0 0 ad (g ) bo ats
(b) u n d e rgrou nd trains
(0 8 -1 9 5 2
(c) a fam ous w riter 2 (a) H o w m any sho ps a re (there) in
(9) 3 - 4 1 0 AD
(d) a child re n's b o ok London?
(h) 5 - 1050
(e) a fam ous p la c e to p la y tennis (b ) H ow m any e ating p la ce s are
(f) a footb all c lub 2 (a) said (there) in London?
(b) stood (c) H ow m any visitors/p eo ple g o to
11 (a) 1707
(c) ga ve th e B ritish M useum eve ry year?
(b) 1905
(C) 1759 (d) foug ht OR
(e) de stroyed H ow m any visitors/p eo ple does
(d) 1984
(f) took th e B ritish M useum ha ve every
(e) 1897
(f) 1863 (g) fell year?
(h) bu ilt (d ) H ow m any a irpo rts d o es London
(g) 1817
(0 wrote have?
(h) 1891
(j) saw (e) H ow m any black-taxi drivers are
1 2 -1 9 O pen answ ers there?
Pages 8-1 5
(f) H ow m any p e o p le u se the
1 (a) X U nd ergro un d e ve ry day?
(b) X (g ) W hen w as M artin A m is b o rn?
(c) ✓ (h) H ow m any parks a re (there) in
(d) X London?
(e) /
✓ A C TIVIT IE S AFTER R E A D IN G T H E BOOK
(f)
(g) X 1 -3 O p en a nsw ers
(h) ✓
(i) X
(i) ✓

2 (a) sw
(b) w
(c) E
(d) E
(e) b
(f) E
(g) W

£ © Pearson Education Limited 2006 Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by Chris Rice
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
 P E N G U I N R E A D E R S L E V E L

London is one of the great cities of the world. It is the

biggest city in Britain and in Europe. In 1900, it was the
biggest city in the world. In this book you will find a lot
o f interesting inform ation about London.You will read
about its history from Roman times.You will learn about
its famous people - and the shops, museums and palaces
of this exciting city.

Penguin Readers are simplified texts designed in association w ith Longman,

the w o rld famous educational publisher, to provide a step-by-step approach
to the joys o f reading fo r pleasure. Each book has an in tro d u ctio n and
extensive activity m aterial.They are published at seven levels from
Easystarts (200 w ords) to Advanced (3000 w ords).

Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter

6 Advanced (3000 words) Contemporary

5 Upper Intermediate (2300 words) Classics
4 Intermediate ( 1700 words) Originals
3 Pre-Intermediate (1200 words)
2 Elementary (600 words)
I Beginner (300 words) British English
Easystarts (200 words) American English

Number of words (excluding activities): 4,876

Book/CD pack also published

www.penguinreaders.com
Cover photograph courtesy o f Robert Harding: (main) (Roy Ramford), (tr) (Sylvain Grandadam), (mr) (Charles Bowman),
(br) (John Miller)

ISBN1-405-A3351-3

ill
9781405833516

Published and distributed by

Pearson Education Limited 7fll4DS fl33Slb