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Россия, Удмуртская респ., Глазов

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Исследовательская работа по теме "Unusual sights of London"

Управление образования Администрации города Глазова

Муниципальное бюджетное общеобразовательное учреждение

«Средняя общеобразовательная школа № 15»

Исследовательская работа

Unusual sights of London

Автор: Волкова Ксения,

ученица 5-Г класса

Руководитель: Ушакова

Екатерина Васильевна,

учитель английского языка

Глазов 2013

Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………..3

Unusual sights of London…………………………………………………………4

Practical part………………………………………………………………………9

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….10

List of the literature………………………………………………………………11

Appendix…………………………………………………………………………12

Introduction

London is one of the largest, richest and the most beautiful cities. It is the capital of the United Kingdom. London attracts tourists all over the world. They want to see its sights and to communicate with people. London is an ancient city that is famous for its historical buildings, monuments, places memorable to people. Everybody knows Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, the tower of London and many other beautiful sights.

London is a modern developing city. Tourists and city dwellers are amazed by some of the new buildings, because they are so strange and unusual. This theme is actual, as it is interesting to learn about unusual sights.

The problem question: Do students know London’s modern and unusual sights?

My hypothesis: Pupils know only the most famous attractions.

The aim: to make students get interested in modern and unusual sights.

My objectives:

to show London’s modern and unusual attractions;

to tell about unusual and modern attractions of London;

3) to take an opinion poll “Unusual sights of London” among the pupils of the 6-9th forms.

I’ve used information from books and the internet about London during my work. So it can be valuable for children, parents, teachers and tourists.

Unusual sights of London

London is a historic city and Londoners are very conservative people. They are proud of their city and are against appearing modern strange buildings. These buildings usually don’t suit historical atmosphere and look awkward. The Gherkin is the example of a strange building in the centre of the historic London.

One of the most eye-catching buildings in London is 30 St Mary Axe, better known by its nickname Gherkin. It stands out prominently in the city's skyline. The Gherkin is one of several modern buildings that have been built over the years in a historic area of London. At 180metres tall, it is the second tallest building in the city of London and the sixth tallest in London. The 41 story skyscraper was built in 2004 after a modern glass and steel design by the architectural firm of Foster and Partners. The cigar-shaped structure has a steel frame with circular floor plans and a glass facade with diamond-shaped panels. On the street level, the Gherkin's base is well integrated with an open public plaza. Huge white X braces create a dramatic entrance. The top of the tower, where visitors find an open hall covered by a glass conical dome is even more spectacular. From here you have great views over the city. Unfortunately the building is not open to the public. [2] (Appendix 1)

One more popular sight is the London Eye. A recent but already very popular tourist attraction is the London Eye. It is a giant observation wheel located in the Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank. The 135 meter (443ft) tall structure was built as part of London's millennium celebrations.

The structure was designed by the architectural team of David Marks and Julia Barfield, husband and wife. It consists of egg – shaped capsules, each is 8metres long and it can carry 25 passengers.

The observation wheel turns slow enough for people to embark while it is moving. A complete turn takes about 30 minutes. Tourists have a wonderful view of London. You can see many sights of London, including Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament. On a clear day you can see as far as 40 km (25 miles). The London Eye is less crowded at night when the views are even more spectacular. [1,5] (Appendix 2)

Some buildings appeared specially for a millennium. The London Millennium Footbridge is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians. Construction of the bridge began in 1998 and finished on 10 June 2000. Unfortunately, during the first two days that the structure was open, the thousands that crossed it noticed that the Millennium Bridge seemed to wobble. It was quickly nicknamed "The Wobbly Bridge" or "The Wibbly-Wobbly" and was immediately closed for modifications, just three days after it opened. It was reopened only in 2002. A suspension bridge, was tagged "the blade of light" and was designed by Arup, Foster and Partners and Sir Anthony Caro. The southern end of this suspension bridge is located near the new Globe Theater and the Tate Modern Museum. The northern end sits near London's St. Paul's Cathedral. Pedestrians can gain a wonderful view of the cathedral's dome from the bridge and the sight is especially marvelous at night. The Tower Bridge, London's most famous bridge, is also clearly visible from here. [3] (Appendix 3)

The 02-Arena is one more sight, built for Millennium. It is also called North Greenwich Arena. It is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in London. It is named after its main sponsor, the telecommunications company O2. The 02 arena is a huge building, that is used for sports, music and entertainment events. 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games were held there. Placido Domingo, Rihanna, Rammstein and other famous musicians gave concerts there. At its center is a large concert hall with a capacity of 20.000 people. Several other halls include areas for more intimate concerts, cinemas and exhibitions.

The cover of the Dome is made of PTFE-coated glass fiber, which has an estimated minimum lifetime of 25 years. The structure, designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership has a diameter of 365m (1200ft) and reaches a height of 52 meters at its center. It is twice the size of the original Wembley stadion. The structure is expected to last until 2018. After that year, developers are allowed to demolish the dome and redevelop the site. [1.3] (Appendix 4)

Tourists from around the world often visit marvellous lion statues or admire Nelson’s Column, however, they often walk right past perhaps the most fascinating structure: London’s smallest police station. It is situated in the south-east corner of Trafalgar Square. The station is a unique part of the city’s history. The station was built in 1930 to enable the police to keep watch over the protests and demonstrations that were frequent in London’s central square. A fascinating structure, the miniature police box is located within the base of a lamp and is so small only one policeman could fit inside at one time. With a direct line to Scotland Yard and slits in the walls enabling the officer on duty to fire at rioters, the station was a fully-functional look-out point. Sadly it is no longer used by the police today and if you look inside you will see only mops used by the city’s cleaners. [4] (Appendix 5)

London’s modern buildings are really huge, rich and very beautiful.

Canary Wharf is a major business district located in Tower Hamlets. It is one of London's two main financial centres – along with the traditional City of London – and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings. Around 90,000 people work in Canary Wharf and it is home to the world or European numerous major banks, professional services firms and media organizations. Canary Wharf is located in East London. It has this name because imports used to come into the Wharf Docks from the Canary Islands.

There are the world’s tallest buildings there: One Canada square, 8 Canada Square, 25 Canada Square, One Churchill Place, 40 Bank Street, Pan Peninsula and others.

One Canada square is the 15th-tallest building in Europe and currently the second tallest completed building in the United Kingdom. It is multi-tenanted; occupiers include The Bank of New York Mellon, the CFA Institute, Clearstream, EEX and others.

8 Canada Square is the joint 26th-tallest building in Europe and third-tallest completed building in the United Kingdom.

25 Canada Square is the joint 26th-tallest building in Europe and third-tallest completed building in the United Kingdom. 25 Canada Square and 33 Canada Square together form a single complex known as the Citigroup Centre. Primarily occupied by Citigroup (an American multinational financial services corporation) Other tenants include 3i Infotech, Lehman Brothers (in Administration), Crossrail and others.

One Churchill Place is the eighth-tallest building in the United Kingdom. It was originally planned to be 50 stories in height, but was scaled down to 31 after the September 11 attacks.

Pan Peninsula is residential. It is a twin-tower development containing 762 apartments. The East tower is 44 stories and the West Tower is 34 stories. The footprint of the building consists of a joint single lobby on the ground floor that connects the towers.

Canary Wharf is developing now. Riverside South, Tower 1 is going to be completed in 2014. It is going to become Canary Wharf's tallest building with 45 floors. Other tallest buildings that have 51 and even 60 floors are planned in 2017 and 2019. [3] (Appendix 6)

One of the most unusual sights of London is The Shard. It is also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower. It is a 95-storey skyscraper in London. Its construction began in March 2009. It was topped out on 30 March 2012 and opened on 5 July 2012. It opened to the public on 1 February 2013.

The Shard is the tallest building in the European Union, the second-tallest in Europe, and the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. The tower has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor, at a height of 245metres. The Shard was designed with an irregular pyramidal shape from the base to the top, and is clad entirely in glass.

The Shard was designed in 2000 by Renzo Piano, an Italian architect. At first people didn’t like the idea and told the building would be "a shard of glass through the heart of historic London", giving the building its name. But the architect proposed a sophisticated use of glazing, with expressive facades of angled glass panes intended to reflect sunlight and the sky above, so that the appearance of the building will change according to the weather and seasons.The building features 11,000 panes of glass.

The Shard contains premium office space, a hotel, luxury residences, retail space, restaurants, a five-storey public viewing gallery, and a spa. The public viewing gallery is located between the 68th and 72nd floors, with its highest section at a height of 245metres, and is expected to draw over two million visitors a year; its adult entry fee is £24.95. [6] (Appendix 7)

City Hall is one of London's most modern buildings. It houses the Greater London Authority (GLA) including the mayor of London and the London Assembly. The GLA is responsible for the administration of Greater London. Completed in July 2002 and situated on the south bank of the Thames River near the Tower Bridge, City Hall was designed by well-known British architect Norman Foster, who also designed the Millennium Bridge. Some people disliked the strange shape of the building, they compared it to a misshapen egg, a motorcycle helmet, and an onion. Designers say they chose this particular shape for the glass and steel structure because it reduces surface area and makes the building more energy efficient.

The building is part of a complex known as More London, which includes shops, offices, and a sunken amphitheatre (The Scoop) that is the site of many summer open-air concerts and other arts performances. Enter City Hall in London and the first thing you'll notice is the long helical walkway, which measures about 500 metres and ascends from the bottom all the way to the top of the building, which measures 10 stories tall. The walkway provides excellent views of the interior and the river, and at the top of the ramp is a large exhibition hall known as "London's Living Room", which is sometimes opened to the public.

It is considered one of the London's "greenest" buildings. Windows can be opened for natural ventilation and the building leans back towards the south to avoid the most intense direct daytime sunlight. Cold ground water air conditions the building and there are no air conditioners inside. In addition, solar panels were installed on the roof to reduce electrical consumption. [7]

The Cutty Shark is a historic clipper that was one of the fasted ships of its time. Today it sits in dry dock at Greenwich in London. After a fire almost destroyed the ship in 2007, it was restored to its former splendor. The Cutty Sark was completed in 1869. It is the only remaining tea clipper ship from the 19th century.

It is said that the name of the ship comes from a Robert Burns comic poem, in which a beautiful which is described as wearing a cutty sark, a Scottish term referring to a short chemise. The figurehead on the Cutty Sark would represent this witch.

It was designed by Hercules Linton, a well-known ship architect of that era. The ship has a composite wrought iron frame structure covered by wooden planking and weighs 921 tons. It is 65metres long.

Visitors to the Cutty Shark in Greenwich can now enjoy the ship's status as a museum ship. The vessel is a wonderful testament to the fine ship building of the 19th century and attracts tons of visitors who can get an idea of what life must have been on board of a clipper ship. There is also a unique collection of more than 80 ships' figureheads on display at the museum. [2] (Appendix 8)

In conclusion, it is interesting to mention that London is a large historic city. There are many sights that are worth visiting. Tourists want to see only the most famous attractions and they are amazed when they learn about skyscrapers in Canary Wharf, London Millennium Footbridge and other unusual buildings. There are now a lot of new places that can be visited.

Practical part.

I have taken an opinion poll “Unusual sights of London” among the pupils of the 6-9th forms. 131 persons took part in it and it makes 100%.

42% named Big Ben as one of the most famous sights. 14% wrote Buckingham Palace, 11% - Tower Bridge, Tower of London and Trafalgar square have 9% and Westminster Abbey – 10%. 5% of students named such sights as London Eye, double – deckers, the Tube, the Houses of Parliament, Madam Tussaud’s museum and only two persons named skyscrapers. The hypothesis is proved: students don’t know unusual sights.

In conclusion, students of the 6-9th forms don’t know that there are skyscrapers and unusual modern buildings too. They know only attractions that are famous all over the world. I hope that my work can be useful because it contains facts about unusual sights of London.

Conclusion.

There are a lot of amazing tourist attractions in London. Big Ben, Trafalgar square, Buckingham Palace, the Tube. People want to visit them, because they are beautiful and famous all over the world. There are other sights that appeared not long ago. The Shard, the Gherkin, the City Hall, the Millennium Bridge are examples of modern buildings. Most of them strange, have unusual form and that’s why they attract people. Some attractions are very old, but people don’t know about them. London smallest police station and Cutty Shark are amazing and they are worth visiting.

The problem question of work was: Do students know unusual sights? It is clear that tourists know only the most famous sights and students also know only Big Ben, Tower Bridge and others. The hypothesis is proved: students of the 6-9th forms know only famous attractions. Nobody heard about modern sights.

This work can be useful for teachers, students and everybody who is interested in English.