London and Boston
The story of London began nearly 2,000 years ago when it was part of the great Roman Empire. At that time it was a small town on the Thames at a place where it was easy to get across the river. Its Roman name was Londinium. Today London is a big city, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. Since it is a very old city, there are many beautiful old buildings. Some of them are well-known. For example, the city has several royal palaces: Westminster Palace where the houses of parliament now meet St. James`s Palace where English kings lived in the 17th and 18th centuries, Buckingham Palace where the royal family lives today.
There are also many fine churches. The best known are Westminster Abbey, the coronation church of England since the 11th century, and St. Paul`s Cathedral (1710). Visitors to London often have their own ideas about what they want to see. Many will want to go to the Tower of London and see the beautiful crown jewels. Some will go to Madame Tussaud`s Waxworks and see wax figures of famous people; the most popular attraction here is the Chamber of Horrors. Some will want to take a boat ride on the Thames. A few will go to Hyde park where people can get up on a box and speak about different problems.
Most people have seen many pictures of London and read about the city in books, so it is no surprise that they often have a list of things they want to see and do long before they ever visit the city.
Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States. In 1630 the first settlers chose this big harbor as their new home and named it after a city in England. Today Boston is the biggest city in New England and the capital of Massachusetts. Boston played an important part in the early history of the United States. Not faraway is Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. In 1773 there was the Boston Tea Party. Angry about a British tax on tea, a group of Americans dressed up as Indians one night and climbed onto a British ship in harbor. Then they took all the tea on the ship and threw it into the water! Boston was the home of Paul Revere, who made his famous midnight ride in 1775.
When Paul Revere saw two lights in the Old North Church, he jumped on his horse and rode all night to warn people that British troops were coming Bunker Hill, where the Americans fought the first battle of the Revolutionary War, is now a part of Boston. Boston is a big seaport. It also has a busy airport where planes land and take off every few minutes. There are many schools and well-known universities. One of them is Harvard (1636), the oldest American university.
Many people come to Boston – to go to school or work, to do business or just to see the sights.
