2012 Summer Olympic games

LONDON: An Ancient City

London is oldreally old, and we dont mean like last-
weeks-pizza old. Its history goes back more than 2,000 years.
The city has seen plagues, fires, civil wars, invading armies,
and bombs from above. Yet this tough city has survived and Buckingham Palace has 760
remains the capital of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, windows. (A typical house might
Scotland, and Northern Ireland). It has already hosted two
have 15.) The windows are
Summer Olympics1908 and 19482012 is its third.
cleaned every six weeks. It has
Some of the worlds most famous landmarks are in London. 40,000 light bulbs and 1,514 doors.
Here are just of few of the fantastic sights the city has to offer. (How many bulbs and doors are
Tower of London in your home?) It also has more
than 350 clocks and watches
They dont make them like this one anymore. Begun in one of the largest collections of
1066 (thats more than 700 years before the birth of the working clocks anywhere.
United States!), this castle on the River Thames was built to
guard against Danish attacks. Its buildings are set within Big Ben leans slightly to the
two ringed walls, one inside the other. Theres a moatof northwest.
course!and a prison.
Londons Kew Gardens contains
Buckingham Palace the worlds biggest collection of
living plants. It also has one of the
This is the main home and office of the monarch (the king
biggest compost heaps in Europe,
or queen). First built in 1705 for the Duke of Buckingham,
over time more and more space was added to the palace. made from garden green waste
Today, the total floor area, from basement to roof, is more and the waste from the stables
than 252,625 square feet (77,000 sq m). It has 775 rooms of the Household Cavalry! The
including 78 bathrooms! It also has its own chapel, post compost is mainly used in the
office, swimming pool, cafeteria, doctors office, and movie gardens but is sometimes sold to
theater. raise money for them instead.
Big Ben
The name Big Ben was actually given to the largest of the
five bells of the clock. Now the whole clock tower is known
as Big Ben. Completed in 1859, it holds the largest four-faced
chiming clock in the world. During both world wars, those
clock faces were darkened at night to prevent an enemy
attack.
Youll often see Big Ben at the start of movies set in London.
Far fewer people have seen the inside of the tower. Since
the tower has no elevator, those who do make it inside must
climb the 334 stairs to the top. Buckingham Palace Guards

The London Eye

At 443 feet (135 m), this giant Ferris wheel beside the River Thames is a popular spot for tourists. The wheel
holds 32 sealed and air-conditioned cars. Each car holds 25 people. Once inside, people can walk around!
The Eye looks like a huge bicycle wheel. One turn of the wheel takes about thirty minutes, but the wheel
rarely stops. Instead, it rotates slowly enough that people can walk on and off the cars when they reach
the ground.

Learning AZ All rights reserved. Photo Credits: Alessandro Russo/123RF www.readinga-z.com

LONDON OVERVIEW 2012 Summer Olympic games

Big Ben

Tower Bridge
Learning AZ All rights reserved. Photo Credits: top: sborisov/123RF; bottom: Ina Van Hateren/123RF www.readinga-z.com