Text 1

Language notes

1. London today stretches for nearly thirty miles from north to south and for nearly thirty miles from east to west.

(今天的伦敦东西横亘近30英里，南北相距也近30英里。)

Stretch means to spread out in space or time.
e.g. The desert stretches as far as the eye could see.

2. The city is concerned with finance, but it is also a market for goods of almost every kind, form all parts of the world.

(这是一座金融城市，但同时它也是个大市场。这里的货品来自世界各地，品种齐全，应有尽有。)

To be concerned with means to be about/involving.
e.g. Her job is something concerned with computers.

3. They cross the boundary and stop at the Law Courts, where the Lord Mayor is presented to the Lord Chief Justice.

(队伍越过边界，在法院门前停下。市长在这里拜见大法官。)

Present means to introduce someone formally (esp. to someone of higher rank).
e.g. Later on I'd like to present you to the head teacher.

Text 2

Cultural background notes

  Great Britain is the official name for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the adjacent islands (except the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) from 1603, when the English and Scottish crowns were united under James I of England (James VI of Scotland). With Northern Ireland it forms the United Kingdom.

Language notes

1. Once, London was a small Roman town on the north bank of the Thames, but slowly it grew into one of the world's major cities with more than nine million people.

(伦敦一度是泰晤士河北岸的一个罗马小城。但随着时间的推移，它渐渐发展成为拥有九百多万人口的国际著名大都市之一。)

Grow into means to become as a result of growing.
e.g. He's grown into a fine young man.

2. London is at its best when people are celebrating.

（伦敦在人们举行庆典时最为壮观。）

At one's best means in one's best state.
e.g. I am never at my best early in the morning.

3. "Dress" tartans, worn on special occasions, have light, bright colours.

（在特殊场合穿着的礼服，有花格图案，色彩明亮鲜艳。）
　

Occasion means a special event or ceremony.
e.g. The opening of a new school is always a great occasion.

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