A Brief History of Oxford city

Oxford was founded in the 9th century when Alfred the Great created a network of fortified towns called burhs across his kingdom. One of them was at Oxford. Oxford is first mentioned in 911 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

According to legend, Oxford University was founded in 872 when Alfred the Great happened to meet some monks there and had a scholarly debate that lasted several days. In reality, it grew up in the 12th century when famous teachers began to lecture there and groups of students came to live and study in the town.

But Oxford was a fortress as well as a town. In the event of war with the Danes all the men from the area were to gather inside the burgh. However this strategy was not entirely successful. In 1009 the Danes burned Oxford. However Oxford was soon rebuilt. In 1013 the Danish king claimed the throne of England. He invaded England and went to Oxford. In 1018 a conference was held in Oxford to decide who would be the king of England.

By the time of the Norman Conquest, there were said to be about 1,000 houses rn Oxford, which meant it probably had a population of around 5,000. By the standards of the time, it was a large and important town (even London only had about 18,000 inhabitants). Oxford was the 6th largest town in England. Oxford probably reached its zenith at that time. About 1072 the Normans built a castle at Oxford.

In the 12th and 13th centuries Oxford was a manufacturing town. It was noted for cloth and leather. But in the 14th and 15th centuries manufacturing declined. Oxford came to depend on the students. It became a town of brewers, butchers, bakers, tailors, shoemakers, coopers, carpenters and blacksmiths. In the later Middle Ages Oxford declined in importance.

In the 16th century Oxford declined further in terms of national importance, though it remained a fairly large town by the standards of the time. Oxford was economically dependent on the university. The students provided a large market for beer, food, clothes and other goods.

From 1819 Oxford had gas street lighting.

In the late 19th century a marmalade making industry began in Oxford. There was also a publishing industry and an iron foundry.

Oxford gained its first cinema in 1910.

The fate of Oxford was changed in 1913 when a man named Morris began making cars in the city. In 1919 a radiator making company was formed. By the 1930s Oxford was an important manufacturing centre. It was also a prosperous city. Furthermore it escaped serious damage during World War II.

Oxford airport opened in 1938.

Today the main industries are still car manufacturing and making vehicle parts and publishing. Today the population of Oxford is 121,000.

Вариант №5

1. Прочитайте, переведите на русский язык:

1) To study the history of the country is useful.

2) Studying the history of the country is useful.

3) They began to study English.

4) They go on studying English.

5) They like to study English.

6) They like studying English.

7) The history of any country is worth studying.

8) He is busy preparing a report.

9) He insisted on studying English.

10) With discussing this problem we can better understand it.

11) I don’t like your method of getting this information.

12) She cannot sleep without seeing and speaking to you.

2. Ответьте на вопросы:

1) What is your name?

2) Where and when were you born?

3) How old are you?

4) Where do you live?

5) Have you got a family?

6) How large is your family?

7) Do you have brothers, sisters, grandparents in your family?

8) What are your father and mother?

3. Переведите на английский язык следующие пары слов:

Много тетрадей, много молока, много воды, много дней, много газет, много снега, много газет, много мела, много лет, много картин, много музыки, много сахара, много чая, много лимонов, много мяса, много комнат, много учителей, много работы, много воздуха, много птиц, много машин.

Прочитайте, переведите на русский язык текст.

British Homes

There are 22 million homes in Britain — big homes and small homes, old cottages and new buildings, houses and flats. (Americans say "apartment" but British people say "flat"). Many British people love old houses and these are often more expensive than modern ones. They also love gardening and you will see gardens everywhere you go: in towns, villages and out in the country.

Some are very small with just one tree and a few flowers. Others are enormous with plenty of flowers and enough vegetables and fruit trees. Two third of the families in Britain own their houses.

Millions of these houses are the same with two or three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, dining-room and kitchen downstairs. To pay for their house, home owners borrow money from a "building society" and pay back a little every month.

There are a great many different kinds of homes in Britain, but there are not enough! It is often very difficult for young people to find a home when they want to start a family. British homes are usually smaller than American homes. But like Americans old people, young families and unmarried people do not usually live together.

Вариант №6

1. Составьте письменно общие вопросы к следующим предложениям:

1) Our teacher knows several foreign languages.

2) He has graduated from our University last year.

3) We shall go to Samara next week.

4) They are working in our garden.

5) I have just read this book.

6) I took this book from my friend.

7) He likes reading books.

8) She has many relatives abroad.

9) They were in many countries.

10) Russia is the largest country in the world.