Address Names

No article is used with address names which are so called because they denote a permanent address of a person written on envelopes:

Mr. Sh.Holmes(l)

221 B (2) Baker Street (3)

London (4)

Great Britain (5-6)

The address given above represents the basic groups of address names -personal names (1), numbers and names of places of residence (2), names of inhabited areas (3), names of centres of population (4), names of countries (5), names of separate islands and continents (6). A more detailed list of address names belonging to these groups is given below.

1. Personal names are used to identify people {Dickens).

2. Numbers and names of places of residence:

a) numbers of flats (No. 33) and houses (No. 10);

b)names of castles (Windsor Castle), palaces (Buckingham Palace), mansions (Woodstock Manor).

Note: Names of hotels have the definite article because they don't denote a permanent address of a person (the Ritz).

3. Names of inhabited areas - streets (Whitehall) and squares (Trafalgar Square); no article is found with names of streets having limiting attributes (35th Avenue, Main Street).

Note: Place-names with the component 'road' have no article if they denote a street of buildings (55 York Road), though the definite article is found if a name denotes a road leading to a town (the Oxford Road - a road leading to Oxford).

4. Names of centres of population - cities (London), villages (Woodstock), forts (Fort Amador), camps (Roaring Camp).

Note: The definite article in the name 'The Hague' is spelled with the capital letter because the article is part of the whole name.

5. Names of countries (Canada).

6. Names of separate islands (New Zealand) and continents (Australia) have no article in English because many of them denote leading English-speaking countries.

Note: Names of peninsulas have no article if the proper name is used alone (Kamchatka) though the definite article seems obligatory if the common noun 'peninsula'is used (the Kola Peninsula).

The definite article is used with address and other orientating names in the following cases:

1. With address names in the plural because they lose their orientating function:

a) names of countries (the Netherlands);

b)names of groups of islands (the Bahamas);

c) names of continents (the Americas).

2. With address names expressed by common nouns with unique reference:

a) names of countries (the USA, the UK);

b)names of streets (the Strand = the bank, the High Street).

3. With address names used in 'of-phrases':

a) when a common noun precedes an orientating name which is often the case if the object is not well-known (the ranch town of Wilbaux);

b)to denote a period from the history of an object: e.g. The old man must know his persona would never wash in the Britain of the 1970s (J.Fowles).

The indefinite article is used with address and other orientating names to denote the features which are new or non-familiar to the addressee: e.g. He aims at creating a new Britain, a Britain strong in its own power (A.Christie).

Note: No article is used with names of cemeteries:

e.g. She didn't want to know for certain whose unidentified bodies were in the ground at Northwood Cemetery (Life).

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. a) Explain the absence of the article with place-names in the following rhymes. Learn them by heart.

There was a Young Lady of Russia,

who screamed so that no one could hush her;

Her screams were extreme, no one heard such a scream

As was screamed by that Lady of Russia.

There was a young Lady of Crete,

Who was so exceedingly neat

When she got out of bed she stood on her head

To make sure of not soiling her feet.

b) Hold a competition 'Who will use as many address names as possible instead of the nouns 'Russia' and 'Crete';

c) Compare the characters of the Young Lady of Russia and the Young Lady of Crete.

Exercise 2. Read the following statements and comment what cities in your country/ are famous for similar activities.

Model: -The Grand Final held in Melbourne attracts more than 100000 spectators.

- The football matches in Kiev attract more than 100000 spectators."

1.Australia's film industry was born in Melbourne.

2.It was Sydney that built the first film studios.

3.Australian fashion industry is based in Melbourne.

4.It is Sydney that has the trendiest shops.

5.Melbourne is more a European type of city.

6.Sydney tends to be more an American type of city.

7.It always rains in Melbourne.

8.Australia's first school of national painting began in Melbourne.

9.It was Sydney that built the first picture galleries.

10. The citizens of Sydney are considered uncultured.

Exercise 3. a) Read the following statements about Wales and comment what places in this country have similar features.

Model: - Cardiff, the modern capital of Wales, has a castle dating back to Roman times.

- Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, has' a cathedral dating back to the times of Kiev Rus.

1. Swansea is an important port in Wales.

2.South Wales is a region of contrasts.

3.The industrial plants of Cardiff are only a short journey from sandy beaches.

4.Mid Wales is rather sparsely populated.

5.North Wales has several impressive castles built by kings.

6.North off Cardiff lie valleys.

7.Mid Wales and North Wales are wild and beautiful.
8. Caemorton is the ancient capital of Wales.

9. Aberstwyth is the centre of Welsh education and learning.

10. Llanfairpwilgwyngyllgagerychwymdrobwillantyailrogogogooh is the longest place name in the United Kingdom.

b) Look through part A again and decide what places in Wales are worth visiting.

Exercise 4. a) Read the sentences and comment what inhabited areas in the capital of this country perform a similar function.

Model: - Piccadilly is the heart of London. - Khieshchatik is the heart of Kiev.

1.Trafalgar Square is the geographic centre of London.

2.Whitehall is the site of major Government offices.

3.Downing Street is a synonym for British cabinet.

4.Regent Street is a famous shopping thoroughfare in Europe.

5.You can find many fashionable shops in Oxford Street.

6.Fleet Street houses the newspaper Daily Express.

7.The Bank of England is situated in Threadneedle Street.

8.Carnaby Street is young people's street.

9.Harley Street is the famous doctors' street in London.

10. All the distances of modern London are measured from Charing Cross.

b) Decide which of the London sights mentioned in the previous part is sure to be a draw for each of your friends.

Exercise 5. Read extracts about two famous British castles and decide which of them attracts more visitors.

a) Warwick Castle is situated at the very centre of England - 8 miles from Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon. There was a time when Warwick Castle was in every sense the centre of England and its owners most powerful in the land. Today visitors will discover within its massive stone walls a treasure house of rare beauty and rare quality, with splendid collections of arms and armour, pictures, furniture and furnishings.

b) Of three official residences of the Sovereign two are in the capital cities of London (Buckingham Palace) and Edinburgh (Holyroodhouse) while Windsor Castle alone is in the country. Much used by The Queen and her family at weekends it is close enough to London to be convenient for official business. Her Majesty is normally in residence for the whole of April, as well as for a week in June. There is also a large family gathering in the castle at Christmas.

Exercise 6. a) Do you know what was the original name of New York?

c) Read the following passage and see if your guess isright.

The English were not the first to colonize New York. The Dutch bought Manhattan Island from the Indians for what today would be the equivalent of 24 dollars. They named it New Amsterdam. In 1653 New Amsterdam had a population of 800 (B-USA).

d)Compare the role of New York and of the English city of York in history and in modern world.

Exercise 7. a) Have you heard about Disney World? What's the difference between Disney World and Disneyland?

c) Read the following piece about Disney World and explain why it attracts visitors.

Disney World, Florida, is the biggest amusement resort in the world. It covers 24.4 thousand acres and is twice the size of Manhattan. It was opened on October 1, 1971, five years after Walt Disney's death and it is a larger, slightly more ambitious version of Disneyland, near Los Angeles.

Between the huge parking lots and Magic Kingdom lies a broad artificial lake. In the distance rise the towers of Cindarella's Castle, which like every other building in the Kingdom is built of solid material. When you reach the terminal you walk straight into a little square which faces Main Street which is late 19th century (B-USA).

d)Decide what amusement resort like Disney World can be set up in this country.

Exercise 8. Speak on the following situations.

1. Advise your teacher what islands s/he should visit. Substantiate your point of view.

2. Discuss what part of the world is more convenient for rest in summer - Eastern Europe or Central Asia.

3. Make up a route of a journey from your native place to Kamchatka. Mention the places where you will put up.

4.You are going to set up a tourist bureau. What places of the world will you offer your customers to visit?

5. Your pen-friend from New York is coming to your home town. Write to him how he will be able to get from Borispil Airport to your place.

6. Stage a contest 'Who knows the biggest number of castles (palaces)'.

Part 2

Geographical and Astronomical Orientating Names

No article is used with astronomical and geographical orientating names. They denote objects which help people determine position in space (1), on land (2), at sea (3), relatively to sea-level (4).

1. No article is found with astronomical orientating names which denote constellations (Cygnus, Procyori) and planets of the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptun, Pluto, Mars) though the definite article is kept with the names of the Sun, the Moon, the Earth.

Note: No article is found with the noun 'Earth' when it is used in an orientating function:

a) in prepositional phrases where Earth is represented as a place of human activity:

e.g. Here was a dish with a taste like nothing else on earth (Jerome K.Jerome).

b) when Earth is treated in contrast to other planets:

e.g. Why is Venus too hot for life. Mars too cold, and Earth just right? (RD).

2. No article is used with names denoting orientating points on land:

a) places of natural elevation on Earth's surface:

- names of peaks (Everest);

- names of hills (Capitol Hill);

- names of cliffs and rocks, e.g. You can climb to the top of Independence Rock (RD).

b) places connected with movement on land (travelling):

- names of railway stations (Euston), bus stations (Stratford Bus Station), airports (Kennedy Airport);

- names of parks (Hyde Park) and bridges (Tower Bridge) inside cities while similar names in the country have the definite article (the Severn Bridge, the Forth Bridge),

e.g. Cross the Forth Bridge or drive along the south shore to the River Forth.

3. No article is used with orientating names at sea which denote objects helping to determine the position of a vessel during navigation:

a)names of capes, e.g. Cape Horn, but the Cape of Good Hope;

b)names of bays, e.g. Hudson Bay, but the Bay of Bengal;

c)names of harbours (New York Harbour);

d)names of seaports (Portsmouth);

e) names of sandbanks, e.g. By the time Cassier Bar was reached he was so weak that he was falling repeatedly (J.London).

4. No article is used in phrases denoting the position of objects relatively to sea level (below sea level, above sea-level) e.g. Then I had a lovely sail down to sea-level (RD).

The definite article is used with geographical names denoting objects which can't be used for orientation:

a) because they are uninhabited and as a result rarely used for orien­tation by people:

- names of deserts (the Gobi);

- names of permafrost regions (the Arctic, the Antarctic, but Antarctica).

b) on account of the size of an object:

- names of oceans (the Pacific Ocean);

- names of seas (the Mediterranean);

- names of gulfs (the Percian Gulf).

Note: No article is used with names of lakes in the pattern 'Lake Ontario' because the fixed surface of a lake allows to use it for orientation.

c) on account of the length of objects:

- names of rivers (the Thames);

- names of channels (the English Channel);

- names of canals (the Panama Canal).

No article is used with names of rivers in compound place-names in which they perform an orientating function (Stratford-on- Avon, Berwick-on-Tweed, Wellingford-on-Thames).

d) the definite article is also used with geographical orientating names according to the rules common for all orientating names:

- in the plural (the Alps);

- in 'of-phrases' (the Cape of Good Hope).

Though the definite article is usually recommended with names of ships sometimes it can be dropped in this position: e.g. Bridgewater, a West German freighter, en route to England acknowledged the call... At that moment Hyccup disappeared beneath the waves (RD).

EXERCISES

Exercise 9. a) Explain the absence of articles with the geographical names in the following rhymes. Learn them by heart.

There was an Old Person of Gretna

Who rushed down the crater of Etna,

When they said 'Is it hot?' he replied 'No, it's not'

That mendacious person of Gretna.

* # *

There was an Old Man of Vesuvius,

Who studied the works of Vitruvius;

When the flames burnt his book, to drinking he took,

That morbid Old Man of Vesuvius.

* * *

There was an old man of Cape Horn

Who wished he had never been born;

So he sat on a chair, till he died of despair,

That dolorous Man of Cape Horn.

* * *

There was a young man of South Bay

Making fireworks on summer day,

He dropped his cigar in the gunpowder jar.

There was a young man of South Bay.

b)Decide what may have happened to the Old Man of Vesuvius;

c) Discuss how the miserable fate of the Old Man of Cape Horn could have been avoided.

Exercise 10. a) Is it difficult to make up a list of all the planets of the solar system? Will your task get easier after reading the next extract?

b) Read the following passage and comment if the arguments of the astronomers are convincing.

A growing body of astronomers is now convinced that the correct answer about the number of planets is eight and that Pluto should be demoted from its position as a planet. Pluto is certainly the runt of the planets: it would take 25 Plutos to make the next smallest, Mercury. It also follows a most unplanetlike orbit, a tilted oval path that crosses the orbit of Neptune. Astronomers have found another 12 small bodies orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune. They cannot all be classified as planets. It would be more logical to describe Pluto as merely the largest of this swarm of asteroids (LC).

Exercise 11. a) Do you know what discovery Jonathan Swift made in Gulliver's Travels? Try to guess it with your partner.

b) Read the following passage and see if your guess is right:

In Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift described two moons of Mars Phobos and Deimos, giving their exact size and speed of rotation. He did this more than a hundred years before either moon was discovered (ABC-K).

c) Decide how Jonathan Swift managed to discover the moons of Mars.

Exercise 12. a) Do you know where Mount Erebus is situated? Discuss it with your partner.

b) Read the passage and decide if Mount Erebus can influence the climate of this region.

Mount Erebus is a bubbling volcano in Antarctica. An eight-legged robot named Dante had to find out how much chlorine, the main ozone-depleting gas in the atmosphere, is being produced by Mount Erebus. Ozone is one of the most important gases in the atmosphere. Not only does it soak up dangerous ultraviolet radiation which could destroy life on earth, it also controls temperature and therefore the weather system of the world (LC).

c) Decide what other volcanoes can deplete the ozone layer of the atmosphere.

Exercise 13. a) Revise the use of articles with names of bridges and make up a list of well-known bridges throughout the world.

b) Try to guess when Tower Bridge was built. Read the passage and comment what makes Tower Bridge famous.

Tower Bridge was opened on 30 June 1894. Since its inauguration till 1955, Tower Bridge was opened 325 358 times. Over the years, since then, the number of 'lifts' has dropped because of the closure of wharfs in Inner London, which means that large ships don't need to go under Tower Bridge. The architectural style of Tower Bridge is the Victorian Gothic, very typical of the nineteenth century England. Of the twin towers, the north tower (the nearest to the Tower of London) is the entrance to the recently opened, glass-covered Tower Bridge Walkways which are accessible by a lift or stairs and afford a superb view of the Thames River and the London skyline (ELD).

c) Make up a story about a bridge as famous as Tower Bridge.

Exercise 14. a) Do you know what is the Golden Gate (USA)? Ask your friend's opinion.

b) Read the passage and explain what is the Golden Gate in the USA.

In the 1930s long before the Europeans had constructed suspension bridges on such a huge scale, the Americans spanned the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Harbor, with a mighty suspension bridge. It was in those days by far the largest suspension bridge in the world, and is still one of the most beautiful (B-USA).

c) Make up a list of well-known suspension bridges.

Exercise 15. a) Ask your fellow-students if any of them knows what is Yellowstone. In case nobody does pass over to the next part of the exercise.

b) Read the following passage and single out the peculiarities of Yellowstone.

The first national park, founded in America in 1872, was Yellowstone, in the state of Wyoming. Yellowstone has everything which appeals to the romantic. There are snowy mountain peaks, tree-fringed lakes and vast forests, as well as broad water meadows, across which the Yellowstone

River glides gently on its way to canyon. No tree-felling is allowed in Yellowstone. When a tree falls, it is left to rot and enrich the soil and so encourage young trees to grow. Even natural forest fires, those not started by man, are allowed in many parts to burn themselves out (B-USA).

c) Find out what parks like Yellowstone exist in this cou­ntry or other countries of the world.

Exercise 16. a) Isn't it strange that the personal name 'Hudson' is used in two geographical names 'Hudson Bay' and 'the Hudson River'? Explain why.

b) Read the passage and decide why Henry Hudson is the real discoverer of what is now New York.

A huge suspension bridge, the second largest span in the world, now crosses the Verrazano Narrows through which every ship must pass on its way to New York Harbor and the docks alongside the banks of the Hudson River. Giovanni de Verrazano, an Italian explorer, was the first person to approach these narrows, while searching for a northwest passage to the Pacific in 1524. He pausedfbut decided there was no point in exploring any further. The English explorer, Henry Hudson, was the first to sail into New York Harbor and up the river to which he gave his name (B-USA).

c) Explain the absence of the article with the names 'Heniy Hudson', 'Hudson Bay' and the use of the definite article with the name of the Hudson River.

d) Make up a list of geographical names bearing names of famous discoverers. Compare your list with that of your partner.

Exercise 17. a) Do you know what the Gobi (desert) is famous for?

b) Read the following passage and characterize the Gobi.
The Mongolian Gobi Desert is one of the harshest places on Earth; it

is also the world's biggest dinosaur graveyard. According to a major expedition from the American Museum of Natural History the Gobi holds clues to how early mammals established a hold on the planet and how the age of dinosaurs was left behind. As more specimens are examined it might also prove that dinosaurs never truly became extinct and that today's birds are their living descendants (LC).

c) Discuss how you can organise an expedition to the Gobi.

Exercise 18. a) Have you heard about the Sonora Desert?

b) Read the passage and decide if the Sonora Desert is a good place for summer rest.

The sun-seekers have now moved eastwards again and about half a million people have colonized large areas of the Sonora Desert in Arizona (the USA), destroying much of its lonely beauty with an ugly sprawl of unplanned buildings. The newcomers have brought money and employment to the little cities of Tucson and Phoenix, but they have ruined the environment. More serious, they are rapidly using the water which lies under the Sonora Desert near Tucson. Arizona is consuming its water twice as fast as is replenishing it. There are settlements in the desert where only the roads have been built, and which will remain empty through lack of water (B-USA).

c) Decide how the problems of the Sonora Desert and Arisona can be solved.

Exercise 19. a) The following extract is taken from an article about Antarctica. Read it and decide what the rest of the article may be about.

There was a time when only strong men ventured to Antarctica. Now the vast and beautiful wilderness is far more accessible. Several companies, for example, are offering cruises on ships with ice-hardened hulls. Going to the Antarctic is still an adventure, but one that can be enjoyed in comfort (FT).

b) Decide how you will advertise a cruise to the Antarctic (Antarctica).

Exercise 20. a) Can you explain the origin of the name of the Mississippi River? Ask if any of your fellow-students can.

b) Read the passage and explain what the name of the Mississippi means.

The Mississippi is a romantic river whose relationship with man goes way back beyond its discovery by Spaniards in the 16th century. Indians used it as a highway and as a source of food, and it was they who gave it its name - 'misi', meaning 'great' and 'sipi', meaning 'water'. When the length of its tributary, the Missouri, is added to it, the Mississippi becomes the third longest river in the world (B-USA).

c) Decide about the possible origin of the name of the Missouri River.

Exercise 21. a) Do you know what New York Harbour is famous for?

b) Read the passage and make up a list of the landmarks of New York Harbour.

No single monument in the USA is as famous as the Statue of Liberty. Standing on Liberty Island, in New York Harbour, is the crowned lady, holding the torch of freedom. The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the USA from France in 1886. About a mile from Liberty Island there is another small island, called Ellis Island, which was looked upon with dread by immigrants. For it was here that they had to wait their turn to be examined by doctors and officials. Today immigrants no longer have to endure the indignities of Ellis Island. The grirn building was closed down in 1924. In 1976, Ellis Island became an historic monument. Most immigrants from Europe now pass through New York City via Kennedy Airport (B-USA).

c) Make up a story about the landmarks of New York Harbour for your friend who is going to the USA by ship.

Exercise 22. a) Nowadays there is much talk about the Bermuda Triangle. Do you know where it is situated?

b) Read the passage and find the Bermuda Triangle on the map.

There is a section of the Western Atlantic, off the southern coast of the United States, forming what has been termed a triangle, extending from Bermuda in the North to southern Florida, and then east to a point through the Bahamas past Puerto Rico to about 40° west longitude and then back again to Bermuda. This is usually referred to as Bermuda Triangle, where more than a hundred planes and ships have literally vanished into thin air, most of them since 1946, and more than a thousand lives have been lost in the past 33 years without a single body or even a piece of wreckage from the vanishing planes or ships having been found (ABC-K).

c) Discuss how you must travel in the Western Atlantic toavoid the Bermuda Triangle.

Exercise 23. Try the following quiz on two of your fellow-students. Afterwards decide who of you three is the most know­ledgeable in Geography.

1. What is the capital of Australia?

2.What is the national emblem of Canada?

3.Which is closer to London: Oxford or Cambridge?

4.Where does Cyprus lie?

5. Which is higher: Vesuvius or Everest?

6. Where is Elbrus situated?

7. What is farther from Cape Horn: Australia or Europe?

8. Where is London Bridge situated?

9. Where did the Titanic sink?

10.Where is Baffin Bay situated?

Exercise 24. Speak on the following situations.

1. Make up a list of London's famous parks. Decide which of them would suit the tastes of each of your friends.

2. Decide which of the water expanses your teacher wants to see with his (her) own eyes. Substantiate your opinion.

3. Tell your friend how he can spend his vacation either in the Carpathians or in the Caucasus.

4. Make up a plan of your climbing Mount Hoverla (the Carpathians).

5. Invent names for the bridges of your city (town) if they haven't any.

6. You are an architect. Recommend the plan of a city to meet the requirements of young people. Give names to the main sights of the city.

7. Mark Twain wrote the book 'Life on the Mississippi'. Decide what you would write in the book (article) 'Life on the Dnieper (Oster)'.

8. Decide how different places of your city (town) can be modernised.

9.Decide what river you would like to go down.

10. You are going to open a shop selling picture-cards of famous places of the world. Decide what views are likely to be popular with customers.

Part 3

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 1151