求：卓别林的介绍（英文的）~万分感谢~~~

Do you know Origin of Chdstmas___圣诞由来

The name Christmas is short for“Christ’s Mass”．A Mass is a kind of Church service．Christmas is a religious festivaI．It is the day we celebrate as the birthday of Jesus．

There are special Christmas services in Christian churches all over the world．But many of the festivities of Christmas do not have anything to do with religion．Exchanging gifts and sending Christmas cards are the modern ways of celebrating the Christmas In the world．

The birth of Jesus had a story：In Nazareth，a city of Galilee．The vIrgin’s name was Mary was betrothed to Joseph．Before they came together，she was found with

child of the Holy Spirit．Joseph，her husband was minded to put her away secretly．While he thought about these things，Gabriel，an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a

dream and told hIm did not be afraid to take Mary as wife．And Mary，will bring forth a Son，and he shall call his name，Jesus,for he will save his people from their sins．

Before Jesus births．Joseph and Mary came to Quintus was governing Syria．So all went to be registered，everyone to his own city．Joseph also went up out of

Galilee．out of the city of Nazareth．into Judea，to the city of David．which iS called Bethlehem，because he was of the house and of the lineage of David，to be registered with Mary。his betrothed wife，who was with child．So it was that while they were there．the days were completed for her to be delivered．And she brought forth her firstborn Son．and wrapped him in swaddling cloths．and laid him in a

manger．because there was no room for them jn the jnn．And that．Christmas IS the feast of the nativity of Jesus．is on 25th，December every year．But nobody know the acluaI birthday of Jesus．And the Christmas has become popular when Christmas cards appeared in 1 846 and the concept of a joily Santa Claus was first made popular in nineteenth Century．

“圣诞节”这个名称是“基督弥撒”的缩写。弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。耶诞节是一个宗节我们把它当作耶稣的诞辰来庆祝，因而又名耶诞节。这一天，世界所有的基督教会都举行特别的礼拜仪式。但是有很多圣诞节的欢庆活动和宗教并无半点关联。交换礼物，寄圣个诞卡，这都使圣诞节成为一个普天同庆的日子。

圣诞节是基督教世界最大的节日。4世纪初，1月6日是罗马帝国东部各教会纪念耶稣降生和受洗的双重节日、称为“主显节”Epiphany，亦称“显现节”即上帝通过耶稣向世人显示自己。当时只有耶路撒冷的教会例外，那里只纪念耶稣的诞生而不纪念耶稣的受洗。后来历史学家们在罗马基督徒习用的日历中发现公元354年12月25日页内记录着：“基督降生在犹大的伯利恒。”经过研究，一般认为12月25日伴为圣诞节可能开始于公元336年的罗马教会)约在公元375年传到小亚细亚的安提阿，公元430年传到埃及的亚历山大里亚，耶路撒冷的教会接受得最晚，而亚美尼亚的教会则仍然坚持1月6日主显节是耶稣的诞

辰。

12月25日原来是波斯太阳神(即光明之神)密特拉(Mithra)的诞辰，是一个异教徒节日，同时太阳神也是罗马国教众神之一。这一天又是罗马历书的冬至节，崇拜太阳神的异教徒

都把这一天当作春天的希望，万物复苏的开始。可能由于这个原因，罗马教会才选择这一天作为圣诞节。这是教会初期力图把异教徒的风俗习惯基督教化的措施之一。

后来，虽然大多数教会都接受12月25日为圣诞节，但又固各地教会使用的历书不同，具体日期不能统一，于是就把12月24日到第二年的1月6日定为圣诞节节期(Christmas Tide)，各地教会可以根据当地具体情况在这段节期之内庆祝圣诞节。自从12月25日被大多数教会公认为圣诞节后，原来1月6日的主显节就只纪念耶稣受洗了，但天主教会又把1月6日定为“三王来朝节”，以纪念耶稣生时东方三王(即三位博士)来朝拜的故事。随着基督教的广泛传播，圣诞节已成为各教派基督徒，甚至广大非基督徒群众的一个重要节日。在欧美许多国家里，人们非常重视这个节日，把它和新年连在一起，而庆祝活动之热闹与隆

重大大超过了新年，成为一个全民的节日。12月25日的主要纪念活动都与耶稣降生的传说有关。

月份

星期一： Mon=Monday

星期二： Tues=Tuesday

星期三：Wed=Wednesday

星期四： Thur=Thurday

星期五： Fri=Friday

星期六： Sat=Saturday

星期天： Sun=Sunday

月份

一月份＝JAN Jan=January

二月份＝FEB Feb=February

三月份＝MAR Mar=March

四月份＝APR Apr=April

五月份＝MAY May=May

六月份＝JUN Jun=June

七月份＝JUL Jul=July

八月份＝AUG Aug=August

九月份＝SEP Sept=September

十月份＝OCT Oct=October

十一月份＝NOV Nov=November

十二月份＝DEC Dec=December

化学分析英文缩写列表

AAS 原子吸收光谱法

AES 原子发射光谱法

AFS 原子荧光光谱法

ASV 阳极溶出伏安法

ATR 衰减全反射法

AUES 俄歇电子能谱法

C

CEP 毛细管电泳法

CGC 毛细管气相色谱法

CIMS 化学电离质谱法

CIP 毛细管等速电泳法

CLC 毛细管液相色谱法

CSFC 毛细管超临界流体色谱法

CSFE 毛细管超临界流体萃取法

CSV 阴极溶出伏安法

CZEP 毛细管区带电泳法

D

DDTA 导数差热分析法

DIA 注入量焓测定法

DPASV 差示脉冲阳极溶出伏安法

DPCSV 差示脉冲阴极溶出伏安法

DPP 差示脉冲极谱法

DPSV 差示脉冲溶出伏安法

DPVA 差示脉冲伏安法

DSC 差示扫描量热法

DTA 差热分析法

DTG 差热重量分析法

E

EAAS 电热或石墨炉原子吸收光谱法

ETA 酶免疫测定法

EIMS 电子碰撞质谱法

ELISA 酶标记免疫吸附测定法

EMAP 电子显微放射自显影法

EMIT 酶发大免疫测定法

EPMA 电子探针X射线微量分析法

ESCA 化学分析用电子能谱学法

ESP 萃取分光光度法

F

FAAS 火焰原子吸收光谱法

FABMS 快速原子轰击质谱法

FAES 火焰原子发射光谱法

FDMS 场解析质谱法

FIA 流动注射分析法

FIMS 场电离质谱法

FNAA 快中心活化分析法

FT-IR 傅里叶变换红外光谱法

FT-NMR 傅里叶变换核磁共振谱法

FT-MS 傅里叶变换质谱法

GC 气相色谱法

GC-IR 气相色谱-红外光谱法

GC-MS 气相色谱-质谱法

GD-AAS 辉光放电原子吸收光谱法

GD-AES 辉光放电原子发射光谱法

GD-MS 辉光放电质谱法

GFC 凝胶过滤色谱法

GLC 气相色谱法

GLC-MS 气相色谱-质谱法

H

HAAS 氢化物发生原子吸收光谱法

HAES 氢化物发生原子发射光谱法

HPLC 高效液相色谱法

HPTLC 高效薄层色谱法

I

IBSCA 离子束光谱化学分析法

IC 离子色谱法

ICP 电感耦合等离子体

ICP-AAS 电感耦合等离子体原子吸收光谱法

ICP-AES 电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法

ICP-MS 电感耦合等离子体质谱法

IDA 同位素稀释分析法

IDMS 同位素稀释质谱法

IEC 离子交换色谱法

INAA 仪器中子活化分析法

IPC 离子对色谱法

IR 红外光谱法

ISE 离子选择电极法

ISFET 离子选择场效应晶体管

L

LAMMA 激光微探针质谱分析法

LC 液相色谱法

LC-MS 液相色谱-质谱法

M

MECC 胶束动电毛细管色谱法

MEKC 胶束动电色谱法

MIP-AAS 微波感应等离子体原子吸收光谱法

MIP-AES 微波感应等离子体原子发射光谱法

MS 质谱法

N

NAA 中子活化法

NIRS 近红外光谱法

NMR 核磁共振波谱法

P

PAS 光声光谱法

PC 纸色谱法

PCE 纸色谱电泳法

PE 纸电泳法

PGC 热解气相色谱法

PIGE 粒子激发Gamma射线发射光谱法

PIXE 粒子激发X射线发射光谱法

R

RHPLC 反相高效液相色谱法

RHPTLC 反相液相薄层色谱法

RIA 发射免疫分析法

RPLC 反相液相色谱法

S

SEM 扫描电子显微镜法

SFC 超临界流体色谱法

SFE 超临界流体萃取法

SIMS 次级离子质谱法

SIQMS 次级离子四极质谱法

SP 分光光度法

SP(M)E 固相(微)萃取法

STM 扫描隧道电子显微镜法

STEM 扫描投射电子显微镜法

SV 溶出伏安法

T

TEM 投射电子显微镜法

TGA 热重量分析法

TGC 薄层凝胶色谱法

TLC 薄层色谱法

U

UPS 紫外光电子光谱法

UVF 紫外荧光光谱法

UVS 紫外光谱法

X

XES X射线发射光谱法

XPS X射线光电子光谱法

XRD X射线衍射光谱法

XRF X射线荧光光谱法

VIP = very improtant person重要人物

IMP (import)进口

EXP (export)出口

MAX (maximum)最大的、的最大限度的

MIN (minimum)最小的，最低限度

DOC (document)文件、的单据

INT (international)国际的

EMS (express mail special)特快传递

IRC（International Red Cross）国际红十字会

UNESCO（the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization）联合国教科文组织

WC（water closet）

CIA(central intelligence agence)美国中情局

FBI(feberal bureau of investigation)美国联邦调查局

FA(football association)足协

Charles Chaplin made Limelight at the most troubled period of his adult career In the late 1940s, America¹s Cold War paranoia reached its peak, and Chaplin, as a foreigner with liberal and humanist sympathies, was a prime target for political witch-hunters It did not help that he had recently been cited in an unseemly paternity suit Pilloried as he was by the right-wing press and reactionary institutions like the American Legion, it seemed that America had turned against the man it had once idolised

In this atmosphere, his 1947 film, Monsieur Verdoux, with its sardonic view of war, was attacked as being anti-American Not surprisingly, then, in choosing his next subject he deliberately sought escape from disagreeable contemporary reality He found it in bitter-sweet nostalgia for the world of his youth - the world of the London music halls at the opening of the 20th century, where he had first discovered his genius as an entertainer

His story concerns a once-famous comedian who has lost the ability to command his audience Chaplin said that he based the character on real-life stage personalities whom he had seen lose their gifts and their public - the American black-face comedian Frank Tinney (1878-1940) and the Spanish clown Marceline (1873-1927) with whom he had himself worked as a boy Clearly he was also thinking of his own present bitter experience of a faithless public

Chaplin spent more than two years writing Limelight His method was remarkable, and unique in his work As a preliminary, he wrote the story in the form of a full-length novel - some 100,000 words long and entitled "Footlights" The novel - never published or apparently even intended for publication - relates the story as it appears in the finished film, but in addition includes two separate biographies of Calvero and Terry, detailing their lives before the action of the film proper begins

What makes these biographies so remarkable is that we can trace in them a great deal of extended autobiography, as Chaplin quite openly introduces episodes from his own life and those of his parents Just like Chaplin¹s own father, Calvero is devastated when he discovers his wife¹s infidelity and drifts into alcoholism In the novel, Calvero even dies in the same hospital - St Thomas’ on the banks of the Thames - where Charles Chaplin Senior died in 1901 at the age of only 37

The character of Terry, the young dancer, was equally clearly based on Chaplin’s mother, Hannah, though with reminiscences too of Chaplin’s first and never forgotten love, Hetty Kelly

Claire Bloom, who plays Terry, remembered that in rehearsing her, Chaplin was always recalling gestures of his mother or Hetty, and the clothes they wore With this strong underlay of nostalgia, Chaplin was at pains to evoke as accurately as possible the London he remembered from half a century before In this he was helped by the great Russian-born designer, Eugene Lourié, who remodelled a set on the Paramount lot to look like a Victorian London street A permanent setting of a theatre at RKO-Pathe was decorated to look like the Empire Theatre, London’s grandest music hall

For the climactic scene Chaplin planned a ballet, in which Claire Bloom - not a dancer herself - was doubled by Melissa Hayden, a star of the New York City Ballet Since the coming of sound films, Chaplin had always composed his own music scores, with the assistance of arrangers Exceptionally, the music for the ballet - 25 minutes, though it was reduced in the final film - had to be composed in advance Chaplin was relieved when Melissa Hayden and her partner and fellow star André Eglevsky assured him that the music was suitable for choreography The "Limelight theme" was to remain one of Chaplin’s best-loved compositions; and in 1972, twenty years after the film’s first release, he and his musical collaborators Ray Rasch and Larry Russell were awarded a belated Oscar for "Best Original Dramatic Score"

The beautiful, 20-year-old English stage actress Claire Bloom was chosen to play Terry after much soul-searching; and Chaplin’s son Sydney was given the secondary male role Perhaps it was a comfort in these difficult days - and an element of the nostalgia - to have his family around him: four other children and his half-brother Wheeler Dryden also played in the film, and even his young wife Oona doubled for Claire Bloom in two brief shots Though Chaplin’s public life was beset by problems, the shooting of Limelight at least was trouble-free and completed in 55 shooting days an exceptional standard of economy for Chaplin’s feature productions The premiere was, appropriately, held in London on 16 October 1952 In Chaplin¹s absence, open official hostility in America escalated to a point where he decided not to return to "that unhappy country" Thereafter he made his permanent residence in Europe At that moment Chaplin believed that Limelight would be his last film It was not: but if it had proved so, this exercise in nostalgia and family autobiography would have been a fitting conclusion to his career

Virgin Atlantic Airways usually referred to as Virgin Atlantic, is one of the airlines of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, operating long-haul routes between London and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia Its main bases are London Heathrow (LHR) and London Gatwick (LGW), with a smaller base at Manchester International Airport (MAN)

The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats

Virgin Atlantic's story began in 1982 when Randolph Fields, an American-born lawyer, set up British Atlantic Airways as a direct successor to Laker Airways However, in order to obtain regulatory approval, Fields needed further financial backing He met Richard Branson at a "high society" party in central London during which he proposed a business partnership between Branson and himself to get his fledgling airline off the ground After protracted and testy negotiations, Fields agreed to a reduced stake of 25% in the now renamed airline and became Virgin Atlantic's first chairman Following a series of disagreements over operational issues, Fields agreed to be bought out for an initial sum of £1 million with further payment due upon Virgin's first dividend payment Following a High Court action, such additional payment was received shortly before Fields' death from cancer in 1997 Fields also obtained lifetime Upper Class flying privileges for his immediate family and his mother, one of British Atlantic's early backers

On June 22, 1984 Virgin Atlantic operated its inaugural scheduled air service between London Gatwick Airport and Newark using a single, leased Boeing 747-200, formerly operated by Aerolineas Argentina

The airline became profitable during its first year of operation The company was able to do this because it used cash flow from the then already well-established Virgin Records business to finance the lease of a relatively "inexpensive", second-hand Boeing 747 The firm also timed the start of operations to take advantage of a full summer's season, which included the June to September peak season, by far the most profitable travel period of the year

In 1986 the airline added another 747 and started a second scheduled route from Gatwick to Miami Additional aircraft were acquired and further routes were launched from Gatwick to New York JFK (1988), Tokyo (1989), Los Angeles (1990), Boston (1991) and Orlando (1992)

49% of Virgin Atlantic was sold to Singapore Airlines in December 1999 for £60025 million

In August 2002, Virgin became the first airline to use the Airbus A340-600 Rolls-Royce have won all recent engine competitions for Virgin aircraft; the company's Trent 500s will power the A340s and the Trent 900 will power A380s on order

In January 1991 the UK Government opened the door for Virgin to operate from London Heathrow Airport when it decided to abolish the so-called "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" in response to growing pressure from the industry

According to some industry insider reports, Virgin Atlantic was facing increasing financial problems at that time This was primarily the result of a sharp reduction in demand for air travel caused by the recession of the early 1990s as well as by people's heightened fear to travel in the aftermath of the first Gulf War Britain's then Conservative Government, which had presided over the spectacular collapse of the International Leisure Group (ILG) and its wholly owned subsidiary Air Europe resulting in thousands of job losses and was well aware that Dan-Air was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy during that time, was desperate to avoid the collapse of another prominent Independent British airline, especially if its public profile was as high as Virgin Atlantic's The Government was also conscious of the fact that many of these Independent airlines' employees whose jobs were threatened by the prevailing harsh economic climate at the time used to live in marginal Conservative constituencies Therefore, the Government decided to let Virgin Atlantic into Heathrow by abolishing the "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" despite facing mounting opposition from British Airways whose senior management was exerting pressure on the Government to maintain the status quo

The "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" had come into effect in January 1978 and were applied retrospectively from the beginning of April 1977 These rules were designed to achieve a "fairer" distribution of traffic between London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport, the UK's two main international gateway airports (At the time Gatwick was still underutilised and losing money)

The "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" stated that airlines that did not already operate an international scheduled air service from/to Heathrow prior to April 1, 1977 would not be permitted to commence operations at that airport Instead, they would have to use Gatwick for all their London-based operations However, airlines that did not already operate at Heathrow prior to this law taking effect could still commence domestic scheduled services at the airport provided that the British Airports Authority, which ran both Heathrow and Gatwick on behalf of the Government, granted them permission to do so In addition, the "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" banned all new all-cargo as well as all charter flights from Heathrow

The decision to open up Heathrow to all newcomers - other than those governed by Bermuda II - angered BA's then chairman, the late Lord King of Wartnaby, who stopped British Airways' donations to the Conservative Party, which was ruling Britain at the time, in protest Lord King was furthermore angered at the Civil Aviation Authority's subsequent decision to transfer two pairs of unused slots British Airways held at Tokyo's Narita International Airport to his archrival Virgin Atlantic to enable Virgin to increase its frequency between Heathrow and Tokyo from four to six weekly round-trips, thereby making it easier for Virgin to compete against British Airways in the highly lucrative business travel market Lord King called the CAA's decision to transfer these slots to one of his rivals, which the Government had endorsed, "a confiscation of his company's property"

The Government's decision to abolish the "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" and to let a small, upstart airline like Virgin Atlantic commence operations at Heathrow in direct competition with British Airways then became the main trigger for BA's so-called "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin

In 1992 BA's PR director David Burnside published an article in "BA News", British Airways' internal staff magazine, which argued that Branson's protestations against British Airways were merely a publicity stunt Branson sued British Airways for libel BA settled out of court when its lawyers unearthed evidence of the extraordinary lengths to which the company went to try to "kill off" Virgin BA was faced with a legal bill of up to £3m, damages to Branson of £500,000 and a further £110,000 to his airline Branson divided his £500,000 amongst his staff in the so-called "BA bonus", each receiving £166

In the 1990s, Virgin Atlantic jets were painted with the words "No-Way BA/AA" in opposition to the attempted merger between British Airways and American Airlines

In 1997, following British Airways' announcement that it was to remove the Union Flag from its tailfins in favour of world images, Virgin took advantage of the controversy provoked by introducing a union flag design on the winglets of its aircraft and changed the red dress on the "Scarlet Lady" on the nose of its aircraft to the union flag with the tag line "Britain's Flag Carrier" This was a "tongue-in-cheek" challenge to BA's traditional role as the UK's "flag carrier"

Relations with British Airways improved considerably with the arrival of Rod Eddington as BA CEO though the rivalry between the two airlines continued Eddington replaced the hapless Robert Ayling, a key player in the "dirty tricks" affair who was dismissed by Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge, the long-serving BA chairman and Mr Ayling's chief mentor, on behalf of BA's main institutional shareholders after BA had suffered a record loss of £200m on Mr Ayling's watch during the late 1990s

On June 19th, 1984, during the final CAA test flight before full licensing, an engine caught fire due to bird ingestion The aircraft landed safely

On June 1st, 1996, flight VS007 from London to Los Angeles made an emergency landing at Iqaluit after a passenger had a heart attack One of the 747's engines hit a fuel pump on the tarmac as it was taxiing, causing serious damage to the aircraft and a fuel spill The aircraft had its engines repaired and left four days after the accident

On November 5th, 1997, after numerous attempts to shake the jammed main landing gear of an Airbus A340-300 G-VSKY failed, the aircraft made an emergency landing at London Heathrow Airport The aircraft and the runway were damaged as the landing gear collapsed The aircraft was evacuated safely causing only minor injuries

On February 8th, 2005, onboard an Airbus A340-600 aircraft en route from Hong Kong to London, the fuel control computer system caused a loss of automatic fuel transfer between tanks The left outboard engine lost power, and shortly after the right outboard engine also began to falter until the crew began crossfeeding fuel manually The crew diverted to Amsterdam, where a safe landing was made (ref: Flight International, July 2005)

On July 15th, 2006, G-VWKD (an Airbus A340-600), during take off at Hong Kong International Airport, suffered damage because of a tailstrike and was forced to dump fuel in Hong Kong airspace and return to the airport for repairs G-VMEG (another A340-600) was sent to rescue the stranded passengers

The airline has three classes of service: Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class

Seats in Economy include a maximum seat pitch of 32" (depending on aircraft type) Inflight drinks are free and meals typically include ice-cream and a vegetarian option

Virgin Atlantic pioneered seat-back personal TVs in all classes, and has begun upgrading its aircraft to an Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) system called V:Port The V:Port system offers a choice of approximately 58 full length feature films, 60 audio CDs, and around 200 hours of television shows Also featured are video games, some of which can be played against other passengers

Unlike some international carriers, Virgin also gives free personal amenity kits to passengers in all three classes, including items such as: toothbrush, pen, earplugs and eyemask

Premium Economy provides a separate check-in, a wider seat with more legroom than Economy, and a pre-flight glass of champagne Other extras include a full range of newspapers and an after-dinner glass of brandy or Baileys In the second quarter of 2006 Virgin announced that they will launch an updated Premium Economy product with leather seats and a wider seat than British Airways business class offering, Club World This new design is due to launch in November 2006

Virgin Atlantic calls its business-class product offering "Upper Class" Upper Class passengers can request complimentary limousine pick-up and drop-off (although the limousine is not available to those who purchase the cheaper "Z" coded Upper Class fare) At the airport, Upper Class passengers can use Virgin's clubhouse lounge Second-phase improvements to the London Heathrow clubhouse were completed mid 2006 and it currently offers a range of massage and grooming treatments (bookable in advance)

Virgin Atlantic's new Upper Class Suite is currently rolling out across its fleet The bed is claimed to be the biggest fully flat bed compared with any other airline's business class service (it is at least 795" long and 33" wide at the shoulders) Once again, a range of massage and grooming treatments are available to Upper Class passengers mid-flight, in addition to an onboard bar

Just over half of Virgin's flights leave London from London Heathrow, with the remainder leaving from London Gatwick There are also daily services from Manchester International Airport to Orlando, and weekly services to Bridgetown and St Lucia (starting 16 November 2006)

Virgin flights between the United Kingdom and the United States or the Bahamas bear special names, such as The Trance Atlantic (Miami-Heathrow), The London Shuttle (Boston-Heathrow) or The Rising Star (Los Angeles-Heathrow) More information is available at their dedicated website: VirginAtlanticFlightscom

New Services in 2006

London Heathrow to Dubai

London Gatwick to Montego Bay

Manchester to St Lucia (Starting November 16th, 2006)

New Services in 2007

London Gatwick to Mauritius (Starting November 2007)

Glasgow to Orlando (Starting June 23rd, 2007 - Seasonal service)

London, capital of Great Britain, SE England, on both sides of the Thames River Greater London (1991 pop 6,378,600), c620 sq mi (1,610 sq km), consists of the Corporation of the City of London (1991 pop 4,000), usually called the City, plus 32 boroughs The City is the old city of London and is the modern city's commercial center; it is also referred to as the “Square Mile” because of its area The 12 inner boroughs that surround the City are Westminster, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea The 20 outer boroughs are Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Newham, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Sutton, Merton, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Ealing, Brent, Harrow, Barnet, Haringey, and Enfield Greater London includes the area of the former county of London, most of the former county of Middlesex, and areas that were formerly in Surrey, Kent, Essex, and Hertfordshire Each of the boroughs of Greater London elects a council

The Greater London Council administered the larger London area until 1986, when it was abolished by the Thatcher government, making London unique as a world metropolis without a central governing unit In 1999 the Greater London Authority Act reestablished a single local governing body for the Greater London area, consisting of an elected mayor and the London Assembly Elections were held in 2000, and Ken Livingstone became London's first elected mayor

Economy

London is one of the world's foremost financial, commercial, industrial, and cultural centers The Bank of England, Lloyd's, the stock exchange, and numerous other banks and investment companies have their headquarters there, primarily in the City, but increasingly at Canary Wharf The financial services sector is a major source of overall employment in London

London still remains one of the world's greatest ports It exports manufactured goods and imports petroleum, tea, wool, raw sugar, timber, butter, metals, and meat Consumer goods, clothing, precision instruments, jewelry, and stationery are produced, but manufacturing has lost a number of jobs in the once-dominant textile, furniture, printing, and chemical-processing industries as firms have moved outside the area Engineering and scientific research are also important to the economy, as is tourism The city is a hub for road, rail, and air (its airports include Heathrow and Gatwick), and it is now linked to the Continent by a high-speed rail line under the English Channel

Points of Interest

The best-known streets of London are Fleet Street, the Strand, Piccadilly, Whitehall, Pall Mall, Downing Street, and Lombard Street Bond and Regent streets and Covent Garden are noted for their shops Buckingham Palace is the royal family's London residence Municipal parks include Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park (which houses the London Zoo), and St James's and Green parks Museums include the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the Wallace Collection, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Saachi Gallery London also has numerous commercial art galleries and plays a major role in the international art market

The British Library, one of the world's great reference resources, is located in London The city is rich in other artistic and cultural activities Its approximately 100 theater companies reflect the importance of drama, and it has several world-class orchestras, a well-known opera house, performance halls, and clubs A working replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre opened in 1997 The Univ of London is the largest in Great Britain, and there are other universities and colleges in the city The state-owned BBC (British Broadcasting Company) is headquartered in London, and most of the country's national newspapers are published there The New Scotland Yard, synonymous with criminal investigation, is located in the city Sporting events draw large support from Londoners who follow cricket, soccer (at Wimbley Stadium), and tennis (including the Wimbledon championship)

History

Little is known of London prior to AD 61, when, according to the Roman historian Tacitus, the followers of Queen Boadicea rebelled and slaughtered the inhabitants of the Roman fort Londinium Roman authority was soon restored, and the first city walls were built, remnants of which still exist After the final withdrawal of the Roman legions in the 5th cent, London was lost in obscurity Celts, Saxons, and Danes contested the general area, and it was not until 886 that London again emerged as an important town under the firm control of King Alfred, who rebuilt the defenses against the Danes and gave the city a government

London put up some resistance to William I in 1066, but he subsequently treated the city well During his reign the White Tower, the nucleus of the Tower of London, was built just east of the city wall Under the Normans and Plantagenets (see Great Britain), the city grew commercially and politically and during the reign of Richard I (1189–99) obtained a form of municipal government from which the modern City Corporation developed In 1215, King John granted the city the right to elect a mayor annually

The guilds of the Middle Ages gained control of civic affairs and grew sufficiently strong to restrict trade to freemen of the city The guilds survive today in 80 livery companies, of which members were once the voters in London's municipal elections Medieval London saw the foundation of the Inns of Court and the construction of Westminster Abbey By the 14th cent London had become the political capital of England It played no active role in the Wars of the Roses (15th cent)

The reign of Elizabeth I brought London to a level of great wealth, power, and influence as the undisputed center of England's Renaissance culture This was the time of Shakespeare (and the Globe Theatre) and the beginnings of overseas trading companies such as the Muscovy Company With the advent (1603) of the Stuarts to the throne, the city became involved in struggles with the crown on behalf of its democratic privileges, culminating in the English civil war

In 1665, the great plague took some 75,000 lives A great fire in Sept, 1666, lasted five days and virtually destroyed the city Sir Christopher Wren played a large role in rebuilding the city He designed more than 51 churches, notably the rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral Other notable churches include the gothic Southwark Cathedral, St Paul's Church (1633; designed by Inigo Jones), St Martin-in-the-Fields (18th cent), and Westminster Cathedral Much of the business of London as well as literary and political discussion was transacted in coffeehouses, forerunners of the modern club Until 1750, when Westminster Bridge was opened, London Bridge, first built in the 10th cent, was the only bridge to span the Thames Since the 18th cent, several other bridges have been constructed; the Tower Bridge was completed in 1894

In the 19th cent, London began a period of extraordinary growth The area of present-day Greater London had about 11 million people in 1801; by 1851, the population had increased to 27 million, and by 1901 to 66 million During the Victorian era, London acquired tremendous prestige as the capital of the British Empire and as a cultural and intellectual center Britain's free political institutions and intellectual atmosphere made London a haven for persons unsafe in their own countries The Italian Giuseppe Mazzini, the Russian Aleksandr Herzen, and the German Karl Marx were among many politically controversial figures who lived for long periods in London

Many buildings of central London were destroyed or damaged in air raids during World War II These include the Guildhall (scene of the lord mayor's banquets and other public functions); No 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's residence; the Inns of Court; Westminster Hall and the Houses of Parliament; St George's Cathedral; and many of the great halls of the ancient livery companies Today there are numerous blocks of new office buildings and districts of apartment dwellings constructed by government authorities The growth of London in the 20th cent has been extensively planned One notable feature has been the concept of a “Green Belt” to save certain areas from intensive urban development In 1982, a tax-free zone in the Docklands in the East End's Tower Hamlets borough was created to stimulate development Although the Canary Wharf financial center (with Lloyd's futuristic building, opened in 1986) was initially slow to fill, it now rivals the City

London has an ethnically and culturally diverse population, with large groups of immigrants from Commonwealth nations South Asian, West Indian, African, and Middle Eastern peoples account for much of the immigrant population The city is the site of one of the largest Hindu temple complexes and the largest Sikh temple outside India; there also are many mosques, including one of the largest in Europe With the reestablishment of the city's central government (2000), London built its egg-shaped City Hall (2002), on the south bank of the Thames opposite the Tower of London The city was the site of the 1908 and 1948 summer Olympic games and will be the site of the 2012 summer games

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