The latest tourist attraction in London is The Shard but what is it and why should you visit it? The read the article to find out and to learn some useful vocabulary and information about converting English measurements.
The Shard is now the tallest building in London and Europe. It’s height is 1,015ft. The tower has a total of 72 floors.
It’s made of glass and has 360 degree views of London. You can enjoy incredible views of all the famous landmarks like St Pauls, Buckingham Palace, The Gherkin, Tower Bridge and The London Eye. On a nice day, visitors can see for about 40 miles. You may even be able to see France.
Some people call The Shard ‘the new symbol of London’ and many tourists and locals want to visit it. The entrance is £25 for an adult ticket and £19 for a child. The tower opens on February 1st but all the tickets are sold out.
What’s in The Shard?
The makers of the shard want visitors to learn about London and the people in it. So, on the ground floor are funny photos of famous people living in London.
Level 33 has painted maps of London and its suburbs.
Rich people can visit a luxury hotel and spa on the top floors or even buy a flat there. There is also a restaurant where you can have a meal and drink a pint of beer.
Level 68 has amazing views of the city. The viewing gallery is 800ft from ground level on level 69. It has free digital telescopes that use augmented reality so you can see almost every inch of the city. They also give viewers extra information about all the tourist landmarks.
Maybe the best view is from level 72. It is open-air so you can feel like you are outside.
Have a look at The Shard for yourself:
This is the official website
Useful language
- 360 degree views
- you can see in every direction
- incredible views
- really good look at the landscape
- the new symbol of London
- the latest thing to represent the city
- entrance
- the door or gate you use to go into a building
- sold out
- no more tickets left
- suburbs
- a town on the edge of the city
- augmented reality
- technology that provides images about places that you look at through a camera
- open-air
- outside
English measurements
The text mentions feet, miles, inches and pints. These are UK measurements (Imperial system) and they are not the same as in Europe (Metric system). Here are how they compare:
1 foot = 0.305 metres
1 mile = 1.61 kilometres
1 inch = 2.54 centimetres
1 pint = 0.57 litres
You can convert all the measurements from the text using this site:
http://www.metric-conversions.org/
Also, if you are coming to study English with us in London this year, you may find this information extremely useful – English shoe sizes!
