It was the Romans who decided to build the city of London. They saw that a city with a bridge over the River Thames could be useful， both for traveling to Europe and for traveling in England.

The Guildhall is the town hall of the city， where you can see both the old buildings and the new ones. It was built by Dick Whittington. He was a young man who went to London， with his cat， to make money. But after a few years， he was still very poor and he decided to leave the city. Then he heard the bells of London ringing. He stopped and listened. They seemed to be saying， “Try again， Mayor of London.” So he turned back， deciding to try again. Later， he became very rich and was Lord Mayor four times between 1397 and 1419. In 1423， he died.

Nearly all the old city was burnt in the fire in 1666. It started on a Sunday evening in a bread shop. On Tuesday evening， a quarter of a million people had no homes， and the fire was still burning.

After the fire of London， some Londoners made new homes in new parts of London. Others wanted to come back， but found the new houses were too expensive. The city started to lose its people. So now the city has very few shops and homes. The shops are shut on Saturday. The restaurants and pubs shut at six o’clock at night. You feel you are in a dead world， while a kilometre away， the streets of the West End are full of people.

Comprehension Questions

（ ）1. The Romans built the city of London for the purpose of .

A. becoming famous in the world

B. making the river the Thames safe and peaceful

C. travelling to Europe and in England in an easy way

D. eating a lot of fish easily

（ ）2. According to the second paragraph， we guess that Dick Whittington was once .

A. a beggar from FranceB. a businessman

C. a very rich manD. a university teacher

（ ）3. After the big fire of London， about people became homeless.

A. 100，000 B. 500，000 C. 250，000 D. 300，000

（ ）4. What did the Londoners do after the fire?

A. They had to build their houses in old places.

B. They all had to move away.

C. Some made new homes in new places; others had to leave.

D. They turned to the mayor of London for help.

Keys： 1~4 CCCC