英国，伦敦，一座艺术气息和历史氛围浓郁的都城，一个重要的政治中心，一处巨大的金融市场。

　　Whatever you think about London, visiting as a tourist is very different from living there. Each part of London has its own character. Some parts are richer than others, or more industrial, or have better housing.

　　不管你眼中的伦敦是什么样子，以游客的身份去参观旅游和居住在此有很大的不同。伦敦每个地方都各有千秋。有的地方富裕，有的地方偏工业化，有的地方则更适合居住。

　　Let's start with the centre, the "Square Mile". This is the oldest part of London. In the past, this is where all financial business was done. Not many people live here, but 300,000 people work here every day.

　　我们先从金融广场启程吧。这里是伦敦最古老的地方。以前，所有的金融交易都在这里进行。居住在这里的人不是很多，但是，每天却有30万人工作在此。

　　Moving west, we come to the West End. This busy shopping and entertainment district is bursting with things to do. Take a walk down Oxford Street, past big department stores like Selfridges and Harrods. Rents here are very high, a one-bedroom apartment may cost around 1000 pounds (14,845 yuan) a week.

　　继续西行，我们就来到了伦敦西区。这里是日益繁忙的购物和娱乐区。沿牛津大街步行，会经过六家大百货商店，其中就有塞弗吉商店和哈罗德商店。这里的房子租金特别贵，一居室的公寓可能每周的租金大约有1000英磅(折合人民币1万4845元)左右。

　　Further away is West London. This area is more residential and very fashionable. Go see the home of Diana, the Princess of Wales: Kensington Palace. Notting Hill, made famous by the film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, is here.

　　再远一些就是伦敦西部。这里大多是时尚的住宅区。你可以去参观威尔士王妃黛安娜亡故前的住所肯辛顿宫。因朱丽亚·罗伯茨和休·格兰主演的电影《诺丁山》而一举成名的诺丁山就在这里。

　　The East End contains the Port of London, which historically is where many immigrants first arrived. Waves of French, Belgians, Jews, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis have all lived here. This makes the area very diverse, but also quite poor. It has a reputation as being dangerous. Since London won the bid to hold the Olympics in 2012, many Londoners hope that housing, education and employment for many people in this area will improve.

　　伦敦东区有伦敦港，在历史上，它曾经是移民最先到达的地方。当年，法国人、比利时人、犹太教徒、巴基斯坦人和孟加拉国人蜂拥而至，都曾居住在此。这些移民给这个地区带来了丰富多彩的文化，同时，也使之更贫穷。这个区声名很差，被看作是危险之地。由于伦敦成功申请到了2012年奥运会的举办权，很多伦敦人希望这个区的住房、教育和工作机会能够得到改善。

　　It is difficult to be general about London. The city is made up of a "collection of villages", each area with its own character and community.

　　要全面描述伦敦是很困难的。这个城市是一个“乡村集散地”，每个地方都有自己的特色和自己的社区。

　　Put them all together, and you have London, a cosmopolitan capital.

　　所有这一切，组成了伦敦，一个国际化大都市。