sábado, 12 de enero de 2019

Chapter 9 (Second part) EDIMBURGH


About one million people visit Edinburgh Castle every year.

There is a museum in the castle, but it is also an army base because the Scottish division of the British army is based here.
From the castle, the view of the city, situated between the sea and the mountains, is superb.
Inside the castle, we saw the Royal apartments.
There is a tiny room here, where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to the boy who became the king of both England and Scotland.
"He became King James VI of Scotland and King James 1 of England in 1603, when Queen Elizabeth 1 of England died.
It was important because England and Scotland were separate countries then and they had different kings.
James was the first king to be the king of both countries.
It was called the Union of the Crowns," Martin told me.
I must admit, I didn't know very much about Scottish history, but Martin was an expert.
He was studying history at university and was a very good guide.
Martin and his flatmates were also good guides for the Festival.
They had a surprise for me on my first night.
We went to see Rowan Atkinson perform in one of the theatres.
He's the actor and comedian who created the character Mr Bean, and his comedy act was very funny.
I thought he was even better on stage than in the television programme.
After the show we went to Bannerman's pub, near Martin's flat.
Paul worked there at the weekends.
He told me that a lot of the people who were performing in the Festival went there.

"Hi, Bob," he said to the barman, "can we have two pints, please?"
As Martin and Paul talked to the barman, Alison and I looked around for somewhere to sit.
Someone standing at the other end of the bar looked familiar.

"Alison, do you recognise that man?
Is he famous?" I asked her.
"Antonio! That's Rowan Atkinson!" she exclaimed. 
Bob (the barman) knew Rowan Atkinson because he had been into the pub before.
So I met Mr Bean and you know, he looks completely normal when he's not acting!
We went to see lots of different shows while I was in Edinburgh.
I was in Edinburgh.
We went to listen to a choir singing Verdi's Requiem at Saint Giles Cathedral.
The singing was lovely and the cathedral itself is very interesting.
We also went with Alison and Paul and had a picnic in Princes Street Gardens and watched a circus.
There was wonderful music, people who juggled[1] with fire and very talented acrobats and gymnasts.
The circus was very unusual because it was a circus without animals.
The Gardens were full and the performers moved amongst the people.
I loved the music so much that I bought the CD after the performance.
All the time I was in Edinburgh, I was lucky with the weather.
Everyone I met said the same thing to me.


"You're here for a week?" they asked.

"Yes," I told them.
"Ooh, it's lovely, sunny weather for your visit.
You are lucky!"
Martin had decided to take me north for a few days, to see some more of Scotland.
I hoped my luck would continue.


Summary:
In this part of the chapter, Antonio tells us about Edinburgh Castle and the history of Scotland. 
Martin and he also went to see Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) and other different shows. 
They also saw a circus.


Questions 9



1. Apart from being one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, why is Edinburgh an interesting place for tourist to visit?

2. Explain briefly how Antonio and Martin met.

3. What type of performances can you see at the Edinburgh Festival?

4. How do the actors at the Edinburgh Festival advertise their shows?

5. Who was the first king of both England and Scotland?

6. Where was he born and

7. when did he become king?






[1] Juggled=hacer juegos malabares

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