Cultural Notes:
1. The long vacation is the summer holiday in July and August when most university classes are closed. In Britain some students use this opportunity for travel but most get vacation jobs to help pay their university fees and living costs while they are studying.
2. The name Parliament comes from old French parlement which means "speaking". The Houses of Parliament in London is divided into the House of Commons, in which all members are elected, and the House of Lords, whose members were traditionally hereditary members of the aristocracy plus bishops of the Church of England, but most of whom are now appointed. The English Parliament emerged in medieval times as the occasional meeting of the king and his lords to discuss laws, taxes and finance, and general issues. Later, knights and representatives of ordinary people (the "Commons" or commoners, not the aristocracy) were members because people believed that taxation required consent. After the 17th century there were regular meetings, with free speech, and after the Representation of the People Act 1832, the elected representatives became more and more important until the House of Commons became the most powerful body.
3. Big Ben is the name often given to the famous four-faced clock on the tallest tower of the Houses of Parliament. In fact, Big Ben is the bell inside the clock. It weighs more than 13 tons.
4. Tower Bridge is a drawbridge - the two parts of the bridge, which are called bascules, can be raised to allow ships to pass underneath it. Everyone, and that means everyone, has to wait for a ship to pass - even Bill Clinton who famously had to wait for 20 minutes while a barge sailed through in 1997. They don't care who you are, Tower Bridge is opening for a ship and you will just have to wait. (check the following site to learn more: Tower Bridge)
5. A double-decker bus has two decks. You can get a good view of the streets and sites from the upper deck. Some buses for visitors are open-topped (without a roof) so that in good weather you can get an even better, all-round view.
6. The rat race refers to the way of life in a large city where people compete in an aggressive way with each other in order to be more successful, earn more money or develop their careers. the expression is generally used as a negative description for an over-competitive working environment.
You can win the rat race, but you're still a rat.
So escape the rat race and leave it to rats.
7. The tube is the London Underground, a system of underground trains. It has been known as the tube since the late 19th century. People go to a tube station to travel by tube.
Early day's London tube.
（The entrance to Blackfriars Underground station, 1924.）
（The first Metropolitan train on the underground line passing through Praed Street, London, Ca. 1863.）
London's new subway trains look like spaceships.
8. The Royal National Theatre, which is also known as the National Theatre, is located next to the River Thames on the South Bank.
（the cast of Peter Pan）
It has three separate auditoria, and is part of a cultural centre which includes the National Film Theatre,
the Museum of the Moving Image
the Queen Elizabeth Hall,
and the Royal Festival Hall.
