O’zbekiston respublikasi ichki ishlar vazirligi akademiya m. A. Rustamov ingliz tili darslik

Tashkent 
 
Tashkent is the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The city is 
located 455 m. above sea level in the valley of the Chirchik River. Its 
territory is 250 square kilometres and its population is more than two 
and a half million people. More than 100 nations and nationalities live 
in Tashkent. 
Tashkent is one of the ancient cities in the world. It is more than 
2000 years old. The city was given its name, Tashkent, more than 
eight hundred years ago. In the middle ages the city was seized and 
destroyed by numerous invaders.
By the middle of the 19th century Tashkent had become a major 
centre of trade with Russia. In 1865 it was captured by the Russian 
Empire, and two years later became the administrative centre of the 
Turkestan Governor. 
Over the years Tashkent has turned into the most important 
industrial, scientific and cultural centre in the Middle East. Tashkent 
is known as a ‘City of Plenty’, ‘Garden City’, ‘City of Peace’ and 
‘City of Friendship’. 
During the years of independence Tashkent rapidly changed its 
appearance. In a few years after independence hundreds of dwelling 
houses, administrative buildings, cultural, communal and memorial 
centres of modern style were built. The current architecture is very 
different from what it used to be. 
The Tashkent underground railway is the pride of the Tashkenters. 
Each station of the Tashkent Metro is worth seeing. Tashkent is a city 
of international festivals, conferences and symposiums, and is an 
important tourist centre. Guests from all over the world come to 
Tashkent to enjoy its beauty and achievements. They note the great 
hospitality of Uzbek people. 
 

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TEXT 2 
Arthur Conan Doyle 
People say that many visitors to London want to go to Baker 
Street and see the house where Sherlock Holmes lived. They get very 
surprised and disappointed when they learn that Sherlock Holmes 
never lived in Baker Street, or anywhere else, that he was not a real 
man but a literary character.
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), the famous English writer and 
author of the stories about Sherlock Holmes, wrote other books too, 
among them fantastic books, but the greatest popularity was brought 
to him by the books about this brilliant detective. Sherlock Holmes 
became popular as soon as the first stories about him appeared, and 
when, some years later, Conan Doyle wrote history about the death of 
the detective, his readers didn’t like it; they demanded new stories 
about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and the writer had to bring 
his hero back to life.