For over 900 years, the Tower of London has served as a loyal __1__
8 U( U! ?# t$ k+ h; A- x palace and fortress. Today, it's famous for its bloody history and2 P% b0 o$ l; p- c
for being the place where the Crown Jewels are kept.But it has served0 D& A: N6 B: B, i3 t# Z8 \: \
for other purposes, too. It has been the royal arsenal, royal mint, __2__3 B7 M x1 i0 a
royal observatory or even the royal zoo. The site of the Tower was __3__
; a% w4 E( G1 [8 i! | originally part of the Roman city of Londinium./ s, B* b3 d6 o
But, in 1066, a foreigner from north west France became King William __4__
; E/ h* f, s4 c( a of Britain, he ordered that a wooden castle built on the banks of __5__4 G6 ?; Z$ `) m; g+ q, N1 k+ J
the river Thames. The purpose of this fortress was to help secure
- a h" Q2 F1 u9 a% e" c% U6 i London, the most important city in his view realm. Ten years later,
# O) h, W3 [6 w4 P* D William had the fortress rebuild in stone, and created a great __6__4 v: [4 x z4 D; `" ?3 ]8 p/ j
fortified palace with walls three metre thick. Today, this building __7__3 F2 w* {" O1 b0 o) ~* Y
is known as the White Tower, and it stands in the centre of a much
/ J8 G; z: b9 _% ? larger stone fortress, which was built during later centuries. The7 z1 N1 [4 K0 o5 D+ c6 G
Tower now covers the area of seven hectares, and it stands near the __8__
$ ?! @5 }7 p5 g5 m" x/ ?2 F3 v busy financial district of the capital. But, once inside the high stone
$ h8 c y% p9 ] E) A8 Q2 r walls, it's easy to forget the modern world outside and to take a7 d( O" G& |. U
trip back through history. To help visitors explore, there are special
% J4 l, ]6 R: s$ ^4 H ceremonial guards, called Yeoman Warders. They are also known as. f8 t# G) x7 q% f! C5 S$ A
Beefeaters, and they are the best resource of information about the __9__9 m9 h$ p; C/ b: |8 T, ?
Tower's history. Nearly 40 Yeoman live and work in the Tower.6 u3 Q2 N3 `7 D( }3 W
They are former soldiers who earned the privilege of serving as __10__
7 X7 _5 B9 X% }, h! p: s Yeoman after long service. |