the 9-th form Speaking II term

Not new. I myself wear a kilt for a dance club. But wait, a bagpipe’s a military instrument? Are you serious? Oh, no! I always thought it was used by shepherds

Nothing interesting! I’m fine here.

We’ve heard the military orchestras in Edinburgh. Do you know the city was just like Rome, built on seven hills? While being there we saw the Royal Yacht ‘Britannia’, the special Royal residence. Prince Charles and Princess Diana spent their honeymoon there in 1981.

Hi, Fiona! Pleased to see you again! Where were you going to?

Yeah, that’s cool! We’ve been there. And about castles. Look here — this is a tourist guide booklet with a list of a dozen castles which didn’t exist at all! They are known as Fictional Castles: McDuck Castle, Black Island Castle, some castles from the Walter Scott works and Hogwarts Castle. Isn’t surprising? And one more thing — we’ve all heard of the Loch Ness Monster, but have you heard of Nessie’s counterpart? Meet Morag, the monster of Loch Morar. Loch Morar is even deeper than Loch Ness, and they say the large female monster live there.

Sounds some boring. You’d better tell about Harry Potter films. At least, three of the films were shot in Highlands. The first place is the impressive Glenfinnan Viaduct in the West Highland, used in Chamber of Secrets. Twice a day the Hogwarts Express crosses the viaduct and you can even travel in it yourself. Another Highlands location is in Lochaber, where they built the set for Hagrid’s Hut in Prisoner of Azkaban. And last, the mountainous area with the highest waterfall in Britain was used for Harry’s battle with the dragon in Goblet of Fire!

Hi! I’ve just returned from Highlands. I wasn’t going to waste my weekend staying in Glasgow. Why didn’t you go to?

This is really amazing!

You are wrong! We have so many reasons to visit Scottish Highlands. Do you know some men still wear kilts on ordinary days, though usually kilts are used for weddings or “Highland Games”. Bagpipes first were used in army and were considered as a military instrument.