Task 1. Multiple-Choice Questions
Choose the correct answer for each question.
1. The original name of that city was New Amsterdam. Today the city is called
a)Philadelphia b)New York c)Gettysburg d)Pittsburg
2. The Mayflower was the ship on which British settlers arrived in North America in 1620. They were
a)the Puritans b)the Pilgrims c)the settlers of the Virginia Company
3. The Golden Gate Bridge is a symbol of
a)San Francisco b)Seattle c)Vancouver
4. The oldest and the youngest US presidents elected were respectively
a)Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy
b)Ronald Reagan and Theodore Roosevelt
c)George Washington and Bill Clinton
5. The first person to introduce paper currency in the USA was
a)George Washington b)Benjamin Franklin c)Thomas Jefferson
6. Which Scottish island is said to be the resting place of St. Columba?
a)Iona b)Colonsay c)Skye d)Eigg
7. What is the British flag popularly known as?
a)Royal Ensign b)Royal Standard c)Union Jack d)St. George
8. Who said «To be born English is to win the lottery of the life»?
a)Samuel Johnson b)Queen Victoria c)Margaret Thatcher d)Cecil Rhodes
9. What is the highest point in England?
a)Hadrian’s Wall b)Snowdon c)Scafell Pike d)Ben Nevis
10. What city is England’s «steel city»?
a)Leeds b)Sheffield c)Newcastle d)Birmingham
11. What year was the Magna Carta signed by King John at Runnymede?
a)1215 b)1915 c)1512 d)1216
12. Who gave «The Iron Curtain» its name?
a)Winston Churchill b)Clement Attlee c)Josef Stalin d)Freddie Truman
13. If a town name ends in «-burgh» it was probably founded as a what?
a)A market town b)A royal manor c)A cattle trading center d)A fortress town
14. How many wives did Henry V111 have?
a)5 b)4 c)3 d)6
15. From which country did pijamas originate?
a)India b)Canada c)Kenya d)Burma
16. Which type of sport has a Three Day Event?
a)Darts b)Athletics c)Horse riding d)Badminton
17. Which English king trained to be a monk?
a)Edward the Martyr b)Alfred the Great c)William Rufus d)Edward the Confessor
18. Who controls who can display a coat of arms?
a)The House of Lords b)The Monarch c)The College of Heralds
d)The Prime Minister
19. What is the name of «007»?
a)Henry Bond b)Thomas Bond c)James Bond d)William Bond
20. Long straight roads were probably first built by the
a)Vikings b)Normans c)Romans d)Celts
21. Which English king was killed by an arrow in the eye?
a)Henry ll b)Harold Godwinson c)Henry l d)Harold Harefoot
22. In cockney rhyming slang, what is a «tea»?
a)car b)book c)chair d)thief
23. How many cups of tea does the average Briton drink each year?
a)820 b)1 650 c)1 180 d)975
24. Which dreadful plague wiped out about one third of the population of Britain the 1340s?
a)The White Death b)The Blue Death c)The Pink Death d)The Black Death
25. In which year was the Great Fire of London?
a)1667 b)1664 c)1666
26. An effigy of which traitor is burnt on thousands of bonfires on 5th November?
a)Guy Fawkes b)Lord Haw-Haw c)Perkin Warbeck d)Mata Hari
27. In which year did Mrs. Margaret Thatcher become Prime Minister?
a)1977 b)1981 c)1982 d)1979
28. Which English king began the Hundred Year War by invading France and winning the Battle of Crecy in 1346?
a)Edward 1 b)Edward 111 c)Edward 11 d)Edward 1V
29. Which English king invaded Wales in 1282, ending Welsh independence by naming his own son the Prince of Wales?
a)Edward 111 b)Edward 1V c)Edward 11 d)Edward 1
30. In the17th century the Pilgrim Fathers left England and sail for North America. They planned to make the voyage aboard two ships. After setting sail, problems made them return to port and all boarded the «Mayflower» for crossing. What was the name of the second unseaworthy ship that failed to make the crossing?
a)Sunflower b)Liberty c)Victory d)Speedwell
31. In which year was the earliest recipe for Yorkshire Pudding printed?
a)1745 b)1768 c)1834 d)1812
32. Who won the first ever FA cup?
a)Manchester United d)Arsenal c)The Wanderers d)Liverpool
33. Which Roman Emperor first established a Roman province in Britain?
a)Caligula b)Claudius c)Julius Caesar d)Tiberius
34. The pudding traditionally eaten with roast beef has the same name as which English county?
a)Yorkshire b)Lancashire c)Sussex d)Devon
35. What are the main ingredients of the British dish known as «bubble-and-squeak»?
a)porridge and syrup b)potato and cabbage c)minced beef and beans
d)eggs and ham
Task 2. True or False?
Read the statements below and mark each of them as True or False
True False
1. Comprehensive schools are not selective: you do not have to pass an exam to go to a comprehensive school.
2. Public schools are supported from public funds.
3. Compulsory schooling in England and Wales lasts from the age of 5 to 14.
4. After the age of 16 a growing number of school students leave school.
5. The character Horatio Hornblower was created by C. S. Forester.
6. A «chugger» is a charity worker who stops you in the streets.
7. «The Sealed Knot» is a famous ship.
8. The Royal Mile is in Belfast.
9. The «Angel of the North» is a famous nurse from Scotland.
10. The UK has won the Eurovision song contest 5 times.
Task 3. What do the following abbreviations stand for?
1. BC ___________________________________________________
2. VIP __________________________________________________
3. UFO__________________________________________________
4. DIY___________________________________________________
5. a.m.___________________________________________________
Task 4. In which shops would you ask for the following item?
1. A pound of apples? _____________________________________________
2. Half a pound of pork sausages?____________________________________
3. Today’s newspaper?_____________________________________________
4. A Tube of toothpaste?___________________________________________
5. A loaf of bread?________________________________________________
6. A pair of boots?________________________________________________
7. A pair of trousers?______________________________________________
8. A first-class stamp?_____________________________________________
Task 5. Can you restore the story?
Here is a story about the Statue of Liberty. The printer got the story mixed up. Can you arrange the parts in proper order? The first one is done for you.
A. The crates were loaded on a French warship, the Isere.
B. The idea for the Statue started in the Old World.
C. The French people gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1886.
D. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi worked on the project with great zeal.
E. The Statue of Liberty was built and completed in Paris, France.
F. The ship sailed through the entrance of New York Harbor and arrived off Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
G. The powerful frame of the Statue is made of iron and steel. It was designed by a great French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.
H. It took twenty-one years from the birth of the idea to the erection of the great statue.
I. The Statue of Liberty was put together again and stood proud and tall on Bedloe’s Island.
J. A majestic statue stands in New York Harbor welcoming all who come to American shores.
K. The people of France provided all the money for the Statue of Liberty. The people of the United States were supposed to pay for the pedestal on which the statue would stand. Joseph Pulitzer undertook a campaign in his newspaper, the New York World. Every day he published a donors’ list.
L. The last stone of the pedestal was swung into place on April 22, 1886.
M. The pieces were packed in 214 crates and put aboard a train that went from Paris to Rouen.
N. In 1865, in France, some guests were enjoying dinner at the home of Professor Edouard de Laboulaye. He suggested making a monument to memorialize the friendship between his country and the US.
O. To be shipped across the ocean the US. The Statue was taken apart, piece by piece.
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